By DANIELA ITOE NGUM
Municipal Councillors of the Mbonge Council in Meme Division, South West Region have in their plenary stated that there is dire need for peace to return in the municipality in order for smooth campaign and elections to take place.
The Councillors said this 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.
According to Councillor Reges Abwa, all the 93 villages of the council area are a no go zone for councillors to campaign in, talk less of elections. He 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”, Councillor stated and furthered 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 is the one to vote; how do you expect someone whose relative has been shot and is living in misery to go and vote?”.
It is worth nothing that 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 Councillors further urged the Mayor to give assistance to the desperate population including the Councillors who are also IDPs.
“Mr. Mayor, last year you talked of giving assistance to the internally displaced population of the Mbonge community including the Councillors, till now we are yet to see any assistance to that effect”, Councillor Reges Abwa hinted.
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.
Mayor Mokambe in his address disclosed that out of the sum of FCFA 1.26billion budgeted in 2018, FCFA 972million was collected with recurrent revenue standing at the sum of over FCFA 454million, over FCFA 338million was spent on investment revenue while recurrent expenditure stood at FCFA 337million and investment expenditure at FCFA 341million giving excess revenue of FCFA 73million.
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 in 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 junctions, construction of VIP toilets at the council building and many more.