Elephants run amok, kill game guard

The over 150.000 people residing in Ndian Division, Southwest Region are not only grappling with the threats posed by pirates at sea and Boko Haram on land, but are now looking for ways to harness their resources and energy to start fighting a war on three fronts with the emergence of the elephant problem in recent times.

Welcoming the Governor of the Southwest Region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, administrative and religious authorities and elites of Ndian Division, resident in other parts of the country during the commissioning ceremony of the new Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Ndian, Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, June 28, the Mayor of Mundemba Council, Elizabeth Iselle Bekomba, said the people of Ndian are now living in dread because of the elephant problem.

According to the Mayor, the elephant population seems to have outgrown the three protected areas in the Division, which are; the KORUP National Park, the RUMPI Reserve and the Ndongore National Park, and are now causing havoc by destroying plantations, food crops and even houses.

Mayor Iselle Bekomba bemoaned that the latest attack by the elephants did not only lead to the destruction of plantations, food crops and houses, but led to the death of one game guard.

Even though the Mayor had earlier boasted of Ndian Division as being an Eldorado of natural resources and biodiversity, she nonetheless appealed to the Governor and other administrative authorities present at the commissioning ceremony to forward their plights to the Government for a lasting solution to be sought concerning the elephants problem, before the entire population of Ndian perish of starvation.

It should be recalled that, late in 2013, the outgoing SDO for Ndian, Bibila Akaou sent a communiqué to the radio, complaining that there was hunger in the Division after the destruction of plantations and food crops by the elephants.

Meanwhile, the new Ndian SDO, Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, is now placed in a dilemma either to fight illegal poaching as ordered by the Governor or devise strategies to solve the elephant problem as requested by the Mayor.

Aside from the elephant problem, the Mayor also enumerated a plethora of problems rocking the Division such as; a cute shortage of administrative and teaching staff in both primary and secondary schools, inadequate health personnel and health facilities, the absence of a mortuary in the Division and epileptic radio signals among others.