Dry Port Envisaged For Bamenda, MP Assures Public

Hon Fobi Nchinda Donate Farm Hand Tools in His Bamenda/Bali Constituency

A dry port project is underway for construction in Bamenda to serve as take off and landing ground for goods from and to West African markets through Nigeria.This is following an instruction by the Minister of Finance Usman Mey to the Director of Customs, Fongod Edwin to facilitate the setting up and putting in place a dry port as a matter of urgency. This revelation was made public by Hon Fobi Nchinda Simon, MP for Bamenda/Bali while on a meet the people tour and distribution of the 2016 parliamentary micro-grants in Bali on Sunday April 24 2016.

Already a seven hectares of land has been allocated for this dry port project by the Fon of Chomba on the Bamenda/Bali road. According to Hon. Fobi, the coming of the dry port on the Bamenda/Enugu stretch of road would boost the economy of Bamenda/Bali given that upon construction and completion there would high demand for hotel and catering services to accommodate the huge traders that would be plying the Bamenda/Enugu trans-African road. Goods from Douala port would be placed on transit to Bamenda for customs clearance. Traders from the West would have to clear their goods in Bamenda instead of Douala void of the many Customs checkpoints on the road as has been the case. Many people would have to invest in warehousing to serve as safe heavens for transit goods from Douala and West African countries. The honorable member for Bamenda/Bali reminded his electorates that when he was voted in 2007 to go to parliament, in one of his commitments taken with the population was a promise to fight hard for an industrial zone to be created in Bamenda. Today in Bamenda on the mile 6 Nkwen in Bamenda, an industrial zone was not only created by a Presidential decree but made ready for use with its accompanying factors such as access roads, electricity and subsequently water. As he took another mandate last September 2013, Hon. Fobi promised to fight hard for a dry port for Bamenda and today the minister of Finance has asked his director customs who happens to come from Bali to ensure that a dry port is put at the disposal of users in Bamenda.

While handing over a consignment of traditional hand farm tools such as cutlasses and hoes, Hon. Fobi lamented that the annual micro-grant of FCFA 8 million to manage over 800.000 people in his Bamenda/Bali constituency made up of four subdivisions, was insignificant given the needs of the people. If FCFA 8 million were to be divided evenly, each person would have FCFA10. As a promise kept to always make available all of the annual micro-grants to the people for micro-grant committees to identify the peoples’ needs and purchase.so far it has been going on welling line with the philosophy of the Social Democratic Front, SDF which states that when there is a little let there be a little for everybody and when there is enough let there be enough for everybody. Hon. Fobi hopes for the day when the micro-grant of FCFA 8 million would be scraped and Parliamentarians asked to write projects worth FCFA 100 million for funding in their various constituencies.Over the years, Hon Fobi has doled out micro-grants to youths, school children, women and this time around to farmers to boost agriculture and ensure sustainability in food sufficiency given that Bali is a bread basket in the Division.

On his part the SDF Mezam Divisional Coordinator Numfor Stanley who accompanied the MP to Bali,time has come for Bali to stand up as one and face the challenge of 2018 and continue to give their support to Hon. Fobi who has proven every reasonable calculation that he has the people at heart. National Communication Chief, Beatrice Munjo reminded the people to get registered on the electoral register in readiness for 2018 election.In all a total of 4000 hoes and cutlasses were distributed in his constituency to boost agriculture.