By DANIELA NEBA NGUM
The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO for Meme Division Chamberlain Ntou’ou Ndong has disclosed that he will by Monday September 25 close down shops that do not operate on Mondays to Wednesdays in respect of ghost towns.
Ntou’ou Ndong made the declaration on September 15, 18 and 19 in Kumba during the installation ceremonies of the new Divisional Officers, D.Os of Kumba III, II and I respectively.
“From Monday I will start by closing all the shops of those who respect ghost towns”, The SDO declared.
He furthered “If they want to close their shops I’ll help them”
According to Meme SDO, the respect of ghost town by business owners in Kumba and in other towns has greatly dented the economic situation of the country.
He wondered why people should yield to ghost town calls from unknown individuals rather than the government that has assured them of security.
The administrator reminded denizens that their livelihood depends on their day-to-day businesses since they need to carter for themselves and their children, pay bills and contribute to the development of the country. This, he noted, cannot be possible if they continue to shut their shops for three days.
Reacting to the SDO’s declaration, most business people revealed that in as much as they want to open their shops, they will not risk losing their properties and investments without compensation.
They cited cases of those who have lost their businesses in a blink of an eye and have not yet been compensated by the government. They added that at the end they will be the ones to suffer the consequences.
It should be recalled that Southwest Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilia while commissioning Chamberlain Ntou’ou Ndong as the new SDO for Meme Division tasked him to fight against ghost town, ever since then, the situation is only getting worse in the division.
Meme SDO has equally made several patrols around town during ghost town days (Mondays to Wednesday) calling on financial institutions and business operators to open their shops. This has always been done in his presence but when he leaves their premises, they close their shops for fear of the unknown.
The SUN learnt that during one the SDO’s tour around the city, the owner of a cold store asked the SDO to sign a document assuring him that if his store is set on fire, he will be reimbursed the exact amount lost.
Lots of properties have been destroyed and business places have been reduced to ashes in Kumba with the recent one being the burning of the biggest motorbike sales point in Kumba, Lake Hotel.