Mozaambique: Schools reopen in terrorism-hit district

By Jorge Joaquim

Ten out of eleven schools have reopened in the district of Meluco, in Cabo Delgado province, after being closed because of terrorism in the region.

According to the district’s administrator, Paulo Lilanda, all schools have resumed classes except for one that was destroyed, and the government is working with the community to rebuild it.

The children who attended that school had moved to another school nearby, but it added around 6km to their journey, he said. The district was working to allocate the resources necessary to rebuild the school, Lilanda added.

On the other hand, the suspension of work on TotalEnergies’ natural gas project in March led to the direct loss of around $116m of revenues and the suspension of 3,250 work contracts, including people directly employed by TotalEnergies, President Filipe Nyusi said in a speech in Maputo on Sunday.

The terrorist attack on the town of Palma, near the gas project site, affected the operations of at least 28 companies, 17 of which suffered substantial material damage, Nyusi said.

In all the districts affected by the violence since 2017, mining activity had been completely paralysed and agriculture had become risky, which had had an impact on families that depended on farming for survival, the president said. In addition, the districts of Mocímboa da Praia, Quissanga, Macomia, Muidumbe and Palma do not have any health services, he added.