Mozambican Lawyer Faces Disciplinary Probe Over TRAC Toll Road Contract Disclosure
Mozambican lawyer José Caldeira, a founding member of the Mozambique Bar Association (OAM) and holder of professional license No. 2, is facing potential disciplinary action following his public comments regarding the concession contract for the country’s National Road No. 4 (N4), managed by the South African firm Trans African Concession (TRAC). Caldeira, who represented the Mozambican government during negotiations with TRAC in 1997, recently disclosed that the contract included a provision for a tollgate in Maputo, despite the agreement being covered by a confidentiality clause.
Sources within the OAM confirmed to TORRE.News that the association’s Disciplinary Council is reviewing whether Caldeira’s statements breached professional secrecy rules under Article 53 of the OAM Statute. The President of the Disciplinary Council, Hermenegildo Nguilaze, stated that the matter remains under internal assessment, declining to provide further comment at this stage.
Caldeira’s revelations come amid widespread public discontent over the location and toll charges imposed on the Maputo-Matola route, which has sparked repeated protests and acts of vandalism. Critics have questioned whether Caldeira’s statements serve to legitimize the controversial tollgate, with some suggesting a potential conflict of interest given his past advisory role to the government on the matter. His mention of a confidentiality clause has further raised suspicions about whether his disclosure violated legal ethics.
The TRAC tollgate has been at the center of growing controversy, with many motorists arguing that the concession originally applied to the N4 and not the N2 highway, which connects Maputo and Matola. The imposition of toll fees on daily commuters between the two cities has led to widespread outrage, with some protestors demanding the removal or relocation of the toll booth.
Caldeira insists that the contract has always included a provision for a toll in Maputo since 1997. However, opposing voices claim that such a clause is absent from the original agreement, and they accuse TRAC of expanding its tolling rights beyond the legally defined parameters. The lack of transparency surrounding the contract’s terms has only fueled speculation about potential irregularities in the tollgate’s establishment.
The OAM’s Disciplinary Council will now determine whether Caldeira’s statements constitute a breach of legal ethics. Meanwhile, the toll road dispute remains unresolved, with public pressure mounting for the government to renegotiate the contract or reconsider the toll’s location. The government has yet to make a formal statement on the issue, further deepening concerns about the beneficiaries of the current tollgate arrangement.
