No carrier will be excluded from compensation and subsidies to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices, according to assurances from the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

"We will not discriminate against any transporter, whether formal or informal. Everyone has rights," said Ambrose Sitoe, spokesman for the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The decision to grant a subsidy to public transportation companies in the provincial capitals was taken after the episodes of July 4, when bus owners and "chapas" suspended their activities in protest against the increase in fuel prices, causing long lines and confusion in some areas of the Mozambican capital.

Part of the "chapeiros", who guarantee the circulation in urban centers, do not have a license for the activity, one of the requirements for government subsidies.

According to Ambrósio Sitoe, the Government will accelerate the legalization of "informal" transporters, a measure that aims to prevent some "chapeiros" from being excluded from the subsidy awarding process.

More than a week ago, Mozambique's Energy Regulatory Authority (Arene) announced the third fuel price hike this year, with cooking gas up almost 20%.

Gasoline went up from 83.30 meticais per liter to 86.97 meticais and diesel went from 78.97 meticais to 87.97 meticais per liter.

In 2008 and 2010, the increase in the price of road transport, accompanied by the rising cost of essential goods and services, sparked popular uprisings in some of the country's major cities, resulting in clashes with the police and destruction in some places.