Construction Works Disturbingly slow; Governor to
Arrest defaulting contractors
By Christopher Ambe
Although
the exact month this year for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of
Cameroon's reunification is not yet known, it leaves not one in doubt that the
golden jubilee will be celebrated this year-everything being equal.
President
Paul Biya, who is expected to chair the anniversary celebrations, hinted about
the time frame in his New Year Message to the nation last December 31.
“…I am
pleased to announce that within the next few months, the right conditions
should be in place for us to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Reunification
with all due solemnity,” President Biya said.
The President‘s announcement immediately re-awakened
both the Jubilee’s National Organizing Committee and the Southwest Regional
Preparatory Commission. They swung into action and have since then been putting
pressure on contractors and other concerned stakeholders to quickly implement
projects earmarked for the celebrations. But it has been observed that the rate
of execution is disturbingly slow. Could this be the lack of funds or inertia
on the part of contractors? The reasons for the slow pace of project
realization are unclear.
But it should be noted that the State has budgeted
about six billion Fcfa for projects earmarked for the 50th anniversary
celebrations of Cameroon’s reunification in Buea
In fact, an inter-ministerial commission
monitoring the execution of the jubilee projects was recently in Buea.Taken
round by Southwest Governor Bernard Okala Bilai, the inter-ministerial
commission visited the various project sites and gave March 31 as the deadline
for all projects to be well executed. Then Governor Okalia Bilai, who is also
the head of the regional preparatory commission, has since been threatening to
arrest and detain contractors who are not doing their jobs according to
prescriptions and expectations. His threats, The Recorder understands, is
intended to make the contractors be time-and duty-conscious.
Generally speaking, work is progress but many
people including officials in charge of supervision, think that it is at a
snail pace.
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| New Buea Council Office Near Completion |
Should the jobs not be done or done well, political
observers argue, it is the Buea Municipality that will be the Great Loser, by
missing a golden opportunity to upgrade its infrastructure and social
amenities. That justifies why Buea Mayor Mayor, Charles Mbella Moki, is doing
his best-in terms of project execution within his competence and connections to
ensure the event must become a huge success
When the jubilee ‘s Regional Preparatory Commission
met last week to assess the level of project realization, they expressed shock
and disbelief at the slow pace of execution of jobs by some contractors.
During that meeting it emerged that many of the
earmarked road projects are still to be started, leaving Buea residents who are
expecting well-done roads, with the fear that when the jobs will finally and
hurriedly be done, they will not meet standards.
Up to the time of the last assessment meeting, no
site had been chosen for the erection of the Reunification Monument
The Governor was particularly worried that the
contract for the renovation of the Parliamentarian Flats (hotel) looked almost
abandoned by the contractor, reportedly “no where to be found.” The Governor
then ordered the Southwest Regional Delegate of Tourism and Leisure to hunt for
him and bring latest one week.
Another cause for concern was the Mile 4 (Limbe)-Sasse-Buea
road under renovation. Although the contract
had long been awarded there were increasing complaints that the road was not
only too narrow but was poorly being done “with a very tiny coat of bituminous concrete”,
suggesting that it would not last long when completed, if not improved as
suggested.
The Regional
Supervisory Commission recommended that henceforth clean-up campaigns should
become a weekly exercise in Tiko ,which
is the gateway to the South West), in Limbe and notably in Buea
The irregular supply of portable water remains a
serious problem in Buea especially in neighborhoods such as Bokwaongo. But the
CDE, the water supply corporation is only making promises to resolve the
problem before March 31, while residents travel long distances to fetch water.
Buea too is increasingly facing the problem of electric power cuts, a problem that
AES/SONEL must look into as a matter of urgency.
But all is not bad. At least, the Mayor of Buea,
Charles Mbella Moki was hailed for his sustained campaign to keep the streets
of the municipality clean and his demolition exercise that is doing way with
makeshift structures by the road sides from Mile 17 Motor Park to Buea Town.
Many political pundits think that if the stage is
not set well-in terms of the realization of the earmarked projects, President
Biya may further postpone the 50th anniversary celebration of
Cameroon’s Reunification to next year especially when they recall that the Head
of State said “…the right conditions should be in place for us to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary of Reunification with all due solemnity”
First Published in The Recorder Newspaper,
Cameroon, of January 23, 2013
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