Memve'ele Hydroelectric Dam - Life Changing Project

Inhabitants of the little locality of Nyabizan in the Ntem Valey Division of the South Region of Cameroon are certainly still wondering how their area will look like in the years ahead.

News of the construction of the Memve'ele Dam must have been lingering in their minds for decades now, but the effective take off of the project has evidently sounded another note - that of concrete changes in their lives.

Judging from the huge turnout at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the dam chaired by President Paul Biya last Friday June 15, 2012, the signals of major transformations to take place in their vicinity and the living conditions were definitely evident. Just the fleet of cars and the personalities who braved the odd terrain to travel to Nyabizan was sufficiently telling. Yet, those were simply cosmetic glimpses of what is about to happen in the locality, in particular and the entire country in general.

The first indicator of the profound changes that are being awaited in Nyabizan alone is the modern road network that would link the village to the rest of Cameroon. Still in line with the direct impact of the project on the living conditions of the local people, government decided to create a structure called Projet d'accompagnement socio-economique de Memve'ele (PASEM) for socio-economic follow-up in the area. The target is not just to cushion the negative impact of the project on the people, but also to harness resources for their wellbeing. So far, PASEM has positively changed the living standards of 13,000 people through the provision of social amenities such as schools, hospitals, training and even jobs. The sum of FCFA 1,4 billion has already been invested for the purpose. For instance, inhabitants of the little hamlets of Nkolessong and Aloum are a living testimony of the positive transformation of in the area having been moved into more modern houses compared to where they lived before the beginning of the project.

Beyond the frontiers of Nyabizan, the Memve'ele Dam has been evaluated to swallow the whopping sum of FCFA 420 billion coming from the government of Cameroon, the Eximbank of China, the African Development Bank and the Central African Economic and Development Bank. Such an amount immediately suggests that there would be a complete transformation of the locality through the project in terms of job creation and other opportunities. It also means a boost in economic activities and the population influx that such a project would attract cannot be under estimated because that invariably opens the people more to the world.

Of course the main target of the project, which is the injection of 201 MW of electricity into the existing energy supply network in the country is surely part of the changes that the Memve'ele Dam is expected to bring along. For those who have been following the economic evolution of the country, the general outcry has been that the business growth is slow due to constant power shortage. With such an increase in electricity supply envisaged in the country by 2016-2017 when the Memve'ele Hydroelectric Dam goes operational, it is hoped that most businesses in Cameroon will also witness a new lease of life. With the foundation stone of the Kribi Deep Sea Port laid on October 8, 2011 and that of the Memve'ele Hydroelectric Dam laid on June 15, 2012, the conclusion is henceforth evident that the "Greater Accomplishment" vision of President Paul Biya is resolutely on the rails. No wonder therefore that the Head of State decided to make the trip to Nyabizan to launched construction work on the dam. By extension therefore, all Cameroonians will want to see such transformation that is taking place in Nyabizan reflected in their daily lives thanks to the energy and other presidential promises that have been made public of late.