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2. Ethno-regional groups and associations in the South West Province and the agro-industrial crisis
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43 2 Ethno-regional groups and associations in the South West Province and the agro-industrial crisis Introduction The agro-industrial crisis, which started in the early 1980s, has had serious consequences for the CDC and Pamol and brought them both to the verge of collapse. Pamol was put into voluntary liquidation by its mother company, Unilever, in October 1987 and has been up for sale ever since. The CDC was first denied public grants and subsidies, and has been preparing for privatisation since 1994. Both have been influential in regional development and control of the companies is an emotive issue that raises regional sentiments and has highlighted divisions between the Anglophone community and the Francophone-dominated state, as well as those between the South West and the North West elites. It was during political liberalisation that the Anglophone elite in general, and the South West elite in particular, started organising to defend regional interests surrounding the sale of the two companies. The liquidation and sale of Pamol The Plantations Pamol du Cameroun Ltd (Pamol) was previously a subsidiary of the Unilever giant (cf. Wilson 1954, 1968; Fieldhouse 1978, 1994; Dinham & Hines 1983). Founded in the 1920s, it is one of the oldest agro-industrial enterprises in Cameroon. Its main estates produce palm oil and are in the Ndian Division of the South West Province that borders eastern Nigeria (Courade 1978). Economically, the Ndian Division is one of the most important areas in the country: it has large oil deposits at Idabato around Rio del Rey, as well as timber and oil palms. Paradoxically, it continues 44 Crisis and Neoliberal Reforms in Africa to be one of the most isolated and marginalised regions in the country despite its natural riches. For a long time it was deprived of basic infrastructural provisions: it had no road connections with other parts of Cameroon and transport was only possible via a network of waterways (rivers, creeks, and the sea). When a road was finally constructed between Ndian and Kumba in the 1970s, it was badly maintained during the dry season and barely passable in the rainy season. The area appears to have closer links with Nigeria than with Cameroon itself, with many Nigerian fishermen, traders and peasants living in the area. The Nigerian currency is widely accepted and Efik is the lingua franca in the maritime areas of the division. Legal and illegal trade with Nigeria provides lucrative income opportunities for some of the local population (Konings 2005). The main reason for the area’s marginalisation seems to be political. During the inter-war period it was a no-man’s land, in which the British authorities showed little interest. From 1945 onwards, it was an integral part of Kumba Division but being far from Kumba, it continued to be neglected by the district authorities. It was not until 1967 that it was separated from Kumba Division and declared an autonomous division by presidential decree. Even then hardly any development funds were allocated to the new division, as if it were still being penalised for the fact that during the 1961 plebiscite about 95% of the local population voted for integration into Nigeria rather than reunification with Francophone Cameroon. A few months before the plebiscite, one of the region’s principal leaders, Mr N.N. Mbile, declared that his people were ‘irrevocably [decided] never to accept union with the Cameroon Republic. .... If on this we shall have to be killed to the last man, it should be better that history records how a race of men died to the man fighting for their freedom’ (cited in Johnson 1970: 166).1 Following reunification, Ndian Division was never honoured with a ministerial seat in the federal government and its lack of national integration was also manifest in the low profile of the single ruling party in the area. A few months before the promulgation of the unitary state in 1972, the District Officer for the Ekondo Titi Subdivision reported: [3.229.123.80] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 13:01 GMT) 45 Chapter 2: Ethno-regional groups and associations in the South West Province The response to the call for buying and owning the party card is still slow. Meetings of cells and branches around the headquarters have not been held and I have no reason to believe that the organs in the remote villages are more effective. I called up some of the people and asked whether they owned the party cards and the answer...