Belo Mayor drags SDO to NCC

By Jean Marie Ngong Song

The mayor of Belo council, Bernard Tosam Nenghabi has dragged the S.D.O for Boyo Joseph Oum II to the national communication council for what he has describe as a miscarriage of administrative decisions. He made the declaration in Bamenda April 9 upon his return from Yde.

                Following a live interview on state radio last week,the president of the national communication council,Peter Esoka in commenting on the closing own of the Belo community radio said, it is the council that gives instructions to the administration to close down any radio station and not the revers and that the council has not receive any complain from the management of the Belo community radio, Mayor Bernard TosamNenghabi quickly constituted a complaint against the Boyo SDO  and submitted to the council in Yaounde.

                According to the mayor for Belo, it was an opportunity for him to see the radio came to live again and remove his entire municipality which from 1950s had been in complete communication black out because of the poor topography of Belo sub division.

                Belo community radio was the only window opening the entire sub division to through world as the national and world news could get to the populace through the relay of the state radio. As to what led to the shutdown of the radio by the Boyo administration, mayor Tosam has accused the local CPDM elite of manipulation and frustration. Hear him:

                ”During the CPDM reorganisation in Belo, militants of the CPDM went round collecting the identification cards of SDF militants saying they were to register them for an aid scheme that will pass through the council. But the Belo SDF district chairman immediately sent out a warning note through the radio cautioning SDF militants to shun the CPDM ploy. When the announcement was read, the manager of the radio was attacked in a bar by the same CPDM. When she also reported this on the radio few days later, a decision came from the SDO accusing her of arbitrary broadcast and the radio was closed. I believe the SDO is working on CPDM party’s influence because the local CPDM elite have been going around advocating that the station manager of the radio be changed. But the radio does not serve only the SDF, it benefits all. The SDO did not invite the station manager for explanations; he acted based on rumour. I was also not consulted before the radio was closed. I have lobbied to no avail for its reopening and drawing from the words of the president of the communication council, I believe there is a silver lining in the dark cloud now “said mayor Tosam.

                Belo subdivision has over 50 villages with thousands of the local population and a litany of local development associations that depend on the radio to sensitize their members on local development strategies.

                ”These development associations contribute CFA30-40 million annually for development thanks to the radio. Last year the number of students and pupils who applied for holiday jobs at the council witnessed an increase from 900 to 1500 thanks to the fact that Belo community radio brought to their door steps information on the situation,” mayor Tosam added.

Like the mayor and many citizens down the streets of Belo, they are still in confusion as to how a radio can be serving one party given that it does not select it listeners, the position of the SDO as the editor in chief or the monitor of mass media when bodies ranking as such exist even at divisional levels. They have pointed accusing fingers at the local CPDM elite saying immediately the radio was closed the militants went into jubilation and celebration.