By DANIELA ITOE NGUM
Municipal councillors of the Kumba I Council have decried the burning down of villages in their municipality and the continuous harassment and extortion of drivers, passengers and business persons who make use of the Kumba-Mbonge road on a daily basis, especially at the Mile One Checkpoint.
The councillors denounced the act recently, during the council’s second ordinary session devoted to the examination and adoption of their 2019 budget at the Kumba I Council chambers.
According to some councillors, the sometimes mass arrest and burning of villages in the municipality such as Kake I and II and Difa, has greatly affected the population, as most of them have been rendered homeless and are now living in hardship.
The councillors noted that those without relatives in towns have relocated to the bushes and are living in a more deplorable condition.
This they noted scares away the population from collaborating with the security forces sent to protect them.
Councillors disclosed that most persons plying the road in possession of sachet whisky products, beer and others have suffered harassment and extortion at the checkpoint.
In response to these preoccupations, the representative of Meme Senior Divisional Officer, the 1st Assistant SDO, Joseph Nguime, said the sale and consumption of the aforementioned products have been banned by the government of Cameroon.
While maintaining that he cannot say for certain if such acts are being perpetuated by the military, Joseph Nguime stated that those in possession of such products should not hold anyone accountable since they are dealing in contrabands.
In line with burning of houses, the Assistant SDO said due to the complex nature of the crisis, it will be difficult for one to actually prove that those houses were razed by the military. He however, called on the councillors to advise their children who have taken arms against the state to drop their weapons as instructed by the Head of State in order for peace to return.
Earlier on, the Mayor of the Kumba I Council, Abel Ebako Ndoh revealed that the adopted budget, balanced in revenue and expenditure at the tune of FCFA 672 million witnessed .57% drop from FCFA 676 million budgeted last year.
The drop he said is as a result of the ongoing crisis that is slowly crumbling most of their revenue sources.
The Assistant SDO regretted the slow execution of projects and the poor revenue collection registered in the municipality.
Priority projects for 2019 include; the construction and rehabilitation of roads, construction of two bridges at Cassava Farm, construction of culverts, construction and equipping of classrooms at GBPS Kumba Town, supply of medical equipment to health centers, construction of a permanent bridge at Kumba Town, purchase of tricycles, grading streets and a host of others.