Mozambique: Restaurants suspend work contracts

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Mozambique: Restaurants suspend work contracts

7:16 CAT | 19 Jul 2021

File photo: O País

Restaurant owners in Maputo oppose the new opening hours that the Mozambican government has imposed as part of its battle to restrict the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease, and some of them have reacted by suspending the work contacts of their staff.

Previously restaurants were allowed to open from 06.00 to 20.00, but under the new measures, announced by President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday, all restaurants must close by 18.00.

The justification for this change is that it will allow restaurant workers to return home before the start of the overnight curfew at 21.00, and will prevent crowds gathering at restaurants which could provide a favourable environment for spreading the virus.

But restaurant owners interviewed by the independent television station STV protest that their busiest time is precisely between 18.00 and 20.00. They claim that this is when many clients used to dine out, but nobody will go to a restaurant for dinner before 18.00.

They argue that the new closing time will lead to a fall in their revenue, and may eventually force them to close their doors altogether. Some of those interviewed by the paper say they already know of cases where the contracts of restaurant staff are being suspended.

“We don’t know how long we can bear this situation”, said one restaurant owner, Lino Machava, who feared the situation might worsen,

Another, Nelio Manuel, suggested that restaurants might have to “re-invent themselves”, and switch to home deliveries of meals.

Churches in Maputo, however, have raised no opposition to the government’s decision to ban all religious services for the next 30 days. Instead, religious leaders told STV they regarded closing the churches as “an opportune measure” to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Anglican bishop Carlos Matsinhe said the ban “is not a problem, because it’s a measure that seeks to protect the health of everybody, to protect the lives of religious believers, and of the Mozambican people as a whole”.

Catholic priest Geraldo Uaiare agreed, declaring that the Catholic Church “is an institution that works for the good of everyone”.

Even with the church doors closed, the religious bodies are thinking of ways for believers to follow services in digital format.

Source: AIM