October 16, 2013 to October 16, 2014 marks a year after Ekema Patrick and his team were elected to manage the Buea Council. One year on as he counts his achievements and failures, the people of Buea address him. Their views were compiled by The SUN’s Fako Bureau Chief, Atia Tilarious Azohnwi.
"We need a befitting Main Market", Judith, business woman at Buea Central Market said. "We thank the mayor for ensuring that the Buea Central Market is well taken care of. We are happy with the good works being done so far, but we want the market to be have a modern look. We need a tap in the market and also want seawall round the market. They should make the market in such a way that it will attract customers to come here. We want to however congratulate the mayor for his good work.
We want seawall for our market Loveline, Buyam-Sellam also said "The mayor should come to our aid. We want our market to be constructed soon. We heard that FCFA 50 million has been set aside to begin the construction of our central market".
"We appreciate the mayor because he has been sending councillors and council staff to the market to look into our problems. We want seawall to prevent flooding when it rains. The mayor should also see to it that we have a secured market.
Farm-to-market roads should be prioritised – Chi Ephraim.
It is still early to demand too much from the mayor, although the mayor is already trying to prove his worth. The most important thing is for him, to fulfil his electoral promises. We want him to improve on waste collection and also want Mayor Ekema to provide farm-to-market roads and other roads within the town.
Buea is a vast town and needs several roads. We want him to remain the servant-leader that he is, but he should caution the council police. They are so aggressive and arrogant. We’ll cooperate with the council whenever we have the opportunity to. We expect that he would have exhausted his campaign promises before his mandate runs out in 2018. We have heard that there is a contract to construct 25 boreholes for Buea to solve the perennial water crisis in Buea. We’ll be glad if the project is realised in the shortest possible time.
Water shortages is our greatest problem – George Asanga We see the mayor giving plenty of attention to developmental projects by way of infrastructure. We see the construction of a chapel at the mortuary of the regional hospital and also several donations to schools. We know he had his plan for Buea, but we’ll want him to quench the thirst of the people of Buea. Water shortages in Buea are the greatest problem we have. We expect the boreholes promises to be come to pass soon. I'd want him to tackle the water problems first.
We see the mayor working already – Fiemena Junior Mayor Ekema’s achievements in a year after his election as mayor cannot really be judged now, but we see him working already. He is working on the sanitation of the town, ensuring order in the transportation sector and his desire to curb urban nuisance.
We want the mayor to remove the bars around the University residential area. We expect to have constant water supply and also that the Bus Station in Mile 17 be given a facelift. The conditions at the Bus Station do not befit a town that is hoping to be raised into a City Council. We wait to see him descend to the field. We appreciate the donations to schools, the scholarships, the holiday jobs and the inter-quarter football competition.
There’s continuity – Alain Tah Mayor Ekema has taken from where his predecessor stopped. We see continuity in administration. We want to see him do more. Let him work like a mayor. He should see to it that Buea’s water problems will be a thing of the past before he leaves office.
Mayor Ekema is full surprises for Buea, in a positive sense – Edward Lyonga It has been a wonderful one year. He organised one of the biggest football inter-quarter competition in the history of Buea. He has also constructed a chapel at the Mortuary of the Buea Regional Hospital.
He is full of surprises for the people of Buea. Let him close the bars that are cropping up once again in Molyko. We’re happy he was able to handle the problems with the taxi drivers and the problems within the bike riders sector. We congratulate him and wait on him to honour his campaign promises. Our projects are towering testimony of road covered – Councillor Oscar Isuma Otto Endeley.
After our one year in office, I can say that we have tried our best and our projects are there to testify. Our projects are all visible. If you go to the hospitals, the schools, the markets, and all around the municipality, you will see the projects.
So far, so good, if a council like Buea can for the first year invest hundreds of millions in development projects, then you can see that we are interested in providing development. I pray that God should bless us, give us the courage and the wisdom to do even greater things for our community. Development is our hallmark – MbellaEyole.
The balance sheet of the Lord Mayor of Buea has been very positive for the past one year. The mayor brought in a participatory approach to tackle the problems of the people of Buea. He invited development stakeholders to a meeting early in his mandate to chat a common development agenda for Buea.
The on-going construction of VIP rooms at the Buea Regional Hospital and the construction of a chapel for the Hospitals mortuary stand tall. Didactic materials have been handed to schools, classrooms renovated and partnerships signed to provide portable water to the people. In fact, the mayor has the development of Buea at heart.
We’ve done so much in one year – Ojongnkpot Comfort, 4th deputy mayor We are proud to celebrate a year of plenty of achievements. It is a year that has been characterised with plenty of achievements. The scholarships, the holiday jobs, the inter-quarter football competitions, the donations to schools, constructions here and there among several other projects are proof of the commitment of this regime to bring change to Buea.
