Réseau routier et développement socioéconomique de l’arrondissement de bazou (ouest-Cameroun)

Abstract

The inadequacy of road infrastructure is the main cause of the development delay observed in a locality. This study on the road network and socio-economic development in the Bazou district (West Cameroon) was conducted to analyze the influence of the road on the socio-economic development of Bazou. We formulate the main hypothesis that the road network influences the development of socio-economic activities in Bazou. To test this hypothesis, the hypothetical-deductive approach was used. Thus, we collected second-hand data from various documents and primary data from questionnaires administered to 179 respondents (heads of households) and from semi-structured interviews. Field observations and diachronic analysis of the maps were made in order to make interpretations. Bazou district is crossed by a main road leading to the cities of Tonga and Bangangté. Until 1985, several territories in Bazou were opened up thanks to this road. However, given that 98% of the roads in Bazou are made of earth, irregular maintenance and hydro-climatic phenomena contribute to the degradation of these roads. The low level of involvement of the public authorities in the development of road infrastructure in rural areas has favored the emergence of new actors acting in a more or less informal framework: companies, local associations, traditional authorities, farmers and transporters. They each act according to their own interests and use their own strategies without taking into account law n°2022/007 of 27 April 2022 on the protection of the national road heritage. In this way, these actors influence the quality of the road. Their participation on the road favors the blossoming of multiple economic activities: the creation of breeze block factories, artisanal transformation factories, the increase of cultivated areas, and rapid mobility. On the contrary, in the periphery, economic operators close their structure; active forces depopulate Bazou to the benefit of the forest area which increases by nearly 24.84%. Farmers are recording losses estimated at 5 million francs due to the impassable state of the road. To remedy this, the authorities have improved some constraint points using the MRA technics. Nevertheless, the population is waiting for a good quality road network that can directly cross the district of Bazou.