Government Workers Under Threat as Separatist Attacks Stall Meme-Manyu Projects

 By Mark Nji

Public Investment Budget (PIB) projects in Meme and Manyu Divisions, Southwest Region, Cameroon are facing significant delays following repeated threats and attacks on construction workers and government officials.

The announcement was made on August 18, 2023, in Kumba by the Senior Divisional Officers (SDOs) for Meme and Manyu during a joint stakeholder evaluation meeting with traditional leaders and business operators.

According to the SDO for Meme, Mr. Ntou’ou Ndong Chamberlain, the delays stem from continuous harassment by armed separatists. The most recent attack occurred on July 17, 2023, when construction crews working on farm-to-market roads connected to the Kumba–Mamfe highway were ambushed. Two officials supervising the works sustained injuries, while others narrowly escaped.

“Separatists have made life difficult for our people. They do not want government projects to continue unless their demands are met. With the repeated threats and violent attacks on officials, many workers are unwilling to report to duty,” Mr. Ntou’ou Ndong said.

Flanked by top security officers, his Manyu counterpart recalled the killing of six Divisional Delegates in Ndian Division in June 2021, stressing that separatist violence against civil servants remains a major concern. He emphasized that security measures have been reinforced to protect officials under threat, including Mr. Thibault Mvondo (Divisional Chief of Land Tenure), Mr. Louis Ngam Mateh (Land Registrar), and Mr. Bechem Manfred (Divisional Chief of State Property). These officials were central to the rehabilitation of Mamfe Airport and are expected to continue supporting government projects despite the risks.

Both SDOs insisted that projects must proceed to completion, making clear that the government will not bow to separatist fighters, whom they described as “terrorists.”

The Commissioner of Police for Kumba Central, Mr. Wilson Elong Njume Njikang noted  that land and property officials are prime targets because of their strategic role in approving and supervising development projects. “Separatists see them as obstacles to their agenda of frustrating state development. We have been informed that Anglophone officials are particularly targeted for allegedly collaborating with their Francophone colleagues. But whether Anglophone or Francophone, Cameroon is one and indivisible. Civil servants owe allegiance to the state, not to terrorists hiding in the bushes,” he declared.

Despite these assurances, local sources expressed scepticisms about the government’s ability to protect Anglophone officials. They pointed to the gruesome killing of six Divisional Delegates in Ndian Division in 2021 as evidence of ongoing risks.

Traditional authorities and business leaders voiced frustration at the SDOs’ approach, urging long-term solutions instead of repeated suspensions. “We call on the government to resolve this Anglophone crisis. People are dying, businesses are collapsing, and farmers cannot sell their produce because of poor roads,” lamented Pa Jacques Fon, a prominent cocoa farmer.

The slowdown of PIB projects in Meme and Manyu comes amid continued separatist attacks and in the shadow of the June 2021 massacre of six Divisional Delegates in Ndian. A former separatist fighter, now at the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Centre, later revealed that the killings were carried out by the armed group Expendables 100.

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