Some two months after the commencement of work by the Dutch construction company – Interbeton on the very first component of the Limbe Shipyard Project (LSP), an important information and sensitisation meeting relating thereto took place in the premises of the Limbe Urban Council (LUC) on 22 nd April 2005.
The meeting, convened on the initiative and presided at by the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Fako - Mr. Bernard OKALIA BILAI, witnessed the participation of the General Manager (GM) of The Cameroon Shipyard and Industrial Engineering Ltd (CNIC) and some of his close collaborators, the S.D.O's First Assistant and collaborators of the Forces of Law and Order, the Government Delegate to the Limbe Urban Council, Honourable Catherine MEBOKA - Member of Parliament for the Limbe-Fako constituency, the Fako 1 C.P.D.M. section president and Chairman of the L.U.C - Mr. Andrew MUTANGA, Fako political and opinion leaders, a cross-section of Limbe sub-section divisional traditional rulers, Economic Operators and other project stakeholders.
The main objective of this meeting was to sensitise the participants and the general public on different aspects of the execution of the LSP and clarify the erroneous perception and misinformation surrounding the commencement of work by Interbeton on the project site. In effect, prior to the convening of this meeting, there had been latent discontent and febrile agitation from some segments of the Limbe population concerning what they considered as Interbeton's failure to recruit large numbers of employment-seeking indigenes and lack of information on the recruitment process. This misinformation triggered rumours and speculation concerning the overall fall-outs of the project and the uncertainty of additional benefits accruing to the project-affected population.
In his preliminary remarks, the SDO for Fako began by thanking the population of Limbola and Mokundange for thus far giving active collaboration towards the execution of the project by accepting to be displaced, upon compensation, from their ancestral land which is now the project site. He went further to reassure this project-affected population, the Limbe public and opinion leaders about the immediate, short-term and long-term benefits for the project. Pursuing in his remarks, the SDO pointed out that a project of this magnitude whose importance goes beyond the national scope into the Central African sub-region needs a peaceful and stable environment with a project supportive and hospitable population for its execution.
For his part, the GM also expressed CNIC's appreciation towards the population for their active collaboration so far. While thanking the SDO for taking the initiative to convene the meeting, he regretted that there had been a lot of misinformation and, at times, outright ignorance about the presence of Interbeton on the project site. He explained that contrary to general belief, Interbeton was just one of several companies that would be involved in the execution of the project which comprises several phases.
Addressing the worry of the population and traditional rulers about the recruitment of only a few of the indigenes amongst Interbeton personnel, the GM explained that this first phase of the work is more capital-intensive than labour intensive and would make more use of heavy equipment than physical labour. Notwithstanding, he pointed out that Interbeton was selected through a very rigorous international tenders bid and CNIC or the Cameroon Government could not impose staffing on it, although adequate measures have been taken to ensure that on equal competence and qualification, priority would be given to the project affected job-seekers. In response to a question from the LUC Government Delegate concerning the definition of project affected population, the GM stressed that this concept was defined within the framework of the funding of the project and means the population of Limbola-Mokundange-Batoke.
While reiterating that this definition could not be suddenly revised to encompass the entire population of the LUC or Fako division as desired by some, the GM underscored that the payment of CFA 1.4 billion francs as compensation to displaced persons, of CFA 60 million francs for the transfer of ancestral tombs, the free provision of pipe-borne water and electrical connections as well as the ongoing construction of the community hall are eloquent testimony that CNIC is a community-friendly company that has gone an extra mile to ensure the welfare of the project-affected population.
Concluding his remarks, the GM reassured participants that with their continuous support, the project will bring the awaited employment, business opportunities and sustained economic development not only to the population of Limbe but that of the South West and Cameroon as a whole. Assessing the economic stakes involved, he called on economic operators to pool together their resources and advised parents to give their children appropriate training to equip them to take advantage of the numerous high profile jobs that would be offered during the different phases of the execution of the project.
The preliminary address of the SDO and the statement from CNIC's GM were followed by a question and answer session which addressed, in more detail, the issues raised in the two addresses. At the end of the meeting, participants demonstrated visible satisfaction with the different explanations offered to their questions and enquiries and were convinced that with the imminent opening of an information and liaison office promised by the GM, there would be better flow of information thus preventing any misunderstanding
