Most commuters in the industrial and commercial city evade the rutted stretch.

Potholes never getting dry but ever widening since the rains returned this month. Any first-time user of ‘Rue Njoya’ immediately suspects the abnormality of the street, which cuts across the heart of the city of Douala; that is, from New-Bell to Nkololoun. In the past, the street was a vital infrastructure whose rehabilitation has of late been placed on the altar of mercy.

However, the Douala City Council, DCC, is concerned about the state of the street. Early early last year, then authorities decided to rehabilitate it. It filtered from a meeting between senators and authorities of the Douala II Sub-divisional Council that the DCC had awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the stretch, but it has never been executed.

What is seen at the project site today is a signboard put up by the executing company, indicating that work was kicking off at the start of year 2014. However, no work has so far been done on the stretch. Concerned DCC officials were not on hand to comment on the said contract and the road. According to some inhabitants of New-Bell, the announced rehabilitation elicited much excitement, but as it delays and the stretch degrades further, driving along the street today has become a tall order.

Any attempt by commuters to avoid ‘Rue Njoya’, especially during rush hours, gets them into traffic congestion on neighbouring streets. Sometimes, the gridlock lasts hours before things come back to normal. Concerned about the state of the road, officials of the Douala II Sub-divisional Council in New-Bell have on past several occasions during public meetings sought to know from the DCC reasons for the delay.