Mozambique’s minister for the sea, inland waters and fisheries, Lídia Cardoso, on Wednesday invited businesspeople to return to invest in Cabo Delgado, considering the security situation in that province, which has been affected since 2017 by an insurgency, is now calm.
“This is the time to return and reinvest in Cabo Delgado,” she said during her opening speech at the Mozambique Energy & Industry Summit, that began yesterday and ends this Thursday in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado.
Lídia Cardoso pointed to the construction of the Montepuez – Ruaça road, linking the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa, the Negomano – Roma road, in the district of Mueda, and the rehabilitation of the Port of Mocímboa da Praia as examples of restoring security after a “turbulent period”, marked by war and natural disasters, as well as Covid-19.
“Cabo Delgado has witnessed a return to normality (…). The province has started the exploration and export of liquefied natural gas from the Coral Sul platform and currently has one of the highest global growth rates with 13% in 2024, without neglecting to mention the strategic importance of Cabo Delgado and its resources for the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product in recent years,” she concluded.
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.
The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May on the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents sacking the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with Mozambique’s defence and security forces.
The public in other districts of the province have reported the movement of these groups of insurgents, who cause panic as they pass through the forests, but there have been no reports of clashes, which is happening at a time when the farmers are trying to carry out harvest work in the fields.
The President of Mozambique said on 16 June that the actions of the various defence forces had made it possible to wipe out “practically all” of the bases of the terrorist groups operating in Cabo Delgado, who are now limited to “walking in the bush”.
Source: Lusa
