Macomia administrator “courts” traders into returning to the town – MediaFax

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Macomia administrator “courts” traders into returning to the town – MediaFax

8:00 CAT | 26 Feb 2021

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Pinnacle News]

With moderate security conditions re-established, he wants to see tourism and trade resume.

Although some uncertainties prevail from a security point of view, the district administrator of Macomia is taking advantage of signs of a reduction in terrorist attacks in the central and northern regions of Cabo Delgado to “court” small traders back into business in the district.

Tomás Bedae, a Defence and Security Forces (FDS) officer, is trying to meet entrepreneurs who have taken refuge in the city of Pemba. The idea is to persuade them to return to Macomia town, where security conditions are and continue to be reinforced by the FDS presence.

Last week, he had several meetings in the city of Pemba, emphasising that the district wanted its traders back to catalyse development.

According to a trader who attended the meeting, they were urged to return, with the administrator guaranteeing security. Nevertheless, there is still some uncertainty, with information suggesting the presence of terrorists in coastal parts of the district, and talk of their presence in Mucojo and Quiterajo.

Some local fishermen who tried to practice their trade in Mucojo and Quiterajo never returned to Macomia, while those who escaped warned of a terrorist presence in those areas. However, the suspicion is that these terrorist groups are fleeing FDS shelling, particularly in Mocímboa da Praia.

Security aside, another prominent constraint is traders’ almost total lack of capital, all or almost all they had having been lost during the terrorist invasion and occupation of the Macomia headquarters town from May 28 to June 3 of last year.

Over the course of almost a week, the terrorists destroyed everything they found, particularly in commercial and tourist establishments, destroying and looting everything of value.

But, despite the fear prevailing, recent events indicate that many people – particularly those displaced – are returning to the main town of Macomia.

Electricity restored

Another development boosting the administrator’s morale is the fact that Mozambique Electricity has mobilised men and equipment to restore the electricity supply vandalised during the occupation.

Efforts being made to get things back to normal are apparent throughout the town.

“We are getting electricity back into the houses. When it was destroyed by the attacks, the electricity was only in some houses, but today it is arriving here in the commercial zone,” a resident of the Nanga neighbourhood said, expressing hope that “life can return to normal in the next few days”.

Source: MediaFax