Mozambique: Drivers in Maputo hunt for fuel across the city

Queues stretching for hundreds of metres, widespread congestion and petrol stations closed without petrol or diesel are today marking central Maputo, with motorists in despair and others already running on empty pushing their vehicles along the street. “Very critical, as you can see,” he says, amid traffic congestion caused by queues of dozens of cars stopped at several fuel stations either trying to refuel or holding their place for when fuel becomes available. “We have to endure this queue to ensure we get fuel, even if in a very limited way.

From what I was told, it is only 1,000 meticais per person,” he adds. He had already visited several stations during the morning in search of fuel and found many, the majority, closed, with employees sitting on the ground without work. He also heard about a mobile application developed in recent hours and being widely shared, which regularly updates which stations are open and supplying fuel.

“I saw it on the app and came here. I have been here for 25 minutes,” he explains, admitting he still has fuel in his “economical” car to continue working in passenger transport for three days. “Waiting for the situation to improve.

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Saving enough for another three or four days and then we will see,” says Manuel Ponge, although he calls for “priority for transport operators” in refuelling, as they are the “solution” to the current problem. The Mozambican government had already acknowledged on Tuesday “pressure” on fuel stations, as huge queues began appearing this week amid fears of stock shortages and price increases due to the conflict in the Middle East, despite guarantees of sufficient stock in the country until May. “Indeed, we have been monitoring some pressure at the pumps.

The information available is that there is still stock available. I cannot here state how many days or weeks, but this is an issue being monitored daily at government level,” said Minister Salim Valá, spokesperson for the weekly Council of Ministers meeting held on Tuesday in Maputo. The government therefore attributes the queues to an “economic dynamic” based on “perceptions and expectations”.

Meanwhile, Avelino Fonda is also queuing at a fuel station in Maputo. In two days he has managed to obtain only 10 litres of diesel, enough to keep the car running, but he does not know until when. “I have been here for 30 minutes, but I came from another station where I waited for two hours, and when I got there they had already run out,” he says, adding: “This is going to get even harder.”

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