By Bakah Derick The First Session of the North West Regional Follow-up Committee for the Implementation of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development (PPRD) of the region has ended in Bamenda.  First Follow-up Committee meeting in Bamenda  NW Governor Lele Lafrique Adolphe Tchoffo Deben, Chairperson of the Committee on Friday 14 July 2023 told development stakeholders that Projects suggested to the PPRD should represent the needs of the local population.  The chair of the committee has challenged stakeholders amongst them the Regional Assembly, North West Development Authority (MIDENO), state Institutions, Sector ministries, administrative, political, and religious authorities, the civil society, development organizations amongst others that make up the committee to work for the realization of the plan.  North West Governor, Chairperson of the Follow-up Committee speaking Some of the projects realized so far include; the construction and equipp

By Bakah Derick/Nfor Abdurahaman Nyah  Feature In the early 2000s, Bamenda in a national competition was rated Cameroon’s cleanest city. Over 20 years later, the situation is bad. The streets are filthy, mountain size waste is spotted at every turn, outdoor vendors battle for space with waste in markets, city water ways are blocked making floods a regular occurrence.   "At times we are the people who always try to do something like we carry and put and we build, build, build, build until it reach a day that something will happen  they will come and carry." Gemuh Cletus Bamenda City dweller tells www.hilltopvoices.com  "Cleanliness is next to Godliness and when I look at the Bamenda city, and I see the level of filth, I see the heaps and heaps of garbage that pile rendering the health of the population at risk I feel really disturbed." Prof Tih Pius Muffih Director of CBC Health Services  The defunct Bamenda Urban council was in charge of waste management

The Mile 4 stream locally known as Nkie-Mufeh on the evening of Tuesday 28 March 2023 overflow it's banks following heavy rains recorded in the city. Before night fall, the news circulated like wildfire forcing many living on both sides of the bridge found on the opposite direction at that moment to hurriedly return home considering the challenges they could face should the over flooding meet them while still on the other side. The result of the rush was huge traffic around the bridge.  Flooding at Ntansen  "I have been standing here for awhile now because of slow traffic. I live in Bambui and when I heard that the bridge was getting full I had to go home earlier." A private car driver tells www.hilltopvoices.com while on traffic.  Less than a week ago, the stream just before city Chemist roundabout overflow practically stopping traffic. It was a similar incident at Below Foncha on the road leading to Ntasen. Experts have blamed the recurrence to poor waste ma

By Bakah Derick  Voting for senatorial elections has closed in Polling stations and centers in Cameroon. According to the electoral laws in the country, voting is expected to close at 6pm. Sources from across the region indicate a slightly over 80 percent voter turnout with several proxies reported in the restive Northwest Region.  Picture by Mbuh Stella  Municpal and regional councilors in Cameroon have been voting Senators for the third legislature this Sunday 12 March 2023.  No major incident has been reported across the Northwest despite the over six years old raging armed.  Counting is going on at press time. Only Cameroon's constitution is empowered by law to proclaim the results 

By Bakah Derick  Councilors across Cameroon are this Sunday 12 March 2023 voting for Senators for the third legislature. Several local media organizations covering the elections in Mezam-North West Region are reporting that polling centers have effectively opened for voting.  Queues with councilors have been seen infront of polling centers preparing to vote. Other pictures show local election management officials presenting empty transparent ballot boxes to ensure transparency in the process.  Councilors of the seven councils in Mezam Division are voting at upstation Bamenda- seat of the regional administration considered relatively peaceful. Voting is also reported to have started in other divisions like Menchum, Momo and Dunga Mantung.  Very little is heard from more restive areas like Ngoketunjia, Bui and Boyo where non state armed groups carry our attacks regularly. The safety of councilors in these areas is a major concern on voting day.  Admini

By Bakah Derick  Abengetu Sheron is a single mother from the outskirts of Bali a small town on national road number six (N6) about 20Km from the North West Regional Headquarters; Bamenda. She has been displaced from her community to Bamenda by the over six year’s old armed conflict in the region with her native Bali as one of the epicenters.  Courtesy https://www.internationalwomensday.com Abengetu is attending a two-day training workshop on March 3-4, 2023 organized by the not-for-profit organization Strategic Humanitarian Services (SHUMAS) Cameroon with support from the World Food Programme (WFP) alongside other women drawn from different parts of the Northwest region.  The training workshop on pastries, natural juice and soya beans products Abengetu like her other sisters attending the workshop believe can be a turning point in her life that has been literally shattered by the armed conflict.  “We are being thought on how to make pastries. I am taking this very serious b

By Bakah Derick  Government sources have signaled an eminent fuel price increase across Cameroon in the month of February 2023.  Speaking at this year's launch of the the state budget for the North West Region in Bamenda on Monday 16 January 2023, the head of mission and Senior Treasury Inspector from Yaoundé  indicated that the increase of fuel prices was just a matter of time as government subsidies on fuel was not favourable for the international monetary fund (IMF) program the state is in.  Cross section of participants at the budget launch  According to Donatus Nji, the government of Cameroon is spending over 800bn FCFA annually on fuel subsidies; money which according to him could be used to develop the country. With an IMF mission in the country working with the government on modifications likely to take effect early February, the representatives of the ministry of finance at the launching  say no matter when it comes, fuel price increase is something that must h

By Bakah Derick  Since October 5, 2022 when the  United States State Department began accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year 2024 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, a good number of service providers have emerged in Bamenda assisting the many who want to take part in the program.  The service providers are either those offering documentation and photography services or individuals starting it as a temporal service during the program validity period.  "It is something I do yearly. Each time the DV Lottery program is opened I incorporate that here in my photography studio to facilitate the process for those who want to play. I have a standard photography studio with regular internet and with my experience, it is easy for me." Nfor Nyah tells www.hilltopvoices.com as he prepares to snap a passport size picture for a candidate in his Mirror Entertainment studios in Ghana Street Nkwen.  "Schools are just resuming and the documentation is not yet

By Bakah Derick  Getting reasonable accommodation in the North West Regional capital Bamenda is becoming a huge challenge for those in need as insecurity heightens.  Picture taken from Nkwase Quarter in Nkwen facing Upstation Bamenda  According to security maps as a result of the ongoing armed conflict, traditional Bamenda meaning the entire North West Region is largely in red or yellow. A few green spots are only in Bamenda central leading to a huge demand for accommodation therein as many seek refuge from the unsecured areas.  For many who rush to the city center, basic accommodation is what they need to the extend of tolerating a single room for small families of three, four or sometimes even more.  "When I came to Bamenda, it took me over three weeks of daily search to get a small room where I could manage before asking my wife and two children to join us from the village. It was becoming too insecure for me to live in our house in the village (Bafut).

By Afanwi Jolenta  Most women in Bamenda who are between the ages of 45 and above say the peri menopause and menopausal period are challenging experiences which every woman must undergo.  On this year's edition of World menopause day observed every 18th of October, some menopausal women have been sharing their experiences with www.hilltopvoices.com.  Mary Ndifor is presently in her mid 50s. She says her menopausal journey started by the age of 48 when she started experiencing irregular menses, heavy bleeding and hot flushes.  She adds that nausea, headache, dizziness, waist and knee pains are other health challenges she witnessed on a daily basis.  "I experienced bloating and unnecessary body disorder and sometimes mood swings that are sometimes unbearable. I became very temperamental and got angry at every thing, which has made me to be very conscious."  Magdalen Angwi narrates  Genevive Nchinda mentions dry and wrinkled skin as another physical c

By Bakah Derick   Bamenda, the regional headquarters of the restive North West Region of Cameroon is experiencing a rapid reduction of farming land. Urbanization is at all time high despite the current armed conflict in the region. Land spaces initially reserved for farming have been reclaimed and are now used as construction sites for housing.  The transportation of food stuff from rural areas has become a major challenge with the ongoing armed conflict as a result of regular road blockages, lockdowns and financial extortion on the way. This does not only lead to increase in food prices but also an increase in perishable rates.  With the increase in food prices and rising inflation, many are turning to alternative sources of food. They still buy from Bamenda's food markets like that of Atua-Azire and Nkwen but not-for-profit nongovernmental organisations like the Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW), Society for the Promotion of Initiatives in Sustainable Dev