Mozambique: HCM doctors not to work overtime from November because it hasn't been paid for 9 months
DW / Mozambicans will have to cope with increases in the cost of basic products (File photo / 2016)
Austerity measures and rising commodity prices are likely challenges next year in Mozambique. For many citizens, life seems set to become even more difficult.
In Mozambique, the government’s latest announcements of new austerity measures have already signalled that life will be harder for Mozambicans in 2018. These measures will directly affect the public sector, which, for example, will not see career promotions.
These measures are coupled with increases in the prices of staple foods for low-income families, such as horse mackerel. Toll prices will also increase, necessitating transport tariff hikes.
Furthermore, in 2018, Mozambicans will have to cope with higher prices for other products which most of the population need, such as used clothing and cars.
No purchasing power
Members of the public on the streets of Maputo, the capital of the country, are concerned about the economy next year. Civil servant David Cuche says that Mozambicans will no longer enjoy the purchasing power they have now.
“With each passing day, prices are rising, and with public service cuts, we begin to feel that our salary is not enough, and that life is difficult,” he says.
The price of fuel is also forcing some families to rejig their 2018 plans. A rise in minibus fares was announced for December following an agreement reached in September.
This increase will make things even more difficult for Raul Alexandre. “It will always be difficult for us, the ones who receive little. We receive less and I am trying to do what I can with this less to get by on.”
Cutting expenses
Next year, state officials will not have career progressions until the economic landscape normalises. The education sector is one of the most affected by this measure. Teacher Aurelio Mabui does not know what will happen in 2018.
“It’s going to be awful, because this year I’m experiencing a lot of difficulty and it’s going to be worse next year. We’re cutting expenses as much as possible, but we’re already down to our bare ones,” he confesses.
In the midst of these difficulties, there are couples who have lost their jobs and rely on their own parents to survive. Such is the case with Inês Nhantumbo, who now depends on her mother-in-law and does not know what the next months will look like.
“I do not know how it’s going to work out. I don’t have a job. My husband has not started working yet. He’s a graduate but he can’t get a job, so we depend on my mother-in-law.”
Government austerity measures were enacted shortly after the discovery of so-called hidden debts totalling more than two billion dollars.
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