CAMEROON RURAL COMMUNICATION PROJECT

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CAMEROON RURAL COMMUNICATION PROJECT
EE 244

• Val Besong
• December 9th, 2005

2
Outline

• Geography
• Administrative Units
• People
• Economy
• Political Structure
• Transportation
• Telecommunications
• Rural Cameroon

3
Geography

• Location
• - West and Central Africa
• - At 6 deg. N lat 12 deg. E long.
• Size
• - Total area 475,440 sq. km
• - Slightly larger than the state of
  California
  
• - 469,000 sq. km land
• - 6,000 sq. km water
• Land border
• - Distance 4591 km
• - Central African Republic, Chad, Congo,
• Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
• Administrative capital Yaounde
• Economic capital Douala

4
Geography

• Landscape
• - Diverse
• - Coastal plains in SW, plateaus in C, mountains
  in W, plains in S
  
• Highest elevation Mount Cameroon _at_ 4095m
• Lowest elevation Atlantic ocean _at_ 0m
• Climate
• - Varies with terrain
• - Tropical along the coast to semiarid and hot
  in the
  
• north
• Typically 2 seasons
• Dry season begins in January until May/June
• Rainy season begins in May/June until
• October/November

5
Administrative Units

• Ten provinces Northwest, Southwest, West, East,
  South, North, Central, Littoral Adamawa
  
• Further divided into divisions and sub-divisions
• Southwest Northwest only English-speaking
  provinces
  
• Administrative capital, Yaounde in Centre
• Economic capital, Douala in Littoral
• Major cities Douala, Yaounde, Limbe, Buea,
  Bamenda and Garoua

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People

• Population16.3 million
• Growth rate 1.93 person
• Birth rate 3.47/1000
• Death rate 1.54/1000
• Age breakdown
• - 0 to 14 41.7
• - 15 to 64 55
• - 65 33
• Life Expectancy
• - Male 47 years
• - Female 45 years
• Language
• - Official French English
• - About 256 native languages (dialects )
• Religion
• - Roman Catholic 60
• - Muslim 20
• - Indigenous beliefs 20
• Literacy rate

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Economy

• Decade-long recession
• - Drop in commodity prices
• - Overvalue of currency (CFA franc)
• - Mismanagement
• GDP 30.17 billion (2004)
• GDP growth rate 5.6 (2004)
• Three major sectors Agric. (43.7), industry
  (20.1), services (36.2)
  
• Labor force
• - estimated at 6.68 million
• - 70 involved in agriculture
• Main industries petroleum prod. refining, food
  processing, aluminum production, light consumer
  goods, textiles and lumber
  
• 30 unemployment rate
• 1 inflation rate
• Exports
• - Revenue 2.445 billion (2004)
• - Commodities Crude oil petroleum, timber,
  cocoa beans, Al, coffee cotton
  
• - Partners Spain, Italy, France, UK, US
  Holland
  
• Imports
• - Revenue 1.979 billion (2004)

8
Political Structure

• Government Republic
• President Paul Biya (since 1982)
• Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni (since 2004)
• Peter Mafany Musonge
• - Prime Minister from 1996 to 1994
• - MS in Civil Engineering, Stanford
  University,1968
  
• Independence
• - January 1960 from France
• - October 1961 from Britain
• Constitution 1976 revised 1994
• Amendment of constitution provided for central
  government dominated by executive
  
• President has power to
• - name dismiss cabinet members, judges,
  generals, governors heads of state-controlled
  enterprises
  
• - approve or veto regulations
• - declare state of emergencies
• - appropriate and spend profits of
  state-controlled enterprises
  
• President not required to consult National
  Assembly
  
• Judiciary is subordinate to the Ministry of
  Justices executive branch
  
• Supreme court may review constitutionality of law
  only at Presidents request
  

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Transportation

• Poor transportation infrastructure
• Highways
• total 34, 300 km
• paved 4,228 km
• unpaved 30,012km (1999)
• Railways total 1,008 km
• Airports
• - 47 (2004)
• - 2 international airports in Douala and
  Yaounde
  
• Airports with paved runways - total 11 -
  over 3,047 m 2 - 2,438 to 3,047 m 4 - 1,524
  to 2,437 m 3 - 914 to 1,523 m 1 - under 914
  m 1 (2004 est.)
• Waterways - navigation mainly on Benue
  River
  
• - limited during rainy season due to rough
  waters and poor visibility
  
• Pipelines gas 90 km liquid petroleum gas 9
  km oil 1,120 km (2004)
  
• One seaport in Douala

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Telecommunications

• Telephones
• - international service provided by two
  satellite earth stations
  
• - fiber optic submarine cable provides
  connectivity to Europe and Asia
  
• - domestic service through cable and microwave
  radio relay
  
• - 110,000 land lines
• - 1.077 million cellular lines
• - Huge discrepancy due to long wait 2 years
• - 50,000 persons on waiting list (2000)
• - demand for fixed phone lines estimates at
  146,000 per year
  
• Internet
• - 1 Internet Service Provider IntelCam
• - Uses 256 kbps link to MCI in US
• - Provides leased lines to CENADI, UniNet,
  Ditof, and ICC.
  
• - easy access in large cities
• - access rare in rural areas
• - 479 internet hosts, 60000 internet users and
  200 internet cafes (2001)
  
• Television stations
• - Cameroon Radio Television (state-owned) TV
  Max (privately-owned)
  
• - Cable TV popular in metropolitan cities

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Telecommunications

• Radio
• - 2 AM, 9 FM and 3 shortwave broadcasting
  stations
  
• Satellite services
• - Two satellite earth stations (Intelsat) to
  provide international telephone service
  
• Summary
• - Underdeveloped but witnessing a lot of local
  and foreign investment
  
• - Regulated by the Ministry of Post and
  Telecommunications
  
• - Extensive liberalization is underway
• - New legislation to restructure the sector and
  make post and
  
• telecommunications separate
• - Independent regulator created and state
  progressively disengaging itself
  
• - Two main mobile operators MTN and Orange.
• - 196k and 246k subscribers respectively

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Rural Cameroon West Province

• Population 1.3 million
• Area 14,000 square kilometers
• Smallest province in size but has highest
  population density
  
• High population density due to pleasant climate
  and fertile soil
  
• Population thins outward toward the southern
  border
  
• Rainfall is moderate
• Most of the population is involved in
  agriculture very little industry
  
• West and NW Province provide food to seven other
  provinces
  
• Farmers also raise sheep, pigs, poultry and goats
  
  
• Transportation
• - Roads wind and turn sharply to transverse
  regions mountains
  
• - Road accidents are not uncommon
• - Region reachable by an airstrip

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Rural Cameroon Towers, Population and Elevation
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Rural Cameroon Towers, Elevation and Roads
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