Categories: EconomyLive Update

Sangmelima: FCFA 4 Billion-worth modern market lies in ruins one year after inauguration

In 2019, a modern market constructed in Sangmelima, a town in Cameroon’s South Region was inaugurated.

This was at a grandiose ceremony chaired by Georges Elanga Obam, decentralization and local development minister who acted as representative to long-serving President Paul Biya.

Described by many as an architectural jewel, the structure cost slightly over four billion FCFA.

Close to a year after its inauguration, however, the modern Sangmelima market now lies in near ruins.

It never went operational. The latest images from the area depict a structure covered in grass, closed and abandoned.

Media reports cite traders of the Dja and Lobo Division where the structure is found as grumbling over the fact that those in charge never ensured that the market was put to appropriate use.

Other reports suggest that it never went operational due to some unscrupulous officials that took money from traders for spaces in the market but never had it opened. This happened despite the fact that the process of acquiring a shop at the market was said to be free.

With the market now in ruins, not only has the council lost revenue, which would have been gotten in taxes, but traders have also been extorted huge sums of money paid to gain access to shops to no avail.

Members of the community are another set of losers in the good story-gone-wrong, as they have been deprived of a modern facility built with taxpayer’s money.
Mimi Mefo Info

Mimi Mefo Info (MMI)

Recent Posts

Atanga Politicizes Hajj, Calls for Biya’s Reelection

Cameroon's Minister of Territorial Administration and also president of the National Hajj Commission, Paul Atanga…

7 hours ago

Abduction Reported on Njikwa Road: Civil Servants Among Six Individuals Taken

Reports indicate that approximately six individuals, predominantly civil servants returning from celebrations of May 20th,…

9 hours ago

Julius Malema Refutes Trump’s “False” Claim of White Genocide in South Africa

South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters party, led by Julius Malema, has condemned what it says…

10 hours ago

2025 Government Common Entrance Exam Results Released for North West Cameroon

The Regional Delegate of Basic Education for the North West Region has officially released the…

10 hours ago

Cameroonian Rapper Jovi Urges Citizens to Register and Vote Ahead of 2025 Presidential Election

Cameroonian hip-hop artist Ndukong Godlove Nfor, professionally known as Jovi, has encouraged his followers to…

11 hours ago

British Tourist Arrested in Namibia on Allegations of Child Exploitation

65-Year-Old Faces Multiple Charges Including Rape and Indecent Assault

14 hours ago