By Chrsitopher Ambe
 |
| Mayor Mbella Moki |
The mayor who is admired by many and hated as well by many
others shocked his critics when teased by one councilor about his chances of
retaining the mayorship next year.
As if he was expecting the question, Mbella Moki quipped,
“Let me be frank: I am not yet ready to quit Buea council.Our mission of
developing the municipality is not yet complete
“It is only God who
will ask us to quit then shall we do so. If not, we will stay at this council
because we have much work to do for the development of this town of Legendary
Hospitality”,Mayor Moki said in his concluding remarks at the session that was
primarily intended to vote the council budget for 2012.
The sum of one billion francs CFA was adopted as the
council’s budget for next year –a budget described as by Bona Ebengue François,
DO for Fako who attended the session as realistic and urged the council to improve
its revenue collection and focus more on developing the town.
The session held just a week after the mayor had visited
construction sites of projects directly or indirectly funded by the council
estimated to cost over two billion Francs.
During the session Mayor Moki in a scripted speech, counted
his achievements during his tenure.
Following are some major achievements cited by the mayor
although his detractors see them as grossly in sufficient:
The Achievements:
“The Council has made giant strides since we were entrusted with
the responsibility of accomplishing its municipal development missions, notably
providing basic services to the population which include, maintaining hygiene
and sanitation, provision of portable water supply and electricity to our local
communities.
When we came into office
some years back, we introduced a new approach to the management of our Council
as a response to growing necessity for a Participatory
Management Approach with Public –
Private – Partnership Initiatives.
We needed a council that would be closer to its population and where the population could effectively
participate in their own local development, to uphold Henry Ford’s assertion that“Coming
together is a Beginning, Keeping together is Progress, Working together is
Success” thus we created a Logo with the Motto “Let’s Work Together,”. We
are projecting and publicizing BUEA as the Land Of Legendary Hospitality. In
this team spirit, we elaborated the Strategic Development Plan for the Buea
Municipality which has been the Council road map in achieving our municipal
development goals.
“We initiated major
projects as innovations in Council management such as the Scholarship Programme for Underprivileged but Deserving Students of
the Buea Municipality, we re-constituted and expanded the Holiday Job Programme and introduced the Widows Fund intended alleviate the living conditions of suffering
widows.
Such innovations have been copied by councils everywhere today
becoming a reference and contributing greatly in improving the Human Capital
Development of local communities. We
have completely regularized the situation of Council workers by paying up to
date all inherited debts to staff
including National Social Insurance Fund dues; we re-structured the
Council services and proposed an organizational chart for hierarchy which was
modified and recommended for Councils throughout our national territory; we
have increased the staff strength, reclassified workers; invested on training
and increased our trainees in CEFAM to
improve the capacities of the personnel with varying opportunities thereby
changing the perception that Council workers are desperate and lowly paid. In
the provision of basic services to the community, we constructed rural markets
in Lysoka, Bonjongo and Bokwaongo and the Mile 17 Motor Park; we constructed
bridges to improve accessibility in Ndongo – Molyko, Wokoko – Bonduma, Sandpit
– Great Soppo. We assisted in extending portable water supply to various
communities such as Muea, Lysoka, Mile 16, Mile 14 Dibanda, Great Soppo/
Wokoko/Molyko; we assisted in extending rural electrification and
rehabilitation of rural roads in Bwassa Likombe and Mapanja; we initiated the
street lighting project from the police roundabout to Mile 17 and it is ongoing
with extension to strategic areas of the town.
Major
development projects have been achieved with the initiation of the Public –
Private – Partnership Initiative (PPPI) which has been operationalized within
the component of Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) programme rendering the
municipality pro-active with the following projects:
- Construction of the Buea Town Market with about 200 stores.
- Embellishment of the Clerks Quarters area and the construction
of modern structures that will replace the meat slab and other dilapidating
structures at Clerks Quarters.
- The ongoing construction of 50 Stores at the Mile 17 Motor Park
and the subsequent construction of Restaurants/Bars with 28 stores, 50 open
shades, 6 modern Bus Agencies, construction of Offices, Sales points, water and
toilet facilities.
- The ongoing construction of a Shopping Mall with 28 stores and
Parking Lots at the Old Motor Park in Buea Town.
The BOT
component is trendy and has registered tremendous success in our
municipality. We invite all stakeholders
to venture into this programme, so that together we can bring the change we all
believe in.
The
construction of the new Council Chambers will end by December and the second
phase for its completion by March 2012 and to cost over five hundred million;
the construction of three bridges in Great Soppo worth forty-two million francs
cfa has commenced with that over the Musole ravine. We have continued to
provide basic services to our population such as maintaining proper hygiene and
sanitation and a vast programme to protect our environment of which the
services of HYSACAM have remained commendable.
We have
assisted in extending and rehabilitating water supply in many communities like
Dibanda Mile 14, Wonjia, Small Soppo Wonganga, Mapanja; assisted with extending
electricity supply to the Bwassa-Likombe Health Centre and primary School;
rehabilitated Government School Bwassa-Likombe, assistance for the completion
of two classrooms at Government School Great Soppo, extended assistance to
Government services like Central Prisons – Buea to purchase farming materials,
Public Health to support health programmes
especially HIV/AIDS and CHOLERA.
We have
reinforced broad- based assistance to the underprivileged and needy community
members in the areas of education, ranging from Nursery to Higher institutions
of learning through the Annual Holiday
Jobs and the elaborate Scholarship
Programme as well as Holiday Sports
and Leisure Programmes exhibited during the decentralized Inter-quarter
Competition in the various Court areas.
The
elaboration of the Communal Development Plan by an NGO “GREMPCO” with PNDP
funding will in soon result in the realization of projects worth fifty-eight
million, four hundred thousand francs cfa distributed as follows:
- Maintenance of rural roads = 20.000.000
- Rural electricity supply = 10.000.000
- Water extension =
4.000.000
- Provision of farm inputs =
5.000.000
- Construction of Bridges = 10.000.000
- School supplies =
4.400.000
-
Health facilities =
5.000.000
The above
accomplishments could only be realized thanks to the increase in government
subventions (Additional Council Taxes) and the concerted efforts of the council
administration and staff, councilors and stakeholders
“…we cannot forget the valuable contribution of FEICOM in
financially backing some of our projects; we recognize the change HYSACAM has
brought to our municipality”.
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