ADB official says grass-field project II is not dead

The entire population of the Northwest has been wondering aloud, what became of the close to FCFA 20 Billion Grass-field Project known as GP-DERUDEP phase II.

These doubts came as a result of the fact that, after the much publicised launching that took place at the Bamenda Congress hall in March 2014, the staff and stakeholders could not be found in the field.

As such, the Director General of MIDENO and the Northwest Governor seized the opportunity of the holding of the 33rd coordination meeting of African Development Bank sponsored projects in Cameroon that held in Ayaba Hotel, September 10-12, to express the bitter feelings and disappointment of the supposed beneficiaries who have been looking forward to development projects in vain.

Following the successful feasibility studies of the Grass-field Project II, carried out by MIDENO and its team of experts and the appraisal mission which culminated in the historic signing of the loan agreement between Cameroon and the ADB, ushering in place the start of the project, Director General of MIDENO, John B Ndeh, regretted that several months have gone past and nothing concrete was happening to the dismay of the anxious population of this Region.

“It sounded like another “April Fool” as we started to answer awkward questions from an impatient population. Impatient with reason, the development challenges are very evident and ever increasing.

Therefore, every time a promise is made to them for the realisation of any project that would go another step to further improve on their livelihood, only effective realisation would appease their anxiety”. Ndeh noted.

The Director General of MIDENO observed that the long wait between the, “Effectiveness of this loan and the effective take off of field activities has been a cause for concern even to me, despite the assurance that the project coordinator kept giving me as to the state of progress regarding effective take off of activities”.

Describing the African Development Bank as Cameroon’s time-tested and faithful financial partner, Northwest Governor Adolph Lele L’Afrique, recalled that the bank intervention in the Northwest dates as far back as the 80s; MIDENO phase I, MIDENO phase II reformulated, GP-DERUDEP phase I and today GP- DERUDEP phase II.

In addition to this four intervention limited strictly to the Northwest Region, the ADB has also touched the region with the Bamenda – Mamfe-Ekok-Enugu corridor and also the water and sanitation activities of the project known as PEAPA-MRU.

As president of the steering committee of GP-DEUDEP II the Grass Field Project, Governor Lele said the bank orientation to limit the new projects to four production basins was a welcome idea, but that, “It has been an uphill task for me to explain why more than three quarters of the population that benefited from the first phase has been completely left out in the second phase. It is even more difficult to explain why, of the 4 selected production basins; full activities are to commence only in two basins”. He said, though as authorities they have answers to these questions; “but it becomes very difficult to convince a peasant farmer who knows that African Development Bank has given more money for the development and improvement of their well being”. He requested for additional resources from ADB for all activities in Mbaw Mbonso and Gayama Basins to take off the same time with Santa-Tubah and Widikum Basins. “We know that you can mobilise these additional resources either from some other window of the Bank or from other financial partners like JIVA, KOICA, and IDB etc”. Lele opined. In his response, the resident representative of the African Development Bank, Racine Kane, assured GP-DERUDEP and Northwest administration that the field activities will soon go operational because all technicalities and other issues that bogged the project have been strengthened.