South West region: water crisis blamed on uncontrolled human activities

Fako divisional delegate of water & 

energy accompanied by stakeholders 

at the regional delegation of water & 

energy resources in Limbe

By Sarah Nkongho Ojong in Limbe

In line with this year’s world water day commemorated under the theme “Water and Energy” by the United Nations, a stakeholder panel discussion was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Energy and water resources , Limbe, Thursday March 20, 2014 under the auspices of the South West regional delegate of water and energy.

                With discussions held on topics like the nexus between water and energy, water, food and the ecosystem security, developing information and decision support systems for water and energy, coordinating energy and water policies and governance amongst others, the stakeholders identified problems from the Limbe river via mile two new layout, Busumbu II and III right up to mile 16 in Buea.

In areas like Wututu and Wonga, the problem faced has to do with the use of insecticide by farmers along the water catchments, meanwhile in Busumbu, you find inhabitants constructing along water sources contaminating them. Also, the Limbe river which used to be a drinkable source has now become a toilet for many and a car washing point; the Mutengene water spring at Ekande where the catchment is also situated is being used for farming at the top of the catchment thereby deteriorating the importance of the water.

                Besides the above human activities tampering with the availability of water in the South West region, other issues like deforestation, the abusive emission of green house gases and complete non respect for general land use policies were also highlighted in the course of the discussions.

                As one of the stakeholders, the Chief executive officer of Luther King Memorial foundation, LUKMEF, Mr Tanyi Christian declared that the ministries of lands, town planning and urban development, territorial administration charged with allocating state and non state lands have also ignored laws related to the proper allocation of land and governance issues in line with land policies, leading to the construction around and contamination of water sources, thus contributing to the water crises around the region.

                Worthy of note is the fact that the Lake Chad in the northern parts of Cameroon now holds less than 30% of its original volume of water, alongside many streams and rivers around the country which are either drying up or have drastically reduced in volume, plus the many towns and cities - Yaounde, Douala, Buea, Limbe, you name the rest all facing acute water crisis.

                Speaking to the media, the divisional delegate of water and energy, Azanga J. Nkeng begged all present at the conference to contribute in their own little way to come up with ways to improve water supply in the region, “what decision are we taking?”, “what actions are we to take?” he asked repeatedly to the stakeholders.

                Resolving that there is water almost everywhere within the region which is neither protected nor easily accessible, the stakeholders came up with a way forward to begin legal procedures to evict occupants along water catchments so that the identified sources can be harnessed for use by members of the community. Also included as resolutions was the creation of a task force under the ministry of water and energy resources to ensure that water points are identified, developed and supplied to the beneficiary population, holding of sensitization talks on how to preserve water for prosperity, and bringing together civil society organizations, communities, traditional and city councils, relevant ministries to work as one for the general interest of the community.