Yang, Gentry accused of diverting ring road funds

Some CPDM elite have accused Prime Minister Philemon Yang and the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Mines and Technological Development, Dr. Calistus Fuh Gentry, of diverting funds meant for the construction of a portion of the Ring Road in the Northwest Region.

The CPDM elite, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the duo diverted funds for the construction of the Kumbo-Ndu-Nkambe stretch, to the Ring Road corridor from Babungo in Ndop, Ngoketunjia Division through Oku and Nkor-Noni in Bui Division to Misaje in Donga Mantung Division.
The construction and tarring of this corridor started this year from the Oku end towards Babungo in Ndop.

The CPDM elite from Bui and Donga Mantung Divisions said the funds being used to build the corridor of Babungo-Ibal-Oku-Nkor-Noni and Misaje stretch, is meant for the continuation of the Ring Road from Kumbo to Nkambe.
One of them said the relationship between Oku, Yang’s village, and Kumbo has not been cordial over the years, reason why they claim that the diversion of the Ring Road funds to build the corridor, is a move to penalise them.

They told The Post that each time CPDM militants of Nkambe Central and Ndu constituency wept when the opposition SDF party defeated them at elections, their comrade, Fuh Gentry, who is from the Misaje and Ako constituency, was rather jubilant. According to them, Fuh Gentry wants the CPDM defeated in Nkambe and Ndu all the time in order to remain in the limelight and good political books of the Yaounde regime.

On the link between their internal political suspicion and the Ring Road project, the sources said the move by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State to give priority to the construction of the Ring Road corridor is a demonstration of maltreatment of the huge population of Bui and Donga Mantung that could have their economic and social lives improved with the tarring of the Ring Road.

They said they are foreseeing a scheme by the two top Government officials to carve out a new Division from Bui, Donga Mantung, Menchum and Boyo with headquarters in Oku.

They suspect that the recent creation of a protected area that incorporates the Kimbi Game Reserve, portions of a forest in Menchum, the Kilum and Ijim Mountain forests in Oku and Boyo is part of the scheme.
Attempts to get the Prime Minister to react to the accusations failed but an aide, who also requested not to be named, blamed his party comrades for peddling unfounded accusations.

“Such an issue could have been raised during the Northwest Region elite meetings for ample clarifications to be given,” the aide said.
He said money for the construction of the Ring Road comes from no-nonsense international funding bodies and cannot be tampered with by whosoever.

Claiming to be part of a delegation that visited the stretch of the Ring Road corridor after feasibility studies were completed, the Prime Minister’s aide said the Canadian Government provided the funds for the corridor, thanks to the cordial relationship Yang built with the people of that country when he was Cameroon’s Ambassador to Canada.
He said the extension of potable water to almost all neighbourhoods in Oku is thanks to funding from the Canadian Government.

The aide told The Post that the Ring Road corridor will not only stretch from Babungo through Oku to Misaje, but that the stretch from Ibal in Oku linking a village in Kom will also be tarred, likewise the one from Oku Central to Boyo Division.

He added that the construction of the Oku-Kumbo stretch of the road is also envisaged. He, however, admitted that he was not aware of where money for the other stretches of the Ring Road corridor will come from.

On allegations that the Prime Minister stopped the tarring of the road from Oku towards Babungo and ordered that the road construction equipment be withdrawn because an alarm of diversion of the Ring Road funds was raised, especially when portions of the road between Kumbo, Nkambe, Bamenda and Wum became impassable during the last rainy season, the aide described the allegation as a fabrication by detractors.

He said the equipment of the road construction company is still in place, adding that work was suspended because of the intense dry season. According to him, road construction is ideal when the rainy season is phasing out.
Concerning the scheme to carve out a new Division with headquarters in Oku, the aide said such a thing has never crossed the Prime Minister’s mind.

Dr. Fuh Gentry Reacts

Meanwhile, Dr. Fuh Gentry, in a telephone chat with The Post on December 19, debunked the allegations of diverting the Ring Road funds.
“To the best of my knowledge, the construction of the Ring Road corridor is from Babungo through Oku to Nkor-Noni and not right to Misaje as claimed. However, the construction of that road which started some three years ago was stalled because the contractor ran into difficulties,” Dr. Fuh Gentry said.

He stated that, as a Secretary of State in the Ministry of Mines and Technological Development, he has no powers, whatsoever, to influence the Ministry of Public Works on which of the roads should be constructed.
He talked of the recent launching of an industrial development plan for Donga Mantung and other development initiatives including scholarships worth millions of FCFA to children of that Division.

Gentry said he wants people to challenge him on issues that fall within his competence and not on things that are not true - in the first place. According to him, the Prime Minister has done much in terms of development in the Northwest Region, more than what all the politicians put together have done in that part of the country since independence.

Gentry mentioned the quality of the stretch of the Ring Road tarred from Ndop to Kumbo amongst many other academic and social projects as well as those in the pipeline that are attributed to the hard work of the Prime Minister.

“People should be honest to give credit where it is due,” said Gentry.
He said the Prime Minister is a champion for the construction of the Ring Road, that is why Government is currently looking for funds to continue work on the Kumbo-Nkambe stretch.

“So, the construction of the Ring Road corridor, whose costing is more than 10 times less than that of the Ring Road cannot, in anyway, compromise the Prime Minister’s stance to see the Ring Road project go through. Seeking funding for that project is one of our greatest fights. The Prime Minister had re-actualised feasibility studies for work to continue on that road. The construction of the Ring Road corridor is just surfacing to enable the Prime Minister travel to his village also without getting stuck in the mud,” Gentry told The Post.

He talked of the recent creation of the national park that touches on Donga Mantung, Menchum, Bui and Boyo Divisions, remarking that it would serve as a veritable development tool in the Region for it would be an attractive tourist destination.
Gentry rubbished the allegation that the creation of the park was a scheme to create a new Division with headquarters in Oku.