Moundou

History

In 1916, the military conquest of Chad was completed. After this date, however, movements of resistance to the colonial regime took place. It was especially in the southwest of the country that dissensions continued until about 1930: in the Middle Logone, the administrator Robert Reverdy subjected the region of Moundou; the mossy country was won thanks to the action of the paramount chief Ouaïdou.

The city was created on November 8, 1923 by the French sergeant and administrator Joseph-François Reste, Lieutenant-General of Chad from 1923 to 1926 and future Governor General of French Equatorial Africa, who, from the whaleboat upon which he navigated the Logone, found the site pretty. He decided to found the post of Moundou in the centre of the rebellious zone. The situation did not really change with the arrival of Lieutenant Robert Reverdy. Chief of the district of the Middle Logone in 1925, Reverdy, who became a director in 1927, completed an uninterrupted stay for five years and eight months. He moved the chief town of the district to Moundou In 1927. Riding the country relentlessly, on horseback and by litter, he tackled the organisation of strong chieftains, first of village, then of township.

On April 20, 1930, Governor Georges Prouteaux of Oubangi-Chari (the district was attached to Oubangui-Chari in 1926) signed a decision reorganising the "indigenous of the Middle Logone" by creating forty cantons, divided into five subdivisions. Reverdy had his right-hand man, Hassan Moundou or Hassan Baguirmi, of Baguirmian or rather of Baguirmianised Dekakire Arab origin, which he installed as chief of the township of Moundou. Many chiefs were little greedy and cruel tyrants. They were not all of traditional origin. In this animist country, custom only recognised clan chiefs, war or initiation leaders, strictly specialised and temporary. However, the system was accepted by the population and some chiefs remained in office for more than a quarter of a century. Their descendants are still in place today.

The city owes its urbanism to the administrator Robert Reverdy (called Baoguel, the "Left-Handed", in the Ngambaye language). It is notably he who planted the eye-catching flowers (from February to May) that line the roads. They are the origin of the nickname of the city during the colonial period, Moundou-la-Rouge.

In 1926 the Cotton Company of the Congo installed a ginning factory in Moundou. The cotton company later became Cotonfran in 1928 and then CotonTchad in 1972.

The first cadastral map of the town of Moundou was manufactured February 2, 1926. Since there were not, at the time, the materials for substantial topographical surveys, the drainage pipeline of the town was facing the river, in the belief that the natural inclination would head toward the river, when in reality the river level is higher than the level of the city. "Every time there was a flood, all the waters of the Logone discharged to Lake Wey (in the West), which in turn sprays its water into the city, flooding Moundou entirely," explained the Mayor of the city Laoukein Kourayo Médard.

Transport

Moundou is situated on one of the main roads in southern Chad. The road runs from Léré on the border with Cameroon, through Pala, Kélo, Moundou, Doba, Koumra, and Sarh.

The town is served by Moundou Airport (IATA: MQQ, ICAO: FTTD), with a paved runway.

Economy

The city has an industry of ginning and processing of cotton (oil, soap) under CotonTchad. The export of cotton was done before the discovery of oil, the current main source of income for Chad. Cotton cultivation has been supported by French cooperations (through the CCCE, now the AFD, and the public company Dagris, now Geocoton), and the European Development Fund of the European Union.

The city has also a historical beer industry through the Brasseries du Logone and the Gala brand, synonymous with luxury beer in Chad and in Cameroon.

Cigarettes are made in the city by the Manufacture des Cigarettes du Tchad (MCT) company.

Education

Moundou is home to several schools and, since 2002, a higher education institution, the University of Moundou, which was created by ordinance No. 013 / PR / 2008 of 5 March 2008. The current university used to be the Moundou University Institute of Business Techniques or IUTEM (Institut universitaire des techniques d'entreprise de Moundou) which was created by Law No. 10 / PR / 02 of 2 September 2002.

Primary Schools

High Schools

Other Schools

Areas of Moundou

There are four quarters or municipal districts of Moundou, further subdivided into 20 neighbourhoods:

Twin towns – Sister cities

Moundou is twinned with: