Road Maintenance - Experts Brainstorm on Better Strategies

Experts in the different domains of the road sector started meeting within the framework of the second series of conferences in Yaounde yesterday, August 5, 2013 to examine in detail problems rocking the country's roads with the goal to propose to government better ways of improving the road network. The three-day conference that brings together focal points of the National Road Board, CONAROUTE is taking place at the Prime Minister's Office.

Chairing the opening ceremony of the conference on behalf of the Secretary General of the Prime Minister's Office, the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Professor Touna Mama said the series of conferences were prescribed by the Prime Minister. He urged the experts to seriously commit themselves to the brainstorming, stating that the quality and pertinence of their technical advice and final recommendations will effectively contribute in putting in place of government road policy. The results of the brainstorming, he further said, will lead to better execution of ongoing giant projects in the country.

Talking to the press after the opening ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of the National Road Board, Moumbain Matapit Issofa said the problems rocking the road sector in Cameroon included poor management of rain gates, insufficient credits allocated to road infrastructure, under consumption of some of the credit, Road Fund of second generation yet to take off since five years. He said Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the road sector lack enough human and financial resources.

The Yaounde conference, he said, was to focus mainly on drawing up strategies for the maintenance of earth roads that make up nine out of ten of the national main and priority road network. The experts, he said, will make recommendations on how road maintenance will be carried out within the decentralization context. He announced two other conferences for this year to hold from August 26 to 28 and September 10 to 12.