Operations at the Port of Maputo have been suspended because of the election unrest, an official involved with the port has said.
The source, whose identity is being protected, said that as of the morning of November 6, “no cargo was being received at Gate 1 of Maputo terminal”.
The source said the same situation applied at the Matola bulk commodities terminal, especially as South Africa had temporarily closed the Lebombo Border Post on the N4 Maputo Corridor because of public violence in Ressano Garcia on Mozambique’s side of the border.
Matola terminal operator Grindrod has confirmed that it has suspended operations at the terminal.
Asked if there was any seaside cargo throughput of imports and exports, the source said it was doubtful.
“There’s very little movement in Maputo at the moment. The streets are heavily militarised and the situation is tense. There’s no public transport.”
Footage circulated this week by ore transporters using the Maputo Corridor, showed bumper-to-bumper traffic grid-locked on the Maputo Katembe Bridge across the mouth to the port.
It is understood that Osório Lucas, CEO of the Maputo Port Development Company, will be locked in meetings today, November 7, with the government of outgoing President Philipe Nyusi.
The purported election victory of his successor, Daniel Chapo, has sparked election unrest across Mozambique by supporters of Podemos, the opposition party, which alleges that the current ruling party, Frelimo, had rigged the October 9 election.
Podemos’s presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, asked for week-long protest action, which is supposed to end on November 7.
In the face of extreme violence in Ressano and the capital, government forces have been deployed to maintain law and order, but it was reported from Komatipoort this morning that the staging area at the border control zone in Ressano had been looted.
It has also been reported that at least 24 people have died since Mozambicans went to the polls, many of whom had been fatally shot by riot police.
Dr Michael Masiapato, commissioner of South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA), said he hoped the election violence would end today (November 7), along with the planned week-long protest action.
For every hour a truck is delayed from successfully moving on the Maputo Corridor to the port, revenue of at least R1 000 per load of ore is lost.
An update about the situation at Lebombo after the BMA decided to close the border, indicates that it “remains temporarily closed”.
According to the information received by Gavin Kelly of the Road Freight Association, trucks with export cargo are not allowed to proceed through to Ressano.
“However, import trucks that have concluded both Mozambique and SA declaration processes are allowed to proceed for safety reasons due to the wide-scale looting.
“We have received requests to prioritize perishable goods that are stuck on the N4, however we are not able to as both SA and Mozambique export gates are closed. Exports into Moz are not allowed due to looting and safety of drivers and goods.
“Clients with drivers that are stuck in the Customs area on our site have been advised of the cancellation process, so we release trucks to return to SA.
“We encourage clients to consider alternative routes and refer to Lebombo border updates to be issued by BMA.”
- This is a developing story. Freight News is in the process of finding out what the situation is at the Port of Beira.
