The Center for Public Integrity (CIP) today denounced the unconstitutionality and illegality in the installation of four tolls on about 70 kilometers of Maputo's ring road.

"There are strong indications of unconstitutionality and relative illegality," reads, in the CIP document "Tolls on the Maputo Ring Road -Inconstitutionality and manipulation of the law", published on its website.

According to the Center, the measure to install tolls ignores the financial incapacity of citizens who cannot afford to use the Maputo Ring Road, and a private company (REVIMO) was awarded the contract to build and manage the tolls without the proper public tender - there was a direct award - "for a period longer than provided by law," violating "Law No. 15/2011 of 10 August.

"The concession of the ring road for private management of REVIMO and the establishment of the four tolls violated the Constitution of the Republic by not having been observed the principles of mandatory non-discrimination (Article 248) and universal access of citizens to public services, [as well as] violated the Law of Public-Private Partnerships, by the fact that the Government has chosen the direct award, without there was a weighty situation that justified the choice of the exceptional regime" concludes the CIP.

In CIP's view, the citizen is harmed by the aggravating factor that, along the points where the four tolls are installed, there are no alternative routes for those who do not want or cannot pay the toll fees.

"Despite the installation of four tolls, users will only pay one toll for each route. In other words, if on the same route the user passes through two toll gates, having paid a fee on the first, he will be exempt from paying on the subsequent one," explains the document.

In this sense, the citizen will be able to use the Maputo Circular Road and refuse to pay the traffic/port charges on the basis of the fundamental law "something that would not be happening for the first time in Mozambique.

"Thus, the government should remedy the irregularities by creating alternative passable roads before starting with the collection of toll fees, especially in the sections that connect the district of Marracuene to the city of Maputo," suggests the CIP.

The document we quote states that the tolls may begin to operate in the first quarter of this year and "the amount is still to be announced by the Council of Ministers.