Former NW Regional surveys chief, Jumcoda Rifor, bags Master’s degree.

The public defence held at the Bangante campus of a higher professional institution better known in French as Institute Supérieure des Techniques Industrielles et Commerciales- Hautes Études L'Ingénierie, ISTIC-HEI, with affiliation to the Ecole Supérieure des Travaux Public of Ouagadougou, ESTPO in Burkina Faso.

The jury had as president, Dr Issaka Guiguembe who is a lecturer at ESTPO with Dr. Merlin Teitchou, lecturer and Director of ISTIC Cameroon; and Engineers Martial Tchuisseu and Daouda Diallo, all lecturers at ESTPO were members of the jury. 

The thesis titled: “Contribution to the setting up of a Land Information System in the council of Bikok: Case of the Land Certificate N°081/MAK MAETUR Layout of Ngoulmekong”, was supervised by Engineer Loncili Kadidia from ESTPO.

After assessing the candidate’s research work and his response to questions from jury members, he was scored a mark of 16/20.

Speaking to The Guardian Post, the candidate, Jumcoda, expressed his delight and gratitude to God Almighty for a successful defence.

Acknowledging how challenging it was throughout the study period, he appreciated his lecturers and supervisors at both ISTIC in Cameroon and ESTPO in Burkina Faso. 

“I can’t cease to thank God for his wisdom and protection throughout the study period. My beloved wife, children and family were my support pillar also. They overwhelmed me with their prayers and moral support as I had to travel from Yaounde to the West region for studies,” the excited scholar added 

Zoom into research work

Explaining to The Guardian Post, the candidate said the government of Cameroon engaged major projects in 2010 and elaborated a document called the Strategic Document for Growth and Employment better known by the French abbreviation as DSCE, in which all ministries were given road maps to attain the development vision of Emergence by 2035.

He said thanks to this, MINDCAF engaged a project called Support Programme for the Modernisation of the Land Registry and the Business Climate, PAMOCCA, worth 12 billion FCFA, aimed at modernising the land sector.

By this, a unique National Geodetic Network had to be set up to permit the survey experts to work in a unique system of coordinate so as to avoid land disputes like dual titles on same land, boundary encroachments, double sales and so on.

“It gives credibility to the land title thereby enhancing business climate, reduce poverty and augment the fiscal revenue in the sector,” the candidate added. 

In order for this to be effective, Jumcoda said “there was a need for a land information system to be set up of which nothing has been realised since the last decade. It's thanks to these that my thesis comes in to contribute in the realisation of this system on lant certificate N°081/Mak of MAETUR at Ngoulmekong of 38ha”.

He further explained that the objective of the research study was to optimise the use of land system of Cameroon.

“We aim at setting up a data base for its management, establish a Base Map, and instituting a web mapping for consultation that can permit easy access to landed information by stake holders in the sectors,” he explained.

He then stressed that findings could be beneficial to the tax sector of the country on recovering land taxes and track down defaulters. 

“The tax law confers to councils to recovery of a portion of the land tax can be useful to boosting their economy,” he added.

In addition to the Masters in Land Surveying, Jumcoda is currently pursuing another Masters degree in Cartography and Geographic Information System, GIS, at the University of Yaounde I. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3221 of Friday September 6, 2024