SDO Condemns Poor Relations Between Mayors, Collaborators

By Francis Tim Mbom

Fako SDO, Jules Marcellin Ndjaga, has called on Mayors across the Division to stop sidelining their deputies, Secretary Generals, Treasurers and close collaborators in managing their councils.

This was one of the major fallouts from an in-camera session which the Fako boss held recently with some Mayors, Treasurers and Secretary Generals drawn from councils in Fako.

The SDO reportedly said for his over five-month stay in Fako, he noticed that there was a rift in some of the councils between the Mayors and their deputies.In a bid to close this gap and instil a spirit of greater collaboration for the greater good of the Fako people, the SDO reportedly proposed regular meetings with all the mayors and collaborators.

Our source said nothing was discussed relating to the ongoing difficulties facing the three newly created councils in Limbe owing to Biya's delay in appointing a Government Delegate to head the City Council as well as putting forth a text of application to determine the functioning of the three councils, vis-à-vis the City Council.

Pending Projects

The Fako Delegate of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Ms. Martha Nkwanyuo, disclosed in an earlier meeting held with the SDO and project executors in Fako that only three out of 108 projects that the Government earmarked for Fako last year are sill to be completed.

Of the three, she said, one was the refurbishing of the Mile Six Beach and the supply of equipment to the Molyko Health Centre. She, however, said that 98.5 percent of all the projects that were allocated to Fako, which include building of classrooms, buying of office equipments, renovations works and the provision of school benches etc, has been done.

Coming at the backdrop of a low national rate of the execution of public contracts, the SDO called on the contractors not to relent. He said that the award of contracts for the 2009 year will soon be launched.

Despite the 98 percent rate of execution, some of the participants of the meeting said they could only be fully satisfied if the said percent could be the reality on the ground.
They recalled that in the past, Government reports have crowned some projects as executed when, in effect, the quality of work done was not effectively evaluated by the Follow-up Committee.

There is the case of the fencing of the Japanese-built school at Mile I in Limbe where part of the fence, soon after construction went crashing.