UB Ph.D thesis recommends community orientation for sustainable development

By Nchendzengang Tatah

The academic exchange at the boardroom of the faculty of Social and Management Sciences, September 28, under the chairmanship of Prof. Victor Nguh Cheo gave place for the subject to be further dissected.

The thesis titled: “The role of communication in rural development projects in Fako Division, South West region, Cameroon”, found out that consumers of community projects are most often regarded as passive by initiators and donors.

Using a mixed research method including questionnaires, interviews and participant observation, findings show that the level of participation in a majority of the projects fall either within opinion leaders or community heads.

Nevertheless, projects controlled by citizens were found to receive significant committment though usually facing financial and technical restrains.

“To further enhance effective community communication, we recommend that government and donor agencies should involve the community from the conception of projects to the completion stage in order to guarantee sustainability and for better results,” the thesis stated.

Moreso, it advanced that the services of communication experts should be used inorder to engage the population through the appropriate medium.