Posted in APRD, Central African Republic, development, government, info bulletin, rebels, roads, security, sitrep, violence on Aug 18th, 2008 No Comments »
Highlights
- Clashes in the north west of CAR
- New MINURCAT Police Chief
- World Bank provides US$ 7 million for Food Response Project
- UN Humanitarian Air Service in jeopardy
Background and security
Clashes in the north west of CAR
After suspending their participation in the Inclusive Political Dialogue, several clashes between the Popular army for the restoration of democracy (APRD) and government forces have been reported in the north west of the country. Fighting reportedly took place on 8 August near Ngaoundaye, on 12 August near Man, and on 13 and 14 August between Ouandago and Kabo, though the identity of the rebels in this last skirmish was not confirmed.
Continue Reading »
In the western part of the Central African Republic (CAR) lies the Nana-Mambéré prefecture, divided in two by CAR’s primary trade route with Cameroon. The road is the country’s most important lifeline (for supplies coming from Douala’s port), and also its only real possibility for trading timber or agricultural exports internationally.
To support farming communities in Nana- Mambéré, Mercy Corps, in conjunction with the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, recently completed one of the largest seed distribution ever performed in CAR. Reaching over 12,500 farmers, the programme was designed to address three of the major issues facing people in Nana-Mambéré: food insecurity, chronic poverty and hunger.
Continue Reading »
In the context of the Development Partner Consultation for CAR in June 2007, the government prepared a very informative two-page document on the transport infrastructure in CAR.
In short, the transport infrastructure is a poor as one can find it in Africa. Key facts below:
- CAR’s territory is about 623,000 square kilometers, or roughly the size of France
- The nearest seaport Douala in Cameroon is about 1,500 km from Bangui
- Of the 5,376 km national roads (major roads), only 700 km are surfaced. The rest are unpaved.
- CAR has 5,000 km of rivers but only 15 ferries with a motor
- In the 1970s, 600,000 tonnes of freight were transported on the the Oubangui river per year. Now it is only 60,000 tonnes per year.
- The Bangui airport is 40 years old and its runway was last renovated 20 years ago.
Click here to download the brief or go to the next page to read it right here Continue Reading »
Posted in logistics, roads on Jun 3rd, 2007 No Comments »
The extreme north east of CAR is only accessible on poorly maintained dirt roads. With the rainy season about to start, it may soon become impossible to access the region by car or truck. Humanitarian agencies are pre-stocking supplies and vehicles now. Once the rain starts pouring down, new aid can only be delivered by plane.
The images show the main road to Birao, just before Ouanda-Djalle. During a recent inter-agency mission, the team had been stuck at this ‘trouble spot’ for almost 3 hours before the jeeps were back on track.
