In Limbe, South-West Cameroon, local populations are currently puzzled by a road in an advanced state of disrepair. In a video shared on social media, a man is denouncing the fact that the road is partially impassable despite being paved barely a year ago. The disintegrating macadam does not seem to have withstood the rainwater flows. 

The man blames the contractors and authorities involved in the roadworks. When contacted, an official from the Ministry of Public Works explained that the project was not carried out by the Ministry. He also offered an explanation of the reasons that could have led to the state of the road. 

“When such things happen, it usually means that there have been no formulation studies or prior validation of pavement layers. When you look at the picture, you can also see that a new layer has been added to a delineated part [of the road],” he indicated. 

In a letter dated August 25, the regional manager of the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (Labogenie), which was called in to help address the situation, explained to the town mayor that the advanced deterioration was due to the road’s proximity to the beach, erosion caused by the sea and rainwater runoff.  

We also learned that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is the owner of the project. The governor has called a meeting to discuss the state of the road and LABOGENIE has been asked to provide its expertise. According to a letter addressed to the mayor of Limbe, that expertise –an about XAF5 million contract– includes new analyses of the physical and mechanical structure of the soil, and suggesting a solution to avoid another incident in the near future. 

L.A.