Anglophone crisis: Ghost towns, lockdowns crumbling socio-economic activities in NW, SW.

The population in this area usually retreat to their houses, scared of being kidnapped or shot by separatist fighters for not respecting ghost towns and lockdowns or being arrested by defence and security forces on patrol. 

It is the same scenario at the Mile 17 Park in Buea, a place usually bustling with people moving from Buea to Douala, Kumba, Limbe, and Tiko, including those in transit from other parts of the country to another. 

Several travel agencies have their local branches here with passengers welcomed by the loud noise of announcements from different businesses or the invitation from different agents from the numerous travel agencies to board their buses going to Bamenda, Yaoundé, Douala or any other part of the country. 

Getting into Mile 17 on a normal day, for a first-time visitor to Buea, will seem like any normal market in the country with a lot of goods displayed here and there and hawkers visible everywhere. 

However, on Mondays or lockdowns, the place is quiet and permeated by silence. This is because people have reverted to their homes with no travel out of the city. The different travel agencies do not leave Buea, for fear of their buses being burnt or their drivers killed or kidnapped for not respecting ghost towns or lockdowns.

The picture of Muea and Mile 17 Park in Buea, aptly fits what obtains in most parts of the North West and South West Regions since the crisis rocking these parts of the country morphed into a separatist conflict in October 2017.

Regular "ghost towns" have been ongoing for years every Monday in many parts of Cameroon's English-speaking South West and North West regions. On such days, shops and businesses are closed, roads are empty, and security patrols are reinforced.

Teachers and lawyers, under the Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, respected ghost towns on Mondays since the crisis started with calls for ‘stay home’ by the population of the regions as a form of civil disobedience to force the state to resolve their grievances. 

Separatist fighters later hijacked it and increased the number of ghost town days to match the days when jailed separatist leaders appeared in the Yaoundé Military Court. Lockdowns were imposed by separatists for two weeks and also to coincide with activities like school resumption, national or youth day celebrations and visits to the regions by prominent government officials.

Deserted Mile 17 Park in Buea, on a ghost town/lockdown day

Lockdowns costing the regions massive financial loses

The number of work days lost to ghost towns and lockdowns, according to the Cameroon Employers’ Union, GICAM, in its 2019 report is estimated at 30% in terms of wealth created in the two regions, estimated in financial terms at 777.26 billion CFA francs, more than 4% of national wealth lost.

Collins Njenewone is a taxi driver who frequents the Bambili stretch with the University of Bamenda. As a taxi driver, he works every day of the week except on Mondays or during lockdowns. 

Frequent ghost towns and lockdowns, he explained, have weakened his financial power, making him unable to respect all his financial commitments. 

“I find it hard to provide for my family during such ghost towns. Since this crisis started, I usually earn between 45,000 to 50,000 FCFA in a week. When ghost towns are called for two weeks, I lose between 90.000 to 100,000 FCFA,” Njenewone said. 

The gloomy picture painted by Njenewone generally holds for most businesspersons in the two restive North West and South West Regions of Cameroon where ghost towns and lockdowns imposed by separatist fighters have nearly crippled the once thriving economies of the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.