"We fight for all our taxi drivers from Cabinda to Cunene to be safeguarded and this measure was accepted and approved and from now on we will continue to work and ensure that the cards are covered by all taxi drivers in the country", said the president of the Association of Taxi Drivers of Angola (ATA), Rafael Inácio.
Speaking at the end of the press conference where the Government announced the gradual withdrawal of gasoline subsidies, the president of the ATA promised to sensitize his associates so as not to go ahead with speculation about the race.
The Government announced the gradual withdrawal of gasoline subsidies, which will increase from the current 160 kwanzas to 300 kwanzas/litre, maintaining the subsidy to the agricultural sector and fishing.
According to the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, Manuel Nunes Júnior, the rates of taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers will be subsidized, with them continuing to pay 160 kwanzas per liter of gasoline, with the State covering the difference.
The measure came into force at 01:00 am this Friday.
The Secretary of State for Land Transport, Jorge Bengue, made it known, on the occasion, that taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers will benefit from personalized cards to supply their vehicles, as they enjoy the state subsidy.
Francisco Patient, president of the Associação Nova Aliança dos Taxistas de Angola (ANATA), also welcomed the government's decision to maintain fuel prices for this class.
"We are to be congratulated on the fact that the government has accepted this proposal, now what we are going to do is continue to work, from today, to guarantee the operability of these cards and avoid embarrassment with our members", he assured.
The president of Amotrang - Associação dos Mototaxitas e Transportadores de Angola -, Bento Rafael, also promised to make motorcyclists aware of the need to not change the price of the ride, given the maintenance of the fuel subsidy.
"We thank the executive for this protection, as an association we will have to work on raising awareness and also on putting pressure on motorcyclists not to rush to raise the price of our transport rides, I think that for us there will not be many problems", he concluded.
Nunes Júnior also said that subsidizing oil derivatives has created major problems not only for Sonangol, the state-owned oil company, but also for public finances.
In 2022, the subsidy for fuel prices amounted to around 1.98 billion kwanzas, corresponding to 3.8 billion dollars at the current exchange rate.
