Hundreds of Millions in the Mbengwi Council

The 2022 administrative and management account session of the Mbengwi council has been adopted during a session that took place, Friday March 31st 2023 in the council hall chaired by the mayor, Ndangsa Kennedy Akam. Thirteen councillors physically sat through the session while the others sent in their proxies and in the course of the deliberations, several hundreds of millions were heard being pronounced.

The administrative account of the mayor and the management account of the treasurer of the council for the 2022 financial year stood at 606.594.137Frs in revenue and 590.151.738F in expenditure with a positive balance of 16.442.399F carried forward to 2023 thus giving a 77.5% execution rate of the budget in revenue and 75.4% in expenditure. Other millions pronounced included functional revenue that was said to have generated 198.139.293F while investment revenue recorded 372.700.000F plus the sum of 35.754.844F as cash brought forward from 2021.

Ndangsa Kennedy Akam, Mayor of the Mbengwi Council Responding to Questions from the Press at the Close of the Council Session

Council Session 

In his welcome address, Mayor Ndangsa Kennedy Akam regretted that challenges like the prevailing Anglophone Crisis coupled with constant harassment of contractors by separatist fighters and the close down of the Mbengwi Bamenda road handicapped the council from recovering authorised taxes and slowed execution of projects in the municipality.

However, despite these huddles, the council still managed to score high marks in developing Mbengwi subdivision. He enumerated the achievements of the council within the previous year through projects that were awarded with some of them executed at 100%, some still ongoing and one suspended due to insecurity.

Some of these include amongst others, provision of support to the vulnerable population, construction of two classrooms in Government School Bessi Fomukong, extension of rural electrification from Kai to Zang Tabi, purchase and installation of 35 solar photovoltaic street lights at major junctions in villages, rehabilitation and extension of the Ngyen-Mbo water supply scheme, construction of Tebug bridge linking Njindom to Wumnembug, the rehabilitation of Muswe-Checkpoint road, supply of farm tools, sewing machines and hair dryers to some groups, execution of manual road maintenance work on the Regional Road R051 sponsored by Road Funds.

The New Modern Standard Slaughter House in GRA Mbengwi when it was just Constructed

Non State Armed Fighters Destroying a Road Grader Working on the Acha-Njikwa Road, Retarding the Development of the Subdivision

On the unexecuted project of extending electricity from G.R.A to Bessi Fomukong since being awarded about some two years back and the contractor failed to meet his own terms of the contract despite having been paid, Ndangsa Kennedy revealed that as at now, following legal actions taken, the sum of 12 million francs was successfully recovered from the recalcitrant contractor and in effect, work has fully resumed and should be completed in no distant time. He added that the unexecuted project of purchasing a 7 ton tipper for the Mbengwi Council has been changed to a 10 ton that shall soon be driven into the municipality in no distant time, same as a hearse too which the council has purchased already for the mortuary.

In the course of the deliberations, precisely during committee reports, the council executive was criticised for its failures and praised for its successes. The Embellishment Committee for example cited the recent roofing of the corridor linking the mortuary building to the chapel nearby thanks to collaboration between the Mbengwi Council and MECUDA U.S.A as good.

The Health and Education Committee on its part gave a pat on the back of the council executive for finally putting the new slaughter house that was constructed by the previous mayor to use and clearing of roadsides in the municipality. The secretary of this committee, erstwhile mayor Tebe Beatrice however regretted that up till now, prizes for the cleanest village campaign that was organised last year by MECUDA and the council are yet to be awarded despite announcing the winners long ago. "With these, I think the council is on a good footing" she ended her presentation.

Trough the High Intensity Labour Approach, Local Solutions Being Provide to Solve Local Problem

Council Executive Some Months Back Mobilised the Population to CarryvOut Maintenance Work on the Water Supply Pipeline

Other reports came from the Works and Transport Committee, Finance Committee and Natural Resources Committee that also congratulated the council executive for organising a mini agro pastoral show last year after over four years of no such a thing, tasking them to ensure continuity and also proposed the construction of a warehouse that will be a source of revenue generation for the council.

The session will then generate heat and a debate ensued after the committee reports when councillor Chunga Patrick Dara openly accused the mayor, the administration and divisional delegate of lands and surveys for allowing individuals to encroached into the supposed Mbengwi district hospital land where several residential homes are currently being constructed thereby restricting the hospital from ever expanding in terms of infrastructural development in future.

In reaction, Mayor Ndangsa Kennedy affirmed that his attention had been drawn severally to the issue of the district hospital speedily losing it's land. "I've contacted MINCAF to clarify me on the matter and I'll meet the S.D.O in person to get first hand information from him on the issue" disclosed the mayor. He went on to assure the councillors that the genuine worry will be addressed. In his own words "As a council, we are doing all our best to safeguard even state land because any good thing done on it will be for the betterment of the people of Mbengwi reason we need to dialogue with the administration for the wellbeing of our municipality."

The Blocked Bamenda - Mbengwi Road

Calabar Chalk Exploitation Mine in Bessi Fomukong Village. On this Day, Friday 11 2020, the First Life Was Lose. The People Seen are Digging the Mine to Removed the Corpse of a Young Miner on Whom Ground Collapsed

He will then use the opportunity to address other crisis plaguing the municipality like water and electricity. These days, the water that flows from taps especially after the slightest rainfall is often void of all the qualities of good drinkable water taught in primary school. Here, the mayor said he has officially written to CamWater, expressing desire to step in and maybe take over management of the natural resource if need be. 

As for electricity, he notified the councillors not to be surprised should in the days ahead they see an expenditure rubric talking about restoration of electricity supply in the municipality considering that there are often some minor repairs that don't really require eneo to dispatch its team of technicians from Bamenda to Mbengwi to address them when the council can collaborate with the local technicians around to rectify such.

Other issues raised by the councilors which the mayor also addressed centred on the council feed mill, the slaughter house, calabar chalk mining in Bessi Fomukong and the blocked Bamenda-Mbengwi road. About the feed mill that's still not being put to use yet farmers are going through thick and thin to purchase animal and bird feed from Bamenda, Ndangsa Kennedy disclosed that a budget of ten million francs has been voted for the revamping of the Mbengwi council feed mill, part of which will be spent to harbour a farm for the cultivation of maize and wheat whose grains are already available in readiness for distribution to farmers for planting.

Meanwhile, after about two years of cajoling plus intimidation and  using forces of law and order, butchers in the Mbon market finally had to abandon the old dilapidated slap at Checkpoint, Mile 18 to go start using the modern slaughter house that had long been constructed in G.R.A Mbengwi by the council though as at moment, there are still some challenges there most especially water. As a temporal solution, some drums have been made available by the council for water storage while other complains advanced by the butchers inconveniencing them at the new site will be addressed.

Transportation by Bike, the Only Means of Movement to Bamenda Now After the Road Block

A Bridge Being Constructed on the Road to Mbengeghang

Still in line with the new slaughter house, the mayor again said, thanks to the vigilance of consumers especially some Mbororos, several seizures of uninspected meat that had been transported into the Mbon market for sale, often from dead or sick cows were carried out and that as at now, the council has already started generating some revenue from the new slaughter house through the collection of slaughter fee. 

Lastly, on this subject matter, he acknowledged that the decades long farmer - grazier conflict has drastically reduced in the municipality thanks to efforts put in place to curb its reoccurrence. To him, following a training workshop for mayors he recently attended, it was made clear to them that the issuance of transhumance documents to grazers is strictly the prerogative of the council.

As for calabar chalk exploitation in Bessi Fomukong village, "We have started harvesting from calabar chalk thanks to the D.O for instilling order in its exploitation" said the mayor though councillor Chunga Patrick did not still feel satisfied with the information. To him, the council should rather carry out studies on how to invest in transforming the mineral by opening up an industry that will in turn employ more persons in the chain of exploitation compared to the hundreds already employed at moment and earning a good living from the product. Chunga opined that "Even our illustrious president Paul Biya will be happy to hear that there's a calabar chalk industry in Mbengwi"

Compactor Working on the Acha-Njikwa Road Burnt by Separatist Fighters

Kai Junction, from Where Electricity Shall be Extended to Zang Tabi

The last challenge the mayor addressed was the issue of the blocking of the Bamenda Mbengwi road through Alabukam by separatist fighters. For over a month now, Mbengwi, Ngie and Njikwa subdivisions have been cut off from the North West regional headquarters, Bamenda following a ban on movement of cars and bikes along the Alabukam road imposed by non state armed fighters. Consequently, the economy is going down as prices of goods of necessity and services have skyrocketed, many not even available. 

He regretted that signs of tribalism have been noticed in the whole issue as Mankon drivers and natives hardly suffer any attack, kidnap, killing or burning of their cars by these fighters but each time such a thing occurs, it always turns out to be their non natives as victims to the level when even up till now that the road is blocked, there are Mankon drivers and bike riders still freely plying the road from Hospital roundabout to Alankie, near the entrance into Ngyen-Mbo, the gateway into Mbengwi and back unperturbed but Meta drivers can't dare.

It is only some Mbengwi bike riders that have been braving the odds to transports goods and passengers from Mbengwi through Bali Nyonga to Bamenda and back at a cost that has tripled the amount passengers used to pay before to travel by car. Even with this, some were still threatened at hospital roundabout by the fighters to desist from working, this by seizing the keys of their bikes as a warning sign.  Those still still doing so understand the risk involved but they can't help it than to bear the risk. 

To find a way out of this stalemate, mayor Ndangsa Kennedy Akam announced that a crisis meeting has been called for and will take place between the affected drivers and the council executive on Tuesday 4th April 2023 with the main objective of seeking for a way out of the blockade. The best solution as already being proposed by many will be for the powers that be to influence the government to renovate other alternative roads linking Mbengwi to Bamenda.

Ekum Fidelis, Assistant Divisional Officer of Mbengwi Subdivision 

Having addressed all these worries, the draft budget of the  management and administrative account of the council for 2022 was then presented and adopted thus ushering in the Senior Divisional Officer for Momo that was represented at the session by Mr. Ekum Fidelis, assistant Divisional Officer of Mbengwi to present his speech. He began by first appreciating the councillors for exhibiting signs of maturity and savvy of their functions during the deliberations. He urged them to double their efforts more than ever before because the population still needs a lot from them.

To the council executive, he challenged them to treat the councillors, workers and collaborators with a lot of diligence and accept criticism from them, an advice that was received with a round of applause especially as Mbengwi council workers are currently being owed their salaries for four months. In addressing the accusation levied against the administration by one of the councillors that they're the ones facilitating the encroachment into the supposed Mbengwi district hospital land, the officer said "Before you ever claim ownership of a piece of land, there's just one document to support your claim, that is a land certificate." With this, his message was clear, that there are many institutions including the council claiming lands they have no justifying documents to back their claims.

To be on the safe side, he cautioned the council and other institutions to protect all their landed properties by obtaining the required valid document (land certificate) without which  in time to come, they too may lose theirs because all state land is managed under the competence of the Senior Divisional Officer. Surprisingly, in the G.R.A  neighbourhood and elsewhere, cases of people erecting buildings directly under or close to high tension electricity supply lines are becoming recurrent and unfortunately for such persons, a time will come when an order will be passed for such houses to be demolished for the safety of humans.

Pertaining to the exploitation of calabar chalk in Bessi Fomukong village that was recently suspended, the administrative officer clarified that suspension only came in to regularise the sector and help the exploiters better go about the process. However, as he  disclosed, the suspension decision has been uplifted with conditions now put in place for every exploiter to must obtain their (legal) papers and ensure safety measures of exploiters are strictly taken into consideration so that no one dies there again.

"For the administration of Mbengwi to succeed, we really need your total collaboration" the assistant D.O pleaded. "We are very simple. We are your brothers and sisters. We have come here to serve you people. If you have any worries, come closer to us. Our doors are always open" he added.

Family Photo at End of Session

He then ended by advising organisers of public gatherings in the municipality to always endeavour to seek for authorisation before holding such. To him, the administration is fully aware many of events have been taking place in the subdivision without their knowledge reason he warned that "You'll only know the importance of that authorisation when something happens though we don't pray for anything to happen."b

It is worth noting that in the entire Momo division, Mbengwi council is the only that's been actively functioning from its premise all through these years of crisis. The others, that is Batibo, Widikum, Njikwa and Andek had long relocated to Bamenda with no prospects of them going to regain their council buildings any moment soon. This certainly accounts for why Mbengwi council has been effectively realising nearly all of her projects. At press time, we learnt a new project for the construction of a municipal guest inn in the Momo divisional headquarters is in the pipeline, to be financed by PNDP.