At working visit to Kribi: Interim mines minister bans sale of gravel from public quarries.

This was at the end of a three-day working visit to the Ocean Division of the South Region. 

The decision of the minister is to protect private actors in the quarry business, who are facing unhealthy competition from public quarries 

In a statement issued at the headquarters of CHEC, noted for carrying out the practice, Prof Calistus frowned at the phenomenon. 

“It has come to our notice that public utility quarries are selling gravel. We want to put a stop to this practice. It is against the law. We have worked with the local administration and the forces of law and order see to it that no public utility quarry would sell gravel. Even if it is a gift, it must be authorised by the administration and the ministry of mines,” Prof Calistus warned.

He warned that failure by any parties to comply with the order would attract severe sanctions.

“We need to protect our local industry. That is why we have seen to it that this order must be respected. Also, we want to announce to councils all over Cameroon and every Cameroonian that the new law says that Cameroonians must have 35% in every quarry…councils can seize the opportunity to create joint ventures with foreign companies,” the minister said.

He also insisted that: “If they have enough money, they can set up quarries and they would be able to supply gravel for projects because Cameroon is about to move into a construction site. It is an opportunity that our councils should seize…”.

Other important stops of minister’s visit

During the visit, the minister and his delegation also inspected works at the cement production company, CIMPOR Cameroon. 

During exchanges, officials of the company said they will work to ensure their products match international norms of production. 

Meanwhile the company’s production factory is expected to be commissioned in the days ahead. 

The minister also used the visit to review mining and industrial projects underway in the area. 

The visit, which lasted from June 26 to 28, saw the member of government, accompanied by local administrators, also visiting the industrial unit of Atlantic Cocoa Corporation, specialised in cocoa production and processing. 

Prof Fuh Calistus and his delegation also visited the headquarters of the China Harbour and Engineering Company, CHEC company.

CIMPOR to respect international norms of cement production

During the stopover at CIMPOR, the mines minister held a working session with officials of the Portuguese cement producing giant. 

It was to lay the groundwork for the eminent commissioning of the plant by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute by mid-July.

With CIMPOR aiming to substitute clinker with clay in the production of affordable cement products, the minister emphasised that it is in line with the import-substitution policy powered by the President of the Republic. 

Speaking to the press at the end of the session, Minister Fuh Calistus disclosed that all aspects of the plant are in place ahead of the commissioning ceremony.

He indicated that international norms, especially with respect to noise and dust level controls, are well respected as it will be done in a close system.

“More importantly, it is an innovation because this plant uses clay to replace clinker by 25% to 45%, depending on the type of cement…in perspective, we are working with them to produce fertilisers and the new plant that would produce it in Cameroon,” Proh Fuh Calistus told the press. 

He also assured that measures are being taken for the discovery of similar type of clay in other parts of the country in a bid to reduce over dependence on clinker for cement production. 

Another issue discussed was intermittent power supply, which is seriously hampering continuous production. In line with this, Prof Fuh Calistus assured the company of government’s firm resolve to tackle the energy issue.

Atlantic Cocoa spurring import-substitution policy 

At the premises of the Atlantic Cocoa Corporation, an agricultural company specialised in cocoa production and processing, the minister was received by the Director General of the cocoa company, Josiane Tchoungui.

After a brief presentation and inspection tour of the facility, the minister said the purpose of his visit was to encourage and to accompany Atlantic Cocoa in its mission of production and transformation.

 “We are making it clear that we cannot be rich if we do not transform. That is why we came to Atlantic Cocoa to encourage the company to continue in the same light,” he said, adding that “…we have safety procedures, norms and all the standards that are respected. We feel okay because this is good industrial practice”. 

It was also an opportunity for the minister to establish a platform between the industry and the government to ease the holding of technical sessions to listen to the problems and find solutions of industries. 

“We listen to industries and we draw conclusions. The ministry of mines is a sectoral ministry that should carry the problems of all industries to the government, be it energy, taxation or environment and the rest of it,” he added. 

Prof Fuh Calistus said if Africa does not take the initiative to transform and create employment, it might never go anywhere. He said focus should be on the import-substitution policy as over 300 to 400 indirect and direct jobs have already been created. 

He insisted that if such a transformation was not created, such vast number of jobs would be lost . 

“That shows the policy of this country about transformation-whether it is mining or industrial sector, it has come to stay,” the minister affirmed.

Kribi becoming industrial hub

According to Prof Fuh Calistus, the town of Kribi is fast becoming a very important industrial pole, which will greatly impact the industrialisation drive of the country. 

“We are here to make sure that things are moving in the right direction…government has put everything in place for the transformation of this country. We can feed the whole of the Central African Subregion...,” he pointed out.

On the mining aspect with the Kribi Autonomous Port and Cameroon Mining Action, CAMINA SA, a subsidiary of the Indian steel company, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Minister Fuh Calistus was assured that they are ready under their present infrastructure to export iron ore with existing facilities before the construction of the mineral terminal.

“This is a very big project that might even involve other countries. We were able to get this straight and we have assurances that we have capacities of about three to four million tons…this would be augmented to more than ten million tons to accommodate everybody,” he told the press. 

“This is very important and we are happy to say we would be back here some months from now to receive the equipment for the Mbalam project. Our timetable remains that these projects would start producing iron ore. Mbalam would be ready and Grand Zambi would be ready as we promised. The others are positioned for the time that we have given,” he averred. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3155 of Monday July 01, 2024