Benjamin Ngah on
Special Assignment
Nkambe
is one of those municipalities that have existed as long as this country
Cameroon has. The municipality has remained underdeveloped for spans with just
a pint-sized development with no visible infrastructure of any kind. The lone one
way tarred road constructed during the Ahidjo era is far less than the road to
the Rock Farms of a former PM of this country. With the reintroduction of
multiparty politics in the early nineties, the people wanted real change which
let to the
Emergence of an SDF
Mayor.
Hope
was at its peak when the SDF took over the municipality. The people believed,
and were made to understand that at last the insensitivity of the Biya-led
regime which had kept their municipality at bay all this while was done with.
Development, they were convinced was going to flow like river Donga. But for a
decade and five, the hope flickered and waned into despair. Nkambe became more
desolate and scattered like “china in the sun.” Trust was lost and bitterness
set in.
With the long stay of the SDF Mayor in
Office, individuals rather than the community emerged and expanded. The
municipality stayed alike. These individuals expanded in size with bloated
bellies, fleshy necks, and plumped jaws with expand of land and other
properties dotted here and there. Change seemed to have come but to a few. An
alternative voice was needed and the people wanted it at all cost. They longed
for the change that they were promised. Change in persons not just in the
political party governing them. Since the SDF’s definition of change seems to
target only Paul Biya in Yaoundé who has stubbornly refused to budge, the
people of Nkambe saw the need for change at all levels of management. Most of
them believe that no individual should be in an elective position for eternity
and worst still should accumulate posts. Those who do so are not just greedy,
insensitive, sneaky and phony according to them, but do not present a good image
of the people and that of somebody like
Ngabir Paul.
One person who seems to represent the
dreams of the people is the current Mayor of Nkambe Council, Ngabir Paul.
Speaking to him in his office at the Nkambe Council, he says that only those
who are excessively attached to earthly things can pretend to hold several
offices at the same time and pretend to be effective. According to him,
responsibility sharing is a virtue that each and everyone must learn to
inculcate. Great leaders are not those who want to do everything and be
everything themselves but those who see in others many other abilities capable
of doing better. This explains why he, Ngabir Paul immediately and quickly
handed offer the post of section president in Nkambe, when he was voted as
Mayor to a more vibrant, charismatic and dynamic youth,
Ngala Gerard.
He has been very instrumental in the
story of Nkambe today. The successes of the CPDM in Nkambe Central have been
partly due to him. His frank collaboration and honesty with Ngabir Paul is what
has brought about the change the municipality is gradually witnessing today. He
has not been like those who are waiting for the mayor to look up so that they
pick some thing from the ground. He and the Mayor, Ngabir Paul have been
relentless to see
Nkambe shines.
Any one who visits Nkambe today might
think he is in a new world. Development is visible. The streets are widened,
paved and coated with surface tar. This has given the divisional capital for
Donga Mantung an appealing eyesight. It is the fruits of the mayor’s dynamism,
ingenuity and vision to see it happen during his tenure in office. With his
party and connections, he knows where to go and make initiated things happen faster
for the benefit of the population. Within the town of Nkambe today, VIP public
toilets are now dotted around especially around the Nkambe Park. Several
befitting structures are now cropping around the town. Standards hotels
comparable only to those in places like Bamenda, Yaoundé and Douala are popping
up like mushroom in the locality. This is giving rise to a gradual boom of
business and other activities in the area. The town has been lighted not only
with electricity from AES which has been a thorn in the flesh of the people,
but with solar lamps to ensure security. These security lamps are also dotted
in most important junctions or market squares around the municipality.
The grading of roads to other parts of
the municipality is constant. The road Binka-Benjing, Njema-Binshua-Njap, Mbot-
Chup, and other several localities are just few examples. Beause of this,
movement has been eased for farmers who wish to sell their farm produce
especially during the rainy season.
In the domain of education, apart from
personally providing roofing sheets to abandoned schools like GTC Njap,
construction of two classrooms in GTTC Nkambe, GS Bambe-Wat, GS Mbirboh the
supply of tables and benches to several many schools, the Council has also made
sure that these schools are provided with potable water. This is to avoid any
form of health hazard that could be water borne. One Japanese school finally strayed to Nkambe
through the ingenuity of the Mayor and some elite. The construction is almost
complete and the reception in Bambe- Wat village would be soon.
When the mayor took over, the
municipality could boast only of a few markets constructed, but today almost
every locality in the municipality can boast of a good market. Perfect examples
are those of Mbuwarr, Bih, Saah, Binka and Tabenken and other areas.
Also, most villages within the
municipality can now boast of potable water. The mayor has either engaged in
the construction of water catmint here and there or has reinforced the existing
ones for better productivity. Some of
these water projects sponsored by PNDP and CARITAS/Counil are in Ardo Ndemsa in
Mbuwarr Remi, Mbikong, Moh, Njemoh and Kungi.
To ensure that every quarter or village
benefits a project, the Mayor has introduced small money big change program.
With small money big change, each councilor has been offered an amount of money
to initiate petty projects in their respective constituencies and with the
support of the population; the project would be realized in due course. The
intention here is to ensure that development trickles down and is people
oriented. 
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