Crises Zones : Give Development A Chance

The development of the crises-affected North West, South West and Far North Regions of Cameroon remains at the centre of government action. What is required for the development programmes and projects destined for these areas to be translated to concrete projects and actions on the field is the enabling environment whose responsibility is incumbent on all stakeholders.
The President of the Republic, Paul Biya once more demonstrated his commitment to the development of these areas in Ordinance No. 2024/001 of 20 June 2024 to amend and supplement some provisions of Law No. 2023/019 of 19 December 2023: Finance Law of the Republic of Cameroon for the 2024 financial year. With regards to the Special Appropriation Accounts, Section 49 (new) states that, “The ceiling for resources allocated to the Fund for Financing the Reconstruction of Economic Disaster Areas of the Far North, North West  and South West Regions for the  2024 financial year is fixed at CFAF 35 000 000 000 (thirty-five billion).” The classification of the three security-crises affected regions as Economic Disaster Areas automatically confers on them special privileges, especially in terms of setting up and running enterprises and businesses. This is an advantage for investors who just need an increasingly secured environment to harness the resources of these areas and bolster job creation, economic and socio-cultural development.
Besides the normal public investment budget allocated for projects to develop the North West, South West and Far North Regions as is the case with the remaining relatively secured seven Regions of Cameroon, government has designed special plans and programmes to foster the reconstruction operations therein. There is the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions and also the Special Programme for the Reconstruction and Development of the Far North Region. The Presidential Plan and Special Programme have diverse development aspects government is carrying out with the support of its partners to bring back life to normal in the two English-speaking North West and South West Regions affected by horrible acts of the non-State armed separatist fighters and the Far North Region hit by the insurgencies of the Boko Haram terrorist sect.
In addition to projects carried out in the economic, socio-cultural, educational and sporting domains, government and its partners are also investing much in road infrastructure in these crises areas. The Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, in a recent press release announced that on  “14 June 2024, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the additional  financing  amounting to 30 000 000 000 (30 billion)  CFA francs  net of taxes, for works to  rehabilitate  the Bamenda Urban crossing, Amour Mezam Junction-Finance Junction- Veterinary Junction-T-Junction- Hospital Roundabout –Food Market-City Chemist Roundabout- Veterinary Junction Sections stretching over 6.538 km.” He also said that the remaining works on the chain of the Bamenda-Babadjou major road will start before the end of 2024, to make the commitment of the Head of State, His Excellency Paul Biya a reality in modernizing road infrastructure in the North West Region. When completed, it will decongest Bamenda city and enable smooth traffic flow on the section of the 438 km Yaounde-Bamenda- Mamfe –Ekok/Mfum-Abakaliki-Enugu corridor which has already been paved. Work is also ongoing on the Kumba-Ekondo Titi road in the South West Region that following plans will subsequently link Kumba to Akwa in the Bakassi Peninsula. There is the Mora-Dabanga-Kousseri road in the Far North Region.
With all these initiatives, it is time for all and sundry to understand that the name of the village to which each citizen belongs and the country does not matter. What is more important and life-changing is how developed the areas are to meet the basic needs of the local population. It is equally time everyone either based in the crises areas or elsewhere to put hands on deck to support every development initiative and project intended to ensure a return to normalcy thereby rendering life worth living to the local population. Any action that could jeorpardise the development efforts should be condemned and fought with every iota of energy. The Bamenda-Babadjou road could have been rehabilitated long ago if not for the vandalism of the non-State armed separatist fighters.  This is the similar situation with the Kumba-Ekondo Titi road. The s...