Porous Road Network Forces Government To Act

The Cameroon Government appears to have been caught unaware by the deteriorating road network in the country, as virtually every major road is gradually being rendered impassable.

The condition of roads in Cameroon has never been more concerning.

National roads, which are supposed to be the country’s first-grade highways, are, to say the least, porous – they are worse than farm roads in developed countries.

Vehicles find it difficult to bypass each other on national roads, whose narrowness has further been trimmed by deep potholes or standing water.

Even heavy-duty vehicles have to swim through pools of water standing on some of the roads during this rainy season (the case of national road number 8, linking Mutengene to Buea, Muyuka, Kumba, and Bachuo in the South West Region).

On the national road number 3, which links the country’s political capital to the economic capital, the road is in such poor condition that it is difficult to distinguish the pothole from the road.

Several portions of the road are degraded, significantly delaying travel time, contributing to the trail of road accidents recorded in Cameroon each year, and causing discomfort to commuters.

The same applies to the Douala-Loum-Nkongsamba Road; the Edea-Kribi Road; Douala-Tiki-Limbe-Idenau road; Bertoua-Garoua Bulai road, to name a few.

Government’s Reactive Response

Faced with criticism over the poor road network, the government, through the Ministry of Public Works (MINTP) has launched rehabilitation works on five national roads and one regional road.

An evaluation session held at the MINTP headquarters in Yaounde on Wednesday, September 25, revealed that the government is currently rehabilitating seven road sections, totaling 1,346.88 kilometers.

“An observation made by the Ministry of Public Works has revealed the aging of some national roads, the sharp degradation of some axes due to the uncivilized users, among others,” the Ministry wrote in a statement.

“In view of the laborious mobilization of funding for the reconstruction of national roads put into service several years ago and the urgency to raise the level of service of these roads, the program presented by the Ministry of Public Works in the performance project of the Ministry of Public Works before the National Representative in November 2023 emphasized the implementation of projects for comfortable maintenance of national roads.”

The roads under maintenance include the National 5, Bekoko – Loum – Nkongsamba – Nkam Bridge – Bafang- Bandja – Bandjoun (219 Km); National 3, Yaoundé – Ndoupé Bridge – Dibamba Bridge (215 Km); National 10, Yaoundé (Ahala Interchange – Tropicana Roundabout – Friendship Crossroads – Crossroads Nkoabang) – Bonis (329,18 Km); National 7, Edéa – Kribi (146.34 Km), the Regional R0902 – Gaklé – Katoual – Gazawa – Zamalao – Zamay – Mokolo (66.36 Km), the Lower section of the Wak Cliff – Sala Bridge (115 Km) of the National 1 and the National 1, Bertoua (Bonus Central Mandjou Post) – Ndokayo – Garoua Boulai (256 km).

The maintenance will include rehabilitating damaged portions, treating critical points and potholes, and conducting sanitation works to improve road conditions.

While these efforts are expected to enhance road accessibility, there are concerns that these measures are only temporary fixes.

Long-term solutions, including complete reconstruction of many of these roads, remain uncertain.

Mimi Mefo Info