By Daniela Itoe Ngum
Among the five council areas in Meme Division, Mbonge municipality is the most hit by the ongoing crisis, as a good number of villages have been razed to ashes and its inhabitants rendered as internally displaced persons, IDPs in other towns.
It is against this backdrop that councilors of the Mbonge Council have urged the Mayor to give assistance to the desperate population including the Councilors who are also IDPs.
The Councilors made the clarion call during the council’s administrative, management and stores accounts session presided at by the 1st Assistant Senior Divisional Officer, ASDO for Meme Division, Joseph Nguime at the Kumba City Council Hall.
“Mr. Mayor last year you talked of giving assistance to the internally displaced population of the Mbonge community including the Councilors, till now we are yet to see any assistance to that effect”, Councilor Reges Abwa announced.
Reacting to this, the Mayor of the Mbonge Council, Chief Daniel Matta Mokambe said he is doing everything possible to extend assistance to his population.
Talking about a year pregnant with elections, Councilor Reges Abwa stated that all the 93 villages of the council area are a no go zone for councilors to campaign, talk less of elections. They said they need the reinstatement of peace before any credible election can take place.
“The population of Mbonge is not ready for elections and will only do so when there is peace”, the councilor stated and continued that “How does the government want us to go and campaign when anyone who dares into politics is considered an enemy? I cannot go freely to my village, talk less of campaigning except the state will provide me absolute security to go there. The government should not push us to go and loss our lives. Some of us took risk to vote for the Senatorial elections because it was just us. We are talking about Municipal elections which means the population are the ones to vote, how do you expect someone whose relative has been shot and who is living in misery to go and vote?”, he furthered.
Mayor Mokambe disclosed that out of the sum of over FCFA 175 million budgeted in 2018, over FCFA 130 million was collected meanwhile over FCFA 338million was spent on investment, giving a realization of 81.32 %.
The 1st ASDO appreciated the efforts of the council though he said the 81.52% realization was a little lower than that of last year.
Some realized projects in 2018 include the construction of toilets to some schools and markets, construction of culverts, construction of a slaughter house, equipment of modern council hall, provision of benches and tables to some schools, construction of nursery block, provision of boreholes and water supply, construction of modern Mbonge Motor Park, supply of health equipment, construction of security posts in Ekombe and Kidongi junction, construction of VIP toilets at the council building and many more.