Kumbo

Fon of Nso seals doors of Kumbo water authority

In a move to stop the lack of transparency and accountability in the management of Kumbo Water Authority, the Fon of Nso Sehm Mbinglo has placed a traditional injunction on the activities of the authority’s office lodged at the Fon’s Palace.
    The Fon announced the decision to a mammoth crowd of curious subjects, on July 8, after he got the feedback from the team he sent to investigatse on the water issue.
    The fon's request according to sources close to the palace was to know if the water that was offered to the Nso people some over 20 years ago, was still managed by the community or it had been taken over by some body.
    From all the speakers amongst whom were Mformi Baa and Nsoda Vice president, it was concluded and agreed that the KWA remains the property of Nso under the Fon.
    The Fon has thus suspended the Kumbo Council role as the supervisory authority of the KWA and has dismissed as null and void all shady agreements that were signed transfering ownership of the water to the state.

    When contacted by phone the Mayor of Kumbo Council, Njong Donatus Fonyuy refused to comment on the issue. He said he will only comment after 23 July, when he would have procured all information about the issue.
    The Kumbo water supply system that was initiated in the late 1960’s and completed in 1972, today has a complex ownership claim.
    On the one hand, it is claimed to be a Nso community water scheme realised with financial support from Canada through the efforts of a legendary elite of Nso- Dr. Bernard Nsokika Fornlon(RIP)
    Others say it is a government-owned scheme considering the provisions of the national legislation relating to water supply, and the technical and diplomatic role of the Government of Cameroon in the construction and mobilization of financial resources from the Canadian government.
    In 1984, a presidential decree institutionalized state operation of all urban water supply systems under the then Cameroon National Water Corporation (French abbreviation SNEC).
    It would appear this paradigm was of concern to several individuals due to non-involvement of locals in the management structure of SNEC.
    In April 1991, in the wake of the political upheavals in the country, a locally orchestrated campaign led to the forceful expulsion of SNEC from Kumbo in October of 1991.
    A community based local institution, the Kumbo Water Authority (KWA), under the chairmanship of the fon of Nso, with support from the elites, was created to manage the Kumbo Water Supply.
    According to a source at Kumbo Council who opted for anonymity, following the 2004 decentralization laws in Cameroon, GWP Cameroon worked with the Kumbo Urban Council and facilitated the transfer of management of the Kumbo Water Supply system to the Kumbo Urban Council.