Welcome address by the Lord Mayor of the
Buea council on the occasion of the SW Forum organized by the elite of the
South West region at the Buea Mountain Hotel, on Thursday, 2 February 2017
- Your
Excellency, the RT Hon. Senator Peter MafanyMusonge,
- Members of Government here present,
- Your
Excellency, the Governor of the South West Region,
- Political,
administrative, traditional and religious authorities,
- Dear
people of the south west region,
- Distinguished
guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is with utmost delight and rekindled
hope that I welcome you on behalf of the peace-loving and hospitable people of
Buea, on this occasion of the South West Forum which has rallied people of all
walks of life within the beautiful City of Buea. We are particularly elated
that the forum is holding on the heels of turbulent moments in the entire
region and the Buea Municipality in particular, during which some foes of our
beloved nation predicted the collapse of this enviable country, but have been
ridiculed by how strongly we have emerged after these trying moments.
We
concur wholly with the holding of this forum which we think is overdue but
serves as a sporting chance to get back on the drawing board and correct the
mistakes of the past which have served as breeding ground for the situation our
country is currently witnessing.
What
started as a common law lawyers’ strike and then blended with an eventual
teachers’ strike despicably transformed itself into a politically maneuvered
civil disobedience machinated by jobless individuals in the diaspora and some
reckless political demagogues within the country who took advantage of the
porous nature of the social media to destabilize the nation. The consequence
was that young people were engineered to take to the streets occasioning
destruction on both public and private property which attracted the action of
the forces of law and order to reinstate order.
Excellences, distinguished guests, ladies
and gentlemen
Aware
that it is the pivotal role of Municipal Councils like ours to ensure social
cohesion, basic development and peace for the pope we represent, we summoned
the entire population of Buea for a public talk at the Buea Independence Square
on 30th November 2017, a week after the commencement of the teacher’s strike,
for which some 10.000 persons heeded our call and we jointly established a
memorandum of the grievances the striking teachers and students of the
university had channeled through us as the people’s representatives, addressed
to the President of the Republic, H.E. Paul Biya after we unraveled several
exonerations for business operators within the Municipality. We then led the
population to the office of the Governor of the South West Region during which
we handed over the memorandum to him for onward transmission. On the spot, we
solicited the Governor to order the release of students who were detained for
acts of incivility both on public places and the campus of the University of
Buea. We were happy to observe that their release was affected that same
evening.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
As
you are all aware, the Buea Council fully participated in the Grand Meeting of
the CPDM organized on 6th December 2016, committing its human, financial and
material resources. Besides, we hatched and executed plans to frustrate the
move of the SDF Members of Parliament to stage a march from the MolykoOmnisport
stadium to the Governor’s office which would have provoked untold consequences
for the state. In this vein, we circumvented the SDF law makers at the
Parliamentarian Flat Hotel compelling their plans to culminate in an
inconsequential rally in front of the stadium after lengthy negotiations with
the regional administration.
To
make assurance double sure as we try to ensure peace and stability, we have
been working hand-in-glove with the Sub-divisional, Divisional and Regional
Administrations, holding meetings, public talks, press conferences, interviews
and educative television programmes, all aimed at keeping steam and up-holding
Republican values.
Conspicuously,
we have been able to effectively mitigate the effect of the so-called operation
100% ghost town in our Municipality by enforcing Municipal acts geared towards
the functioning of business during ghost towns. We have succeeded in the past
two weeks to root out this operation whose effervescence, we must assure you,
is dead and buried as at today.
Still,
we have succeeded in nullifying the zeal of the authors of ghost town to
completely cripple the circulation of taxis during their diabolic operations.
To attain this, the Council management approved an emergency plan to procure
100 township taxis within the Municipality. However due to financial
constraints, we have been able to float 20 taxis as at date. This experiment
has yielded fruitful dividends and assures us of dealing with threats from
township taxi syndicates on strikes; assures us of employment of our young
people and also impacts positively on the revenue base of the Council.
Excellences, Distinguished guests, Ladies
and Gentlemen
All
these, as we are aware of the tense political climate, would not have been
successful without the Administration and the managerial prowess of the
indefatigable Governor of the South West Region, Bernard OkaliaBilai. As we
speak, you can see fatigue, stress and tiredness in a man whose high sense of
purpose and value, attached to Republican institutions and his quest for
patriotism, have accounted for the success registered this far.
Permit
me to say here that very few of us have lived the reality of the recent
happenings, but have had the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the social
media which has had a toll on us because of the very negative role it is
playing. Your Excellency, we thank you and your team immensely for being there
when we need you; for being there when it is hot; for being there when it is
well.
We
have observed the firm commitment of the forces of law and order to preserve
the peace and stability within and withal the South West Region. They have been
agile, meticulous and smart in their interventions to pre-empt the escalation
of the crisis which have rocked this Region. Their performance reassures us of
the safety that reigns as state functionaries and private entities go about
their activities. They have been true agents of honour and fidelity and we doff
our hats to them.
Dear people of the South West region
Amidst
the tireless efforts mentioned supra which made it not a bed of roses but clad
in thorns, we however had to collectively overcome the uphill challenges. But
it would have been much lighter if we came out as one people, with one purpose
as it is often said, “it is much easier to do away with a stick of broom than a
broom.” However in the present context, the broom stick has stood the test of
time and shall remain resolute.
While
we welcome you once more to Buea, the Regional seat of the South West Region
and in our capacity as host to this forum which has as aim to bring South
Westerners to reason as one, be united and be our brother’s keeper on issues
affecting us as a people without any political affiliation. It is however
incumbent on us to make known to this august assembly some hurdles we are faced
with and solutions we have tried to proffer.
Lately,
we have encountered the destruction of Council property like the five stalls
which were razed at the Mile 17 Bus station and the burning of one of the newly
acquired taxis. There has been intimidation of school stakeholders, beating up
of students and teachers in and on their way to school establishments.
Besides,
there have been several fierce attempts to do away with the life of the Mayor
as well as his landed and movable property. As the adage goes, “A witch cannot
have access to a house if a family member does not open up to the witch.” We
have noticed the full-fledge involvement of some of our brothers and sisters,
the lukewarm attitude of some, settlement of scores and betrayal of confidence
from many of them as well as other virulent actions geared at perpetrating harm
on others but the gods of the land are certainly on our side.
Way Forward
As
we meet today to deliberate on the roadmap to ending the current impasse that
has grounded our education institutions, we charge all and sundry to stand tall
in the face of the threats these sowers of seeds of discord keep making, rather
than exhibit chicken-heartedness to have things forced down our throats.
This
is time for people to reciprocate the kindness they have enjoyed from the
regime and desist from showing cupboard love, as well as being fair weather
friends to it. This is time to be a friend to the state in need and a friend
indeed. We the elite of the South West Region should take the commitment to
send our own children to school if we must accompany the state in its current
plight, as we posit ourselves to be.
We
must now engage in entrepreneurial investments in domains that are frequently
used by other brothers and sisters to foster civil disobedience and ghost
towns.
This
is time to stop being elitist and come down to the riff raff of society,
reassuring them of a bright future for our country by our very actions. Above
all, this is time for us to show real love and unity to one another, to the
people of the South West Region and to Cameroonians in general.
Excellences, Distinguished guests, Ladies
and Gentlemen
It
is our fervent prayer that as you sojourn in our midst this day, you will find
time to weather the atmosphere in Buea to convince yourself on the fact we have
effectively dealt away with the ghost towns by the measures we have taken as a
Municipal Council. Nothing shall be left to remember it and day-to-day business
has retaken shape again in Buea, defying all the hurdles that were planted for.
We
pray that the Good Lord who brought you here safely will keep you hail and
sound in our midst and take you to your respective destinations at the end of
it all.
Long live the Buea Municipality
Long live the South West Region
Long live the Republic of Cameroon
Thank you for your kind attention and God
bless you all
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