Covid-19: Half of all transport workers at risk of losing jobs, says CTA – Watch

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Covid-19: Half of all transport workers at risk of losing jobs, says CTA – Watch

3:21 CAT | 12 Jun 2020

Photo: MIramar

Half the workers in Mozambique’s transport sector are at risk of unemployment, and 1,200 have already been suspended because of Covid-19, the Mozambican Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) announced on Thursday.

“The closure of borders [has]paralysed international road passenger transport and air transport,” deputy president of the CTS transport sector Faruque Assubuji says.

The transport sector in Mozambique has lost of 7,594 million meticais (€95.8 million) in the last three months because of the pandemic, according to the CTA’s accounts. The sector is being affected by capacity restrictions on public transport, shift work, and the closure of schools and other non-essential services, Assubuji remarked.

Assubuji said that Covid-19’s negative impact had exacerbated a crisis the road sector was already facing as a result of the armed attacks in central and northern Mozambique.

“The inter-provincial passenger and cargo road segment has been additionally affected by the political-military tension in the central region of the country, as well as by the situation of insurgent attacks in the province of Cabo Delgado,” Assubuji underlined.

Interprovincial passenger transport recorded a loss of revenue of 3,144 million meticais (€39.7 million), 85% of turnover, while road freight transport is also being negatively affected.

“Despite permission for the circulation of goods internally, the suspension of the activity of the companies led to the cooling of cargo transportation due to the impossibility of international transit of goods considered essential,” Assubuji noted.

In relation to air transport, international service has ceased and in domestic market has all but disappeared, operations falling by 85%, while the maritime sector saw a reduction of 30% in the general cargo segment and 48% in the fisheries area.

“Invoicing comes under pressure whenever the number of ships is reduced. In addition, there are delays in the settlement of invoices, both domestically and internationally,” the deputy president of CTA’s transport department concluded.

Mozambique has a cumulative total of 489 cases of infection with the new coronavirus, with two deaths and 144 recovered.

Worldwide, the pandemic has already claimed more than 416,000 lives, including 5,678 in Africa, where there are more than 209,000 persons infected, across 54 countries.