Buea Main Road:

Governor destroys council-built speed brakes
By Franklin Muabe & Junior Asong in Buea (UB interns)

Mayor Patrick Ekema personally supervised the laying of the speed brakes on 19 August 2015

 

 

 

 

It was a black Tuesday in Buea on 1 September 2015 as the populations woke up to see the Governor of their region, Bernard Okalia Bilai dramatically destroy the speed brakes recently constructed by the Buea Council. The Median Newspaper gathered that the speed brakes constructed at the behest of the Mayor of Buea, Dr. Patrick Ekema Esunge, were demolished in the presence of the Fako SDO and the DO of Buea.   
    It was not immediately clear why the Governor decided to destroy the speed brakes. But some reports said the Governor said he was not consulted by the Mayor before doing the work. Some said because the work was on a major road it had to be done by the Ministry of Public Works and not by the council.         Other reports said Okalia Bilai also did not comprehend why cement was used for the project instead of tar.
    However, commentators believe that the Governor simply wanted to prove his authority over the Buea Mayor who appears to have become too popular and powerful lately. 
    Constructed on 19 August 2015, the speed bumps were placed essentially on the very dangerous and accident-prone areas of the road notably at the Bonduma hill, Biaka Junction, GCE Board and around the Bilingual Grammar School Molyko.

    “The Mayor’s intention was simply to protect the populations especially the students from the wrath of reckless drivers,” said a source at the Buea Council, who added that ever since the pavement that separated the road was scraped ahead of the reunification 50th anniversary, the number of accidents on the road have kept multiplying, and the council cannot fold its arms and watch its citizens dying in their numbers.         It should be recalled that it was the Governor that personally supervised the removal of the pavement separating the road, and the project consumed a whopping and questionable sum of FCFA 2 billion.
    To curb the killing of mostly school children on the road therefore the council sometime ago contracted an NGO specialized in road safety, CAROSAF, to help pupils, students and even old people in crossing the road. The speed brakes were therefore an accompanying measure to supplement the job done by CAROSAF.
    According to statistics from the police, atleast 19 ghastly accidents have occurred between the Bonduma gate and BGHS Molyko in barely two years, with dozens of lives lost.
    However, it emerged that even as some people praised the Buea Mayor for mounting the speed brakes, some others mostly taxi drivers were against the measure. Some drivers complained the speed brakes were poorly built and could cause damage to their vehicles.
    Unfortunately, we were unable to get the Mayor to react to the Governor’s action and the drivers’ complaints.