Les besoins pour l’Afrique, concernant l’électrification sont immenses.

A ce jour, les tendances sont encourageantes, les approbations de financements se sont concentrées sur l’accès à l’énergie, c’est donc encourageant. Cependant, nous pourrions faire un peu plus, ont estimé des organisations de la société civile (OSC) africaine.

Réunies à l’auditorium Babacar Fall de la Banque africaine de développement (BAD) d’Abidjan, du 7 au 9 mai 2018, à l’occasion d’une première rencontre des OSC, il planchait sur le thème : « Réduire le fossé énergétique pour une industrialisation réussie de l’Afrique : table ronde pour diffuser les solutions à grande échelle ». Une rencontre organisée par plusieurs structures, notamment l'Alliance Panafricaine pour la Justice Climatique (PACJA).

« Aujourd’hui, les financements pour l’accès à l’énergie sont importants. Nous n’entendons pas moins de la part de la BAD. Entre 2013 et 2017, les parts de financements sont passés de 16% à 70% c’est donc encourageant. Mais nous pouvons mieux faire, car le besoin sur le continent est encore immense » a souligné Thuli Makama, Africa Senior Advisor à OilChange international.

« Si l’Afrique et la BAD veulent réaliser l’industrialisation, il faut prendre en compte ceux qui parlent disent que c’est cher. Si vous démystifier le secteur, si vous enlever les subventions des énergies fossiles vous verrez le résultat. Il y a un cri de cœur. Les populations ont besoin de quelque chose de nouveau. Ne nous laissons pas distraire par le lobby des énergies fossiles. Nous avons besoin de la masse critique », a-t-elle ajouté.

Un avis partagé par Mithika Mwenda, secrétaire général de PACJA. « Seule une véritable synergie des actions de la BAD permettra de régler de manière transversale le problème. Et nous avons besoin de la masse critique des organisations de la société civile pour accompagner la Banque dans l’industrialisation du continent », a-t-il indiqué.

Selon les données actualisées, 640 millions d’Africains qui n’ont pas accès à l’énergie. L’objectif du continent est de combler le GAP d’ici à 2025. Pour cela il faut investir jusqu’à 90 milliards de dollars, a révélé Al-Hamadou Dorsouma, expert en changement climatique à la BAD.

« La BAD, toute seule, ne peut pas arriver à financer. Encore que dans certains pays, les coûts d’accès à l’électricité sont encore élevés. Sans compter qu’il manque souvent des projets bancables parce qu’ils ne sont pas bien préparés. Ce sont des barrières pour la pénétration des énergies renouvelables (ER) », a souligné Dorsouma, soulignant que si chaque pays détenait un projet cohérent et concis en matière d’accès à l’ER, il serait mieux accompagné.

Plus de trois cent organisations de la Société Civile (OSC), en provenance de divers pays africains sont réunis à Abidjan à l'initiative de la Banque Africaine de Développement pour plancher sur l'engagement des OSC dans l'industrialisation en Afrique.

Cette rencontre est la première du genre, après la décision de la BAD d’impliquer un peu plus les OSC dans des débats portant sur des sujets cruciaux pour le continent africain.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Ongoing land reforms in many African nations like Liberia and Cameroon have yet to incorporate any special protection for vulnerable groups, who struggle to claim ownership of natural resources, activists say.

But civil society organisations and other activists are intensifying their efforts to push governments to speed up land reform processes and establish clear legislation securing the rights of vulnerable groups to own, access and control land and other natural resources.

In Liberia for example the International Land Coalition (ILC) Africa, has added its voice to that of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Working Group on Land Rights Reform in that country to demand for a people-centred land bill on land rights.

In a statement issued by ILC Africa’s Chair, Shadrack Omondi, on April 17 2018, the platform called on President George Weah and the Senate to review the Land Rights Act to ensure it responded to the needs of vulnerable communities.

 "Liberia’s shared and sustained economic growthdepends on secured land rights for communities
and vulnerable groups," the statement noted.

It points out that the Land Rights Act (LRA) in Liberia as passed in August 2017 does not offer adequate protection for community land rights and thus risks plunging the the country into another circle of conflict.

Research suggests land disputes continue to fuel resource based conflicts in Africa. Such disputes mostly arise from weak land and natural resource tenure,which causes power imbalances and pushes different groups to their limits.

"Conflicts break out as communities seek for extra judicial solutions to secure their lives and livelihoods. Liberia’s Land Rights Act is a unique opening to ensure secure access to landrights and improved livelihoods for all, especially women, youth and Indigenous Peoples," the statement notes.

It called on the President and the Senate to seize the  opportunity to build a strong,peaceful, just and equitable Liberia-and ensure that it can attract investments for development that is sustainable and the benefits from which are equally distributed.

A similar call was made in Cameroon recently by women landrights activist for African leaders to institute landreforms that include legal safeguards to protect women’s rights to land ownership.

The African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests,RECAFOF, an international NGO, believes only reforms that include legal safeguards giving women equal say in decisions made by customary and state authorities on managing land and forest resources will boost gender equality on the continent.

“We know that wherever land rights are being ignored, women are indisputably the most affected. Banding together and raising awareness of these issues is the first step toward ensuring all women’s rights are recognised,” Cécile Ndjebet, president of REFACOF, said in a statement.

KEY TO DEVELOPMENT

Ongoing land reforms in African nations such as Liberia,Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal have yet to incorporate any special protection for women and other vulnerable communities according to ILC and REFACOF.

“Globally, people are starting to understand the contributions women make to development. The importance of securing land rights for women in achieving development can therefore not be over-emphasised,” said Ndjebet.

The ILC statement on its part called on the inclusion of all stakeholders, and especially communities, in finalising the land Bill, for Liberia to move to truly people-centred land governance and improve the lives of 85% of its population living in rural areas and depending on land for their shelter and livelihoods.

" We call upon all stakeholders to intensify their efforts towards promoting dialogue. We hope consensus can be built on how to strengthen the Bill and use it as a tool for promoting unity, wealth creation and sustainable peace," ILC Africa’s chair, Shadrack Omondi said.

It should be recalled that in 2014, former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf presented the Land

Rights Act (LRA) and in 2017, the Lower House of Parliament of Liberia voted the bill. However, with some newly added and amended provisions, Omondi
fears the bill could undermine community land rights and create future tensions.
 

Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper notes that women are major players in the agricultural sector, making up the majority of small-holder producers and the agricultural labour force.

Women produce some 60 percent of agricultural goods and carry out 80 percent of trading activities in rural areas, but they have less access to productive inputs than men, including land, skills training, basic tools and technology, the strategy says.

The situation is similar in many developing countries,espacially in Africa. In Western and Central Africa, generally less than 10 percent of landholders are women, according to data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation.

As floods and pollution wreak havoc on a key industry, prompting visitors to stay away, fishermen and businesses in Limbe fear not only the sea but also the future. PAMACC's  Elias Ntungwe Ngalame reports

LIMBE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Sitting in front of his plank house in Batoke Limbe, a coastal village in Cameroon’s South-west region, Ngeme John , 45 arranges his boat and net in readiness for the day’s early morning  catch.

But the planned expedition won’t take place on the fishing spot around his village, as it used to. Just 2km away, the formerly coastal fresh air now smells of gasoline and petroleum spills.

The silence of the surrounding mangrove forest is broken by the honking and rumbling of patrol tankers and heavy duty trucks.
He stares vacantly at the rolling sea, struggling to hold back the tears in the eyes in desperation.

"I have lived here for over 25 years, but never experienced this type of polluted environment before ," says John, a fisher man in Batoke some 5 KM away from Mile six a renowned tourist beach in Limbe.

Marine pollution along the coastal town of Limbe stretching through Douala in Cameroon has continued to surge in recent years .

As a result, John now must venture about 30km away from home to fish.

He and the entire fishing community along the coast complain their livelihood have been destroyed  by the disaster. Environmentalists are sounding the death knell too.
“This petroleum exploitation project has made life perilous for us,” John said . “The polluted waters have scared all the fish. We are obliged to go fishing far away, where we can find something to eat and earn some income to send our children to school ,”he explained.

The Cameroon government says it is touting oil resource exploitation in the shores of Limbe as part of the country’s ambitious plans towards an emerging economy by 2035.

The country’s lone National Oil Refinery, known by its French Acronym as SONARA, in 2014 invested FCFA 620 billion to facilitate the refining of locally produced crude oil ,according to the ministry of mines and energy. The project now permits the company to refine 100 percent of crude oil produced in Cameroon up from just 10% before 2014.
The government says the project has scaled up production capacity from 2,100,000 tons to 3,500,000 tons.

“The oil refining project has stepped up petroleum production in the country »,said  Gaston Eloundou, Minister of water and Energy resources.

Environment expert say  the project is key driver to maritime pollution with accidental crude oil leakage from drilling ,oil transporting ships and ruptured pipelines.
According Bio-resource Centre, an NGO on environment in Cameroon – the Limbe coastal city and surrounding villages is slowly swallowed by repeated floods and water pollution exposing the population to multiple environmental hazards. The Mile Six Beach is regularly covered with spilled oil and the black volcanic sand has been decolorised to brown.

« In some parts of flooded area, only the tops of houses and trees are seen emerging from the water , » says Augustine Njamnshi , CEO of Bio-resource centre. He blamed the persistent floods on the claring of mangrove forest along the shores.

« Mangrove forests along the coast are crucial to protecting the shoreline and mitigating damage from storms and high seas, » says Samuel  Nguiffo of the Centre for Environment and Development in Cameroon, an NGO that deals with forest and land issues.

The protection of marine ecosystems and the maritime environment is important not only for aquatic life but also the health of residents in coastal communities, health officials say.

«  Air and water pollution bring respiratory, heart, eyesight, skin diseases, leading  to death, » says Dr Joyce Ebenson of the Buea district hospital.
But the company has dismissed claims of sea water pollution, saying it soil drilling  are in compliance with the law and environmental norms

“These allegations are simply perpetrated by some of our detractors,” said Blascius Ngome, the public relations director of the company.
The company however admitted  pollution from gas emissions in the oil refining process but noted this is sufficiently carried to acceptable higher levels in the atmosphere.

In an earlier press statement , the general manager of the company, Ibrahim Talba Mallah, said the company’s expansion efforts is also geared at addressing a “dire humanitarian need in the immediate environment”, easing local unemployment and also supporting the local council’s fight against climate disasters.

Home to some 6 million people, Limbe and Douala, two Cameroon’s biggest coastal cities have in recent years suffered from deadly floods and related  water borne epidemics.
"We are having persistent floods in these coastal areas making business really difficult, »said the government delegate to the Limbe city council Andrew Motanga.

« Last year the floods were so heavy that many families, mostly children and mothers who found refuge on rooftops, were rescued from the deluge by the army’s fire fighting brigade,” he explained.

Officials of the Cameroon National Red Cross say natural disasters in the Southwest region and Limbe in particular  has increased in the past 10years.
« Climate change is already wrecking havoc and oil spills only come to aggravate matters, » said Sophia Namondo of the Cameroon Red Cross, Limbe chapter.

Business and tourism down

Local Council authorities say the exquisite sandy beach flanked by greeneries of mangrove forest has gradually disappeared.

«  The ecological attraction and volcanic sand believed to possess magic powers from Mount Fako is increasingly disappearing. Our visitors for picnicking, sunbath and and consumers of fresh fish are no longer coming,’ » said Andrew.

«  The fishes, the fishermen and tourists are going away, » he said, shaking his head in apparent frustration.
Statistics from Limbe’s city council show that tourist visits to the region in 2017dropped by more than 60% compared with three years before.

For Keneth Doh a bar restaurant owner in Ngeme village  and other vendors, tourist guides, the shrinking and stinking coast is a complete disaster to their livelihoods.
"The decline in the number of customers in our restaurants is affecting our business , » said Keneth.

Mary Dione, owner of a roasted fish and seafood restaurant, estimates her business is down by 50 percent due to the disappearance of customers at the beach.
"When customers come and feel very uncomfortable with the gasoline stench, they go somewhere else," Mary said.

« I have been doing this business here for over 25 years.  My life and that of my family is here, where do I go from here, »she wonders.

SOLUTION

Local Council authorities say they are carrying out weekly cleaning and have resumed tree planting along the coast. The council is looking to raise funds to do more beach cleaning work in hopes of making the area attractive again, Andrew Mutanga said.

The first step to protecting the shore line from extreme weather could be through major reforestation efforts, experts say.

“A tree-planting project by the local council with support from the government is necessary along the entire coastline,” Samuel Nguiffo says.
« When local councils are empowered they can better combat the effects of climate change and pollution, »he adds.

DJA, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - The Dja Conservation Complex in Cameroon globally recognized for its importance in biodiversity is increasingly in danger. Reports by the African Wildlife Foundation says the Dja and its wildlife face an uncertain future with rampant poaching, timber exploitation, the expansion of industries like mining and forestry and a lack of adequate support.

The government says it is hence working in partnership with other stakeholders to reinforce protection of the forest and its surrounding rich resources.

It is against this backdrop that the government, through the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) recently signed a partnership convention with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to handle environmental aspects of the Integrated Development and Planning Programme of the Dja Mining Loop and the Adjacent Border Area (PADI DJA).

Mining operations are expected to take place in the Dja Faunal Reserve which spans across the South and East Regions, thus protecting the important animal and plant species therein becomes imperative, officials say.

Hanson Njiforti, Director of WWF-Cameroon Country Office Programme who signed for his institution pointed on the need to reduce the human and environmental impact of any development project in the area.

According to Hanson Njiforti the convention will give WWF a legal framework to exercise in protecting the Dja. “We sometimes neglect the impact of some of our activities on the environment. A project carried out without considering the impact on the environment can cost us a lot more,” he said, noting that the convention was a good step in the right direction.

WWF Cameroon is expected to provide its assistance, technical expertise and support to PADI DJA, with the principal objective of ameliorating the living conditions of the affected population. WWF Cameroon will also have the task of promoting good governance in the execution of the project and put in place transparency mechanisms to guarantee proper usage of resources allocated to the project among others.

Blondeau Talatala, Coordinator of PADI DJA said they are handling all concerns in view of the future exploitation of the Mbalam iron ore and other similar mining projects in the area.

The Dja reserve was created in 1950, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Since 1992, the reserve has been managed by ECOFAC, the European Union’s Central African Forestry Ecosystems programme.

Covering an area of more than 500,000 hectares, the reserve has important populations of chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants and buffalo. It is thought to contain some of the highest levels of biodiversity compared to any other forest in Africa.

But the Dja reserve has also long been the source of conflict with local communities who are angered at their exclusion from the reserve and the imposition of strict anti-hunting bans.