| Mundemba | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
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Mundemba
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Cameroon |
| Province | Southwest Province |
| Division | Ndian |
Mundemba is a town in Southwest Province, of Cameroon and the capital of the Ndian Division. The headquarters of Korup National Park are located in Mundemba. The separate village of Manja is nowadays practically an extension of Mundemba.
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Mundemba was and still remains a predominantly Oroko settlement, but given the economic importance and administrative role of the town, many of the residents are from other local ethnic groups (i.e. Korup, Ejagham), the also Anglophone Northwest Province, Francophone areas (esp. government employees), and from Nigeria.
The main employment opportunities in Mundemba revolve around agricultural goods (esp. palm oil), trading, and the public sector. Probably the biggest local employer is PAMOL Plantations, a public limited company that maintains a large African Oil Palm plantation adjacent to the township. Some sections of the local economy benefit from tourists visiting the renowned Korup National Park, located 8 km west of the town.
Mundemba is accessible by car from Kumba via a dirt road. Public transportation is undertaken exclusively by Bush taxis, which run daily several trips to and from Kumba, Ekondo Titi and to a lesser extent (or on hire) other local destinations. The public road to Kumba is often in very bad condition during the rainy season (June–September) and may be impassable for some days. A "car park" (a.k.a. bush taxi station) is located near the soccer field, adjacent to the public market. Transportation within the town is either on foot or by local motorcycle taxis, referred to as okadas.
Transportation of goods to and from Calabar, Nigeria is to a large extend undertaken by wooden motor-boats that depart from Mbulu Beach, a small port on Ndian River a few kilometers outside Mundemba. There is no customs here however, so this is not a formal entry/exit point for tourists intending to reach Nigeria. Establishing a boat service for tourist transportation to and from Limbe via the impressive mangroves of the Rio del Rey has been long discussed but is currently not established. It is however possible (but not very straight forward) to arrange for such a trip from Limbe, which could be an interesting option for larger (nature-, birdwatcher) groups.
Large sections of Mundemba are connected to the electrical grid which is generated locally by petrol generators run by SONEL (the Cameroonian State Energy company). Similarly, many households have running water provided by SNEC (the Cameroonian State water provider). There are no telephone landlines but both major mobile telecommunication providers in Cameroon (MTN Group and Orange (brand)) offer network coverage in town. As of 2008 there was no internet connection.
There is a Police station, Gendarmerie and Army barracks in town. There are currently no commercial banks within Mundemba (closest is in Kumba).Nevertheless,a national cooperative bank operates a branch in Mundemba where it is possible to carryout secured financial transactions as well as send or receive money within Cameroon through a money transfer system.
There is a public hospital in town and a PAMOL hospital a few kilometers outside the town. There is no pharmacy in town but basic medication may be available at the hospital(s).
Twice weekly (Wednesday and Saturday), there is a large market in town (next to the soccer field), where local produce and goods are sold. In addition, there are several small stores that sell daily basic amenities (i.e. rice, milk powder, coffee, beans, biscuits, local batteries, cans of sardines, bottled water).
There are no western-style restaurants in town (except at one local hotel, based on previous arrangement). There are a few local eating places serving basic Cameroonian food and in the evening there are often street vendors selling goat meat,pork and beef skewers (called soya) or grilled fresh or (more typically) frozen fish. There are several drinking places servicing local Cameroonian and some Nigerian but no Western drinks except red wines and Scottish whiskies.You can also get all brands of Cameroonian, African and western music in Mundemba.
A Government nursery and primary school are located in town, as well as a grammar and a technical high school, and a teacher's college. There are also a couple of denomination-affiliated primary schools in town.
There are a couple of places offering basic accommodation in town (with cold water and a fan). Many of the older hotels referred in travel guides have either shut down or have deteriorated over time. Tourists are advised to bring their own mosquito nets.