Mekin — «Gone are the days when Mekin used to be an unwelcoming area for outsiders and even an uncomfortable zone for its own indigenes. Gone are the days when our youth abandoned their village for greener pastures elsewhere within and without the country. All what attracted them elsewhere is coming here and will keep them in place as well as welcome other green-pasture searchers," H.M. Mvondo Ze Jean Marie happily said. He was referring to development that is competing for space in the locality thanks to the ongoing construction of the FCFA 25 billion, 15-MW Mekin hydroelectricity dam.

Business centres that could not exist, or at least at the sizes they are operating today, are fast cropping up in the locality. The 230 personnel working on the project are enough clientele for business and visionary citizens are maximizing the opportunity to benefit from that. Coupled with the construction work that has brought in people from far and near, the project in itself changed the lives of many inhabitants of the area. Compensations have been paid to those who were affected by the project and most of them have used the money to develop businesses that would fetch better fortunes. "Most of the villagers are investing in vehicle and farm business because they are proving to be fruitful," Michel Assam, an indigene of the area told Cameroon Tribune. "Time had past when our produce would rotten in the farms for want of markets. The project has opened up the area to outsiders who visit it to buy the products from our fertile farms," he said. The locality produces cassava, banana/plantains and maize with buyers coming in from Yaounde and environs.

The Road

The 13-km access road that is undergoing construction is another plus to the development of Mekin. Construction work is ongoing on the road, with the surface, 7 metres wide and 1.5 metres sidewalks receiving particular attention. While work is intensifying on gravelling the already dogged road, sub-contractors are busy building the gutters to ease the flow of rain water and facilitate circulation by the numerous cars that will ply the road on the day of the laying of the foundation stone. But before that, the Chinese firm constructing the dam is equally using the road to transport heavy-duty equipment needed for the project.

Fishing, Ecotourism Afoot

It is in plan that when the project is done, fishing projects will be developed to benefit from the rich fishing resources the water offers. An official of the project disclosed that the area has diverse fish specie varying from one to five kilogrammes. When energy will no longer be a problem, entrepreneurs could locate on the site, carry out fishing and process the fish for the national and international market. The site will also serve for ecotourism and all these are expected to spark sustainable socio-economic development in the locality and country.