Some fuel pumps in Mozambique's main provincial capitals are cheating motorists by supplying less liquid than the price paid.

The National Institute for Standardization and Quality (INNOQ), the entity responsible for metrology, inspected since early July, 20 gas stations in Maputo, Beira and Nampula cities. As a result, INNOQ interdicted three pumps, two in Nampula and one in Maputo.

In the country's capital, Maputo, the entity detected a diesel hose, at the Total Energies service station in Shoprite Maputo, headquarters, that was supplying much less than recommended, with a margin of error of 160 milliliters.

According to the source, during the inspection, the margin of error at gas stations should not exceed 100 milliliters on the standard 20-liter gauge, which did not happen in the case of the three interdicted hoses.

"The infractions found will be forwarded to the Legal Office for further proceedings. However, it is up to the Legal Office at that time to pronounce itself on the events that will take place, but I advance that events of this nature are punishable by law," Mussagi said at a press conference last week in Maputo.

At the meeting, Mussagi assured that the errors detected in the hoses of the Petromoc pumps, in downtown Maputo, are within acceptable parameters.

"There is no measurement without errors, what we must do as inspectors is to catalog this error and see if it is greater or less than that which is molded by law. The errors found in this post are tolerable," explained the source.