Members of the thirteenth 13th steering committee of Rumpi Area Participatory Development Project have resolved that SOWEDA (South West Development Authority) management should set to work for the formulation and implementation of Phase II of Rumpi project which was to fold up on May 31, 2012. Should this happen, the African Development Bank (ADB) will withdraw its unused funding of about FCFA 1.8 billion.

This was one of the seven decisions the 13th Rumpi Project Steering Committee arrived at, at the end of a day's meeting at Chariot Hotel, Buea on May 16. The committee also agreed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should include the cost of feasibility studies for expected Rumpi project phase II in the 2013 public investment budget of the South West Development Authority. Committee members recommended that the construction/rehabilitation of feeder roads be completed using public investment budget especially for the construction of the 100-metre long bridge over River Manyu at Sabes-Kendem road segment. The Governor of the South West Region in his capacity as the chairperson of the committee was requested to write a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development relating to the collection of seed funds and seed fund procedure manual as was decided in the July 29, 2011 project steering meeting.

While opening the meeting, Governor Okalia Bilia recalled that the 12th committee meeting was told that the physical execution rate was estimated at 78 per cent and financial realisation at 61 per cent. The eleven-month project extension raised the level of physical execution to 84 per cent and financial realisation to 76.2 per cent. The Governor decried the poor performance of firms involved in the construction/rehabilitation of the 221-km feeder roads noting that project extensions are to ensure roads are constructed or rehabilitated. He recalled that Rumpi Project has realised 20 rural markets, 35 rural water schemes, four health centres and other

facilities provided to the poor masses.