By Dominic Meme Nwakimo.
An untold misery has befallen the population of Donga Mantung Division in the North West region of Cameroon.
Movement of people and vehicles from the division to Bamenda, headquarters of the North West region has been on a halt since September 25, 2018 when the road was cut off by militia men fighting for the restoration of the Ambazonia Republic.
That alone has totally paralyzed several socio political and economic activities in the divison that shares boundary with Taraba State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
First, the disconnection by road has grounded all administrative duties. Civil servants have gone for a month now without receiving their salaries.
This is because of the absence of standard banks in the divisional headquarters, Nkambe and with no access to Bamenda, they are forced to stay without money.
Given that most basic necessities are purchased in Bamenda, the blockage caused by the crisis has been manifesting its side effects through increase of prices of all items. For instance, a liter of kerosene that formally cost 400FCFA is today sold for 900FCFA, a cube of maggi cost 50FCFA. Sugar, vegetable oil, groceries and other related items used daily have all seen their prices increased.
Beside this, most provision shops have mainly closed down. Owners argue that the business climate does not yield profit but instead drain their capital.
At the level of telecommunication, the close to one month absence of electricity in Donga Mantung Division has automatically put an end to most mobile phone networks.
Residents say what is left in this domain is the epileptic telephone connection of Nexttel company through which they seldom make calls to connect to the rest of the world.
By Dominic Meme Nwakimo.