A tsunami is gathering to visit totems, witches and wizards lodging along the Mabungise River in Kumba, Meme Division, Southwest Region, as drainage and construction works commence within the framework of the employment intensive investment Programme with French acronym, HIMO.

Prince Ndoki Esoka Mukete, Chairman of the Bafaw Traditional Council, sent the warning on October 1, during the launching of the first phase of the FCFA 200 million pilot HIMO project earmarked for Kumba, under the supervision of the City Council.

According to Ndoki, wild winds and tsunamis will visit and crush every totem, witches and wizards resistant to the labour-intensive project that will employ youths and save the environment from numerous diseases.

He told the recruited youths to garner courage as the Traditional Council is bent on arresting any spiritual challenge they may face in the course of drainage and construction works. The Traditional Council Chair urged all stakeholders to support the Government Delegate in ensuring that the project is realized, given that, in the past, most announced projects ended up on paper.

To Victor Nkelle Ngoh, Kumba City Government Delegate, despite the pain the project may cause to some persons, those who live along the banks of the stream will benefit. Top among the gains, the Delegate reassured, is the reclaiming of valuable land, the planting of trees and flowers, construction of small access bridges to link the population and the touristic attraction that will emerge along River Mabungise, when the project is completed.

The said stream, the Government Delegate remarked, has been a breeding ground for mosquitoes, wild snakes, floods and a habitat for other water related diseases like cholera and diarrhea. Work within the present concept of the HIMO project entails the demolition of buildings, latrines and other structures that are blocking the natural course of the stream.

Ngoh disclosed that the 120 youth workers will benefit from the HIMO project through the non-use of heavy equipment, capacity building in masonry and stone walling, end-of-work attestations from the Delegation of Employment and Vocational Training for future opportunities and voluntary savings to invest in other projects in their lives.

Ngoh added that the HIMO project is a sample of a package which the President of the Republic has for the population of Kumba.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT, the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme, David Koulbout Aman, said resources are available for the project to progress.

Aman remarked that Governments’ resolve to adopt the HIMO approach is to stimulate economic growth by making sure that youths are offered employment opportunities. The move, the SDO remarked further, will help strengthen the balance of trade situation of Cameroon.

The project is expected to last for one and a half years with weekly remuneration to the youths.