By
Christopher Ambe
Today,Monday May 18, marks
91 days (three months) since Barrister David Mafani Namange was elected Mayor
of Buea, to begin five-year tenure as Mayor of Buea, capital of the Southwest
Region of Cameroon.
He was elected on February
18, 2020 after the CPDM won the February 9 municipal election in Buea. But he
formally/ technically took over from Interim Mayor John Efande,on February
28. And last March 19, the new mayor- as
a civil status registrar, was sworn-in at the Buea Court of First Instance.
The PhD law student of
University of Buea and former Southwest Regional Manager of the bank, Credit Foncier, assumed Buea mayorship at
a very difficult time, as the Council was facing several crises, provoked by
the Anglophone Crisis. In fact, when Barrister Mafani became mayor, the coffers
of the Council were empty and workers had gone for months without salaries; the
council owed CPNS social contributions; Buea faced(and is still) facing water
crisis; the Council was over-crowded with ineffective and ghost workers ,just
to name a few.
These many problems were
enough to demoralize anyone who was seeking the mayorship of Buea just to play
to the gallery.
But Barrister Mafani was no stranger to the
problems of the council. He was (and is still) Fako III (Buea) CPDM Section President,
before gunning for Buea mayorship; thus, as a local political leader he had
knowledge of the problems were plaguing the CPDM-run Buea council under late Mayor
Ekema Patrick begging for solutions.
Indeed, friends of Barrister
Mafani told this reporter that he knew the “messy and chaotic” situation he was
going to face as mayor, and had developed a mindset for success, to face the
challenges squarely, for the interest of the Buea public.
As an experienced ex-manager
of bank /local party leader, Barrister Mafani’s determination to achieve his
socio-economic blueprint for Buea ,pundits say, is rooted in the Biblical caution that “If you are weak in
a crisis, you are weak indeed” (Proverbs 24:10).
Soft-spoken and quiet-looking,
Mafani is generally described as
an attentive man of action, who would like his
developmental actions to speak louder than his words.
As one Buea Council
insider put it, “Mayor Mafani is not the noise-making or publicity-seeking
type. He is cautious and methodical in the way he does his things.”
Having been in office now for 91 days, what are
some major achievements of Mayor Mafani so far?
MAJOR
ACHIEVEMENTS
Fight
against COVID-19
 |
| Mayor Mafani supplies water tanks,soap and sanitizers to the public against COVID-19 |
The active involvement of Buea Council in
the fight against the Corona virus/Covid-19 shows the concern of a mayor who
understands that health is wealth. Mayor Mafani, who is also member of the
Southwest Regional Commission on COVID-19, has regularly deployed council
personnel to the streets and neighborhoods of Buea to sensitize the public on
the dreaded corona virus and help enforce WHO/Government-recommended anti-COVID-19
measures. For weeks now the Council’s Communication caravan has been trumpeting
COVID-19 preventive and safety messages: such as: Wash your hands regularly
with soap and running water; wear a face
mask if you must leave your home; all business owners must have sanitizers in
front of their shops.
The Mayor has also
embarked on mass/social media sensitization of Buea denizens on the pandemic.
In the same light, the mayor has decongested markets in the municipality and
created a food market near OIC Buea.
The Council has placed at
strategic positions in Buea containers of water,soap and hand sanitizers; donated thousands of face
masks to Buea Prisons, orphanages, the disarmament center at
Borstal Institute Buea and to the
general public( via chiefs and quarter heads).
Enforcing
Town Planning Regulations & Curbing Urban Disorder
During his short period in
office, the mayor has embarked on stopping irregular construction and urban
disorder in Buea.
 |
| Mayor Mafani (hand raised) enforcing town planning regulations in Buea |
“Those who bring urban
disorder in Buea, should know that it is over,” the mayor told reporters when
he launched the demolition of irregularly constructed buildings recently.
“I was born in Buea, educated in Buea,I have
worked in Buea,I live in Buea and now Mayor of Buea. Nothing will stop me from
doing what is right and lawful to make Buea a beautiful town. Anybody who
thinks he will flaunt building regulations is going to face us in the next five
years.”
Buildings constructed on
market footpaths have be demolished ; business
premises especially restaurants without
toilets are forced to have such; buildings constructed on water
ways have been demolished after owners of such buildings were warned .
In the same vein, all structures put up by
encroachers in the Buea Forest Reserve (Buea Fuel Plantation) have been marked
for demolition.
In his efforts to stop
flooding in Buea, the mayor has traced back all water ways in the town and
unblocked gutters and culverts; houses built on ravines and water ways marked
for demolition.
Assistance
to Vulnerable People
Buea Council, in collaboration with the
Ministry of Social Affairs, distributed a grant of 4.5 million FCFA to 33
vulnerable persons in the municipality, in order to improve their lot.
Improvement
of roads
The mayor has already signed partnership agreements
between the Buea Council and the South West Regional delegation of Urban
Development for the improvement of roads in the council area such as the GTHS
Molyko-Ndongo-Malingo stretch of road, the NFC Bank-Molyko Health Center stretch
of road and the Bokwaongo Junction-Likoko and Kawa street stretch of road.
Water
crisis in Buea
For years now Buea
has been hit by water crisis, but the mayor has promised to alleviate the
situation by establishing boreholes in some neighborhoods soon.
Staff census and payment of salary arrears
The mayor recently carried
out a census of council workers to sort out absentee and ghost workers, who
were draining the council coffers, in an effort to ensure efficiency and
duty-consciousness.
The mayor only recently brought happiness to
his workers by paying three of the four-month salary arrears he inherited. He
also regularized the situation of several workers who during the tenure of late
Mayor Ekema Patrick went for several years without salaries despite their protests.
Ban on circulation of Motor bikes maintained
The circulation of commercial motor bikes had been banned by Mayor Mafani’s
predecessor who claimed they were facilitating the transportation of separatist
fighters. But when Mafani became mayor the motor bike riders thought the ban
was now lifted and started circulating within the municipality, but the mayor
rather upheld the ban.
Mayor Mafani is optimistic
that, everything being equal and with the collaboration and support of the Government,
local authorities and Buea denizens, the municipality will witness more
socio-economic improvements and infrastructural development ,as well as peaceful cohabitation.
Many watchers of Buea
Council think that Mayor Mafani has started his tenure well,and will likely end
well-everything being equal.
Mayor Mafani is
assisted in his task of enhancing
development in Buea by : Mrs. Molinge Enjema Minerva, as 1st Deputy Mayor;Mr
Edward Mosoke,as 2nd Deputy Mayor;Chief
Motove Marcus, as 3rd Deputy Mayor and Mrs. Vevanje Enjema Magdaline,as 4th Deputy Mayor.
(With contributions from
Buea Council Communication Unit)
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