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| Mayor of Buea,Barrister Mafani David Namange |
By Christopher Ambe.
The Mayor of
Buea, David Mafani Namange, has suspended the payment of what he terms
illegal duty allowance, to many council workers and published a list of
regularly employed workers, causing fear among those whose names have not
featured on it that they will be sent away.
But in a telephone interview with this reporter
on Saturday, the mayor said, “Nobody has been laid off. We simply did a staff audit,
which will be followed by a financial audit to put order in the council.
“We realized
that some people have not come to work for more than a year but
earning salaries. For example, we realized that a worker on retirement was
still on the payroll and a worker who had joined the military was still on the payroll.”
The affected duty allowance earners are chiefs
of services and chiefs of bureaus, who had been unduly earning the money
monthly, for several years, under the leadership of his predecessors. “You find
some 25 people earning allowances as chiefs of services whereas you don’t find
those services in existence in the organizational chart. Same case with many chiefs
of bureaus not found on the organizational chart,”
A chief of service had an extract 25,000 francs
CFA and a chief of bureau had 10,000 francs CFA added to their monthly
salaries.
The
suspension of the duty allowance took effect as from April 30, the day the mayor
made public his decision in a note of service.
“Considering that the allowances which you were
illegally benefitting as chiefs of services as part of your salaries [are] unjustified,
you are hereby informed that the sum of 25000 francs FCFA which you were
benefitting as duty allowance has been withdrawn”, read part of the mayor’s
note of service.
The note of
service had many names of chiefs of services and names of
chiefs of bureaus affected and thus relieved as chiefs
Conscious
that the suspension of the allowance and scraping off of fictitious chief of
service status would anger the affected, the mayor extended his sympathy to
them.
“We regret
the inconveniences this [decision] must have caused you,” he wrote in the note
of service.
One of the
affected chiefs of services, in a chat with this reporter, blamed the Mayor for
being in a rush to do away with what has been in existence for years. “He may
be doing the right thing but he should have served for at least six months in
that capacity before taking such a decision,” said the chief of service.
But a well-placed
council official, supportive of the mayor’s decision, stressed that Mafani is “a
careful jurist and only takes actions that he knows are legally correct.”
The official
thought that Buea council was even overstaffed with over 300 workers compared
to Tiko Council with similar budget, which he said, has about 100 workers. He added
that the total workers of Limbe 1, 2 & 3 councils are less than the number
Buea Council has.
It should be
recalled that Mafani assumed office as mayor when the Buea Council
owed salaries of workers for four months; but as at now workers have gone for
six months without salaries.
Concerning
unpaid salaries, the mayor told this reporter, “We are working hard to pay the salary
arrears. Everything being equal, next week they will receive part payment.
He strongly appealed
to council workers to be more productive so that the council would always
generate the necessary revenues to pay them on time.
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