Cameroon:Barrister Mafani Namange Elected New Mayor of Buea

New Mayor of Buea,David  Mafani Namange,being followed by jubilant crowd after his election.

By Christopher Ambe

David Mafani Namange, who is the Southwest Regional Manager of Credit Foncier, is the new Mayor of Buea and will be assisted by four deputies.

 Buea ,with a population of over 200 thousand people, is the capital of the Southwest Region of Camerooon. Buea Council has fourty-one(41) councillors.

Namange, alongside his deputies, was elected yesterday February 18, following the victory of the CPDM at last February 9 Municipal Election in Buea.

The CPDM  had won the election with  6,368 votes(85.6%) out of the total 7,588   who actually voted, and its lone challenger, the  SDF secured 1,068(14.2%).

But a total of 43,320 had registered while 35,732 (82.5%) of the voters boycotted the election, largely because of death threats from separatists seeking the independence of minority English-speakers from Cameroon, a majority-French speaking country.

Namange,will be assisted by  Mrs. Molinge Enjema Minerva, as 1^st Deputy Mayor;Mr Edward Mosoke,as 2^nd  Deputy Mayor;Chief Motove Marcus, as 3^rd  Deputy Mayor  and Mrs. Vevanje Enjema Magdaline,as  4^th Deputy Mayor.

The election of the mayor and his deputies was presided at by the SDO for Fako Divison,Engamba Emmanuel Ledoux and witnessed by Senator Mbella Moki, who had served as Mayor of Buea for eleven years.

Chief Njie Mandenge ,second eldest councilor was chair of the electoral bureau ,after Dr. Amos Namanga Ngongi,who is the eldest councilor declined to chair it as required ,because he was a stakeholder in the election.

Councilors Dr. Amos Namanga Ngongi , Dr. Hannah Etonde Mbua and Dr. George Mafany Teke (who had earlier indicated his intention to run for the mayor’s job)   raised preliminary objections concerning the candidacy of David Mafani Namange,which led to heated public debate.

So heated was the debate that the SDO suspended the session for 10 minutes,to permit the councilors reach an understanding. 

Upon resumption, Dr. Ngongi who initially stood against Mafani Namange, withdrew his candidature and the latter was overwhelmingly voted Mayor of Buea . 

The SDO was forced to send out members of the public as noise in the hall seemed to be disrupting the smooth running of the session. Only the SDO, traditional rulers and councilors were left in the hall during the election, as a mammoth waited outside

Challenges Ahead

The new mayor has taken office at a time that Buea Councils has a lot of unresolved problems.

For example, the 330 workers of the council who receive a global 28 million Fcfa  as monthly salaries ,have now gone for three  months without salaries, even as  Buea council  reportedly has the lowest salary scale when compared to other councils in the country.  

The mayor will also face the non-payment of salaries for years to several council workers who served under late Mayor Ekema Patrick .Their salaries were suspended allegedly because the workers paid allegiance to Namange when he became Buea CPDM Section President and was at odds with the late mayor.

The mayor will have to settle huge CNPS and HYSACAM debts owed by Buea Council

Another thorny problem begging for immediate solution is the water crisis that has hit Buea for years, forcing people to travel long distances in search of it.

Mafani Namange’s Profile

Namange has been Fako III (Buea) president for more than five years; had been YCPDM president for Buea. Namange has worked with Credit Foncier (bank) in Buea, Bamenda, and Douala for more than 20 years and is currently the Southwest Regional Manager of the bank.  

He was recently sworn-in as a lawyer and is a PhD student of International Law (University of Buea); he is married and a father.

 A staunch CPDM  militant, Namange  joined the  ruling  party   in  the  90’s .He once  led its youth wing in Buea and served as   CPDM Central Committee’s  Charge de  Mission  for many years .