Mbonge Council Adopt 893m as Budget for 2019

-Councilors demand end to Anglophone crisis

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Councilors of Mbonge council, Meme Division in the Southwest Region have urged government to immediately provide a lasting solution to end the ongoing crisis in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon. They were speaking Wednesday 12 December, 2018 at the Kumba city council hall while replying the request of the Second Assistant SDO for Meme, Hermia Njonje, for them to return to their villages and preach peace to the population. This was during deliberations to adopt the 2019 draft budget of the council.

                Councilor Tortoh Adison told the SDO that her plea for them to return to their villages and preach peace to their kid and kindred couldn’t work because the conditions on the ground weren’tfavourable. He added that, it was time for the Head of State to face the realities on the ground and restore peace beginning with a general amnesty because the opinion shared by the people couldn’t be changed no matter the hardship.

                On his part, councilor Abua Rigis Bao noted that, without peace, the upcoming municipal and parliamentaryelections won’t be able to hold in Mbonge if they councilors, now living as internally displaced persons couldn’t be able to leave their hideouts and return to their villages to campaign.  

                While addressing the councilors, the Mayor, Chief Daniel Matta Mokambe, praised the courage of councilors to have braved the challenges and road blocks to come and attend the session in Kumba. The Mayor noted that, without peace they won’t be any meaningful development and called on separatists fighters to lay down their arms since the President has promised to accelerate the decentralization process as well as reintegrate them into the society. He also urged all and sundry in the municipality to send their children to school.

                While reflecting on the achievements of the council for 2018, the Mayor noted there was construction of classrooms, supply of benches, supply of medical equipment, construction of VIP toilets amongst others,Mayor Mokambe revealed that, the FCFA 893 million budget drawn to balance in revenue and expenditure will focus on development of Mbonge in 2019 in domains such as; construction of low cost houses, purchase of a 20 ton truck, construction of classrooms, provision of benches, boreholes, extension of electricity and portable water, construction of culverts and many others.

                The session was under the watchful eyes of the Second Assistant SDO for Meme, Hermia Njonje, who regretted the slow execution of projects and poor revenue collection caused by the crisis. She also instructed that as per an order from the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development, the council is not supposed to do any employment of workers in 2019 since it is an electoral year (Municipal and Parliamentary elections are expected to hold in 2019).