East Region in Thankful Mood

Thousands mobilised to brave the journey to the lost locality of Lom Pangar in a show of thankfulness for the foundation stone ceremony of the huge hydroelectricity project.

Easterners, known variedly as those who seem to have missed the nation's development train or those whose huge natural resources are abused in several ways, have decided to rise up in unison to greet the big "Greater Achievements" project that may eventually put an end to this sorry image.

The East Region, as the proverbial patient dog that eats the fattest bone, will tomorrow in Lom Pangar, some 120 kilometres north of Bertoua, the region's capital, witness the laying of the foundation stone of the Lom Pangar Hydroelectricity Project. It is one of the finest on the long list of several others initiated by President Paul Biya on the assumption of his current term of office in November last year and seeks to take Cameroon to emergency economy status come 2035.

The visit to Lom Pangar last Monday by an advance team of presidential aides came to change the gear of numerous mobilization moves initiated by administrative, municipal and political party officials. The local élite have also been working hard to ensure a massive turn out worthy of the appreciation the people of the Region would like the Head of State to take home after his visit.

Organised groups and ordinary citizens are coming in from as far afield as Yokadouma and, even, Moloundou, over 700 kilometers from the site of the Lom Pangar event. At other moments, getting people to the site could have been an uphill task because of the state of the region's roads. Administrative authorities proudly say some 10,000 people are expected at the ceremonial grounds tomorrow in a show of gratitude for the unfaltering concern for the aspirations of the people of the Region.

They are furthermore confident because the Region has lately received a veritable facelift by way of roads. Some 200 kilometers of road now link Ayos in the Centre Region to Bertoua while another 300 kilometres leave Bertoua northwards towards the Adamawa, passing through Garoua Boulai, the last sub-divisional headquarters before the boundary with Adamawa. Little wonder, very many people will be making it to Lom Pangar without much difficulty today.

Moreover, the Lom Pangar project is expected to greatly impact the development of the Region. The Region's sleepy economic outlook is expected to be slapped awake because the new dam will provide some 30 megawatts of electricity. This is more than what is needed in the East, considering a best-case scenario where industry blooms extremes. It is even envisaged that the extra energy from the 30 megawatts could be exported to the Central African Republic.

Moments before this piece was filed last evening, Bertoua was bustling with activity with the Governor at the centre of many concerns. Instructions here, a meeting there, answering a telephone call ostensibly from very high quarters, seemed to be the main menu for the Region's top office-holder.

On the city's main street, workmen were all over the place placing banners and putting up billboards all carrying thank you messages for President Biya. People from the various parts of the Region had begun to pour into town, complicating matters for catering services. Hotel managers were visibly overstretched by requests for rooms which, in most cases, could not be satisfied. The city's 400 available rooms were far short of the demand which industry sources said, could even be over 1,000 for yesterday, today and the coming days.