Three years after the establishment of Cameroon’s total sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninisula following the June 12, 2006 Greentree Accord, satisfaction is felt in government circles for the effective implementation of social, economic, security and administrative projects in the zone handed over by the Federal Republic of Nigeria after the October 10, 2002 International Court of Justice ruling.

If in 2015, it was announced that over FCFA 30 billion had been invested in the area since 2008, more investments worth over FCFA 722 million have since been added in 2016.

While chairing the 19th Session of the Coordination and Follow-up Committee for the Implementation of Priority Projects in the Bakassi Zone, yesterday, August 18, 2016, the committee’s Chairperson and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Bertha Ndoh Bakata, declared that much indeed had been accomplished through the yearly Public Investment Budget and the FCFA 5.6 billion Special Mini Development Programme.

A run-down of the projects executed indicates the construction of rest houses, classrooms, youth centres, fishermen’s houses, health structures, customs posts, roads and community halls, amongst others, in localities such as Isangele, Akwa, Idabato, Mbengmong, New Beach and Kombo-Abedimo.

“The Prime Minister authorised the trip of a team of five to the area in April 2016 to identify emergency projects which a Douala-based company and Canadian investors are interested in executing,” disclosed Bertha Ndoh Bakata.

After urging participants to address persistent problems such as insufficient potable water, electricity, telecommunication and roads, she called for more commitment by ministries in the implementation of the projects and the early disbursement of earmarked funds, especially as the long rainy season acts as a major impediment.