Kumba City Council to expose fake certificate workers

SDF Councillors of the Kumba City Council have accused the executive arm of the institution of protecting workers with fake certificates.

The Councillors levelled that accusation during the 2016 budgetary session of the Council.

According to Councillor Anthony Fon, they were reliably informed that some workers at the City Council gained employment with fake certificates and are enjoying the protection of the executives of the Council.

Fon said people cannot be suffering to improve the development of Kumba while others are getting rich through illegal means.

Reacting to the allegation, the Kumba City Council Scribe, Henry Shey, said 25 council staff who could not justify their certificates were sacked in the course of 2015.

Kumba City Council Government Delegate, Victor Ngoh, said more Councillors could be dismissed if their certificates are proven to be fake.

The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme, David Koulbout Aman, advised the Councillors to give the names of such bogus workers to be sanctioned and to avoid making generalised statements.

Koulbout said until a name is given to substantiate the Councillors' worry, the accusation is unfounded.

Besides the issue of fake certificates, the Councillors expressed discontent over the snail pace of work at the Buea Road motor park that was demolished in 2012.

The Councillors equally raised questions over the whereabouts of money collected as fines from persons who destroy street lights, which are fast disappearing yet are not being repaired or replaced.

Though the amount paid as fine per pole is not known, The Post learnt that defaulters pay between FCFA 600.000 to FCFA 1.5 million depending on the damage caused.

The Post gathered that the fines are usually executed at the level of Meme Legal Department.

According to the SDO, he respects the independence of the judiciary as stipulated by law. He advised that the worry could be channelled to the appropriate judicial hierarchy for any findings given that the person who handled the defaulters is no longer working in Kumba.

Meanwhile, Kumba will be managed in 2016 on a budget of FCFA 1.8 billion. The amount witnessed an increase of over FCFA 300 million up from FCFA1.5 billion budgeted in 2015.

The Government Delegate said expenditure will be on renovating and equipping council facilities, refurbishing market structures and improving access to roads and electricity to peripheral zones of the city.

The purchase of land for administrative use and service vehicles for the council coupled with projects from the master plan will bring the investment quota to 40 percent.

For priority projects, the Government Delegate announced the terracing and landscaping of Ntoko Hill, tarring of the road junction from Catholic Church Kumba Town to Mile I Kake, Mukete Estate Road to Tavern Hotel, road maintenance within the city and installation of traffic lights at the BICEC junction.