The Mayor of Buea, Patrick Esunge Ekema has re-echoed his determination and vision to develop the municipality.

He made this known at the Council Chambers on Wednesday, July 23, during the 1st Ordinary Session of the Buea Council dedicated to the examination and adoption of the 2013 Administrative, Management and Stores Management Accounts. Mayor Patrick Ekema Esunge began his policy speech by thanking the people of Buea for their massive participation in the celebrations of the 50th anniversary in Buea.

He said “the ceremony offered the leadership of this Council a privileged and historic legacy in the political history of our country, with memorable moments in receiving the number one citizen with an immortalized audience on a one to one, a very rare occurence in our contemporary.

The Municipality as we are observing is already reaping the fallouts of this bilateral presidential intimacy.” In 260 days, Ekema said the balance sheet is positive for the council in terms of the development projects.

In his on words he said, “Our vision and commitment for the Buea Municipality after the 50th Anniversary celebrations will be one characterized by visible development. We have launched and signed commitment orders of priority projects identified by stakeholders of the Council from the 2014 Council Budget. These selected projects will be realized in three months to the tune of over FCFA 120 million and will be carried out in both urban and rural areas of the Buea Municipality.”

Ekema held that a post Reunification Buea needs development to extend to the rural areas in particular, therefore these projects if realized will improve on Health Care Delivery to the population, provision of adequate potable water supply, rehabilitation of rural roads and coating with seawall and laterite, provision of an enabling environment for education through the rehabilitation of structures in Primary Schools and provision of school equipment.

The mayor announced that the state within its priority projects has made an allocation of FCFA 50.000.000 to start the construction of the Buea Central Market.

“The award procedure is ongoing amongst several other Public Investment Projects under our tutelage. We want to assure you that, these projects will be realized within the shortest time possible,” he promised.

“The Buea Council will in the days ahead launch an ambitious project of creating a micro finance institution ‘The Buea Council Cooperative Credit Union’.”

According to the mayor, the Credit Union is designed to alleviate poverty as it serves as a loan and thrift fund amongst its members. “Its members are committed to alleviate poverty by raising the living standards through a mutual guarantee savings and loan scheme,” he said.

In the words of Mayor Ekema, “the Buea Council Cooperative Credit Union is coming after a lot of research, reflection and borrowing from experience and other success stories of the Development Agencies and Cooperatives of the past, is intended to promote grassroot development partners through an involvement of the targeted population, thereby providing economic benefits and prosperity to the local masses and economic operators.”

He enjoined the population of Buea to be part of the launching of the Buea Council Cooperative Credit Union on Wednesday, July 30 at the Buea Council Chambers.

The 1st Assistant Senior Divisional Officer (ASDO) for Fako, Vincent Nafongohas congratulated the Mayor of Buea and his team for the giant strides they are making to develop the municipality. The ASDOobserved that the projects realized by the mayor 260 days into his mandate are impressive. “You have achieved so much for Buea, but you now have to mobilise your staff and competent council services to do even more. You have to do all to consolidate your achievements,” Nafongo said.

He further enjoined the mayor to exploit all revenue sources, especially in the area of building permits. He instructed Mayor Ekema to forward to his office a complete report of the building permit potentials of Buea within one month. “…Ensure the permanent supply of portable drinking water. Fight against the misappropriation of council funds…keep Buea clean…settle outstanding debts…construct the tomato market at Wotutu and ensure the naming of streets in Buea,” Vefonge told the Mayor.

The accounts The Administrative, Management and Stores Management Accounts for the 2013 financial year on which we are to deliberate and adopt presents budgetary estimates and the budget execution report of the Buea Council which stood at One billion, three hundred million (1,300,000,000) francs CFA with an increment of Two hundred and fourteen million, seven hundred and fifteen thousand, four hundred (214,715,400) francs CFA making a total of One billion, five hundred and fourteen million, seven hundred and fifteen thousand, four hundred (1,514,715,400) francs CFA balanced in both revenue and expenditure.

The revenue generated and collected during the period under review stood at Eight hundred and fifty four million, four hundred and twenty thousand, five hundred and fifty five (854,420,555) francs CFA giving a 56.41% realization rate.

The said amount is made up of Six hundred and fifty three million, eight hundred and one thousand, five hundred and seventy three (653,801,573) franc CFA representing 61.14% realization rate of the recurrent revenue budget and Two hundred million, six hundred and eighteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty two (200,618,982) francs CFA making 45.04% of the investment revenue budget.

The relatively low level of realization of the revenue budget is greatly attributed to the non disbursement of the initial common decentralization funds for investment and equipment grants which stood at Two hundred million (200,000,000) francs CFA and Fifty million (50,000,000) francs CFA respectively.

On expenditure, we recorded Six hundred and sixty nine million, seven hundred and fifteen thousand, six hundred and eighty three (669,715,683) francs CFA on a budgetary provision of Nine hundred and four million, two hundred and sixty five thousand, four hundred (904,265,400) francs CFA making a 74.06% engagement rate of the recurrent expenditure budget as against Two hundred and fifty six million, four hundred and forty three thousand, two hundred and seventy eight (256,443,278) francs CFA on Six hundred and forty five million, four hundred and fifty thousand (645,450,000) francs CFA giving a 39.75% engagement rate of the investment expenditure budget.

Globally speaking, expenditure for the period stood at Nine hundred and twenty six million, three hundred and ten thousand, nine hundred and sixty one (926,310,961) francs CFA representing 59.77% of the total budget of One billion, five hundred and forty nine million, seven hundred and fifteen thousand, four hundred (1,549,715,400) francs CFA voted by session for the 2013 fiscal year. Worthy of note is that during the fiscal year, we galvanized efforts to speed up the revenue collection process as we recorded a 100% collection rate of revenue vouchers issued as against 89.25% execution rate for engaged expenditure leaving 10.75% totaling Ninety nine million, five hundred and thirty three thousand, four hundred and seventy eight (99,533,478) francs CFA of accrued expenditure as at December 31st 2013.

The examination of the accounts was supervised by the Divisional officer for Buea, Paul Kouam Wokam.

Ekema replies detractors “While we continue to perform our duties as entrusted to us by the people whom we represent with diligence and accuracy, we have from time to time received and noted with dismay some minor distractions emanating from a dotted group or individual Councillors and some of our well known detractors on newspapers and on television, we assure you that we remain steadfast in carrying out our responsibilities with a focused vision. To this effect, we want to implore a democratic spirit within our Council milieu typical of the “Obama – McCain” style. This therefore compliments the saying thus; if we cannot beat them we should join them.

Fellow Colleague Councillors, let us distinguish ourselves from these unwanted and unethical infighting and be pace-setters and role-models that the community should look up to.

As we are all aware of an on-going intoxication against our traditional and administrative authorities by a small group of some reckless demagogues, who are inciting our population, especially the youths on land matters in Fako with more emphasis in Buea, we appeal to Councillors to discard these misgivings in our respective Councillor Constituencies. It is more aching to note that some have no direct bearing nor any iota of ancestry to our father land and other irresponsible imposters who are demonstrating envy and hunger. We should guide against this unhealthy crusade which is aimed at fragmenting our most needed peace and national integration.”