Conflict of authority frustrates dev’t projects in Bamboutos

Some priority projects earmarked for 2014 fiscal year have been forfeited, others abandoned, while others risk being poorly executed, as a result of conflict of authority between the Mayors of Babadjou, Batcham and the West Regional Delegate of Public Contracts.

The conflict was exposed in a working session chaired by the Governor of the West Region, Augustine Awa Fonka, during his contact tour of the Bamboutos Division.

The Regional Delegate of Public Contracts, Theodore Tiwa, revealed that they are facing a lot of problems in Bamboutos, given that, some Mayors have either suspended projects or made the Division to lose priority projects because they question the competence of the Delegate to sign contracts on behalf of the Councils.

He cited a case in the Batcham Council, where the Mayor, Paul Kenne, refused the Ministry of Public Contracts from signing contracts on behalf of his Council.

According to him, the Mayor annulled contracts that were already awarded and signed by Government.

“The contractors who were awarded the contracts started work, but could not continue because the Mayor told them that the projects have been annulled,” Tiwa claimed.

The Mayor of Batcham, on his part, said no project has been halted as a result of their conflict.

“We are questioning the competence of another person to sign contracts on behalf of the Council. We think that it is the Mayors who have the right to commit their Councils not the Delegate, Kenne declared.”

On why he annulled some projects, the Mayor said; “We have no right to annul any project; we are saying that it is only the Mayors who can engage their Councils. This means that a Delegate cannot sign a contract on the Mayor’s account; it is not possible. It is against the law. While waiting for the matter to be redressed, we have decided to proceed with the contract in order to end this budgetary year. We want the projects to be realised. We have taken the engagement and we are ensuring that the projects are executed.”

The conflict of authority in the award and execution of contracts in Bamboutos Division are very rampant. Another case was that of a contract to build a health centre worth FCAF 100 million that was abandoned for the same reason.

According to Tiwa, the Mayor of Babadjou, Jacques Delojo, refused to launch the invitation to tender for the same reason, that MINMAP had no right to sign on behalf of his Council.

Meanwhile, a contract for the electrification of a Government sponsored rice factory in Galim, worth FCFA 40 million, is yet to be realised. The factory has not been able to take off due to the lack of electricity to enable the plant add to the 250 tons of rice produced last year.

Meantime, Governor Awa Fonka has stated that the conflict between the Mayors and the MINMAP Delegate is inconsequential, given that, it is MINMAP that manages public contracts.

According to him, MINMAP was created by the Head of State within the framework of decentralisation and that Mayors have been mandated to manage public contracts, “but this is not yet effective. Mayors have to be patient and respect the current dispensation,” he said.

“We are barely three weeks to the end of the fiscal year; classrooms are still to be built, other projects are still hanging. What reasons are we going to give the population for the non-realisation of priority projects?” he asked.

The Governor said for the Region to lose a project of over FCFA 100 million is unacceptable because the Government already knows that it has provided a health centre in Babadjou.