The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Jean Claude Mbwentchou, has urged the Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council and other stakeholders to step up their preparatory efforts ahead of the 2016 African Women Championship.

Minister Mbwentchou was in Limbe on Saturday, November 22, to assess the level of preparations for the competition.

“The 2014 edition of the tournament just ended in Namibia on October 25, and Cameroon’s Minister of Sports, Adoum Garoua, was handed the baton to host the 2016 edition of the competition. It is for this reason that I have been dispatched by the Prime Minister who is the one charged by the Head of State to oversee the preparations of the 2016 female championship which Cameroon shall be hosting for its very first time,” The Minister said.

Mbwentchou was, however, worried that the access roads to the new Limbe Stadium were still to be built. The Minister said there was need for the three access roads to be constructed.

Meantime, water and electricity are still to be connected to the stadium. As at now, the stadium is isolated in the bush. It is surrounded by shrubs to the south and by palm trees to the north.

Minister Mbwentchou said the Council needs to come up with a settlement plan and present it to Government in order to pre-empt the possibility of houses sprouting up around the stadium in a haphazard manner.

The Minister also visited an FCFA 3 billion road linking the National Comprehensive College Limbe to the CDC Bota Engineering end. The 1.9 km road is financed by the Ministry of Housing. According to the Director of Technical Services at the Limbe City Council, Casmir Lyonga, the road will be completed in 2015.

Minister Mbwenctchou also called on the Government Delegate of the Limbe City Council to beautify the City as part of preparations for the 2016 event.

He advised the Council to partner with the Cameroon Development Cooperation, CDC, and the National Oil Refinery Company, SONARA, to support some of the projects that will give Limbe a facelift for the 2016 and 2019 AFCONS.

“You should not expect the Ministry to come and repair even the pot holes on your roads for you,” Mbwentchou told the Delegate.

The Delegate thanked the Government for according Limbe the opportunity to play host to the 2016 and 2019 tournaments, but said; “If we concentrate all our resources on roads, then we shall not have money to provide water, electricity and other amenities to the people.” He pleaded with the Minister that the Council shall always come back to him when the need arises.

“We will do our best during the next budget to focus our attention on the maintenance of roads,” the delegate said.