Bitumation of the National Road 14 : Dedougou content de l'allocation des travaux

As soon as work on the Kudougou-Dédougou section was assigned to the EBOMA/KARA establishment group at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 12 May, the people of Dédougou did not take time to express their joy. They came out very numerous, Saturday, May 15, 2010 to salute the realization of this old promise. Through a huge meeting in support of both the President of Faso, the government and the economic operator, Mahamadou Bonkoungou, CEO of EBOMAF.

With the end of the development of the Dédougou-Bobo-Dioulasso axis, the execution of this project will considerably de-enclave the region of the Boucle du Mouhoun by linking it to the political and economic capitals of the country.

The Council of Ministers of 12 May attributing the work on the bitumen section of the Dédougou-Koudougou section to the EBOMAF/KARA establishment group has given rise to great joy in the capital of the Boucle du Mouhoun region. In thirty (30) months, the inhabitants of this area of the country will see the end of the calvary which is theirs on National Route 14, the Dédougou-Koudougou axis. After the effectiveness of the one linking it to Bobo-Dioulasso, the government has thus definitively put up with skepticism and even a grunt with latent overflows linked to this road investment.

"The award of this contract is already a good step in keeping the promise of the President of Faso. We are therefore grateful to him and his government," says Elisabeth Kondé, former mayor of the city of Dédougou.

The mass population did not miss the opportunity to testify, on Saturday 15 May 2010, all its satisfaction at this good faith signifying the hope of the realization of this very old project. A great mobilization of the Dédougoulais was organized to welcome the good news. The gathering in the place of the car park has pleasantly exceeded all expectations: they have been thousands, all layers, to spontaneously return there. From the memory of residents of the city of Bankuy, such spontaneous influx has rarely been seen by a government act.

The former mayor of Dédougou, Elisabeth Kondé sees in the allocation of works of bitumen respect for the given word The enthusiasm has taken on a double meaning: the imminent launch of the works and their execution by a native of the locality, Mahamadou Bonkoungou, CEO of EBOMAF SA, also owner of "Liza Transport" one of the few transport companies serving the locality.

"It's a long-awaited day here. The government has just given a strong signal in its desire to meet an old demand. There is no reason why the road is not now well built. Not only has the successful contractor of the works of which the boss is one of ours always done honour to Dédougou by showing himself in a very remarkable way in the execution of similar works elsewhere but also he knows perfectly the difficulties of this section because he borrows it regularly. There is no doubt, therefore, that he will fully invest in his truncation as if it were a challenge of his own," says a municipal councillor.

The bitumen of this one hundred and thirty kilometres (130) kilometers will return to the bad memories, the cross and the banner that have always characterized it. "In rainy season as in normal times, going to Ouagadougou will not last for hours and the passage of bridges will no longer scare anyone," one young schoolgirl convinced himself. In the face of such prospects for the inhabitants, a human tide expressed its high and strong gratitude to the public authorities as well as its support for the contractor in charge of the works, Mahamadou Bonkoungou whose socio-economic investments are legion in Dédougou, his home town.

For an accessible national attic

At a cost of thirty-six billion three hundred and ninety-nine million five hundred thirty thousand six hundred and twenty-eight (36,399,530,628) CFA francs, the work consists of laying the track in a bilayer with a width of seven (7) metres and 1.5 metres in a raise countryside, eight (8) metres in width and two metres in agglomeration; construction of three (3) reinforced concrete bridges and related works. This will forever bury the concerns of carriers and travellers. Because justice has just been done in one of the most watered and productive regions of agricultural speculation in the country whose development has been delayed for a long time by its great enclave.

El Hadj Mamamadou is pleased that this market has expired in EBOMAF and says that this will be an opportunity to offer jobs "This important project will allow the opening of the Boucle du Mouhoun region and finalise the Nouna-Djibasso-Mali border junction", says the Report of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, 12 May 2010. In addition to the national budget, several financial partners are supporting the Government in this process of de-enclavement: the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (FKDEA), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Saudi Development Fund (SDF), the OPEC Fund (OFID). This significant progress has contributed to a genuine reduction in the temperature which has stopped rising in Dédougou against the apparent silence experienced by this project.

National Route 14 is recognized as the path of all expectations. "It's a boost to trade between this region and other parts of the country that is underway. Linked to Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso by tar, the Boucle du Mouhoun will play its great role as a national attic by filling the cereal deficit of disadvantaged localities and also seeing the increase in its gross local product. It's a springboard for development," recalls a farmer from the world. The start of the work could even take place before the end of May.

Stanislas BADO : AIB/Dougou

Sidwaya