On January 27, 2010, took place the launching ceremony of ACTED’s project, implemented in partnership with the NGO CRS, in the presence of Central-African authorities, the ambassador of the United States and USAID officials, testifying of the importance of the reopening of the n°8 regional road for the population and the regional economy. Stakes of this road rehabilitation are major: the project will allow the circulation of persons and vehicles on the 145 kilometers-long road between Bossangoa and Bozoum, both administrative centers of Ouham and Ouham Pendé, which are the two most populated prefectures after the city of Bangui.

Maintained for the last time in 1988, the n°8 regional road between Bozoum and Bossangoa used to be a major commercial road allowing the circulation of products of cotton and vast food-producing cultures (manioc, groundnut, sorghum) from this area, considered as the breadbasket of the Central African Republic, to the rest of the country but also to Chad and Cameroon.

Political and security troubles which affected the country, and especially northern regions, in the last two decades have lead to the weakening of the State and to the isolation of the area located between Bozoum and Bossangoa. The degradation of the security context and of the road led to the degradation of local population’s livelihoods and to progressive deliquescence and neglect of community infrastructure (granaries, schools, health centers, drilling or abandoned wells).

The isolation of the region has favored the presence of “zaraguinas” groups (armed bands of road cutters) and poachers, forcing local populations to flee in the bush. Thanks to the stabilization of the area, the population organized itself to face the different armed groups and the rehabilitation of the road through HILO method (High Intensity Labor Force - consisting in the employment on a rotating basis of local populations living alongside the road) will allow the economic opening up and recovery of the region.

At the end of the project, 137 kilometers of road and 44 bridges and culverts will be rehabilitated and access will be guaranteed all yearlong for 12 tones- trucks and allow the circulation of local productions and the importation of products to the villages’ markets. The project will also contribute to facilitate the access of NGOs which will be able to answer the essential needs of 13,000 persons living along the road.

Partnership ACTED/ Catholic Relief Service (CRS)

The project is implemented conjointly by ACTED, in charge of technical assessments and the implementation of the rehabilitation, and the NGO Catholic Relief Service, in charge of fauna and flora preservation and promotion activities, and of environmental mitigation activities.