The government, through the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, said yesterday in Parliament that the rise in fuel prices was due to the increase in demand for fuel internationally and that all the mechanisms that had been set up internally to cushion its impact on the cost of living had become insufficient.

Adriano Maleiane assured that the Executive is working so that the effects of the increase in fuel prices do not harm the citizens, betting on considerable investments in the areas of agriculture and public transport.

In the agricultural sector, according to Maleiane, what is intended is that families go from the current average income of 47 thousand meticais to 87 thousand meticais.

The investments being made in agriculture include subsidies for inputs. Practically, said Maleiane, agricultural producers do not pay the Specific Consumption Tax.

He said that the government is also subsidizing the producers who still use motor pumps to allow them to have a large production and therefore greater availability of products in the market and thus lower inflation, which until last September was 4.88 percent.

He assumed that the only way to improve the citizens' standard of living is even to increase their income.

In transportation, he explained, the government continues to subsidize not only the gasoline companies, but also the transporter, and now, with greater intensity, is supporting the purchase of means of transport for the private sector.

Maleiane underlined that it is working so that at least in the big cities people's mobility improves. He pointed out, however, that the government is aware that the private transport sector also suffers from the recent adjustment made to fuel prices, but is working to ensure that the user is not harmed, through the practice of a balanced tariff.

He mentioned that in the previous term a program was designed to acquire 1000 buses to support the private sector, of which 600 were distributed throughout the country. In large cities, such as Maputo, a discount (special tickets) will be introduced for students, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

The government also plans to introduce, as early as the first half of 2022, gas-powered buses, as a way to diversify the fuel in the future, taking into account that the country will be a major gas producer. In the area of rail transport, the acquisition of 90 carriages is planned to be allocated in the South and Center regions of the country.

Maleiane also said that the annual import of fuel is estimated, on average, at $850 million, while the country exports about $1.3 billion, corresponding to 66 percent of its exports.

The Minister of Economy and Finance stated, peremptorily, that it is unsustainable for the State to subsidize gasoline companies.