Manuel Faustino, head of Luanda’s Taxi Assocation, said on Thursday the Economy Ministry had considered his offer to increase taxi prices from 50 kwanzas ($0.50) to up to 200 kwanzas ($2) as being too high.
He said the increase was necessary to compensate for an up to 50% increase in fuel prices last week. Some taxis have already started to increase prices despite risking hefty fines. Faustino said he would meet the government again next week.
“The rise in fuel prices is just one reason for us to increase taxi fares,” said Faustino. “We also need to pay for insurance and expensive taxi licences.”
Angola’s main opposition Unita party warned on Wednesday that rising prices in Angola could trigger deadly protests similar to those that took place in Mozambique last week. The protests began after a 30% increase in bread prices.
Although the Angolan government has admitted that higher transport costs would stoke inflation in the oil producing African nation, it has brushed aside fears of any riots.
“We are not like Mozambique,” Rui Falcao, the MPLA spokesperson, said, adding that the majority of Angolans stood behind the ruling party in its efforts to jump-start the economy and raise living standards.
The Economy Ministry announced on September 01 it had raised fuel prices to save on gasoline subsidies, currently around 440 billion kwanzas ($4.8bn) a year. It said it plans to use the money to build new schools, hospitals and fight poverty.
Source: news24