France Willing To Finance Second Wouri Bridge

By Joe Dinga Pefok

The French Minister Delegate for Cooperation, Development and Francophonie, Brigitte Girardin, has declared that her country is willing to finance the feasibility as well as construction of a second bridge over River Wouri, in Douala.

Girardin was talking to the press in Douala, June 22, shortly before she jointly inaugurated the rehabilitated lone bridge (Bonaberi Bridge,) over River Wouri, with Cameroon's Minister of Public Works, Martin Aristide Okouda.

The bulk of the funds for the rehabilitation of the 52-year-old bridge was obtained from France through the French Development Agency.The visiting French Minister did not say if the Cameroon and French governments were discussing the issue.
      

Scope Of Work And Funding

The contract for the rehabilitation of the Bonaberi Bridge, was signed between the Cameroon government and the Togo-based French Company, UDECTO, on April 22, 2003, in Douala, with the then Prime Minister, Peter Mafany Musonge.

According to the terms of the contract, the rehabilitation project mainly had to do with reinforcing the bridge through refilling, injection and encroachment, as well as the reinforcement of the deck.

The road and railway line were also to be rehabilitated. The total costs of the project, taxes included, stood at FCFA 13.206.099.714, while the cost excluding taxes stood at FCFA 10,646,895,000.

The French Development Agency provided FCFA 7.071.850.219, while FCFA 3,575,044,781 came from the HIPC Fund. The direct contribution of the Cameroon government was supposed to be the payment of taxes.

The French money for the project, even though a loan, also meant the awarding of the contract to a French company, UDECTO, which was supposed to handle the main lot, while another French company, ETIC, was to handle the minor lot.

Long Delay

It was stated in the contract that the project would last for 28 months, which included four months for UDECTO to move in and install its equipment. The company's spokesperson had even boasted to reporters after the signing of the contract that the company would be through in at most 25 months.

But then the project is in its 38th month after the contract was signed. The June 22 inauguration ceremony took place only because the French Minister was on a visit to Cameroon, and not because the project has been completed.

It was officially declared at the ceremony that 70 percent of the work was over, meaning that up to 30 percent of work was still left, even though the contractor emphasised that the main part of the work had been completed.

As for the cause of the long delay, it was at one time a story of accusation and counter-accusations by UDECTO and the government.In December last year, a Togolese court reportedly declared UDECTO bankrupt.

Then on January 23, Cameroon's Minister of Public Works signed a decision, which transferred what was left of the contract for the rehabilitation of the bridge, to ETIC.
But then observers asked if the Cameroon government investigated the financial state of UDECTO before awarding it the contract.

Comments

[Ngum]

This offer is not free and might come with another 20 year toll gate with funds going to France. Bids should be out there including China. That place needs multiple bridges over that river.

[Ekwe John]

That is a cheap trick by France to grant contracts to French firms and leave Cameroon with a heavy debt.

Alternately, France would seek petroleum for payment - a keyhole to Bakassi. France is already the largest exporter of hard wood in Europe - most of it illegally logged by French firms from Cameroon.

Cameroon should cooperate with China and Japan to build the bridge, using steel imported from Brazil or South Africa.

[ngum]

This would be a good time for them to jilt France, because France is very weak now. When France is rejected in Africa it does stupid, irrational things like starting a civil war in Ivory Coast or Congo or supporting genocide in Rwanda. Now is the time like no other to kick Madam France in her fat, thieving backside.

In Ivory Coast it was the fact that the President chose to start giving contracts to China, US and others with competitive offers that led to the civil war. In Congo Brazza was that the former President wanted to give oil contracts to American companies instead of Elf because the Americans gave better terms. Cameroon should draw the US close and then give France the boot, if it will have any chance of coming out of this mess.

but will these Cameroon francophone government take the opportunity? They are addicted to their gay holidays in France or go to get expert fellation by the hos in Pigalle so they do not want to piss off France. We have pictures of those going to Pigalle and there are many so dont even think about it.

[Vally]

We can now see why the HIPC fund must have all attached to France.France want to siphone 70% of the funds through funny front french run companies.

They will be given contracts collect monies then disappear in thin air.Must of these companies are registered in off shore countries with no credibilty of proper persucution laws.If you stand in any french court you can not bring these companies to account.

Who said the french are helping cameroon.Foolish

Vally
England.

[Coco Mbende]

Tell the french to go to hell! We mortgaged our petrol to them-we cannot do same every bit of contract to them. I thought france claimed training engineers in the name of study abroads in their universities. Why then give every bit of contract to them. If France have become that cheap then I can give them a contract too to construct an ultra modern pigsty at my Nkwen property especially as this swine fever is around the corner!

[DANGO TUMMA]

FRANCE THIS ,FRANCE THAT
ALL THOSE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS STOLLEN
FROM CAMEROUNESE TREASURY BY, FRANCOPHONES
AND STORED IN FOREIGN BANKS, COULD BE
REPARTRIATED AND THESES CRIMINALS SENT TO JAIL ,INCLUDING BIYA HIMSELF.
MAYBE CAMEROUN WONT NEED ANY MONEY FROM FRANCE AFTERALL.

[magprince from copenhagen denmark]

I will like to know if France is helping constructing the wouri bridge or it is what they surposed to do without letting cameroonians to know? so up to now france is not satisfied. I do beleive wouri bridge is not our immediate problem that france should be proud to say that they want to finance, is that their money or is just a plough back? Cameroonians should be happy if this type of statement should came out from these Landlock countries that dont have anything in relations with cameroon not france that had crippled our economy. We shall always remain stupid by being the underdogs. If there is a
means france will drain Cameroon share of the ocean. Let wait and see.

[Ernest Chi]

I am tired of African nations always running to the door steps of Europeans when it entails major developmental projects.

Contract awards go to foreign companies from where the money loaned originated. We have to find a way of developing Africa, using African technologies and brains. We must learn to be independent, we must learn to take our fate in our hands and stir it towards our own goal.

All the foreign money which is borrowed and then repatriated to the same countries leaves me wondering what claws foreign nations have on Africa that we cant seem to be able to break free.

We design our educational systems to be based on colonialists reforms where people are taught to render services rather than be inventive and innovative. We learn to memorise and regurgitated rather than be pragmatic in the application of learnt skills.

That accounts for out inabilities to administer ground breaking technologies streamlined to suit our needs and resources because we lack that sense of perceptive implementation of strategies under a sound and economically tight scheme without bowing in to accesses!

When will Africa stop being a teenage dependant and when will Africa grow up to design befitting technologies comparable to western standards?

I am not saying this should be realised in a day because we are economically, infrastructrally and technologically behind by several 100s of years but we have to start from somewhere and we are yet to start. Singapore is a clear example of what nationalism can do to revamp a third world economy in one man's life to a first world standard!!! DISHEARTENING!

[Dr. A. A. Agbormbai]

Good commentary Ernest Chi!

We need to revolutionise our educational system to provide the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for such independence.

We also need to bring back Cameroonian Diasporans with the necessary skills and integrate them into the society.

At the same time we shall still need to maintain the various partnerships with the international community so that we can continue to learn from them.

[Fon]

Economists should help me here; the taxes for the rehabilitation of the bridge are to be paid to who and for what reasons? A tax is levied by the government on excess company profits or on any profit generating activity as a source of revenue for the running of the government.In this case I can´t figure out what they are talking about.
Or are they refering to taxes that are levied on the material that is used for the project or insurance of workers?,if so, then that is just part of the cost of the project.
Waiting for someone to through light on it.