Abstract
The town of Mamfe in Manyu Division used to be an important socio-economic and political hub in former British Southern Cameroons, and the then West Cameroon geo-politics. Shortly after independence and reunification, it became noticeably clear that the town had switched from relative to absolute decline. This was so because the economic capital of the territory at the time had moved east from Lagos to Douala. Its derelict social infrastructure and road network that ensued from its absolute decline contributed in plunging the town and the entire division into inaccessibility and enclavement. The tarring of the Cameroon section of the Lagos-Mombasa Trans African HighWay (TAHW) came as a long awaited relief to the Manyu people. It opened up not only this region and the backside of this part of the country, but revamped and restored the lost glory Mamfe town once enjoyed. This study aimed at evaluating impact of the TAHW on the socio-economic and environmental development of Mamfe town in particular and Manyu Division in general. The method employed to achieve the desired results combined both secondary and primary sources of data collected from the field, the topographic map of Mamfe and the population data for 2005. Field observations, interviews, administration of questionnaire to randomly selected road construction workers, company officials, administrative officers, elites, politicians, and the local population characterised the data collection. The results revealed that with the tarring of the TAHW across Mamfe, the socio-economic and physical transformation was visible just for one year. Internal and external mobility was not only faster but at cheaper rates too. Small businesses expanded; customs revenue was collected at Ekok qua-doubled and Mamfe became an important centre for many socio-cultural and political activities. The Anglophone crises that sparked off in the latter half of 2016 halted all these achievements.
Highlights
Transport is a vital asset to a country’s development
Its derelict social infrastructure and road network that ensued from its absolute decline contributed in plunging the town and the entire division into inaccessibility and enclavement
The results revealed that with the tarring of the Trans African HighWay (TAHW) across Mamfe, the socio-economic and physical transformation was visible just for one year
Summary
Africa has set up programmes to dis-enclave communities in order to trigger country development and progress. Many countries and economic development blocs initiate actions for the construction of major transport highways in order to accomplish the broad base objective for the infrastructural development of Africa. The classic definition of highway is that it is a main road with many lanes that can go from two to ten depending on the intensity of traffic or the economic situation of the localities they serve. Vehicles moving at relatively high speeds of 120 to 180 km/h often mark highways. Unlike secondary roads where the speeds are relatively lower, vehicles plying highways are not expected to halt and pick up passengers, load or discharge loads, except in the face of mechanical break-down or an obstacle
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