Mozambique lost 24.8 billion meticais as a result of the paralysis of public and private activities in ten days of demonstrations, calculates the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique - CTA.

According to the association's president, Agostinho Vuma, the sectors most affected were transport, logistics and commerce.

Operators in the Maputo metropolitan area have reported the emergence of illegal charging stations, and revenue losses estimated at 417 million meticais in 10 days.

The interruption of traffic on the Maputo-Witbank corridor, on the Mozambican side, led to a reduction in the normal flow of trucks from the Port of Maputo, from a daily average of 1,200 trucks to around 300 trucks on the days of the strike.

Vuma said that 11 business units had temporarily suspended their activities.

At a press conference, he said that the protests and vandalizations had put more than 1,200 jobs at risk, most of them in the cities of Maputo and Matola.

"The vandalizations cost more than 45.5 million US dollars, which directly put more than 1,200 jobs at risk due to the level of vandalization," he said.

In view of the economic losses that influence the estimated growth projections of 5.5% for this year, the CTA is proposing that VAT be exempted on basic necessities, oil, soap, sugar, chickens and eggs.

"In terms of monetary policy, we propose a continued reduction in the mimo rate, which is at 39%. Our suggestion is that it should go down to 20% for the metical and 5% for the US dollar," suggested Agostinho Vuma.