14,000 IDPs

Close to 14,000 displaced residents have already returned to Mocímboa da Praia, after having left the district in search of safety following terrorist attacks, Notícias reports, citing District Secretary João Saraiva, who said that people continue to arrive, especially from neighbouring Palma district. Saraiva highlighted the villages of Awasse and Diaca, where around 7,000 and 6,000 people have returned, respectively. “But we also have the Quelimane and Maputo villages, on the Mocímboa da Praia-Palma road, where people are arriving every day,” he said.

The permanent secretary said that in the district headquarters, in addition to employees guaranteeing basic services, there were also members of the public, some of them hired by the companies rehabilitating and cleaning the town. Before the terrorist attacks, Mocímboa da Praia boasted 713 civil servants, with Education and Health sectors predominating, but, after the terrorist attacks, almost all state employees fled the district.

“After security was re-established, thanks to the work of the Defence and Security Forces, with the support of SADC and Rwandan troops, officials were urged to return to the district in order to guarantee the functioning of basic services,” Saraiva said. But the mass return is challenging for the district government, and the authorities are working to rapidly re-establish basic services and support residents in organising villages themselves.

Saraiva stressed, however, that there are still areas people are afraid to return to, such as Mbau administrative post, where the terrorists had once set up important bases. “We don’t have people in Mbau yet,” he confessed.Another challenge indicated by the permanent secretary is the roads connecting parts of the district which, having been neglected for three years, are in also need of rehabilitation.