Yaounde-Douala Motorway: Construction Moved To Littoral End After Compensation Blockade

During the question session in the National Assembly on June 12, 2026, the Government of Cameroon addressed critical challenges limiting national development. Such as severe road degradation, regional budget equity, stalled highway projects, bureaucratic blockades in decentralization, and State asset liability. 

Questions To PM, Public Works Minister   
Chaired by National Assembly Speaker, Theodore Datouo, the high-stakes session pitted members of the opposition and the ruling party against the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute. And the Minister of Public Works, Emmanule Nganou Djoumessi, exposing structural delays in state compensation, security bottlenecks in conflict zones, and the financial reality of state self-insurance.

RLA Procurement Delays, Waste Crisis
Hon. Bindoua Mathurin Germain of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Party, CPDM, raised alarm over a five-year delay by the government in establishing a dedicated public procurement system for Regional and Local Authorities, RLAs. 
He noted that this regulatory void directly paralyzed municipal councils in Yaoundé, rendering them unable to renew expired waste management contracts since December 2023. Forcing citizens to coexist with dangerous heaps of uncollected garbage.

Devolved To Local Governments 
Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute clarified that under the 2019 General Code of RLAs, the state fully devolved waste management to local councils. He explained that the specific RLA procurement framework was severely slowed down by the emergence of the newly established regional councils. Which required restructuring the entire study to fit both municipal and regional tiers.

Bypass Measures 
To bypass the crisis, the PM revealed that a new contract has officially been signed between the Yaoundé City Council and HYSACAM. Furthermore, President Paul Biya intervened directly by donating a substantial fleet of trucks, utility vehicles, and backhoe loaders to Yaoundé’s seven subdivisions. In the interim, special procurement derogations (mutual agreements and time-and-materials authorizations) are being issued annually by the Ministry of Public Contracts to prevent local development standstills.

Motorway Deadlock, Regional Disparity
Hon. Ngo Issi Rolande épouse Mbock of the opposition PCRN political party accused the Ministry of Public Works of geographic discrimination. Claiming that public funds heavily favor the South and West Regions while the remaining eight regions suffer from extreme road deterioration. She demanded to know why the Sombo-Dibang road stretch has been abandoned since 1992. Why Phase 2 of the Yaoundé-Douala motorway is severely delayed. And challenged the international certification of materials used, given that paved roads degrade rapidly.

No Discrimination! The Evidence!
Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi strongly rejected the discrimination claim, presenting a counter-list of active cross-regional corridors. The Ntui-Yoko-Tibati spine (416 km) linking the Center and Adamawa Regions. The Maroua-Bogo-Pouss and Maroua-Mora roads in the Far North Region. The Douala-Bonépoupa-Yabassi road (84 km) in the Littoral Region.
He stated that RLA road maintenance funding significantly increased between 2025 and 2026, scaling from 35 billion FCFA to 49.7 billion FCFA for municipal councils. In Nyong-et-Kéllé Division of the Centre Region, 3.096 billion FCFA was distributed to local mayors, including 450 million FCFA for the Dibang Council.

Motorway Deadlock
Addressing Phase 2 of the Yaoundé-Douala Motorway (the 141 km Bibodi-Bodmon-Masoumbou section launched on October 2, 2024), the Minister exposed a major gridlock. While the state retained the original contractor to cut costs, local residents in the Center Region blockaded the 200-meter right-of-way. Refusing to move until they received full, upfront compensation.

Construction Moved To Littoral End 
Frustrated by the local blockade, the Minister ordered the contractor on March 24, 2026 to completely abandon deployment from the Center Region end and shift operations to start from the Littoral Region. In Sanaga-Maritime Division of Littoral Region, local people accepted compensation terms and cleared over 7 kilometers of right-of-way for deforestation. Though the project faces temporary fuel shortages and incomplete international financing loops.

On Material Quality
The Minister clarified that contractors are legally responsible for material sourcing, subject to dual oversight by internal commissions in the Ministry of Public Works and control commissions within the Ministry of Public Contracts. While local natural components (laterite and crushed aggregate) are cleared by independent engineers, external imports like bitumen and soil stabilizers require rigorous supplier compliance certifications before deployment, Minister Nganou Djoumessi clarified.

Uninsured State Property

Hon. Djeumeni Bénilde of the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, questioned why vast amounts of public assets, including state-owned buildings and rolling stock, remain completely uninsured. Despite yearly budgetary allocations, exposing public finances to catastrophic losses during disasters.
PM Joseph Dion Ngute explained that according to the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets, CIMA Code, the State acts as its own insurer. And is legally exempt from standard third-party commercial insurance obligations. The Prime Minister contextualized why commercial insurance is not feasible by revealing astronomical figures from a recent tangible fixed assets inventory.

Huge State Assets In Mfoundi, Wouri
For example, State assets in Mfoundi Division of the Centre Region are evaluated at approximately 1,070,990,995,500 FCFA. While in Wouri Division of Littoral Region, State assets are estimated at 442,417,956,100 FCFA. Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute explained that because private firms cannot cover assets of this scale, the state manages risks through strict internal civil and criminal liability. 
On the other hand, public servants face direct salary revenue cuts or criminal prosecution under Section 187 of the Penal Code if they destroy or neglect state property. When accidents occur involving administrative vehicles, the Ministry of Finance's Insurance Department coordinates direct Treasury settlements, the PM pointed out.

Abandonment Of Akwaya Subdivision
Hon. Aka Martin Tyoga of the CPDM gave a sobering account of Akwaya Subdivision in Manyu Division of the South West Region. Stating that for 64 years since independence, there has been no functional road linking the 140,000 inhabitants of Akwaya to their divisional headquarters in Mamfe. As a result, 80% of the population and posted civil servants are forced to travel illegally through Nigeria to access duty stations and basic services. 

Four-lot Construction Plan Proposed 
He petitioned for the 95-kilometer Mamfe-Akwaya road (National Road N6B) to be divided into four distinct 25 km lots to circumvent budgetary constraints. And demanded the cancellation of contracts for bankrupt bridge builders. Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi detailed a harrowing operational environment. He recalled a personal site visit in 2016 to inspect the Mawne bridge. But noted that a follow-up technical study team dispatched in December 2017 was textually abducted by armed actors in the region.

Funding Secured For Akwaya Road
Despite ongoing insecurity, the ministry has finalized preliminary direct-labor studies. Funding has been secured from the Islamic Development Bank to construct the road and four major bridges. The Minister stated that the results of the finalized technical studies will officially determine if the project can be partitioned into four lots. 

Because Of Insecurity 
Regarding previously stalled works, the contractor, Cafeco, was issued a formal warning after security issues halted their progress. On National Road N8 (Nfaitock-Bachuo Akagbe), work reached 80% completion, but was permanently halted in August 2018 due to insecurity, causing the remaining funds to be canceled, the Minister noted.

Bypass Measures 
To bypass the crisis, the PM revealed th...