Mayors, Councillors react to Biya’s fix of their salaries feature

Simon Sona Makia, Muyuka Council Councillor

The decree to fix salaries and allowances for local government officials is long overdue. In any case, better late than never. I think this is going to make mayors more comfortable. It is a good thing. They have a job now and they have a salary.

Councillors only meet four times a year, often for less than a day, but the mayors are on the job throughout. I think the increase in the allowances of the Councillors is also an increased motivation for them. In areas without electricity, I think the mayors will need more money to run an alternative source of electricity. Municipal Councillors will have to deliberate on this.

Mayor Daniel Ngande Moukondo, Tiko Council As a mayor and an advocate for salary for mayors, we thank the head of state for this timely move. During the last General Assembly of the United Cities and Councils of Cameroon (UCCC) in Yaoundé, some mayors poured out their frustration over the none payment of salaries for mayors and government delegates. Some members even proposed that mayors should go on strike, but we were assured that the head of state is working on the document. This is a motivation for us. It is like putting fuel in a plane that is mid air. After this, we have hundreds of other issues to address with regards to the 2004 law on decentralisation.

But for now, we are happy. We have been recognised as the real people who are closer to the grassroots. As a show of our gratitude, I’ll be part of the Yaoundé rendezvous to thank the head of state.

Mayor Beatrice Mbamuku Nduku Épse Tebe, Mbengwi Council Mr. President you are the best choice. You are a man of the people. You are really what we think we can rely on because you are always there to encourage and motivate us. Thank you so much! Considering that the decentralisation process is one that requires the mayor to work with all the ministries, we are on duty round the clock.

We really need something to make us feel well. For now, we can start saying it is too small because it has come. As it has come, we will work on it and we can always say it is too small. We are always Oliver Twist. People will be motivated to work harder. Our achievements will be greater and our projects better realised. Our community will know that decentralisation has come to stay.

Mayor Ajong Ngoh Dobgima Sylvanus, Bali Council We are just grateful that our living standards will improve. We were just living on allowances and the allowances were nothing to talk about because it could not even meet up with our taxi to the office. Mayor Caroline Bi Bongwa, Bamenda I Council I think the president is expecting a lot from us. The package he has put in place is another way of asking us to work harder; to do work that will touch the lives of the various people in our municipality. This is a way for us to develop our municipality and therefore developing our country. Vincent Nji Ndumu, Government Delegate Bamenda City Council

Imagine that a councillor within the Bamenda City Council had a sitting allowance per session of FCFA 45, 000 and we used to pay them something like FCFA 10,000 to 20,000 for committee meetings. Now that has been increased to FCFA 150,000 for allowance per sitting; half of that, FCFA 75,000, per committee meeting. This gives a total amount of about 225,000 for every council session.

Each of them gets home with at least FCFA 60,000 a month. So, it is something to be very grateful about. In any case and to all intents and purposes, the situation has drastically improved for the benefit of municipal work. Mayor Tanjoh Frederick Tetuh , Batibo Council Will mayors that will have these salaries after a certain number of terms be ripe for pension and retirement benefits just like it is the case with parliament?

What of the mayors who are civil servants who they say are not supposed to benefit from two salaries? What will be their own take home from this one when they have been toiling and serving the nation?

If we have been asked to take salaries as civil servants from our ministries of origin are we now also going to have career growth in those ministries or our positions will remain stagnant? What of a mayor who comes and is there for ten years doing good work, will he upon leaving the office of mayor return to his initial position or while there he will have increment in his position?

Mayor Martin Meshongong Tanjong, Tubah Council Some of us who were so involved in tying the necks of contractors in the name of 10 percent kickbacks should desist from such practices. They have no reason to want to destroy the process of contract awards in Cameroon. Some were doing so under the pretext that they had nothing to live on. But now, we have something to live on. Can we call for those unholy activities to be thrown off?

Mayor Ekema Patrick, Buea Council We are quite elated that we now have a definite and a standard situation. We first of all want to thank the head of state for adhering to our plea and secondly thank the leadership of the UCCC for pushing our file that far. I think it is another mark of recognition on the part of Mayor Emile Andze Andze for the promises that he made during our elective general assembly; that he was going to push hard and ensure that this file goes to a logical end.

I want to appreciate the head of state for accepting our plea. I’m sure that this brings a lot of relieve to my colleagues mayors and to our senior bosses, the Government delegates, not leaving out the deputy mayors and deputy government delegates. We are quite elated.

We have been living on allowances and in some cases those who are civil servants or worked with para-statals earned their salaries. We are glad that this document has finally been signed. In one of the articles, the decree makes a lot of emphasis on nobody receiving cumulative salaries.

In order words, the decree No. 2015/405 of September 16, 2015 makes emphasis on salaries to mayors is clear that you can only earn one salary. For example, I earned a salary at the University of Buea because I hadn’t a salary as a mayor. It is automatic that now that I have a salary as a mayor, I will make a decision on which of the salaries to earn.

I will go to the drawing board, look at the figures and see which one to go for. The good thing is that the allowances are not included on salaries. If I for example want to go in for my university salary, then I will forfeit my council salary and continue with my council allowances.

But if the university salary is inferior to that in the decree, I certainly will have to go in for the FCFA 250,000 and write officially to my employer for suspension of salary until such a time that my salary expires at the council. What matters most is honesty. This is an opportunity for us to work harder and raise council revenue.