Maputo — Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday inaugurated a branch of the Millennium-BIM bank in the town of Palma, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, two years after a terrorist attack which had left hundreds of people dead, and destroyed much of the town, particularly the financial services.
It was this jihadist attack which led the French oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, to declare a state of "force majeure', and suspend operations on building natural gas liquefaction plants on the Afungi Peninsula, in Palma district.
But operations by the Mozambican defence and security forces, supported by troops from Rwanda and from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), drove the terrorists out of Palma town and the neighbouring district of Mocimboa da Praia. Many thousands of people displaced from their homes by the 2021 attack, have now returned.
"It is with great joy and the hope of a promising future that I have come to witness the reopening of the branch of Millennium-BIM', said Nyusi. "The bank's activity was interrupted by a cowardly and faceless enemy'.
The return of Millennium-BIM to Palma, he added, bears witness to the determination and courage of the bank which is renewing the dreams of the 43,000 inhabitants of the town. The renewed availability of banking services would confer greater credibility to the economic prospects of Palma and the surrounding region.
With the bank operating, said Nyusi, Palma residents would no longer have to risk keeping their savings at home, or carry money for long distances in search of another functioning bank.
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The return of the bank, added the President, was thanks to stability against the terrorist threat.
"We shall not vacillate in defending this part of our country', he pledged. "We will do everything to guarantee peace and stability in the districts of Palma, Mocímboa, Macomia, Nangade, Muidumbe and Quissanga'.
Nyusi launched an appeal to all Mozambicans who are still in the terrorists' ranks, promising there will be no reprisals against those who surrender voluntarily. Instead, they will be taken back peacefully to their families.
But, he warned, this could not happen if they were caught while fighting against the government and its allies.
The Chairperson of the Millennium-BIM Board of Directors, Rui Fonseca, said the return of the bank "shows its commitment to serve the population of Palma, to serve the businesses of Palma, and to ensure that normality returns to this part of the country as quickly as possible'.
"We are bringing here all the banking services that exist in any part of the country, and we shall continue to invest in our expansion in Cabo Delgado', declared Fonseca.
