When the population of the Southwest Region, and that of Kumba especially, had information of the visit of Public Works minister, Patrice Amba Salla to the region, they were enthusiastic and eager to get first-hand information on the situation of the Kumba-Mamfe road, surely, the precise date for effective work take-off.
The minister, according to the press release had to inspect some major projects in the region, and visit Kumba on June 18, The Sun learnt, to ascertain the veracity of those to be compensated and consequently disburse money to those concerned, appreciate the condition of the Kumba-Mundemba road currently under rehabilitation, and of course visit the Kumba/Mamfe road.
Unfortunately to the expectation of many, this did not hold, as other duties called, and Minister Amba Salla had to leave for Yaoundé after visiting Limbe, without stopping at Kumba as was previously announced.
Sensing this, the press in Limbe, on the side-lines of his visit to the municipality, sought to know the present situation of things, considering that construction work did not start on May 5, as he had earlier announced in February.
In a very confident and relaxed manner, the minister responded that “I can just tell you that Kumba/Mamfe road is now behind us...the contract of the two enterprises has been signed, so also is the service order to start work, the contractors are already mobilising, …Only one thing is left to do right now, to compensate those affected. Kumba-Mamfe is finished; the contractors will be there very soon.”
Without announcing any time frame, the press was dissatisfied with the response as reporters complained that those words have been heard before, and observing the dissatisfaction, the minister said he wished he was in possession of the documents to show and prove that everything has been settled.
This ended the discussion, and all fingers are crossed, hoping that the long nightmare of especially the Manyu people will soon be over.
However, during a visit to the site recently, The Sun observed that there was clear indication that work will soon commence, as some Chinese experts were seen inspecting the road, and also were vehicles of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, the body in charge of monitoring the recruitment process to match the required standard of the road.
It should be recalled that the road is estimated to cost about FCFA 54.6 billion, to be constructed by two companies; China Communication Construction Company Ltd CCC and Jiangsu Provincial Transportation Engineering Group.
