Society

The World Bank has pledged to fund the rehabilitation of the Babadjou-Bamenda road, which is regarded today by commuters as a death-trap. Officials of the institution made the pledge in a meeting with the Minister of Public Works in Yaounde on August 9.

The 41 kilometre stretch that links Babadjou in the West Region to Bamenda in the North West Region, has been a nightmare to users over the years. It is a dilapidated narrow stretch with potholes that have degenerated to yawning craters. This makes it vulnerable to road accidents.

The World Bank’s Intervention will end the nightmare of people using the road. During the August 9 meeting, both parties discussed the calendar of activities bordering on the tarring of the road. Their discussions were also predicated on the socio-economic amenities concerning the project.

They also examined the state of progress of the different calls for tender.

Both the World Bank and the Cameroon Government represented by the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, will finalise discussions next August 18 and 19.

The Post learnt that the bank will rehabilitate the stretch as part of the trans-border road linking Cameroon and Nigeria. This is, notably, the Bamenda-Enugu corridor. Besides rehabilitating the Babadjou- Bamenda stretch, the World Bank will also bankroll a by-pass that will create a new entrance into Bamenda.

The by-pass begins from Bamenda Up Station, precisely where a billboard with the inscription ‘Welcome to Bamenda”. It continues and meanders through Mendankwe and joins the other stretch that leads to the Nkwen neighbourghood near the Amour Mezam bus stop.

The Babadjou-Bamenda stretch has been a source of public anger. Last year, it became so impassable that Babadjou people went on a rampage.They demonstrated and ignited a free-for-all cursing of the authorities.

The country’s opposition Chieftain, Ni John Fru Ndi, stormed the road and sent away workers at the toll gate at Matazem near Santa. The stretch that the World Bank will rehabilitate is part of the Yaounde-Bafoussam-Bamenda highway that is noted for road accidents. It causes 11 percent of road accidents leading to 16 percent of deaths registered on Cameroonian roads.

For one thing, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, ADB, and the Cameroon Government shoulder the burden of rehabilitating the Yaounde-Bafoussam-Bamenda highway at the cost of FCFA 211, 851 billion. Out of the amount, the ADB is providing 59.8 percent, the World Bank 27 .6 percent and the Cameroon government 12.5 percent.

It should, however, be noted that the World Bank funding is separate from that of the ADB that is covering the Yaounde-Bafoussam stretch of 212 km. The localities of Babadjou and Bamenda road corridor will each benefit a 35km tarring of their roads. Meanwhile, 16km of urban expansion of the Bamenda-Babadjou road linking the Bamenda-Enugu road corridor will also be constructed.

According to the Government of Cameroon, the construction of the Babadjou-Bamenda road would improve traffic flow as well as contribute to the development of the local socio-economic infrastructure of the nearby residents.

Cameroonpostnewsline

 

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Rita Akana

13.Aug.2016

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The Minister of Environment Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED), Pierre Hele, has announced the creation of a national exchange forum to manage waste in Cameroon yesterday Thursday, August 11 2016 in Yaounde,.

The National Exchange forum of waste management is aimed at the faster processing  and recycling of waste and other garbage found on the streets of the entire country. The government's goal, we learn is to create a healthy environment for all Cameroonians.

It is worth mentioning that about ten million tonnes of waste is produced in Cameroon yearly, yet very little is done to convert it for industrial use.

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Rita Akana

12.Aug.2016

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The new Penal Code has enabled Cameroon not only to boost its commitments to global and regional frameworks regarding women’s rights, but equally to protect women from repugnant cultural norms and practices that have hitherto exposed them to every kind of ill treatment.

The law effectively marks a great stride towards the attainment of gender equality; cognizant of the fact that gender-based violence is the strongest manifestation of gender inequality and a breach of human rights of women. It shall absolutely contribute to the reduction of the prevalence of violence perpetrated against women in that there will be restraint on acts that have been criminalised.

It is worth underscoring that no matter how strong legal provisions may be, they cannot completely stop or prevent abuses against women. This is not only true of abuse of women’s rights and those of family members, but an issue in every aspect of human behaviour. The law is not a panacea to behavioural problems, but a standard to shape behaviour. Legislation may exist, but implementation may be complex and difficult. Firstly, there is the issue of gender stereotypes on the part of enforcement officials who may be biased against one side and victims who may be afraid to denounce abuses.

Secondly, ignorance of the provisions of the law by both the culprit and the woman whose rights are violated could be a factor. Thirdly, women’s access to justice can be impeded by structural and institutional barriers such as the cost of judicial proceedings, including legal fees and lengthy trial periods. The enactment of the law should be followed by massive awareness-raising of the population.

How do you intend to sensitise women to enable them appropriate the provisions in the law?

The press release you made reference to was the first step intended to inform women of specific areas that concern them in the new Penal Code. In that same release, I instructed all my collaborators, especially regional, divisional and sub-divisional delegates as well as Directors of Women’s Empowerment Centres to popularise the Penal Code among women’s networks and men’s groups with the view to effective ownership by all. This shall be done through lectures and various communication tools. 

I should make it clear that sensitization of the public, particularly religious and traditional authorities and leaders of women’s associations on women’s rights as provided in international, regional and national legal instruments, is a permanent activity in my ministry. It features in the roadmap each year. The work shall continue with emphasis on the new Penal Code, considering the many provisions dealing with the family, women and children.

Already, an awareness session held in the Yaounde City Council Hall on July 28, 2016, wherein experts explained the provisions that concern women and the family as a whole. Participants were community leaders, women’s associations and civil society organisations. Equally, we are currently updating a draft collection of legal texts on the promotion of women’s rights with the provisions of the new Penal Code.

What assistance can your ministry offer women who suffer any further abuse of their rights under the new Penal Code?

Law n?2009/004 of April 14, 2009 on the organisation of legal assistance, giving full rights to legal assistance to all unemployed persons without resources or those abandoned by their spouses, is still in force. We shall continue to assist women who come to us for legal assistance. The Legal Unit of the Ministry has handled many cases involving widows and other women whose rights were abused, even in their work places. Concerning cases of gender-based violence, we have 7 call centres in Women’s Empowerment Centres in the Centre, East, Littoral and Far North Regions, where our field staff receive survivors and provide psycho-social assistance to them.

These centres were set up as part of the implementation of a joint programme entitled: “Boosting The Prevention Of Gender-Based Violence And The Holistic Management Of Women Survivors In The Most Affected Regions Of Cameroon,” carried out in collaboration with some United Nations agencies in Cameroon, including UN Women and UNFPA. Similarly, we have trained police officers on understanding and intervention issues relating to violence against women and gender desks are being put in place in some police stations. Hence, the police will be of greater help.

Another strategy we use and we shall continue using is the organisation of socio-legal clinics with women’s associations, during which we receive cases of women victims of rights abuse. To resolve these challenges, we work closely with the Cameroonian Association of Female Jurists (ACAFEJ) and the Association of Female Bailiffs (“Femmes Huissiers”) who give free legal assistance to women in distress. Apart from psycho-social assistance, we will assist abuse victims by referring them to appropriate structures. We shall also popularise a guide on integrated management of gender-based violence drawn up in collaboration with UNFPA.

CRTV

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Rita Akana

12.Aug.2016

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The lifeless bodies of two women have been discovered in the Nkol-Bisson neighborhood Tuesday August 9, 2016.One of the bosies was discovered floating in a lake and the other beside a Cassava farm. Some parts of their bodies were removed by their aggressors There was consternation among family members of victims, some who disclosed that their sister went out Monday night to buy food stuff from the junction and never returned.

This new cases comes to add to six others, amounting to eight cases of ritual killings in less than one month. Last week the lifeless body of a certain Antoinette, 37, was discovered dumped in one of the quarters in Nkol-Bisson. Locals live in perpetual fear and have called on local authorities to beef up security. Administrative authorities are yet to react but the mayor of Yaoundé seven says something will be done in that light.

Nkol-Bisson has become the most dangerous neighborhood in Yaoundé after Mimboman following series of ritual killings in recent times.

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Prince Nfor Hanson

10.Aug.2016

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CRTV reports that three members of the same family were discovered dead yesterday 8th August 2016 in the morning at their residence in Foumbot in the West Region of Cameroon:

The three are a 27 year old nursing mother Kamatcha Nicole Armand, her six months old baby boy, and her ten year old niece who was “baby-sitting” the baby. Her husband 29 year old Yannick Wanji was found unconscious and rushed to the Bafoussam Regional Hospital where he is presently receiving intensive treatment.

Nobody could determine what actually must have caused the death but eye witnesses suspect they must have suffocated from toxic gas coming out of a stand by generator in their house.

The generator was put on due to power failure at the deceased residence which doubles as a business place for lovers of a football game. Meanwhile others relate the death to food poisoning.

The remains of the three have been taken to the Bafoussam Regional Hospital for an autopsy while the Judicial police in Foumbot and Bafoussam have opened investigation to uncover the cause the incident.

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Rita Akana

10.Aug.2016

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A suspected robber has been lynched to death by an angry mob in Bamenda,North West Region of Cameroon

It was the end of the road for a suspected robber who was lynched to death and burnt by an angry mob at Below Foncha neighbourhood of Bamenda, in the early hours of today, Tuesday 9th August 2016.

According to unconfirmed reports, the victim had tried to steal a motorbike  early in the morning in the area , when some residents mobilized and went after him.The unfortunate victim was beaten and burnt to death.The corpse was left unidentified on the street for a while till the authorities and took it away to a nearby mortuary.

Bamenda and Jungle Justice

Bamenda is becoming notorius of handing suspected criminals over to the hands and mercy of an angry mob. Two wrongs don’t make a right, not now, not ever. At least every criminal in the law court is considered innocent till proven guilty. With the increasing rate of jungle justice in Bamenda and other parts of Cameroon, it is feared that people will begin to see life as nothing to be preserved.

Has jungle justice reduced the level of crimes perpetuated in the community? The answer is no; it never will.  As  matter of truth, burning and gruesomely degrading human beings is a greater evil; it is an outright violation of human rights. Jungle justice reduces human life and dignity to zero and this is why some people can afford to call us Africans as barbarians.

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Rita Akana

09.Aug.2016

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