MINTP to Prioritize Farm-to-Market Roads In 2020

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

MINTP boss Nganou Njoumessi pose in group photo with his collaborators Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Minister of Public Works has revealed that his ministry priority in 2020 will be the rehabilitation of roads around production basins and construction of inter-council roads. 

              

Public Works Minister, Nganou Njoumessi in group photo with his collaborators

  “For 2020, we have more than one hundred thousand kilometres of council roads to do. Our priority is to maintain the roads that link two or more council areas since we are in difficulty financially. We shall also prioritize roads leading to production basins,” Ngannou promised, while receiving New Year wishes from his staff, on Monday 20 January 2020, in Yaounde.

The New Year wishes event was the culmination of a one day workshop to assess the level of road maintenance works financed by the road fund.

                The minister expressed satisfaction with the road covered though regretting the slow execution rate due to payment delays.

                He however noted that with the help of the Mayors, they have selected the specificities of the roads to be maintained in accordance with Decree No. 2017/144 of 20 April 2017 which reduces the Ministry’s intervention since 2018 to national and regional roads with its resources allocated to councils through the council road project ownership.

                He stated that based on assessments, the process is facing shortcomings in domain of implementing the rules governing project ownership, insufficient human resources leading to weak technical and organisational capacity and weak synergy between councils and other stakeholders.

                It is on the basis of the shortcomings that Minister Nganou said the workshop was organised with aim to assess its implementation in 2018/19, progress, identify constraints and raise awareness of Mayors and Divisional Delegates on the need to work together and inform Mayors of new documents related to road infrastructure on: road funds, updated maintenance procedure and intervention request drafting.

                Reacting shortly after the meeting, Mayors Bunyur Emmanuel and Tanjong Martin of Ndu and Tubah councils respectively appreciated the knowledge gathered at the workshop and called for more synergy between them and works delegates who are the technicians to plan their road projects. 

                Mayor Tanjong particular appealed that the technicians be sent directly to the councils and not to the Division because most at times the single delegate sent for a whole division takes a lot of time to work with each council.

                Other participants at the workshop included: Regional, Divisional, heads of Subdivisions public works, road fund officials, collaborators and central services involved in decentralisation operations.