Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure
Republic of Cameroon
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AD HOC INFORMATION AND EXCHANGE MISSION OF THE MINISTRY OF STATE PROPERTY, SURVEYS AND LAND TENURE AIMED TO SETTLE THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE POPULATIONS OF THE YABASSI SUBDIVISION, NKAM DIVISION, AND THE COMPLEXE COSMETITIQUE DE L'OUEST (CCO) SARL COMPANY

AD HOC INFORMATION AND EXCHANGE MISSION OF THE MINISTRY OF STATE PROPERTY, SURVEYS AND LAND TENURE AIMED TO SETTLE THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE POPULATIONS OF THE YABASSI SUBDIVISION, NKAM DIVISION, AND THE COMPLEXE COSMETITIQUE DE L'OUEST (CCO) SARL COMPANY image

From Thursday 23 January to Friday 24 January 2025

Land dispute in Yabassi:

MINDCAF EASES TENSIONS

           The Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure made a very positive visit to Yabassi on 23 January. During this working visit, Henri Eyebe Ayissi had to take strong measures to ease tensions between the populations of Yabassi Subdivision and the Complexe Cosmétique de l'Ouest-Cameroun company.

      Following numerous complaints by the populations of this Subdivision, the Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, heading an AD-HOC commission, went to Yabassi, in the Littoral Region, on Thursday 23 January 2025, to find suitable solutions to the concerns raised by the locals. MINDCAF's AD-HOC information and exchange mission was intended to put an end to the dispute between the local populations of Yabassi Subdivision, NKAM Division, and the Complexe Cosmétique de l'Ouest company.

        During the restricted meetings convened by the Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, which brought together the stakeholders, including the traditional communities of Yabassi, specifically the people from the Badjock-Ndogpenda Canton (Lamba, Ndog Meka, Ndog Nack, Solle, Ntabako, Dimbong) and the Complexe Cosmétique de l'Ouest SARL (CCO) company, the discussions revealed that CCO Sarl had not complied with the legal and regulatory procedures for acquiring and securing nearly 5,000 hectares of land, which it claims to have owned for more than 20 years. Having submitted the file for direct registration on 6 July 2020, to obtain a temporary grant on the said land, CCO Sarl failed to follow all the necessary procedures for the final acquisition of the land certificate.

      The Minister issued a circular on 14 May 2024 prohibiting CCO Sarl from carrying on its operations in Yabassi on the grounds that it was operating illegally.

      In addition, the local populations reported several cases of expropriation and corruption with the complicity of some unscrupulous MINDCAF staff, involved in some cases of fraud.

           Some unscrupulous MINDCAF staff working in the Littoral Regional Delegation were subsequently sanctioned.

    The Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, concerned by the plight of the local populations, prescribed the following measures:

  • Suspending CCO Sarl's operations
  • Restoring the respect for law, including established administrative procedures (if procedures are not respected, land certificates will be withdrawn)
  • Clarifying the situation of each stakeholder.
  • Taking stock, by MINDCAF, of the actual situation of the two parties involved.
  • Consolidating and regularising the situation of the local populations that, according to Minister Henri EYEBE AYISSI, are considered to be victims.
  • Taking into account the grievances of the local population, with a view to improving the relationship between MINDCAF’s agents and traditional and administrative authorities.

By Derlin AFANA & Grace OKALA

Published the: Feb. 1, 2025
in News