Members of the Momo Divisional Performance Follow-up Committee for the evaluation of projects executed from the public investment budget have again met to take stock of what's been done, what's being done and what's still to be done.
This was last Friday July 12th 2019 in the conference hall of the S.D.Os office during which attendees brainstormed on the successes and failures hindering field work.
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| Construction of Cattle Market at Acha-Tugi |
From reports, it was revealed that both separatist fighters and the military are a hindrance to progress in the execution of a good number of contracts in Momo Division. For example, in Njikwa, materials that had been dumped at the site meant for the execution of a contract to rehabilitate the office of the Divisional Officer were all either destroyed or misused by the military. According to an internally displaced source from the Njikwa Council that attended the follow-up meeting, 600 purlins and 150 rafters that had been deposited at the site were all burnt by the military for wood. Two trips of sand that had also been deposited, they filled in bags and placed round the walls in their camp for protection. A septic tank that had been dug, they converted it into their pit toilet. As a result, the contractor for his safety, had to abandon the project despite having invested into it.
Likewise an ongoing Mbengwi council project to construct a cattle market at Acha-Tugi is progressing at snail pace because severally, the contractor and his workers have been taken hostage by separatist fighters commonly known as Amba Boys in the area and when money changes hands, they are freed. A worker executing the contract narrated to Mbengwi Online the ordeals they've been going through in the hands of the boys, that each time they want money from the contractor, they just arrest them, the workers and engage into financial negotiations and the requested amounts are never meager. This has caused many contractors to dread executing projects in areas infested by the fighters. The few who bear the risk end up spending hundreds of thousands and at times millions on the fighters.
Earmarked projects for the various sub divisions in Momo Division, that is Mbengwi, Batibo, Widikum, Ngie and Njikwa involve rehabilitation of roads and buildings, construction of structures, supplies of materials, equipping of offices, electrification, water provision etc for schools, markets, hospitals, libraries, public offices and town halls. Unfortunately, security challenges as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in Anglophone Cameroon have caused many of such projects to remain on paper at the detriment of the beneficiaries.
While closing the meeting, the Senior Divisional Officer of Momo Division, represented by Mr. Marceliout Djunang, Chief of Service for Economic and Financial Affairs at the S.D.Os office thanked all for braving the odds to be at the meeting he termed fruitful as deliberations were centred on the development of Momo Division. He also appreciated efforts made by some councils in the realisation of their 2018/2019 projects, particularly the Mbengwi, Njikwa and Andek Council. However, he expressed worries with some councils like Batibo and Widikum whose mayors he encouraged to at least award their projects before looking forth to how they can be realised.
Almost everything for Batibo for the year 2018/2019 is seemingly at 0% and the council wasn't represented at the follow-up meeting. The S.D.Os representative also appreciated contract engineers like MINTPP, MINMAP, Water & Energy for doing a great job on the field while calling on them to be more technical in the execution of their duties.
Lastly, he disclosed that most projects at the divisional level have been awarded, which is good and to make it better, vote holders with projects below five million francs must do all to realise such.
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