Development is a necessary evil. In all its rosy appearance, it comes with thorns. It therefore seems to be the thorns of the construction of the UB Catholic Church Street that the inhabitants of that area are faced with at the meantime.

The construction work of that road started last May ending, with the digging of trenches and drainage systems. This has seen many pipe leakages around the road and as inhabitants wonder who will (would) foot the bills, the Cameroon Water Corporation (SNEC) Buea resorted to turn off SNEC metres, so as to facilitate work and avoid problems with bill payment.

The consequences abound but that which calls for concern is water crisis and movement in that neighbourhood. Inhabitants are forced to move to other parts of the neighbourhood to get portable water; as a result, many students can’t make it to lecture rooms on time.
This situation is made worst with the rainy season determined to make its presence felt in the province. When it rains, the road becomes so muddy with stagnant water everywhere and movement becomes difficult.

A 200 level law student in UB, Catherine Ikome says ‘we put out buckets when it rains and use the water to bathe’. She added that, unlike before that she could use the road freely, the state of the road forces her to go to Malingo junction where she takes a taxi to school. Even then, she remarked that it is not easy. Ms Ikome explained that, she has to ‘tip-toe’ and watch her steps carefully, but that with all the precautions taken, her shoes still look dirty by the time she gets to the tarred road.
The future law maker however expressed delights over the construction work. She said ‘though we suffer today, we will not only have a relatively better road, as it was before the construction work and the rains, but the best after the tarring must have been done (completed)’.

Like Ms IKome, an electrician Charles Besong said ‘the state of the road is horrible, but I do hope and pray that this come to pass’. Mr Besong holds the opinion that, if the works started long before now, things could have been better. Though he expressed ignorance as to who is financing the work, the electrician thinks it is a good gesture.

It is clear the misconception about the financier of the road borders around the fact that many people seem to have lost faith in the government. Many practically refuse to believe even when some one tries to convince them the government is sponsoring the construction. One boy whose name we could not get said, ‘I would have been surprised if the mayor or the government was behind this’, because he is a man of empty promises just like his father in Yaounde.

Also, his companion who pleaded for animosity said ‘even if it was the mayor, I would know it’s just one of those tricks politicians play during political seasons like the one we are in’. They both believe like some workers on the road that, it is the Catholic Mission that is sponsoring the construction.

On his part, the Mayor of Buea municipality Charles Mbella Moki refuted all allegations that it is a matter of strategy that the road is being constructed at the eve of elections. He said it is a project that he has fought for one year to convince the government of, and that, he simply chose this road in preference to others because it stands to serve many more people than the others. The Mayor then cited the case of Bulu road.

The Mayor who expressed his optimism that the road will be completed before the heavy rains come, disclosed that, the five kilometres road work which has been divided into two phases will cost some one hundred million FCFA (US$200,000).