Notícias

North African companies score the biggest gains To view our ranking of the top 20 companies in North Africa, click here. In terms of increased share of the total, the three North African markets score the biggest gains, increasing the total number of companies in the ranking to 83, up from 70 in 2019. Tunisia has seven more companies bringing its total to 12, after falling from seven in 2018 to five last year. Morocco has added four to reach 30 companies on the list and Egypt has added two to reach 41. In terms of companies on the top 250 list, Egypt and Morocco are second and third ranked after South Africa, as last year. To view our full ranking of Africa’s Top 250 Companies, click here. Although the total market capitalisation of all the region’s companies is down from last year’s $98bn to $78.7bn this year, the share of the total is up marginally to 13.2%. The biggest companies in the region are listed on the Bourse de Casablanca, including Maroc Tele­com, up from #10 last year to #8 despite a 16% fall in market capitalisation to $11.1bn, and Attijariwafa Bank, up from #17 to #15 this year despite market capitalisation down 24% to $7bn. The Egyptian Exchange is home to Egypt’s Commercial International Bank whose $6.1bn market capitalisation is down only 0.7% and enough to move it up the ranking from last year’s #27 to #18, and Casablanca hosts Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire with market capitalisation of $4.1bn and ranked at #28. Casablanca’s MASI Free Float All Shares Index is down 17.4% in Moroccan dirhams, and the Egyptian Exchange’s EGX30 index has crashed a massive 33%, although the impact is reduced because the Egyptian pound, up nearly 10%, is one of the few currencies to have climbed in value against the US dollar over the last 12 months. Tunisia’s dinar is the other to have gained against the greenback, up 4.5%. Few commentators are ready to outline growth prospects in the region, which has been massively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of compiling the survey, Egypt has the sad distinction of having the highest number of cases in Africa, followed by South Africa then Morocco, while fourth-placed Algeria had the most recorded deaths, followed by Egypt.  Morocco’s High Commission for Planning reports that 57% of companies have temporarily or permanently closed operations. More than 135,000 firms had temporarily suspended activities and 6,300 were already permanently closed by late April. Hardest hit were businesses in accommodation and restaurants, followed by the textile, leather, metal and mechanical industries. In January, Egypt was forecast to strengthen growth in 2020 and 2021, supported by economic reforms that started in 2016. Although non-oil private sector activity was plummeting, coordinated stimulus means the country should still score growth this year and next. Tourism is an important contributor to Tunisia’s economy and a major casualty of the pandemic. West Africa: Bears savage share prices across region The ranking was swelled by two more Nigerian companies and one more from the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), which links eight West African markets. This brings the regional total to 27 with combined market capitalisation of $33.1bn, down from $36.5bn a year ago. To view our ranking of the top 20 companies in West Africa, click here. The dynamic Nigerian market and ongoing diversification in the economy away from oil are reflected in a good number of new entrants. Telco MTN Nigeria soared into the Top 250 ranking at #23 after its $5.1bn NSE listing by introduction in May 2019 and Airtel Africa joined the list at #37. West Africa’s second biggest cement firm, Bua Cement, joined the ranking at #34 with marketcap of $3.1bn after a N1.2 trillion ($3.3bn) listing on the Nigerian bourse in January 2020. Diversified agricultural and foods business Flour Mills of Nigeria joined the ranking at #222. Bears were savaging share prices across West Africa, with the Nigerian Stock Exchange Main Board Index down 27% in naira and the BRVM composite plummeting 23% for local investors over the year. Ghana Stock Exchange’s Composite Index also pulled back, down by 12%. This is the second year of declining share prices. Despite the diversification successes, this year’s rock-bottom oil prices will cause havoc, particularly to Nigeria’s economy. In late April, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation warned it may shut down oil production if low prices persist. Kennie Obateru, NNPC Group general manager, public affairs, said: “We can’t keep producing if there is no market to sell to. It is a global thing.” The IMF forecasts that Nigeria’s GDP will shrink by 3.4% in 2020. As we went to press at end of April Ghana was moving to end its three-week partial lockdown after the second highest number of tests for coronavirus in Africa (after South Africa) and this is expected to help with the economic recovery. Côte d’Ivoire could get back to growth relatively soon. Senegal is likely to contract this year and then get back on track reaping the benefits of investing in its infrastructure and growing agriculture with some hydrocarbon potential after 2022. East Africa’s share of top companies falls back Some of Africa’s most attractive investment destinations are found in the East. But this did not stop the region’s share of the Top 250 ranking falling from 21 companies totalling $26.3bn (4% of total market cap) last year to 17 entries totalling $20.2bn (3.4% of the total) this year. To view our ranking of the top 20 companies in East Africa, click here. Kenya lost three entries to list 11 companies and their combined market capitalisation was down from $21bn to $16bn. This is despite the ongoing dominance of telco Safaricom, with $10bn of market value, climbing to #10 this year from #14 in last year’s ranking. Tanzania also lost an entry and was down to four, with Uganda steady at two entries. Kenya’s more liquid currency fell back as global investors raced for safety but Tanzania and Uganda saw little overall change over

COVID-19: Government financial support for garment and agricultural businesses with vulnerable supply chains in developing countries. In response to the Coronavirus, Covid-19, the Government has set up COVID-19 Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility (VSCF). This initiative offers grants and/or technical assistance of the value between £200,000 and £600,000. The support is intended to ensure vulnerable workers and suppliers are prepared for the economic and social shocks of COVID-19. VSCF will support proposals that focus on the garments and agriculture sectors in at least one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chad, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, OPTs, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Eligibility Applications of support from VSCF are welcome from: businesses facing industry challenges and looking for advisory/ facilitation support businesses looking to support the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable workers and suppliers in their supply chains not-for-profit organisations supporting MNCs/SMEs and their suppliers in specific sectors/ geographies not-for-profit organisations supporting transparency and accountability mechanisms within/across specific supply chains not-for-profit organisations supporting informal workers and smallholder farmers that are part of global supply chains Apply To apply you must submit a concept note using the CVSCF template by 5pm GMT, 20 May 2020. Further rounds of funding may be offered but are not guaranteed. CVSCF template Only concept notes submitted in this format will be accepted. Concept notes should be submitted to COVID19vulnerablesupplychains@dfid.gov.uk by the closing date. Given the rapid timeframe, we may follow up directly with you to discuss concept notes. Therefore, submit as soon as you are able. Further details This initiative has been set up by the Department for International Development (DFID) in partnership with the Department for International Trade. Please download the Request for Proposal for further information.

Decreto n.º 22/2020 que concede o perdão de multas e redução de juros de mora por falta de pagamento ou pagamentos fora de prazo, das contribuições para a Segurança Social. Foi publicado o Decreto n.º 22/2020 que concede o perdão de multas e redução de juros de mora por falta de pagamento ou pagamentos fora de prazo, das contribuições para a Segurança Social, cuja a dívida tenha sido constituída até à data da entrada em vigor do referido decreto. Quem pode usufruir? ·         Pequenas e médias empresas. ·         Empresas que nunca se inscreveram no Sistema de Segurança Social Obrigatória. ·         Empresas com processos pendentes de cobrança coerciva da dívida de contribuições nos Tribunais, Procuradorias e Juízo Privativo de Execuções Fiscais. Quais as modalidades de concessão? ·         O perdão de multas e redução de juros de mora a que se refere o presente Decreto é concedido sob a condição de o contribuinte proceder ao pagamento integral das contribuições em dívida que deram origem à aplicação de multa e juros de mora. ·         O contribuinte que efectuar o pagamento integral das contribuições beneficia do perdão total de multas e redução de juros de mora em 98%. ·         O contribuinte pode requerer o pagamento em prestações, beneficiando do perdão total de multas e redução de juros de mora em 75%. O pagamento em prestações para efeitos do número anterior deve ser efectuado até ao dia 31 de Dezembro de 2020. ·         Em caso de incumprimento por um período superior a trinta dias, considera-se o acordo anulado. Como efectuar o pedido? ·         Elaborar e remeter todas as declarações de remunerações em falta e confirmar a dívida de contribuições em qualquer Delegação Provincial, distrital ou representações do Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social. ·         Apresentar, no prazo de 90 dias a contar da data de entrada em vigor do presente Decreto, nas Delegações Provinciais, Distritais e Representações do Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social, um requerimento dirigido ao Director-Geral solicitando o pagamento integral da dívida de contribuições, ou o pagamento em prestações.

The president of Mozambique’s Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) says that the Council of Ministers Decree 23/2020, which approves tax and customs facilities to relieve the effect of Covid-19 on companies’ finances, is “impracticable” for the majority of firms. Speaking on STV’s Jornal da Noite programme on Friday (May 8), Agostinho Vuma complained that the decree excludes a large number of domestic companies with turnover of more than 2.5 million meticais. ALSO READ: Mozambique: Business sector takes a stand on government measures to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 “We estimate that 15,000 companies have business volumes over 2.5 million meticais, and so will not benefit from these government tax facilities,” the president of the CTA said. Although the decree in question suspends the payment of some corporate taxes until the first quarter of 2020, Vuma says that “these measures cannot be a relief if they do not fall within the classification of the IRPC regime (Corporate Income Tax) ) due to the [stipulated] 2.5 million meticais turnover ceiling”. “Companies are going to go bankrupt, because we are in a pandemic situation that is not expected to end anytime soon. These measures do not address the primary concerns of the private sector.” Regarding the monetary policy measures adopted by the Bank of Mozambique, with the emphasis on reducing the reference interest rate (MIMO rate) and a credit line of US$500 million for commercial banks, Vuma said it was necessary that “acceptable interest rates” be applied in this pandemic context if the measures were to “rescue the business sector”. “This money [US$500 million credit line] is not making itself, felt because commercial banks are not taking action,” Vuma concluded. ALSO READ: INSS says conditions exist for regular payment of pensions, but unemployment subsidies “not provided for” in regulations – Mozambique States “debt to business” Still in the context of the deceleration of economic activity caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Vuma said that the CTA was urging the government to continue paying arrears of the state’s debt to the private sector as a way of relieving pressure on companies’ cash flow. “There is a huge anxiety in the business sector. From our relationship with Minister of Economy and Finance Adriano Maleiane, we [are in a position to] ensure that conditions exist to continue paying debt arrears, and this is reflected in the State Budget,” he explained. Regard to the employment relations, Vuma said that negotiations were taking place with the government with a view to having the National Social Security Institute (INSS) put resources into commercial banking to be lent out at a 5% interest rate. ALSO READ: Mozambique: INSS must establish mechanisms to help companies in difficulties save jobs – CTA Social Security in times of Covid-19: How INSS was called to the rescue of its main asset: jobs in Mozambique By Edson Arante

W-Industries, a global integrated technology and engineering solutions provider, has been awarded a significant contract by Total E&P Mozambique Area-1, Limitada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total S.A, for its Mozambique LNG project. Since 2010, Area-1 has been discovered to contain over 75 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. The Mozambique Area-1 project will be Mozambique’s first onshore LNG development and will provide a sustainable, cleaner and reliable energy source with substantial economic and energy contributions domestically and abroad. “This project represents a significant milestone for W-Industries,” said Donnie Smith, CEO, W-Industries. “Through the combination of our core products, advanced engineering capabilities and process automation expertise, we are able to deliver a fully integrated, turn-key module in support of the Mozambique LNG project.” The contract includes engineering, manufacturing, integration, automation and testing of the Onshore Subsea Equipment related to the development of the Golfinho subsea assets. W-Industries will provide two Onshore Subsea Support Equipment Modules (OSSEMs) with integrated electrical and instrumentation buildings, subsea production hydraulic power unit, MEG injection system, methanol injection system, and an independent chemical injection skid with a fully integrated local process control and safety system. For more than three decades W-Industries has provided the energy industry with automation and control, process design, and system packaging solutions that optimize production and ensure operational continuity. Source: W-Industries / Offshore Engineer

O ministro da Indústria e Comércio, Carlos Mesquita, prometeu levar ao Conselho de Ministros, uma proposta que visa aliviar as restrições na constituição de empresas, durante o período de Estado de Emergência.   O ministro da Indústria e Comércio, Carlos Mesquita, visitou hoje o Balcão de Atendimento Único (BAÚ) da cidade de Maputo, para se inteirar do processo de rotatividade dos funcionários. Lembra-se, que os serviços se encontram paralisados em cumprimento das medidas adoptadas no âmbito do Estado de Emergência, declarado no dia 30 de Março e prorrogado a 30 de Abril. A introdução da rotatividade, conforme explicou Carlos Mesquita, vai permitir a prestação de serviços mínimos aos cidadãos, que se vêem, neste momento, impossibilitados de constituir empresas enquanto vigorar o Estado de Emergência no país. “Temos de pensar na pertinência da paralisação dos serviços do Balcão de Atendimento Único ou relaxar algumas medidas porque há cidadãos que pretendem constituir empresas, até para o fabrico de produtos essenciais para o combate à Covid-19”, disse o o governante. Na ocasião, Carlos Mesquita prometeu levar esta proposta ao Conselho de Ministros para apreciação pois “a vida não parou e temos que olhar para aspectos que têm a ver com o desenvolvimento da nossa economia, mas respeitando as principais medidas de combate a esta pandemia”. Entretanto, Mesquita desafiou o BAÚ a introduzir reformas que concorram para a redução de tempo na tramitação dos processos para permitir que as licenças e os alvarás sejam emitidos em tempo útil, acções que podem ditar o melhoramento do ambiente de negócios em Moçambique. Para tal, “deve haver um compromisso por parte dos funcionários e maior coordenação e sincronia entre os vários sectores que intervêm neste processo (Ministério da Indústria e Comércio, Ministério da Economia e Finanças, Ministério do Trabalho e Segurança Social e Ministério da Justiça, Assuntos Constitucionais e Religiosos) para que o serviço prestado ao cidadão seja célere e fiável. “Pretendemos chegar a uma fase em que o cidadão não precise de se deslocar ao BAÚ para dar início a um processo de licenciamento. Através da interoperabilidade, isso será feito de forma remota, através de um telemóvel ou computador. E não estamos longe disso. Precisamos de fazer algumas reformas no sistema actual”, acrescentou. Importa realçar que, para além do BAÚ, Carlos Mesquita visitou, igualmente, a Direcção da Indústria e Comércio da Cidade de Maputo, onde se inteirou do seu funcionamento e desafios. Fonte: O País

Maersk ship clocks a record for DP World Maputo Arriving at the container terminal in the Port of Maputo on Wednesday, April 29, the Santa Catarina, officially clocked in as the largest vessel to dock in the port. Operated by Maersk shipping Line, besides being the largest in length (with 299.9 meters) and beam (42.92 meters) ever to call the Port of Maputo, the Santa Catarina also set a new record for the highest TEU per single vessel interchange of 3,310 TEU. The container terminal, which is sub-concessioned to DP World Maputo, aims to offer a gateway for the Southern Africa market. Through the terminal’s Fixed Berthing Window program and available berth capacity, no vessel waiting time is consistently achieved. Since completing the first phase of completely redeveloping the terminal, which now offers solutions for transit cargoes from the hinterland in 2018, the terminal throughput has been growing exponentially. The 2019 volumes grew 53% vs 2018, as more and more hinterland exporters/importers are reaping the benefits from the exceptional supply chain solution via the Maputo corridor. Fonte: Club of Mozambique

In too many countries, transmission and distribution remain the responsibility of badly managed state utilities. Gridworks CEO Simon Hodson explains to David Thomas how his organisation plans to invest to make the sector commercially sustainable In the barren, rocky wasteland at the southern edge of Kenya’s remote Lake Turkana sit the whirring turbines of East Africa’s largest windfarm. Some 600 miles north of Nairobi, 365 windmills driven by the ceaseless gusts of the Turkana Wind Corridor supply the national grid with 310 MW of crucial renewable power. Launched in 2019, the project is an encouraging sign that African nations are beginning to get to grips with the alarming scale of the continent’s power needs. Progress remains piecemeal – if African countries continue on their policy trajectories, 530m Africans will still lack electricity in 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Bringing reliable electricity to all Africans requires annual investment of around $120bn, it argues. But while impressive generation projects like Lake Turkana garner press plaudits, private sector attention, and government patronage, the less heralded work of improving transmission and distribution – the crucial networks by which power reaches the end consumer – often goes neglected. From 1994 to 2018, private investment in African generation totalled some $19bn compared to just $3bn for transmission and distribution, according to the World Bank, which estimates that expanding the transmission network requires between $3.2bn and $4.3bn every year until 2040. In too many countries, transmission and distribution remain the responsibility of badly managed state utility companies who have neither the capital, expertise or political will to roll out systems capable of serving vast, dispersed populations. Investing in transmission and distribution In a bid to respond to the challenge, CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, has launched Gridworks, a development and investment platform principally targeting equity investments in transmission, distribution and off-grid electricity. Chief executive Simon Hodson says that the sector is only now getting the attention it deserves. “You have a situation in many countries where you have an equilibrium or overcapacity of generation, and they can’t absorb the generation they’ve created. In many cases the generation is way in excess of the networks, and it’s because of decades of underinvestment. I think everyone’s known for decades that this is the real bottleneck, but it’s reached a tipping point, and it will get more and more severe in the coming years.” Launched with an initial short- to medium-term ambition of investing some $300m, Gridworks plans to work with receptive governments and the private sector to boost the underserved transmission and distribution space. “Capital flows into the transmission space in Africa today are zero – everywhere else across the planet has private sector capital flows into transmission. [In terms of] successful examples of private sector investment in distribution, there’s Umeme, KPLC, but not many. What we’re trying to do is akin to the independent power producers [IPPs] in the early 1990s – creating a market that doesn’t yet exist.” Successful models in developing countries are not hard to come by. Private sector-led  power transmission projects in Brazil, Chile, India, Peru and the Philippines received investment of $24.5bn between 1998 and 2015, resulting in some 100,000km of new transmission lines. But in Africa, progress has too often been held back by debt-laden national utilities staffed by political appointees liable to alter power tariffs to suit their electoral interests. For many private investors, the sums don’t add up. “The reality is that it’s complicated and there’s lots of stakeholders. State-run utilities and distributors are often the oldest companies, they’re the biggest employers, and there are trade unions. Electricity tariffs in Africa are very political, politicians often use them as a tool in their toolbox for elections. It’s really not conducive to having a well-run electricity sector. The majority of Africa’s distribution companies don’t work because tariffs aren’t at the right level or the utilities are so badly funded and inefficient that it doesn’t matter what the tariffs are.” Few examples are more instructive than Eskom, South Africa’s bloated state-owned utility, which racked up debts of around $30bn after decades of government mismanagement and corruption. It is no coincidence that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s controversial reform plan to overhaul the utility – which is vigorously opposed by trade unions – envisages splitting Eskom into separate divisions for generation, distribution and transmission. Bold political vision and a genuine government roadmap to reform are a precursor to private engagement, says Hodson. Eskom may be an egregious offender – Hodson labels it “an amazing case study of how not to run a national utility in quite a spectacular fashion” – but Gridworks prefers to dwell on CDC’s successful engagement in Uganda. Home to a decrepit distribution company with a poor health and safety record and technical and commercial losses of up to 50% as recently as the early 2000s, Uganda launched Umeme in 2005 in partnership with CDC’s power investor Globeleq, and for a short time, Eskom. The results have been encouraging, and a possible model for Gridworks’ future. “Ultimately it turned a really poor performing distribution company into what you have today, which is the lowest losses on the continent, less than 15%, and a really excellent health and safety record. It’s listed on the Ugandan and Kenyan stock market and is in the portfolio of every East African pension fund. It’s been a real success story. But the sad thing is it hasn’t been replicated.” Incentives for change Gridworks hopes to change that. With Africa’s nations having signed up to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – SDG 7 calls for access to affordable, reliable sustainable and modern energy for all – there is a renewed impetus to overhaul transmission and distribution. If utilities fail to put in place appropriate cost-reflective tariffs, worthy ambition could lead to financial ruin. “If most of the countries across the continent are loss-making in some shape or form, when you start to connect the entire customer base it will lead to an ever-increasing financial burden. Many countries are waking up to the fact that they will need to rationalise and make sustainable their utilities to meet these objectives, otherwise

A atividade económica nos Estados Unidos da América pode ser retomada em maio, de forma gradual e localizada, desde que se consiga identificar e isolar as pessoas infetadas pela covid-19, avançou hoje o diretor do Instituto de Doenças Infecciosas.“Esperamos que, no final do mês, possamos ver o que está acontecer e se existem elementos que nos permitam reiniciar com segurança”, disse o imunologista Anthony Fauci, membro do grupo de trabalho do Governo norte-americano sobre o novo coronavírus. Em entrevista à CNN, Anthony Fauci explicou que, se houver condições de segurança, é possível que a “reabertura contínua” da economia dos Estados Unidos da América aconteça a partir de maio, mas o processo “não é como acender uma lâmpada”. Mantendo-se muito cauteloso quanto à evolução da epidemia, o especialista adiantou que “não é possível garantir” que seja seguro para os americanos votarem pessoalmente na eleição presidencial, agendada para 03 de novembro deste ano. Na perspetiva do diretor do Instituto de Doenças Infecciosas, a reabertura da economia do país tem que ser um processo gradual, com base na evolução da pandemia nas várias zonas dos Estados Unidos e na disponibilidade de testes rápidos e generalizados. Sobre o combate ao novo coronavírus, Anthony Fauci admitiu que a antecipação dos esforços de mitigação da doença teria salvado mais vidas nos Estados Unidos da América. “Se houvesse um processo em andamento e se iniciasse a mitigação mais cedo, poderiam ter-se salvado vidas”, reconheceu o principal especialista em doenças infecciosas do país, referindo-se a medidas de distanciamento social e permanência em casa, que podiam ter sido implementadas em fevereiro, em vez de meados de março. Neste âmbito, Anthony Fauci manifestou-se otimista com o declínio da epidemia, especialmente no estado de Nova Iorque, o epicentro da doença com mais de 8.500 mortes, quase metade das mortes registadas no país. “Os doentes, os hospitalizados, os infetados em cuidados intensivos e em ventilação não apenas se estabilizam, mas também começam a diminuir”, apontou o especialista, observando “essa queda com um otimismo cauteloso”. Relativamente à reabertura da economia no país, o presidente dos Estados Unidos da América, Donald Trump, tem insistido num reinício o mais rápido possível, nomeadamente devido ao aumento da taxa de desemprego. A taxa de desemprego nos Estados Unidos subiu de 3,5% em fevereiro para 4,4% em março, devido ao impacto económico da pandemia de covid-19 que paralisou a atividade, informou hoje o Departamento do Trabalho. A economia norte-americana perdeu no mês passado 701.000 postos de trabalho, pondo fim a uma tendência de 113 meses consecutivos de crescimento. O número de postos de trabalho perdidos é o mais significativo desde março de 2009, na altura da crise financeira. Em fevereiro, a taxa de desemprego tinha recuado para 3,5%, o nível mais baixo em 50 anos. Os Estados Unidos são o país que regista o maior número de mortes devido ao novo coronavirus, contabilizando 20.608 até hoje, e aquele que tem mais infetados, com mais de 530 mil casos confirmados. Fonte: SAPO

A beleza do pequeno paraíso chamado Inhambane deixa qualquer um encantado. Mas desde Fevereiro deste ano, o cenário que se vive em toda província de Inhambane é terrível. Não há ninguém na recepção das estâncias turísticas, mas também não há ninguém para receber. As autoridades de turismo previam receber pouco mais de 16 mil turistas nas férias da Pascoa, mas a pandemia da COVID-19 veio deitar abaixo todas as espectativas e logo que a doença começou a alastrar-se, os cancelamentos de reservas começaram a chegar. Anselmo Mapanzene é gestor de uma estância turística em Vilankulo e contou ao “O Pais” que com os cancelamento, a empresa foi forçada a fechar as portas e dispensar a mão de obra. Relativamente a massa laboral, a empresa celebrou acordos amigáveis com os trabalhadores, que consiste no não pagamento integral dos salários e para compensar, todos os trabalhadores terão direito por 2 meses de uma cesta básica, para ajudar na alimentação das famílias dos trabalhadores. Pior que não receber o dinheiro previsto, é ter de devolver o pouco que entrou, uma vez que com o cancelamento das reservas as estâncias hoteleiras tinham de fazer o reembolso do valor pago pelas reservas. Há quem tentou remarcar para outras datas, mas grande parte dos turristas pediu o dinheiro de volta. Edson dos Santo é uma destas pessoas que vive apenas do turismo, a empresa em que trabalha fechou as portas e foi forçado a ficar em casa. Em toda província de Inhambane são pouco mais de 1400 pessoas que estão em casa, pelo facto das estâncias hoteleiras terem fechado as portas. Destes, pelo menos 200 já foram demitidos e não sabem como será o seu futuro. Em apenas 1 mês, Edson diz que a situação com a sua família ficou insuportável e teve de se virar para conseguir pôr o pão na mesa. Uma das saídas encontradas por ele foi comprar peixe com os pescadores e revender, mas porque há muito peixe em Vilankulo, Edson teve de encarar outro desafio e mandar a sua mercadoria para vender nos mercados de fora de Inhambane. Mesmo sem hóspedes por receber, o grande calcanhar de Aquiles são para já, os custos operacionais. Ângela Vidal é gestora de um hotel em Vilankulo cujas despesas com corrente eléctrica chegam aos 300 mil meticais por mês, adicionado ao custo com agua, gás e empregados, este ultimo que consome maior parte do bolo dos custos operacionais. Alias, em relação aos trabalhadores, Ângela disse ao ”O Pais” que a empresa teve de dispensar mais da metade dos 80 trabalhadores e neste momento funciona com apenas 40, que ainda assim, não recebem o salario na integra “acordamos com os nossos trabalhadores e neste momento, todos os que estão a trabalhar estão a receber apenas o salario mínimo, para garantir que eles tenham um mínimo para sobreviver” disse Ângela Vidal. Mas, não são só os trabalhadores das estâncias turísticas os únicos afectados. Os tradicionais moto-táxis que levam os turistas para os mais diversos lugares, hoje passam grande parte do dia parados. Salimo é um operador de Moto-taxi e lembra com nostalgia os tempos em que conseguia ter uma renda de mais de 1500 meticais, mas hoje, sem turistas na melhor das hipóteses, o que consegue são 500 meticais por dia. Até os pescadores, que trazem a iguarias a mesa dos turísticos, sente no bolso ausência de turistas nas praias de Vilankulo, uma vez que baixou também a procura por mariscos baixou, numa altura em que do mar, sai muito peixe. Rui Mazivila é pescador e diz que com a pouca procura, estes são forçados a baixar o preço do marisco. Alias, muitas vezes quem marca o preço é o comprador, que assim decide apenas em seu benefício, prejudicando ainda mais o pescador. Nelio Domingos é guia turístico e tinha a missão de entreter os hóspedes. Mas há pelo menos 2 meses que já não vai as dunas e outros lugares para onde levava turistas a passeio e hoje a sua rotina passa por ficar em casa. Em Inhambane são cerca de 130 estâncias turísticas que fecharam as portas, mas algumas mantem-se abertas, porem a funcionar a meio gás, deixando em casa pouco mais de 1400 trabalhadores. O Presidente da Associacao de Turismo de Vilankulo Yassin Amuji diz que a situação vai de mal a pior e defende com urgência, medidas estruturantes por parte do governo. Uma delas tem que ver com a redução dos custos operacionais das empresas, tal como a energia, agua e gás. Yassin, diz que o alivio destas contas vai permitir que as empresas continuem a pagar salários, colocando assim dinheiro no bolso do cidadão, e este por sua vez, terá o poder de compra, mantendo a economia em funcionamento. O turismo é o principal motor da economia de Inhambane, tendo injectado mais de 24 bilhões de meticais nos cofres do estado e é responsável pelo sustento de mais de 10 mil famílias. Fonte: Opaís