Armed violence in Cabo Delgado has damaged the province's micro, small and medium enterprises (SME) sector by about 42 million meticais, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Carlos Mesquita, said Tuesday.
Not only businesses have added up to losses. Since October 2017, armed attacks have caused the destruction of hundreds of homes and infrastructure, paralyzing various state services and forcing thousands of people to flee the points affected by rebel incursions.
"We have about 4,965 micro, small and medium enterprises destroyed, of which 295 industrial units, 4,500 in the area of commerce and 166 in the area of services. And here we have a valuation of about 42 million meticais."
Carlos Mesquita, Minister of Industry and Trade
"It is obvious that we cannot account for the social and human damage that this has," added Carlos Mesquita, quoted by Lusa.
The situation has led the government to create a Reconstruction Plan for Cabo Delgado, following the positive results registered in recent months in military operations.
The Council of Ministers approved the plan last week and it is budgeted at 300 million dollars. Of this amount, approximately 200 million are intended for the implementation of short-term actions, according to information advanced by the Prime Minister, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário.
Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas, but terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to national authorities.