Comoros paralyzed by strike against sharp fuel price hikes

A transport strike against major fuel price increases paralyzed the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros for a second day Tuesday and shops in the capital also remained closed in protest. (AFP/File)

• Anger against the hikes has been growing since they were announced by the government on Saturday
• Roads in the capital Moroni, home to around 100,000 people, were empty of traffic Tuesday

MORONI: A transport strike against major fuel price increases paralyzed the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros for a second day Tuesday and shops in the capital also remained closed in protest.
Anger against the hikes — which include a 46-percent rise in the cost of diesel — has been growing since they were announced by the government on Saturday.
Gasoline is 33 percent more expensive and kerosene — widely used for cooking by residents of the impoverished island nation — has jumped by more than 28 percent.
In an address to the nation last week, President Azali Assoumani warned that price hikes were looming and linked them to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the US-Israel war with Iran.
Roads in the capital Moroni, home to around 100,000 people, were empty of traffic Tuesday but crowded with pedestrians, an AFP reporter said.
“Even if we wanted to open our shops, it would be pointless since the capital has been emptied of its residents because of the transport strike,” said the president of the shopkeepers’ union, Abdou Boina.
Vendors of bottled water, who provide a vital service in a country with aging and inadequate water infrastructure, also stopped deliveries in protest.
“This is seawater that I’m going to use in the toilet,” a man carrying three large bottles of water told AFP.
The price hikes have pushed the cost of a 20-liter (roughly five-gallon) jerrycan of water from 250 to 400 francs ($0.60 to $0.95, 0.50 to 0.81 euro), he said.
To counter the impact of the fuel price hikes, authorities have announced a 40-percent customs reduction on basic necessities.