Good afternoon. One month on from President Daniel Chapo’s inauguration, the protests sparked by his disputed election victory continue to destabilise the economy. Not only does that affect people’s wallets, it now risks affecting their kitchen tables as well.
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Protests against the cost of living are starting to take their toll on the supplies of basic goods like food and detergents. In the capital Maputo, there is a marked reduction in the range of goods available, although nothing has disappeared completely from shelves yet. Protesters appear to be demanding prices lower than what shops can afford to sell at. Faced with the threat of violence, retailers have reluctantly lowered prices, but have stopped restocking some of their items rather than continue to sell them at a loss. Informal traders, whom protesters do not view with the same hostility as shopkeepers, have so far not had to reduce their prices, but that could change. Meanwhile, the grocery trade is also threatened by the continued blocking of roads (see below). Even the occasional closure of the Ressano Garcia border crossing with South Africa has been enough to disrupt the flow of goods across the frontier.
