Win-Win Partnership:

K’ba City Council partners with the City of Sindelfingen

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

The Kumba City council has signed a win-win partnership with the German city of Sindelfingenon aimed to enhance the development of the City notably in areas such as town planning, urban development, cultural exhibitions, water resources and sundry development initiatives.

                The partnership was the outcome of a return visit that the government delegate to the Kumba city council, Victor NkelleNgoh and the Mayor of Kumba III council, John Kona Makia had paid to the city of Sindelfingen in June last year.

                The four-man German delegation comprised Martin Hon, coordinator of international affairs, Horst Zecha, Cultural affairs office head, Christiane Honicke, Sewage treatment and management expert and Anjahartmann, in-charge of urban planning and construction.

                Their five day visit which spanned from Monday March 20 to Friday March 24 was rich in presentations, excursions, and tours of various tourist sites in Kumba.

                Speaking while welcoming the visitors, the government delegate to the Kumba city council presented a cursory look of Kumba and its socio-economic, cultural and tourist potentials to the German officials. He said the partnership was timely and opportune giving the development potentials of Kumba, especially in terms of agricultural production and extension.

                Victor NkelleNgoh also recalled to the visitors the historic ties that bind Cameroon and Germany, as well as the existence of beautiful German relics still in use in Cameroon and Kumba in particular.

                On his part, Mr. AlimaEspa, head of town planning and development at the city council presented to the visitors the urbanization plan and the procedure of obtaining building permits at the council. He cited countless challenges that the city council has gone through in order to organize the town of Kumba.

                He equally revealed to the visitors that the lack equipment and the means has made the population to resort to living in risky and unhealthy environments characterized by poverty, urban disorder, poorly organized land use patterns and poor transport networks.

                All of these have combined to compromise efforts by the city council to come to the aid of the population. 

                The city of Sindelfingen which harbours only 64000 inhabitants according to the visitors is an international city located southwest of Germany. The city which to them is like a bread basket for technology has over 10000 engineers and 40000 employees. Visibly satisfied with the strength of the partnership between the two cities, the four German officials revealed they will train city council workers as well as fund the visit of another five man team of the Kumba city council for another visit to Germany for the continuation of the partnership ties by mid this year.

                The visit ended with the delegation paying a courtesy visit to the Mukete Estate Plantation where they were drilled on how pineapple is grown, taken care of before getting to the market for consumption.

                The paramount ruler of the Bafaws, owner of the plantation, Senator Nfon V.E Mukete expressed gratitude to the visitors for visiting the plantation. Surprised by the presence of the 98-year old NfonMukete in their midst, the officials immediately promised to return to Cameroon for the celebration of the Nfon’s 100th birthday.