Angola’s minister Tnasportes says the government is aware of the rise in public transport prices, ensuring the goal is to keep fares in place and that violators will be punished.
In an interview with Agência Lusa, Ricardo Abreu said that the phasing out of fuel subsidies is a fair measure, since not everyone needs this benefit, and the executive wanted to provide “buffers” to the most vulnerable classes, and additional measures are still being discussed. .
In addition, the decision is also aimed at the sustainability of accounts and allows other measures to be taken to improve the living conditions of the population, he stressed.
The rise in fuel prices, namely gasoline, the cost of which has almost doubled, has caused protests, especially from taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers, professionals who continue to receive subsidies upon presentation of the card.
However, this decision has not yet reached the majority.
Many citizens are already complaining about price increases, especially collective taxis, better known as candongueiros, and motorcycle taxis used by most Angolans, but Ricardo Abreu said the price has remained the same.
“Obviously there is some attempt at speculation here or there (…), but the effect that is intended for these social strata through the delivery of cards and other mechanisms to be adopted is precisely that there is no impact on the tariffs for public transport,” the official stressed, noting that the check is being carried out in coordination with the provincial governments and city administrations.
By June 15, about 25,000 fuel cards had been delivered across the country, and the minister said another 25,000 should be distributed outside Luanda soon, according to the minister.
“We aim to reach 100,000 people quickly,” he said, without giving a timeline, estimating that the circle of beneficiaries is about 190,000 professionals, including taxis, motorcycle taxi drivers and fishing boats, who are also covered by the exemption.
Regarding the possibility of fraudulent use, Ricardo Abreu said the cards are properly identified and will only be available to licensed operators, but acknowledged that this is not enough to prevent fraud attempts.
“What we are going to look for is monitoring and supervision, and (violators) will be punished with license revocation” and other sanctions,” he stressed.
“We will not change public transport fares,” Ricardo Abreu stressed, adding that an integrated ticketing system is being tested to implement a social pass.
Priority is given to young people and students who are given a “zero rate”.
Answering a question about the start of work on the Luanda metro, which had already been announced and postponed several times, Ricardo Abreu stressed that the decision had been made to continue public investment, which would allow signing an agreement with the organization that would build the work.
For the person in charge of transportation, the densely populated city of Luanda (currently over 10 million inhabitants) “lacks high-capacity systems”.
For Ricardo Abreu, one line will not be enough to solve mobility problems, but the process is just beginning, as the network covers a total of 149 kilometers.