These, of course, are lofty projects that leave no one indifferent but some of the blockages that stand on their way of execution are far from leaving no one indifferent. The new dispensation whereby government has resorted to issuing treasury bonds to acquire funds to finance some of these projects is something worthy of praise. In fact, the response from the economic mainstream by buying at lightning speed the bonds, is expected to fast-track the projects to their logical end.
Whereas Cameroonians have hailed government’s initiative at pushing things forward, some members of the population who live at the project sites and who will incidentally draw the first benefits from the projects, think it is an opportunity to get rich overnight. Some, in the name of compensation, have held projects hostage. Cases abound where the so called local population come out en masse like one man with batons and other weapons to attack project authorities insisting on getting paid for the property destroyed before any other business begins.
To imagine that major infrastructure projects that will serve the whole nation are blocked because of few individuals who happen by accident or coincidence to be found where the infrastructure will be located will stop a project in the name of compensation is something to be worried about. And as if that were not enough, many of them will declare property that does not exist or that do not belong to them. Someone will insist on getting compensation for a stream, river or sea which he or she grew up to discover. The population is compensated for the forest which they did not plant.
The people living around Lom Pangar dam project were recently handed gifts ahead of the real compensation while that of the Kribi Deep Seaport started receiving payment for the trees, farms, graves and houses to be destroyed. According to the project authorities of the Kribi Deep Seaport, government will be spending FCFA 24 billion as compensation to the local population. The amount surpasses the FCFA 22 billion to be spent on the construction of part of the Ring Road project (60.5 kilometres) fro Ndop to Kumbo.
The interesting thing about this phenomenon is that the population along some projects like the Ring Road is saying nothing about compensation. Rather, they have been smiling from jaw to jaw since the project was announced. Many if asked to give out their land for free so the road can past, will readily do so. This spirit is already rife for the just created State University and some private industrial projects where the population was fighting to give out land for free so these institutions should be implanted.
Just how this contrasting behavioural pattern where some people have the culture of compensation and others that of collaboration could be explained is the question on many lips.
