Southwest Mayors split over impact of decentralisation

Mayors in the Southwest Region are split over the impact of the decentralisation process embarked on by the Government with respect to grassroots development.

The municipal authorities expressed their divergent at a capacity building seminar organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, MINADER in Kumba recently, focused on speeding up local development.

Speaking at the meeting, a cross-section of the municipal authorities told the seminar facilitator that the decentralisation process was failing while others claimed that ministers are at the cause of the setbacks, yet, others said the process was on course.

According to the Mayor of Limbe II, Duncan Molindo, from the days when Marafa Hamidou Yaya was Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, to date, it has been a story of seminars and nothing more.

Molindo said the municipal authorities were tired of seminars. He stated that what they are looking forward to is action from Ministers and Government, as a whole.

“Why are Ministers afraid of Mayors? We are not yet sure of all the things they are telling us in these seminars until when the ministers will decide to decentralise this country,” Molindo stated further.

He recalled that he attended a seminar in Zaire recently and when the Mayors of Cameroon were sharing experiences on the decentralisation process, everybody was “shocked” to hear the things affecting the process in Cameroon.

“It was as if we were from a different world,” the Mayor lamented. George Musima Lobe, Mayor of Konye Council, said it is time the Government hastened up the decentralisation process. He regretted that, despite repeated reminders from the President of the Republic, about the importance of agriculture, communities hardly get any meaningful projects.

Musima explained that his community produces over 15,000 tons of cocoa annually, but the farmers in his municipality hardly benefit from various seedlings projects located in Kumba. He said it makes no impact to have an agricultural research centre in Kumba, yet those who enjoy the benefits are found beyond the Division and, in most cases, in the Centre and other Regions.

The Mayor appealed to the Government and the Minister of Agriculture, in particular, to consider having agricultural technicians posted to every municipality to help Government realise projects that meet the needs of communities.

Alfred Mbongo Ngoe, Mayor of Ekondo Titi, however, admitted benefiting, to some extent, from the decentralisation process, but appealed to the Government to allow Councils pick up the role of initiating projects. He said areas such as Ndian and every other Division should be given an agricultural school to stimulate youth interest in the sector.

William Ekong, Mayor of the Mbonge, disclosed that his Council has managed over FCFA 300 million from different ministries but called for a concerted Government effort to speed up decentralisation. Ekong advised his colleagues to understand that decentralisation is a gradual process that needs time to be effectively implemented.

In the same light, the Mayor of Kumba II, Martin Forcha Ndobegang, suggested to his colleagues that, instead of blaming the State and Ministers, all Mayors would gain more if they meet regularly and address their worries to Government.

According to Geoffrey Nsofon, Sub Director of Community Development at MINADER, despite the divergent views of the Mayors, there are those who admitted benefiting from the process. Nsofon explained that MINADER is in the process of embarking on full-scale implementation of President Biya’s second generation agricultural policies; reason why the Mayors have to be part of the process.

He averred that Councils can best manage resources and competences transferred to them only when the Mayors have a good knowledge of what the law and ministerial directives stipulate. In this light, he challenged the Mayors and communities to be focused because there are many projects which Government is about to put in place for local communities.