"All Projects Executed Except CIG Support Funds” – Mayor Ngwakongho Lawrence
Ngwakongho Lawrence, Mayor of the Bafut Council has stated that all the projects earmarked by the Bafut Council were executed adding that the only set back was the provision of Support Funds for CIGs. He said the rating of the Bafut Council as the best in the Northwest Region by FEICOM can be attributed to the council’s choice of the Participatory Development Approach.
He was speaking at the weekend in an interview with EDEV Web News. This Bafut born gentleman falls in that category of young mayors who are slowly but surely getting hold of the mantle of control of councils in the North West Region of Cameroon. This young Civil Engineer by profession and holder of a Masters Degree in Project Management became Mayor of Bafut on the 18th of February 2020 at the peak of the crisis presently rocking the Northwest and South West Regions of Cameroon.
The Municipality he said is made up of 54 villages and covers an area of 450 Square Kilometres with a population of over 180 thousand inhabitants. He begins this interview with a description of the effects of the crisis on the Bafut Municipality in 2020 when he became the Lord Mayor.
At the Fourth Edition of the FEICOM National Prize Awards in Yaounde
“I
was called to come in and guide the Bafut Council during the Crisis. I became
Mayor on the 18th of February 2020 and that was during the peak
period of this Crisis. We are there and we are still working and praying that
God should keep guiding us.”
...........
Considering
that as a result of the crisis Bafut has been referred to as a red zone, how
challenging has it been for you working under these circumstances and what
approach have you been using to realise the projects so far carried out?
..........
Saying
that I don’t have challenges will mean that I am not truthful to myself. The
challenges at the council are enormous. I came in to work for the people and it
is not easy to do so at gunpoint. There are also so many detractors and these
include the opposition the Social Democratic Front. They are even questioning
how I was voted with questions such as “who voted you?” and have even
questioned how I became Mayor. It should be recalled that during elections the
SDF Party took part and were defeated in a free and fair elective exercise. The
opposition party does not want to accept defeat. They don’t want to accept that
the game of politics is just like carrying a baby. When you carry a baby you
must know that another person will be given an opportunity to carry that same
baby. When this happens, you should hand over the baby without any resistance. They
find it difficult to do this. I understand that it is a difficult pill to
swallow because since the creation of the Bafut Council in 1993 they’ve been
the ones in the driving seat but this refusal to accept defeat is a major
challenge to the realisation of development projects in Bafut.
..........
What
about putting Bafut people first and encouraging a Participatory approach to
development?
...........
When
SDF was at the helm of the Council, all Bafut People including those of the CPDM
threw in their weight behind Development Initiatives. But this time around,
instead of doing the same thing, they keep questioning who voted me. We all
took part in the elections and we won and now instead of joining us to
concentrate on Development they decide to keep questioning who voted me. It is
true that the Anglophone Crisis is the major hindrance to development in Bafut
but we should know that the SDF Party is also very strong in the municipality
and they need to collaborate for us to push Bafut forward.
............
Recently
you were classified by FEICOM as the leading Council in terms of Project
realisation. How did you receive this news?
.............
I
received it with a lot of satisfaction. It is simply a pointer to the fact that
when you put the right man in such a position results are bound to follow. Bafut
was first in Mezam with regards to the Public Investment Budget and second in the
North West Region. I have the people at heart and I am doing everything
possible to make sure that my people in Bafut are living in a comfortable
environment.
............
People
have been wondering how you clinched it considering the adverse conditions
under which you work.
..............
When
leadership meets the right person you will certainly get positive results. I am
that person who derives pleasure from serving my people irrespective of the
circumstances. We came first in Mezam Division and second in the North West and
of course grabbed the position of the best Council in the Region. It is not the
result of the work of a single individual but that of collective work. At the
level of the Tender Board I would first of all want to congratulate them for
choosing the right contractors for the right jobs. People have in mind that
Mayors take 10% before giving contracts to people. For my own case I have not
taken a franc from contractors. I talk to the Tender Board to choose the right
contractors that will do the job and it came to pass. Secondly the villages
that were involved in Public Investment Projects had a very important role to
play. This is because they are the ones who chose their pressing needs and
presented them to the council and count on the council to provide their needs
so we also work hand in gloves with them. It was participatory development so
we worked with communities and development agencies. So the formula that we
used was that of participatory Development and we call on other councils to
emulate this approach for the Northwest and Cameroon as a whole to develop.
.............
Can
you touch on some of the key projects that were executed?
..............
All
the Public Investment Projects were executed except the support funds for the
CIGs. That’s the only thing that held me behind. They’ve not been able to
provide the funds for CIGs to buy their farm inputs. If you look at the log
book you will see that all the projects have been executed 100 percent but for
the CIG support funds coming from the Ministry of Small and Medium Sized
Enterprises that the Regional Treasury has not been able to pay for reasons
that I can’t explain because all the recommendations were long sent and farmers
have really been bordering me. My Municipal Treasurer has been going there but
the money has not been paid for reasons that I can not tell.
I
want to tell the people that development has no party colour and that if they
want to choose a leader they should choose one that will make development to
come.
Interviewed
By Francis Ekongang Nzante
EDUCATION
AND DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Email:
edevnewspaper@gmail.com
Tel:
+237696896001/+237671262198/691520771/678401408
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