By NDIMUH S. BERTRAND
After several months of slump due to the restive Anglophone crisis rocking the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, incessant efforts of PAMOL’s General Manager, Chief Mekanya Charles Okon and his collaborators have finally paid off, as the company commences production.
Speaking to The SUN recently, Chief Mekanya called on the staff of PAMOL, who had escape to seek refuge elsewhere following the destruction of the company’s assets by unidentified armed men, to come back.
Activities of the country’s agro-industrial giant PAMOL started limping in November 2017, when the lone road linking Kumba and Lobe was blocked by separatist fighters, and eventually came to a halt by February 2018, when the Lobe water dam was destroyed. Activities became paralysed and palm plantations more or less transformed into a secondary forest with a loss estimated by the GM at FCFA 40 billion.
Determined to avert the collapse of PAMOL, Chief Mekanya and his team embarked on a two-week campaign in May 2019, aimed at reigniting hope in workers, collaborators and other stakeholders, so production could kick off. During this campaign, the GM acknowledged prevailing security threats but maintained that “someone has to take the risk and be bold enough to make things happen”.
Matching words with action, Chief Mekanya rallied people who cleaned head offices, the mill and surroundings of the Lobe Estate.
Last July, 2019, the GM announced that the company had successfully secured its factories and buildings with overhauling and repairs carried out in consonance with the ‘norms’ and was taking measures to weed out those posing as security threats within the company. He also announced the approving of FCFA 1.250 million by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for PAMOL’s new mill, and 1.710 billion by MINADER PLANUT 2108 pending disbursement.
With the recent announcement of commencement of production activities, it’s evident that efforts put in, including the construction of a new mill amongst others have finally yielded fruits. It is hoped that activities will swing to full gear in the weeks and months ahead in all estates of the company.