Presidential Plan For The Reconstruction And Development of NW /SW Regions

Presidential Plan For The Reconstruction And Development of NW /SW Regions:

The Politics Behind The Distorted Facts That The 21 Billion FCFA Loan Granted By The Islamic Development Bank, Is Instead A Support Project

From all indications, the Government’s LIE was not well prepared. It can’t convince even a nursery school kid

It is estimated that the rehabilitation of CDC alone will cost at least 100 billion FCFA

A couple of weeks ago, THE MENTOR disclosed in an article that following the refusal of the international community to contribute to the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the Northwest and Southwest Regions, PPRD – NW / SW, because the armed conflict is still on, the Cameroon Government had apparently in frustration, gone and borrowed the sum of 32.250 million euros, that is about 21. 115 billion FCFA (Twenty one billion,115 million francs CFA) from the Islamic Development Bank, for the PPRD – NW / SW. Information about the loan was contained in a decree that President Paul Biya signed on August 4, 2023 to ratify the loan agreement. The loan agreement was signed on May 10, 2023, with the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, signing on behalf of the State of Cameroon.
An except of the Presidential Decree which was in French read: ”Decret No. 2023 / 330 du 04 Aout 2023 ratifiant l’accord de pret montant de 32.250 million d;euros, soit environ 21.115 milliards de franc CFA, conclu entre La Republique du Cameroun et la Banque Islamique de Deveoppement, pour la misse en ouvre du Plan Presidentiel de Reconstruction et de Developpement des Regions du Nord – Ouest et du Sub Ouest du Cameroun”.

But PM Dion Ngute Instead Terms The Loan, A Support

But strange enough, Prime Minister Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, who launched the utilization of the 21 billion FCFA loan package from the Islamic Development Bank for the PPRD – NW / SW in Yaounde on Monday, December 18, 2023, instead termed the loan package as a support project of the Islamic Development Bank to the PPRD – NW / SW. The State owned Cameroon Tribune, in its edition of Tuesday, December 19, 2023, said in its lead story that: “Le Premier Ministre, Chef du Governement, Joseph Dion Ngute, a lance hier a Yaounde, le projet de soutien de la Banque Islamique de developpement, qui va s’etaler sur trois ans”. That is, that the Prime Minister on Monday (December 18) launched the support project of the Islamic Development Bank. There was infact a media campaign last week to falsely project the loan granted by the Islamic Development Bank, as a support to the PPRD – NW / SW.

Why The Distortion Of Facts By Gov’t?

But the question is why the Cameroon Government, would falsely present a loan package by the Islamic Development Bank to the State of Cameroon meant for the PPRD – NW / SW, as a support project to PPRD – NW / SW. THE MENTOR thinks that it is strategy by the Government, to try to manipulate public opinion into thinking that the international community is responding to Government’s call for financial support to the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction of the Northwest and Southwest Region, which in reality is false. The Government has become really embarrassed that friendly countries, international organisations and the Cameroon private sector have remained silent despite the repeated appeals for support to the PPRD – NW / SW.

When Did The Islamic Bank And UNDP Sign The Support Agreement?

Another question to ask those who are claiming that the 21.115 billion FCFA loan granted the State of Cameroon by the Islamic Development Bank, for the PPRD – NW / SW is instead a support package or support project, is when the representative of the Islamic Development Bank signed the agreement with the Cameroon Office of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP. The UNDP is the implementing partner of the State of Cameroon for the PPRD – NW / SW. Al donations, including those from local donors, meant for the PPRD – NW / SW, pass through the Cameroon Office of the UNDP,
As aforementioned for example, the Japanese Government has made two contributions totaling 2. 5 billion FCFA to the PPRD – NW / SW, for the recovery phase of the programme, precisely for the rehabilitation of health centres and water points in the Southwest Regions. The signing ceremonies between the representatives of the Japanese Government and the UNDP in Yaounde, were done in the presence of Tv cameras. The second signing ceremony took place in Yaounde on March 10, 2023. The Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, HE Hakoako Nozomu, signed on behalf of his country, while the Acting Resident Representative for UNDP in Cameroon, Alassane Ba, signed for his institution.
Also, when ‘Societe Anonyme des Brasseries du Cameroun’, SABC, had to donate 1 billion FCFA to the PPRD – NW / SW, the signing ceremony that took place in November 2021, was done in the presence of Tv cameras. And then the Cameroon Government wants the people to believe that when it came to the purported donation of as much as 21 billion FCFA by the Islamic Development Bank, there was no signing ceremony anywhere. That would have been a big ceremony. From all indications, the Government LIE was not well prepared or designed. It can’t convince even a nursery school kid.

What Will The 21 Billion FCFA BE Used For?
Meanwhile, the Government’s initial programme was to launch the Reconstruction Phase of the PPRD –NW / SW this year. But due to financial constraints, the programme is still at the Recovery Phase. There are for example schools whose infrastructures were destroyed in the course of the crisis, that are still to be rehabilitated with funds from the PPRD – NW / SW. Unfortunately more schools continue to suffer from acts of arsons connected to the crisis, as happened at GTHS Esu in Menchum Division, Northwest Region on December 12, 2023.
Also, even if the Government wants to abandon the Recovery Phase and instead use the 21 billion FCFA loan to launch the Reconstruction Phase, the amount will not be able to do much. For example, one of the major items in the Reconstruction Phase, is to donate 10,000 housing kith to people whose houses were destroyed as a result in the crisis, to rebuild their houses. Take a village like Kwa – Kwa in Meme Division where houses in the village were all brunt down in the early stage of the escalation of the Anglophone Crisis. Now if the Government were to give funds to 10,000 people to rebuilt their houses that were burnt down, what will be left of the 21 billion FCFA. Would that 21 billion FCFA even be enough for the 10,000 housing kith? It should be noted that the Government has not disclosed the amount that it intends to give for each housing kith.
It should as well be noted that the 10,000 housing kith, is just Phase 1 of the housing project. More than 10,000 houses have been destroyed in the Northwest and Southwest Regions in the course of the ongoing crisis. Unfortunately still, more acts of arson continue to be registered in the crisis, as we sadly saw in Egbekaw, Mamfe, in Manyu Division on November 6, 2023.

Rehabilitation Of CDC Alone, Estimated To Cost At least 100 Billion FCFA

When it is said that Government estimates that the Recovery, Reconstruction and Development Phases of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the Northwest and Southwest Regions will cost a total of some 2000 billion FCFA, some people look at the amount as too big or an exaggeration. The fact is that the big projects will take so much money. For example, experts estimate that the rehabilitation of the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, will alone cost at least 100 billion FCFA. There are big rubber plantations for example, that need to be rehabilitated by cutting down all the rubber trees and planting young plants. It is the case for example with the large CDC rubber plantations on the Tiko – Douala Road.
Experts say a matured rubber tree needs to be tapped regularly, possibly daily, and that when such a rubber tree is left untapped for long, it becomes a serious problem. With the escalation of the Anglophone Crisis, and especially the fact that separatist fighters targeted CDC workers for attack because they wanted CDC grounded or paralysed, the rubber plantations were abandoned for over two years without the tapping of rubber. Now CDC is just managing to tap rubber in some of the plantations where work has resumed, though the workers are still being targeted for attack by separatist fighters. But experts say these rubber trees that were left for over two years untapped, can no longer produce much. But for now, there no fund to rehabilitate the rubber plantations, and so CDC, is forced to manage on with the old rubber trees.

Kumba – Loum Road In Development Phase

Meanwhile some of the major projects in the Development Phase of the PPRD – NW / SW, are road construction projects, which are normally costly projects, especially in a country where many ministers and senior Government officials are notorious for inflating bills. One of the road projects enlisted in the Development Phase of the PPRD – NW / SW, is the very important Kumba – Loum Road. The road project which includes the building of a big bridge over the big river on that road will definitely cost much money. But again, it is a very important road which will among other things dis-enclave a rich agriculture zone. Imagine also that during the raining season, vehicles that leave Kumba heading for Bamenda using the Douala – Bamenda Highway, have to instead go through Muyuka, Buea, Mutengene, Tiko and then Bikoko in the outskirt of Douala, then heads towards Mbanga. Whereas if the Kumba – Loum Road was in good shape, the journey will be much shortened.
As the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Paul Njukang Tasong disclosed in Douala last year, the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the Northwest and Southwest Regions, falls in a Government programme that will run up to 2030.. However if things continue to go this way because of the lack of funds, very little would have been achieved in the PPRD – NW / SW programme, by 2030.