The Minister of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Lídia Cardoso, invited businesspeople to return to investing in Cabo Delgado on Wednesday, 3 July, considering the calm security situation in the province, which has been affected by an insurgency since 2017.
“This is the time to return and reinvest in Cabo Delgado,” she said during her opening speech at a conference on Energy and Industry that began today and ends on Thursday (4) in Pemba.
Lídia Cardoso, quoted by Lusa, 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 per cent in 2024, not to mention the strategic importance of the province and its resources for the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent years,” he concluded.
The province has been facing an armed rebellion since October 2017, 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 looting the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces.
The population of other districts in the province has 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 peasants are trying to carry out harvest work in the fields.
