Mouila (south), November 27, 2023 (AGP) – The provincial governor of Ngounié, Paulette Mengue M’Owono, accompanied by a large delegation, has just carried out a field trip to Mimongo, in the department of ‘Ogoulou, to highlight the problems of flooding within the locality, among others, at the Alexandre Madoungou Mbary high school and the situation of the Mandji district, cut off from the rest of the city with the flooding of the liana bridge.
Firstly, the Governor went to the Alexandre Madoungou establishment in Mimongo, then to the disaster areas, notably Pongi and Mandji. At the water pumping station of the Gabon Energy and Water Company (SEEG), the situation is bitter. The rising water levels do not spare the infrastructure. On other sites, blocked nozzles do not allow rainwater to drain.
”I made this trip to Mimongo to make my observations. After the prefect told me that two neighborhoods were affected. On the high school side, the water started to penetrate. At the neighborhood level, there are seven blocked nozzles. We have to find ways to unclog them so that the water circulates,” indicated the provincial governor, who castigated in passing the incivism of the populations.
”There is the fact that people build on water beds. Everything is thrown into the rivers. The water therefore rises instead of circulating,” she noted.
The authorities of the Ogoulou department welcomed the visit of the provincial Governor to the locality, while hoping for a better tomorrow.
”This visit from the first authority of the province is a good thing. Since the return of the heavy rains, the town of Mimongo has suffered the horrors of flooding. We were at the high school, and the neighborhoods surrounding the high school, Pongui, Mandji including Baffond,” indicated the prefect of the Ogoulou department, Hervé Yanga Lefoumé.
”This visit is timely. For almost two weeks, we have been experiencing difficult times. She is the only one who will be able to convey to the authorities what we are experiencing. We are waiting for what the State will do. At our level we do not have the means to fight against flooding, added Prosper Moutsaba, the mayor of the town.
The liana bridge connecting the Pongui and Mandji district under the water.
For the principal, there is reason to fear the arrival of heavy rains. ”Last year we had a serious flood, which invaded the entire establishment. It was planned that the high school would be relocated through the reports we had to make. We are waiting for the authorities to tackle the relocation of the high school head on,” said Aimé Serge Kimo Mbombet.
The inhabitants of the locality, victims of the floods, did not fail to raise an alarm signal to the competent authorities.
NTI/ANM/FSS