Buea mayor accused of political victimisation, administrative arrogance

The Buea District Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Johnson Kwendi Tayong, has accused the Mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge, of political victimisation and administrative arrogance.

According to the Buea SDF District Chair, since the ascension of Ekema to the Buea Mayoralty following the proclamation of results of the September 30, 2013 elections, Ekema has not only been victimising militants of the opposition political party, but has vehemently refused to honour the invitation of leaders of other political parties to chart the way forward for the development of the municipality.

Kwendi pointed out that after the celebration of the National Day (May 20, 2015), the Mayor and his close aides embarked on a meet-the-people tour in some parts of the municipality.

During his visit to these areas, the SDF District Chair went on, militants of the SDF were not only treated with scorn.

He said the FCFA hundreds of thousands which the Mayor reportedly splashed on CPDM militants, excluding those of the opposition during his tour, cannot and will never solve the communal problems in Great Soppo, Wotolo and other neighbourhoods that are staring at him in the face.

Kwendi said these problems, including water shortages, garbage collection management, poor roads, broken pipes, haphazard parking on the streets and the location of garages along the main boulevard which was prohibited by a municipal order, are some of the problems which the SDF has repeatedly forwarded to the Mayor’s Office and requested audience for both parties to seek lasting solution to, for the development of the municipality, but which has rather been treated with levity or simply discarded.

To Kwendi, despite the divergence in their political leanings, after the proclamation of every election result, the various political parties need to bury the hatchet and foster development, even if the parties are not satisfied with the conduct of the election.

The SDF District Chair was very particular about a certain garage in ‘Auberge’, which, he said, has not only been rendering traffic impossible, but has violated the conditions that were prescribed by the municipal order for the setting up of a garage.

“The conditions necessary for the setting up of a garage, according to the municipal order, was for the owners of garages to fence their garages or quit the roadside,” Kwendi stated.

The Mayor’s arrogance, Kwendi went on, forced militants of the SDF to confront the Divisional Officer, DO, for Buea, Paul Wokam Kouam, who paid a surprise visit to the garage and ordered the owner of the garage to respect the municipal order or face eviction.

“The owner of the garage pleaded for two weeks for him to quit the place, but a couple of months have passed and the garage is still operating and the administration is silent.”

The SDF District Chair, however, lauded the efforts of the DO of Buea for trying to bring political parties in his jurisdiction under one umbrella, despite the arrogance of the Mayor.

It would be recalled that during the Mayor’s tour in May, he stated that it was aimed at acquainting himself with the developmental challenges of denizens of his municipality, not CPDM militants, and that he was the Mayor of Buea not the Mayor of CPDM militants.