Food price rises reversed after deadly riots

Mozambique's government is reversing bread and water price increases that had touched off deadly riots, the country's planning minister said yesterday.

Protests last week in the capital, Maputo, over hikes in the costs of bread, water and electricity turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police. The health department put the death toll at 13.

Planning minister Aiuba Cuereneia, speaking after a Cabinet meeting, said the 20 per cent increase in the government-set price of bread - which had followed a year of steady increases on the staple in the impoverished country - that went into effect Monday would be reversed. A loaf will cost five meticais, or about 9p. The reverses are immediate, he said.

He also said an increase in the price of water also would be reversed, but higher electricity tariffs were being maintained.

The government is also reducing the cost of an 11lbs bag of rice by 7.8 per cent, to 700 meticais (about 12).