Government ignores security concerns, insists on reconstruction plan for NW, SW

Three years into the Anglophone Crisis which has escalated into an armed conflict, government says it has plans to rebuild the Anglophone regions of the country.

This however comes despite the surge in violence, kidnapping, rights abuses and several other atrocities witnessed after the major dialogue that recommended a special status for the North West and South West regions.

Several weeks after the recommendation of a special status, its outcome is yet to be felt as many say they still have not understood what a special status for the regions is all about.

Head of government Prime Minister Dion Ngute however says he is actively engaged in seeking proposals on contributions of funds for the reconstruction of Cameroon’s Anglophone regions.

The statesman took to his Twitter handle on Thursday to state that he chaired a meeting, with “partners to gather their concrete proposals for contributions to the funding of the Special Plan for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for the North West and South Regions”.

The meeting he added had “about fifteen Diplomatic Mission Representatives present”.

The reconstruction discussed in Thursday’s meeting which was one of the recommendations of the National Dialogue many say comes at a wrong time, as the situation on the ground is not getting any better. Over the past days, areas like Bambili and Bambui in the North West region have witnessed a series of gun battles between government and Ambazonian fighters as well as a rise in the rate of kidnap of teachers and students.

To pave a way for the institution of the special status, a caravan was sent to all divisions of the North West and South West regions, but even found difficulties getting to some part due to the fighting.

In other areas, the delegation members were given a deaf ear as locals said they want the root causes of the conflict addressed first.

Many are now casting doubts how the government intends to begin reconstruction when the conflict is still raging and has rendered a lot of areas inaccessible.

In October, Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo had said over 3.5billion FCFA will be needed to reconstruct the Anglophone regions which have had hundreds of villages burnt, as well as a lot of property damaged. According to him, the amount was needed for the implementation of the recommendations issued during the national dialogue.