The bad state of roads in Yaounde due to poor construction or explosion f water pipes has made movements difficult.
The state of roads in Cameroon's capital city leaves much to be desired. In spite of efforts by the government to repair major roads in various neighbourhoods in the town, the situation seems futile. In less than two years, some of the newly constructed roads in Yaounde are already covered with potholes. The rupture of water pipes underneath certain lanes has created potholes on roads causing some portions to be blocked, thereby creating heavy traffic and frequent accidents.
A recent incident along the Mvog-Betsi road in Yaounde caused a deep hole has been created on one side of the lane. It was about 10:00 pm that the inhabitants of the Mvog-Betsi neighbourhood watched the main road in front of the Mvog-Betsi zoo disintegrate in the middle with water flowing from beneath. An eyewitness who is also a “call-box” operator along the road, George Tah, explained how last week, passers-by were taken aback with the sound that came through the rupture on the road. Thereafter, there was heavy flow of water. The pipe connecting water across the neighbourhood had burst.
Few days later, George Tah says CAMWATER workers came and repaired the pipe leaving a deep hole in the middle of the road. Without knowing the poor state of the road, many taxi drivers and other road users have been trapped in the hole. Recently, a truck driver got blocked in the hole for over five hours. After a hard struggle, the truck was pulled out, making the hole much deeper and wider. Due to the fact that cars get stuck in the hole each day, the population has decided to block that part of the lane, obliging road users to use only one side. Observers say this has instead made matters worse because each day, two or more accidents happen on that section of the road. Motor-bike riders and taxi drivers are constantly at loggerheads as to who has priority to use the lane.
Meanwhile, the situation along the roads passing through Tam-Tam weekend, Montée-Jouvence, Damas and the Yaounde IV neighbourhoods in Yaounde is also unbearable for movement. Taxi-drivers and other road users prefer not to use these sections of roads. The alleys are all covered with potholes. This has made the movement of vehicles very difficult. Traffic along the roads is intense since cars can barely move. Those wishing to take a cab to these neighbourhoods can stay by the road for over 30 minutes even when they wish to pay more than the normal fare. Without knowing who has to do what, inhabitants in such areas are hoping for a quicker intervention from the authorities concerned while calling on road users to be more prudent.
