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The Public Investment Budget, a forecast income and expenditure for the year 2020 shows Dja et Lobo Division in the South Region of Cameroon with the sum of FCFA forty billion, four hundred and fifty eight thousand six hundred and seventy nine (40.458.679 F CFA).
The sum gives a summary of investment that will be carried out in the President Paul Biya’s division of origin.
The South West Region of Cameroon has the sum of twenty billion six hundred and ninety three thousands three hundred and twenty francs (20.693.320F CFA) as public investment budget. The sum summarizes income and expenditure for the six divisions that make up the South West region of Cameroon.
According to Ewang Mbolle Yvette, an accountant, “the investment takes into consideration the population and need of people in a particular surface area. For me the figures are purely those of discrimination against the people of the South West. Unfortunately, it has been happening like this over the years.”
To Wallang Abang, a writer and analyst, no convincing justification can be given why the government will allocate over FCFA 40 billion as public investment budget to Dja et Lobo Division while an entire region has far less than that amount.
“The South West region accounted for about 70% of Cameroon’s gross domestic product (GDP) before the start of the crisis that has caused the shutting down of most of the companies and plantations there. Nothing explains the fact that the region is not given its fair share of the public investment budget”.
The writer thinks that under normal circumstances, more resources should be allocated to the North West and South West regions worst hit by the crisis and that demands reconstruction.
Wallang Abang dismisses claims that government will not like to allocate many investment projects in areas like the North West and South West region plagued by insecurity.
Critics have been suggesting a hidden hand of the government focusing on developing the region of origin of President Paul Biya to the detriment of other places.
Ewang Mbolle Yvette sees a hidden hand of negligence in the development of the south west region of Cameroon by the government. The accountant and independent auditor quotes the construction of Kribi deep sea port in the South region that cost the government more money instead of constructing the sea port in Limbe that provides a more natural geography for such a project.
The 2020 public investment budget shows the Centre region with the highest sum of two hundred and ninety two billion one hundred and ninety thousand eight hundred and seventy francs(292.190.870 f CFA) followed by the West region that has 88.620.734 F CFA while the North West region has 47.334.675 FCFA.
