The Government of Cameroon has made a fresh appeal for finances to fully implement the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West regions, PPRD-NW/SW.
The appeal was made by the Chairman of the steering Committee of the Presidential plan, Balungeli Confiance Ebune during the 3rd session of the committee last Thursday September 16 at the auditorium of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Speaking at the come together, Balungeli Confiance Ebune said the implementation of the reconstruction plan in the war-torn North West and South West regions of Cameroon is suffering from insufficient financial resources.
He revealed that out of an estimated FCFA 89 billion required for the project, only FCFA 10.4 billion has been mobilized so far, meaning about FCFA 78.6 billion is left for the plan to be fully implemented.
Balungeli Confiance Ebune however mentioned some progress have been made since their last session in 2020, including initiatives to promote social cohesion, rehabilitation of schools and health facilities belonging to churches and the financial agreement signed with the Japanese Government worth FCFA 1.5 billion and the commitment of the private sector to support the implementation of the plan.
On his part, the National Coordinator of the PPRD-NW/SW, Paul Tasong said trends now show a net improvement of the socio-economic welfare of the two regions since 2020 as compared to 2019 that was according to him the most disastrous.
“In 2016, the South West exported 136,000 tons of banana. In 2019, this same region barely exported 16,000 tons and this was mainly from the Boh Banana plantation. On the other hand, the agro-industrial giant, the CDC did not export a single ton that year…” Paul Tasong explained to the press, indicating that the situation rendered many jobless.
On the contrary, the PPRD-NW/SW stated that as from 2020, the CDC started back production though could only export 6,000 tons of banana. By June 2021, it had exported 12,000 tons.
As far as education is concerned, Paul Tasong said the number of pupils in primary and secondary schools in the two regions dropped from 1.1 million in 2016 to 225,000 in 2019. The figure he remarked rose to 427,000 in 2020.
The National Coordinator added that despite the recent attacks recorded with destruction of property in the regions, life was gradually returning to normal in many communities where sports and cultural activities are organized.
He made a fresh appeal to Cameroon’s development partners to support the reconstruction plan with financial resources for an effective outcome.
Ariane Foguem
