Presidential Plan For NW/SW : South West Evaluates Road Covered

The Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions (PPRD) as a cushion to the current socio-political crisis ignited in 2016 has come under scrutiny. In the case of the South West Region, stakeholders were in conclave mid-week in Buea, Regional capital, to count successes and measure the road covered so far under the chairmanship of the South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai. As chairman of the regional follow-up committee for PPRD, the Governor was flanked by the National Coordinator of PPRD, Motuba Tamanjong Obase, and the local Representative of the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) for the South West Region.
Statutory members of the local steering committee were in their required quorum with invitees including the Regional Council Chair, City Mayors of Kumba and Limbe, Local Council Mayors. They sat to assess projects realized on the field from June 2021 to December 2022 and to project 2023 activities. Senior Divisional Officers, MPs of affected areas, civil society actors and church authorities and private sector operatives were also on hand. It emerged from the meeting that the PPRD had conceived the reconstruction of battle-scarred Regions in three pillars namely; social cohesion and restoration, infrastructure reconstruction and livelihood revalorisation. Their philosophy has also been to find local solutions to local problems. The envelop to engage activities this year was announced as FCFA 29.4 billion with FCFA 21 billion funds from the Islamic Bank for a three-year running activities.
Speaking at the evaluation meeting in Buea, Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai urged the PPRD frontliners to ensure transparency, accountability and effectiveness. The National Coordinator explained that in the current plan of reconstruction, some 26 palaces would be built alongside destroyed homes in the South West Region. Some 83 km of roads with small bridges destroyed shall be reconstructed this year. Already, some hospitals have been reconstructed, schools rebuilt, and office infrastructure repaired. In Fako Division, some 416 persons will benefit a reconstitution of lost documents due to the socio-political crisis. The rehabilitation and reconstruction of four schools, two health centres, two water points and resilient Chief’...