Stakeholders step up efforts to solve traffic and environmental issues in Bamenda

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

The most shouting problems of every urban space in Cameroon are traffic, garbage, sewage and infrastructure related in nature. While these problems are intertwined, some stakeholders in Bamenda like the City Council, the Bamenda one, two and three councils among others have not only identified these problems but have gone ahead to actually do something about them.

 Speaking on these issues in an interview with Cameroon People, a few years back Vincent Nji Ndumu, Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council said “We have done a lot for this city and I think it’s just a question of being a little bit patient. If you want to talk about the road infrastructure, we know that the World Bank is finalizing their documentation for a tender to be done for the Babadjou-Bamenda road and also about 15 Kilometers of a dual carriage way within the city of Bamenda. In so doing, it will take care of about 75% of the difficult parts of our roads within the city. I also know that Bamenda has been enlisted within the third phase of the French debt relief. I know that it is something that is going to take a little bit of time but the fact that we’ve been enlisted gives us hope that when they come, our road infrastructure projects will be carried out. I also know and we are presently doing it that within our project of upgrading of inner city roads with double surface dressing we will be able to have about 30 Km of road by the end of 2017 that will facilitate movement within the inner city of Bamenda. I also know that we have a programme for labour intensive projects of maintaining earth roads within the city council that will start in 2017. Given the fact that we have decided that in 2017 HYSACAM is going to come and take care of collecting of garbage, it therefore means that we will transfer our energy and our resources towards actually upgrading even the earth roads in the city of Bamenda. I equally know that the Chinese are presently investing something like 10 billion FCFA on increasing and transporting water within the neighborhoods of Bamenda. I know very well that the Bamenda City Council has initiated the public private partnership programme to be able to take care of some infrastructures like the main market and the Nkwen Market as well as the construction of a Central Bus station using the same public private partnership scheme. With all these I think the future can only be bright. All we need is to be patient and accept that our needs are many but our means are few.” (https://cameroonpeople.blogspot.com/2016/08/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html)

Road Linking Azire Old Church and Regional Hospital (Bda II)

 

Meantime on the ground in the Bamenda II Council, Balick Awa Fidelis and his team have carried out very ambitious initiatives in the domain of easing traffic related problems. When contacted, Mayor Balick Awa Fidelis said they had opened up 11 roads within Bamenda II with an intention of easing traffic flow within the city. A survey carried out by this reporter noted that among the most strategic of these roads were firstly, the link from Elecam in Bamenda II through Ntamulung to GBHS Bamenda. This link the mayor said reduces traffic congestions from Ngeng Junction and on Sonac Street. Secondly, in another part of the city, the link from Azire Old Church to the Bamenda Regional Hospital has greatly liberated the ever congested Hospital Roundabout and the Mbengwi Park area. Lastly, the link from CAMCCUL Head Office through Merry Land Printing Press to Garage Le Progress in Atu-Azire has greatly deviated traffic from the ever-busy Hospital Round About.

Meantime Mayor Fongu Cletus and his team in Bamenda III have successfully put in place a portable water supply network that now supplies water through its public taps. Its road projects have provided tarred roads linking the Mile Four Junction and the Council premises. Another tarred road now links Mile Four Junction to GBHS Atiela. The far reaching effects of these roads apart from providing road infrastructure has been the solving of the problem of dust especially in dry seasons.

Challenges faced by these development stakeholders in the City of Bamenda include the low rate of revenue collection in the face of the present Socio-Political Crises in the two English Speaking Regions of Cameroon. 

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Bamenda II Council Budgetary session holds despite security challenges

Notwithstanding the stormy security situation around the Council premises, the Bamenda II Council Budgetary Session successfully took place on Wednesday November 28.

Balick Awa Fidelis

According to Balick Awa Fidelis, mayor of Bamenda II Council, in drawing the budget which stood at 692.000.000 FCFA balanced in revenue and expenses, certain factors were taken into consideration. These included; conventions with collaborators, subvention from the Bamenda City Council which increased from FCFA 30 to 40 million, outstanding payments and state subventions.

Mayor Balick Awa Fidelis drew attention to the fact that the budget was about FCFA 93.000.000 lower than the previous budget. He said because of the difficulties being faced due to the socioeconomic crises, it was very clear that the council would not be able to raise enough revenue as it used to do in the past.

The mayor further said despite the prevailing problems he envisaged putting up some health facilities. “We are also going to construct a hanger at the Nitop Market which is already under construction and which will soon be finished. Again we have some very bad roads and a number of broken bridges. Bridges that were constructed so many years ago are giving way in Bamenda II. A twenty ton truck full of sand fell into an old bridge and sank inside water. So you see, these are bridges that were built long ago that we need to work on. We are also going to pay particular attention to health facilities, education and socio cultural projects” the mayor explained.

The Mayor further explained that challenges included the non-payment of taxes and insecurity. “Insecurity is so glaring and you are witnesses to what has happened here today,” the mayor said referring to gun shots that briefly interrupted the session from unknown gunmen. A young police officer who was in the heat of the action said the assailants were five in number and presented bullet casings which he said were collected from the scene of action. The mayor further said under these circumstances money could not be collected. “Most of our traders have left this town for greener pastures in other towns. People who can pay taxes are no longer doing it because the money is not even there. Our prayer is that peace should return as fast as possible so that things can get back to normal.”

The Seniour Divisional Officer for Mezam, Songa Pierre Rene who hastened to the Council premises on learning about the security hitches called on all to remain resolute in the fight against those who had decided to make life unbearable to peace loving Cameroonians. The Government he said had extended a hand to these armed youths to hand over their arms and get re-inserted into society and empowered to do something meaningful for livelihood. He exhorted the councilors to educate their populations on the necessity for peace.

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18 New Lawyers sworn into Cameroon Bar at Bamenda Court of Appeal

18 new Advocates of the Cameroon Supreme Court-cum-members of the Cameroon Bar Council took their oaths on Friday November 23 at the Bamenda Court of Appeal.

The newly sworn in Advocates of the Supreme Court and Members of the Cameroon Bar Council were reminded that the doors of the Court of Appeal will always remain open for them and that they should not hesitate to come and seek for counseling on any legal issue. “It shall be our pride if some of you if not all of you become big names in the Cameroon Bar and we therefore wish you success as you begin this journey of a thousand miles today.”

Having taken their oaths they were declared and enrolled as Advocates of the Supreme Court of Cameroon and as Members of the Cameroon Bar Council with residence in Bamenda and Kumbo. The hundreds of family members, friends and well wishers who turned out were informed that the proceedings of the solemn session would be drawn up and filed in the archives of the court. The order was to be executed forthwith immediately registration took place.

Speaking on behalf of Barrister Henry Kemende representative of the President of the Bar Council, Barrister Ngek John  Ngala said “It is a plus to the Bar Council to have these 18 Lawyers. If you can deliver 18 children in your family in one day, it would definitely be a plus and it is as we have Lawyers from the Nigerian and Gambian Law School and those that have been groomed here in the country. All of them presented their certificates of call to the Bar and personally I will not be able to evaluate them at this level but I will want to say that there is an adage that every brick layer is known at the walls of the house where he is building and I am very confident from the way they took their oaths that they will be up to the task.”

    

One of the newly sworn in Advocates of the Supreme Court and Members of the Cameroon Bar Council Lawyer Yunwe Henry said after having been sworn in as Lawyers they had a duty to protect the rights of the citizens of the country. “In Cameroon today there are many people who are detained for no just reason. As lawyers we now have to implement the Law and as such determine whether somebody has been detained justly or unjustly.” As a Cameroonian he said he was very happy to have been sworn in as a member of the Cameroon Bar.

Lawyer Teke Oscar Teke, one of the newly sworn in Advocates said they were being sworn in against a very challenging landscape. He however said he was determined to contribute his own quota towards transforming the way things were done like shifting away from manual to much more electronic approaches in the way certain things were done.  

 By Francis Ekongang Nzante

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Battle for control in Viettel Cameroon

Baba Danpullo insists on double signature principle and clamp down on illegal Vietnamese workers

According to internal sources, the Mobile Operator Viettel Cameroon which operates in Cameroon under the Trade Mark Nexttel is quasi divided into two camps of shareholders. The first camp is made up of those who support Baba Ahmadu Danpullo the Cameroonian Billionaire who controls 30% of the capital of Nexttel through Bestinver Cameroon SA while the second camp is made up of supporters or sympathizers of Viettel Global Investment S.A. a Telecommunication group under the umbrella of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense which owns 70%.

The origin of this battle between the two shareholders of Nexttel, centers on the refusal of the leaders of Viettel Global Investment SA to establish the principle of the double signature.  Bestinver Cameroon SA, also accuses the Vietnamese side of massively importing labour, to the detriment of Cameroonians who would be marginalized by the majority shareholder.

In response to these accusations, the Vietnamese group issued a statement on October 1, 2018 to deny what it referred to as "false information". "Viettel Global Investment SA and its Cameroonian subsidiary, Viettel Cameroon SA, are committed to the interests of Cameroonians, bringing in advanced technologies and expertise in telecommunications management, creating jobs, while respecting Cameroonian laws and regulations, "said Do Manh Hung, CEO and legal representative of Viettel Global Investment SA.

The Vietnamese group further stated that "among the 1,000 employees working at Viettel Cameroun SA, Cameroonians represent 94% of the workforce and the management team is composed of 85% of Cameroonians. Vietnamese employees work side by side with their local colleagues and try to train and transfer technology to local employees."

 However, the request for a double signature principle is something the Vitamese have not yet argued away. This request comes in a bid to guarantee stricter and a more exposed financial control and its refusal by the Vietnamese camp still hangs tauntingly in the air begging for reasons why such a request should not be granted.  

As events unfold, a Cameroonian Newspaper Le Soir has published an article titled “These are the 56 Vietnamese who illegally occupy posts that should be occupied by Cameroonians.” This article ties with the earlier claim that droves of Vietnamese job seekers are illegally employed in Nexttel.  As the crises deepen, the Vietnamese state has insisted that the security of its employees in Cameroon should be assured. It should be noted that Viettel Cameroun SA, has experienced spectacular growth since the beginning of its activities four years ago. In the first half of 2016, Cameroon became the first market of the Viettel Group in Africa, with global revenues of 21 billion CFA francs (35.9 million US dollars), against 25 million US dollars for Halotel ( Viettel's Tanzanian subsidiary), $ 33 million for Movitel in Mozambique and $ 18.26 million for Lumitel (Burundi). In addition, at the end of June 2018, Nexttel claims nearly 5 million subscribers, against 6.6 million for MTN Cameroon and 6.5 million for Orange Cameroon, two competitors that arrived on the Cameroonian mobile market, 15 years earlier.The spectacular success of the company many observers have said could be the core of the problem resulting into the need for each party to have greater financial control. Nexttel's performance, which is likely to further sharpen shareholders' appetites, was made possible by a strategy of penetrating the market by covering previously neglected rural areas. The same is true of the investments that enabled this company to build "the largest telecommunications infrastructure in the country, with 2,500 2G / 3G stations and 8,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables.

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

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