By DANIELA NEBA NGUM
The Chief of Taxation for the Southwest Region has noted that there has been a considerable drop in the collection of taxes since the start of the Anglophone crisis.
He revealed the information on November 28 during the opening of a two day regional coordination administrative and security meeting of the region presided at by Southwest Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilia.
According to the Chief of Taxation, since the start of the Anglophone crisis the government treasury has witnessed a considerable drop in the percentage of taxes collected per month.
He noted that the continuous respect of calls for ghost town by business persons in the region accounts for 12% drop in the percentage of taxes collected this year.
He was corroborated by the Treasurer and Pay Master for the Southwest Region who noted that the closure of boarders seriously affected the collection of revenue this year.
They said the amount of money they used to collect as custom duties from import and export goods reduced as result of the closure of the boarders.
Enter Southwest Governor
Addressing the conclave, the Governor of the Southwest Region, Bernard Okalia Bilia thanked some traditional and municipal authorities for preserving peace at the heat of the crisis period in their various communities.
Governor Okalia Bilia regretted the fact that some individuals are preaching hatred and division among inhabitants of the region.
The Regional Boss talked about some projects realized and those ongoing in the region, like the Kumba-Mamfe road, the Limbe Stadium, the Kumba-Ekondo Titi road, the construction of the Buea Reference Hospital and many more.
Meanwhile officials of Ministry of Public Contracts, MINMAP disclosed that project realization stands at 60% in the region as of November 28.
They blamed the late award of contracts on the ongoing Anglophone crisis that caused most contractors to stop work in some areas of the region.
Nfon V.E Mukete frowns over banned meeting with Nso Fon
At the height of the deliberations, Senator Nfon V.E Mukete revealed that at the wake of the Anglophone crisis, a meeting between him and the Fon of Nso was banned.
Senator Nfon V.E Mukete said the aim of the meeting was disclosed in a letter addressed to the Governor of the region.
Nfon said he asked the administration to assign security officers to the meeting if they were not sure of the purpose of the said meeting.
The eldest Senator noted that he and his colleague of Nso wanted to draft memoranda to the Head of State on the need to borrow the Canadian experience on bilingualism to solve the Anglophone crisis.
His reaction came on the heels of a plea made by Southwest Governor calling of traditional rulers of the region to assist the government solve the ongoing crisis.
School resumption gaining grounds in the Region
During the presentations of Regional Delegates, the Regional Delegate for Secondary Education said so far 36 schools have been vandalized with attacks recorded on 32 children.
He noted that school attendance has gradually increased in the region with Fako Division beng the highest with over 60% while other divisions have less than 2%.
Meanwhile the Regional Delegate for Basic Education regretted the fact that she could not give the exact situation of those in school because of the difficulties they faced at the start of the academic year. She added that there has been a great increase in school attendance than before.
She said 11 schools have been burnt down in the region as a result of the Anglophone crisis.
They reported situations of threats and attacks on teachers and students especially those in the rural areas.