CI-NEWS

Biya ‘s 7-man ministerial team to Far North ‘victimised’ by flood after effects!

2020-09-15

No: 531

Biya ‘s 7-man ministerial team to Far North ‘victimised’ by flood after effects!

The Minister Paul Atanga Nji-led 7-man ministerial delegation to Maroua for a 4-day working visit which started September 3, ran into an unexpected hitch on their second working day.

The team dispatched by President Paul Biya to assess the road network in the area and comfort flood victims arrived on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Friday. On Saturday during one of their working visits, their convoy is reported to have plunged into misfortune. They were involved in a serious traffic accident on the national road No 1, 10 km from Mora.

“Two ministers are among the victims, as well as a team from BIR. The provisional toll shows 13 serious and light injuries, 5 damaged cars,” a source on the delegation is quoted by Cameroon-info.net as saying, without however revealing the names of the two ministers in question.

The Horizon learnt that one of the ministers who cheated death was Celestine Ketcha Courtes, minister of housing and urban development. She, however, braved it to take part in a press briefing at the end of the tour just hours after the accident. She thanked President Paul Biya for the care accorded her and members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR, involved in the accident, a move for which she has been ridiculed by many on social media platforms.

13 persons were injured on the morning of September 5, 2020, on the Maroua – Mora stretch of road as the convoy of 7 ministers on a humanitarian mission and a working visit to the Far North Region had an accident.

“The work on the national number 1, combined with the poor visibility are at the origin of this accident. Vehicles from the procession missed the bridge and ended up in the water, No loss of life, but wounded among the escort elements of the defence and security forces transferred to hospitals”, another source is quoted as saying.

Within the context of the visit, the ministers made stops at ongoing reconstruction sites in the region.

The team also provided assistance and comfort to families affected by the recent floods in the region. What remains uncertain so far is the sustainability of measures put in place to contain effects of the region’s floods.

Last week’s floods caused a lot of damage to the road network of the region which was already believed to be limping as many had not been maintained for decades.

A key bridge in the area linking Maroua, Kousseri and neighboring countries, Nigeria and Chad was also swept off by the floods, making it all worse.

While many have lauded the initiative, others were worried about the choice of transportation. The ministers used an Ethiopian Airlines plane, a move many believe demonstrates the weaknesses of the country’s aviation sector in general and the Cameroon Airlines Corporation, Camair-Co in particular.

Many have also accused Minister Atanga Nji of snubbing Nguti and Fontem in the South West also affected by natural disasters, as he paid a visit to the Littoral and West regions days back.

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Biya ‘s 7-man ministerial team to Far North ‘victimised’ by flood after effects!