Mayor Roddany Mbua : The Man of social action, one year on

It is true that Mayor Roddany Mbua is not new to council matters or administration at the local level. From his day as councilor through many positions until he was handed his first official mandate, one theme runs through his vision- Social Action.

We remember the complexities and controversies surrounding his hard earned victory to the helm of the Limbe I Council. Mbua Rodanny Mokako was installed as Lord Mayor of the Limbe I council, alongside Henry Motomby Sona and Ntsama Beatrice epse Ndongo as 1st and 2nd deputies respectively in a colourful ceremony on November 25, 2013 at the Manga Williams Avenue in Limbe by the Fako Senior Divisional Officer, Zang III.

Assignments On the day of the installation, the Fako boss reminded the mayor and his team that the council plays an important role in the development of the municipality, and thus should be managed in an effective and efficient manner in line with the rules and regulations of the place.

Specifically, he called on the new Limbe I council executive to engage in the construction of a new council chamber, the supply of potable water to quarters within the municipality, the control of illegal churches, restoration of order in the motor-bike sector, fight against un-civic behavior and also grading of the roads leading to some quarters which are presently in very poor condition.

He also cautioned the mayor and his team to work in the interest of the entire population and not be loyal only to the political party which they represent, and called on the councilors to put aside useless fights and help the mayor achieve his goals for the next five years.

Zang III again called the attention of the new Limbe I council team towards the 50th anniversary reunification celebrations which is imminent and asked them to intensify their efforts in hygiene and sanitation, mobilize the people to turn out for the event and fight against social ills like banditry.

Commitment Speaking to journalists in his first instance under a fresh mandate, Mayor Rodanny Mbua said “…our focus is to improve the living conditions of the people and I am sure that all will be well at the end of the day.”

He said together with his councilors, they will listen to the complaints of the people and together seek solution to the problems that may arise.

Strategy Mayor Roddany and his team like professionals did not just swing into action without strategizing. They used the First Ordinary Session for the year 2014 dedicated to the examination of the Administrative, Management and Stores Accounts of the 2013 Financial Year as a strategizing forum.

On July 17, 2014, Mayor Mbua Ro- Danny declared his intention to make Limbe a safe haven during the First Ordinary Session for the year. Mayor Ro-Danny said “we are now struggling to look for means to improve our revenue. We have opened a market at Mafany Quarters, thanks to the Chief of Bonadikombo, we have acquired a piece of land to construct a market, there is the building of a slaughter house in Moliwe, we have given our proposals for a restaurant and an amusement park to be erected in Mile II near BOCOM.”

He told THE SUN that all these will be to the benefit of the community which they are called to serve. Mayor Rodanny warned inhabitants who do not respect basic hygienic rules, saying inspection teams will be moving round to make sure they are brought to book.

Actions With just one year gone into his five –year mandate, Mayor Roddany Mbua seems to be moving on a very fast lane affecting the lives of the people as heralded by him when he took over.

Much has been done by the very dynamic and erudite mayor in the domain of health, sanitation, social amenities, infrastructure, and Education transport and water sector amongst others.

Though much was done in the first year, in the domain of social action, it is obvious that in the coming years, Rodanny Mbua may just be embarking on major development projects in line with the Grandes Chantiers

Markets True to his words, the people of Mafany Quarter in Mile 2 are already buying and selling at the market. When THE SUN visited the market last Saturday, a good number of women were busy with their businesses. A few who spoke to THE SUN, lauded the mayor for bringing a market close to them as it saves them time and resources to go down town to purchase food stuff. The case of Mile 4 is also worth mentioning as the Bulldozers are already working on the site for the construction of the market.

Hygiene and Sanitation The regularity and strictness ensued by Mayor Rodanny Mbua during official Keep Limbe Clean Campaigns cannot be ignored. This has given Limbe a facelift as far as cleanliness is concern.

Mayor Rodanny Mbua himself accompanies inspection teams round the town to see if people are keeping their environment clean. He uses his sociable nature to reach out to people and advise those who want to listen. He conversely, allow the law to take its course for those who are adamant.

The Hygiene and Sanitation department of the Council has been leaving no stone un turned to ensure that toilets exist in every quarter and punishing people who build houses without toilet facility.

Transport In fact the transport sector in Limbe which seems to be the most difficult to handle is already under control. He has been able to bring the bike riders to reason until he is having regular meetings with them to put sanity in the sector.

In the Taxi Drivers sector, he is practically their boss as he coordinates their meetings and sees that they respect the laws, paying for their documents and operating officially.

Human / Financial resources The staff of the Limbe I Council have confirmed that for the past one year, their salaries have been regular and their situations normalized. A few however say they still expect a revisitation of their salaries. Sources of Income have been multiplied and the strategies put in place to recover the resources have been intensified and it is bringing better results for the council.

Under Mayor Rodanny Mbua, the boundary dispute between Limbe I and Limbe III has been laid to rest following instructions from the SDO for Fako that Mbonjo belongs to Limbe I, another great source of revenue for the Limbe I Council.

Education Education seems to have been the greatest investment of the Limbe I Council in the first year of the present mandate.

The Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Limbe I Council, Senior Citizen, Councillor Eyere Takor puts it like this, “education is the bedrock of every community, hence the council is simply playing its role as local authorities to make education accessible.”

The Limbe I Council under the Public Investment Project is presently constructing a two – block classroom at Mile II to accommodate GS Towe.

Apart from that, it should be noted that the Limbe I Council engaged over 103 students for a period one month last summer holiday as holiday jobbers.

This action cost the Council a colossal sum of over FCFA 3,150,000. The 103 students were made up of Secondary, High School and University students with favour given to the girl child.

Speaking on behalf of the student workers, during the event, Claude Effange expressed sincere gratitude to the Limbe I Council for giving them a chance to serve the nation even as students.

Another Student whose name we got as Sithu Bodylawson, said she was very grateful to the Limbe I Council and that she has learnt about the different departments in the councils.

A few weeks after that is on October 3, 2014, Head Teachers of Primary Schools in Limbe I sub division were recipients of their annual minimum package from the Limbe I Council.

According to Mayor Rodanny, the nation has young Cameroonians at heart, reason why through the councils, the state is making available money to be used to purchase items and give out to the various schools within each council area.

The Council, Mayor Rodanny said will stop at nothing to give the government a hand in the achievement of their objectives of ensuring free basic education to Cameroonians.

The Head Teacher of Government School Bota Group II told THE SUN that, the timely gesture of the Mayor and his team will not be forgotten by the pupils of her school. Items donated included, bold markers, scheme of work books, ledgers, black board rulers, chalk and medical and first aid boxes.

A total of FCFA 4.5 million was spent by the council to provide these minimum packages to all Government Primary Schools in Limbe I municipality. As if that was not enough, another action in the educational sphere was carried out by the Man of Social Action, Roddany Mbua Mokako.

This time it was the doling out of scholarship to students and pupils in schools in Limbe I. Presiding over the ceremony, Mayor Rodanny Mbua said it is the councils’ way of supporting the children in their academic programme.

Mayor Roddany Mbua cautioned the recipients to make good use of the money that the council has put at their disposal. The Council boss explained that through the councilors and the education committee, they would see how to increase the amount dished out to the students.

The vulnerable The persons with disability, orphans and underprivileged also had their fair share from the council this first year under Mayor Rodanny. The donations were made at the premises of the Limbe I by the first Deputy Mayor Henry Motombi representing Mayor Rodanny Mbua.

The population of Limbe I was reminded that the action has come to stay hence the needy were urged to take advantage and apply to the Mayor of the Limbe I Council through the Social Centre.

He added that the recipients should put the support in to true sustainable use so that they do not remain totally dependent and allowing others to benefit from the programme.

The beneficiaries include, the Limbe Handicap Association, Center for the Rehabilitation of Rural Handicaps and eight individuals. Cash as much as FCFA 100,000 per individual, rentable plastic chairs, try cycles and medical equipment were donated by officials of the Limbe I Council to the needy.

The future Other infrastructural projects that have seen the light of day in Limbe I in the Mayor Rodanny led mandate include, culverts, bridges and opening of some roads. These projects according to council officials and councilors of the Limbe Council will be completed in the early part of the second year. Councillors and staff remain optimistic and thus the future is bright as far as Limbe under Mayor Rodanny Mbua is concerned.