Administrators, civil servants abandon Bakassi

Administrative officials and civil servants in the Bakassi Peninsula, Ndian Division of the Southwest Region have abandoned official residence, allocated to them by Government. The reason, The Post learnt, is the fear of a potential attack by pirates or other inhabitants in the area.

In Idabato Sub Division, the Divisional Officer, DO, does not reside in the official home allocated to him by Government. The administrator is rather living on the campus of Government Secondary School, GSS, Idabato.

According to a senior forestry official resident in the Bakassi, who opted for anonymity, the practice of civil servants choosing other homes other than those constructed with tax payers’ money is common in the area.

The forestry official said most of the houses constructed are found in risky zones of the Peninsula. According to him, the inhabitants of the area are yet to fully accept the Cameroonian way of doing things. This, the forestry staff noted, makes it incumbent on every Cameroonian official to live in the heart of the localities.

To him, when the people interact with civil servants daily rather than the administrators living in Government Residential Area, GRA, safety is partly guaranteed. The consequence of the phenomenon is the sight of abandoned Government buildings.

Some of the buildings are already collapsing, while others have developed cracks. In some cases, when the State workers travel out of the area, the inhabitants erect temporal residents in front of their houses.

Structures belonging to Ministries such as Livestock and Animal Husbandry stand wasting in the midst of locally parched houses.

Apart from administrators, most Council staff and officials have equally adopted the practice. In some Councils, Mayors and Municipal Treasurers have abandoned the municipality. They spend most of their time in Ekondo Titi. Ekondi Titi is considered by many as a safe haven for Council money.

It is even alleged that with such scenarios, Government Subventions and other resources for development disappear through administrative documents and inter-bank transfers with no concrete actions on the field.

Such municipal authorities, civil servants and administrators are seen in their localities when the SDO or a senior Government official is visiting. Ekondo Titi that plays host to these ‘ghost’ State officials is usually inundated with State vehicles of Mayors, Divisional Officers and Divisional Delegates.