By Boris Esono Nwenfor
The road, which largely winds through the Bimbia forest and parts of CDC oil palm farms, easily gets muddy and impassable when it starts raining. And you can be stuck for more than two hours just to navigate yourself through the popular “Jamstone” stretch on a bad day. All issues inhabitants of Mabeta go through daily.
Mabeta, located in Limbe III Subdivision, South West Region of Cameroon, is mostly a fishing community with agriculture and other activity carried out in the area. The road network is peculiar with extremely bad roads, especially with the advent of the rainy season in the South West. From the Bimbia slave trade village, getting to Mabeta and passing through the Jamstone stretch, is as daunting as the word.
“This particular place always troubles us during the rainy season,” Bomtu Felix, a tractor driver for the Bota Palms Estate, told Pan African Visions. “The council has done their best in putting the road to some standard but we are pleading that the council should come again and put gravel in this jamstone area. They (Council) worked on the spot but did not put gravel and if they had done so, we would not be facing difficulty to pass.”
The lack of technical support and adequate infrastructure for rural communities such as Mabeta is a source of hardship for vulnerable people, as these factors severely hamper local development between communities. Today, many of them, have long been victims of reduced mobility and other difficulties due to the poor condition of the roads that they use in their daily activities.
The challenges traversing the road are just enormous according to Bomtu Felix. He said the Jamstone stretch of road is just about 200m but causes a lot of havoc to drivers and taximen. “When rain falls, it is difficult for us to climb this particular hill. Sometimes we need to use chains to draw other cars from even making it up the hill. So, that is how we work here during the rainy season,” Bomtu Felix added.
Difficulty in access
The road link is of immense importance to Limbe III and the entire country, because it leads from Bimbia to Mabeta Fishing Port, which is the economic heart of this subdivision and where the largest catch and trade in crayfish is done all along Cameroon’s coastline. Smoked crayfish leaves from here in tons to almost every other region of the country.
But due to the poor state of the road during the rainy season, owing to badly executed road maintenance work, it is very expensive to access Mabeta. In 2011, it cost FCFA 6,000 for a bike to ferry one from Limbe to and from Mabeta. Today, you need a four-wheel car to even attempt the road during a rainy season, while inhabitants will resort to motorcycles.
“If you move now from Chopfarm here to Mabeta, even in your four-wheel drive, you cannot make it,” said Chief Samuel Epupa Ekum of Dikolo, Bimbia
“When you look at the Mabeta road, there is no gutter, which makes it difficult for the water to pass. As there is no gutter, the water is forced to pass through the road which damages it,” Brandon Chisom, a bike rider, told Pan African Visions.
“We are calling on the Limbe III and City Councils to maintain the road as we have suffered a lot due to the poor state of the road. We have not even entered the heart of the rainy season, yet the road is already bad. When we enter fully, it means we won’t even be passing through the road.”
A decline in tourism activities
The Mabeta stretch of the road sits an important touristic potential, that of the Bimbia Slave Trade village. But with bad roads, it is making it difficult for tourists to visit the popular slave trade village. In the 18th century, Bimbia was a slave trade port, where historians have confirmed that at least 10 per cent of enslaved Africans passed through, before being forced onto boats sailing to Europe and the Americas.
Little has been done to develop the site as a place where tourists can easily visit. A road leading to the site has still not been constructed and local tour guides have been trying to encourage more Cameroonians to visit the site. However, in 2017, the Cameroonian government declared it a National Cultural Heritage and has also been working towards making the historical slave port a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Although covered in overgrown bamboo, bush, and vegetation, the ruins of this coastal slave port are intact. From chains that are almost two meters long to the bells and bracelets still visible, the pain and hardships of those who were enslaved become even clearer. The pillars of the prisons still stand tall.
“The road from Man O’ War Bay to Dikolo has remained a bone of contention to this municipality. After much water under the bridge, we are finally seeing some actions from the new contractor that we hope will not emulate the poor example of the former”, Mayor Nseke Dibotti of Limbe III Council said.
