Rainy season

Limbe populations coping with floods
By Sarah Nkongho Ojong in Limbe
With the advent of the rainy season, the populations of Limbe are grappling with serious floods as usual. City dwellers complain that the floods are affecting their daily activities and even interrupting some public events organized within the City. A recent ceremony to award epaulets to promoted military officials at the Manga Williams Avenue, down beach, was greatly compromised by heavy rains and fast running flood waters. The urban disorder in the town is not making matters easy for the council.
    Asked by the SDO what he was doing about these problems, the Government delegate said the council was doing its best to face the challenge. But Andrew Motanga at once said that the council lacked the capacity to face the problem of urban disorder all alone. He said to face the problem squarely the council needs the support of the administration and the forces of law and order. 

As per the problem of floods, Andrew Motanga explained that Limbe is situated in a basin; that it is slightly below sea level. “It is very difficult controlling the running water that comes down the hills when it rains. The GD said measures have been taken to minimize the any damage due to the floods, and that discursions are ongoing with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development on how to resolve the problem of floods.
    The government delegate used the occasion of session to examine the council’s management accounts to exhort the population to desist from disposing garbage in flood waters. He sounded the call especially to the women, who have resorted to emptying their waste materials in gutters and drainages along the main road expecting that running water will carry them off. 
    “When such garbage blocks the water way, the water overflows into the surroundings causing floods,” Motanga warned.
Concerning the council’s finances, Andrew Motanga noted that unlike 2012 which was a difficult year financially for the council, 2013 had better fortunes. He said of a budget projection of over 5.50 billion fcfa in 2013, over 5.589 billion fcfa was effectively recovered, giving a surplus of 82,923,168fcfa (101.55%). It should be mentioned that about 65% of the council’s income comes from SONARA. “The problem is that some times the money comes in late,” Motanga said.
    But the SDO, Zang III remarked that the council could do better in revenue generation. He said over 93.5% of the council’s revenue was generated essentially from state sources - business licenses, additional council taxes, property tax and market tolls. Zang 111 urged the Government Delegate to create other sources of revenue. He urged him to organize the motor bike sector, stop clandestine transport and be rigorous in the award of building permits. kongho Ojong in Limbe