Mamfe Mayor, Tabenchong Ashu, wins Mayor of The Year Award.

The results proven and development oriented municipal authority was over the weekend crowned as Cameroon’s Best Mayor of The Year.

The award was handed to the population friendly politician and grassroots community mobiliser by authoritative and credible biweekly English language newspaper, The Voice. 

This was during a ceremony in Yaounde to mark the seventh anniversary celebration of the newspaper. Mayor Robertson Tabenchong Ashu was represented at the ceremony by the First Deputy Mayor of Mamfe, Agbor Benson Besong.

The award ceremony brought together a cream of personalities from across the national territory and from all walks of life. The recognition of Mayor Robertson Tabenchong Ashu is based on the assessment of readers of The Voice newspaper.  

Members of the media’s anniversary award jury told guests at the event that Mayor Robertson Tabenchong Ashu was recognised for his “great strides and efforts in community local development in Mamfe”.

Enter deputy Mayor 

Speaking to reporters shortly after receiving the award on behalf of the mayor, the First Deputy Mayor of Mamfe Council, Agbor Benson Besong, said it feels gratifying having a media organ recognise the strides and efforts made by the Mayor. 

“I feel very happy for this award. I think that I am happier than the mayor right now because I am witnessing the event live. He has been a very wonderful man,” he said, adding that the award is pure recognition of the “hard work of the Mayor”.

“The people of Mamfe know that if our mayor has a recognition, it should be an honest recognition because they know how he is working. He is a man who does not sleep. Together with us, we work and try to stop our young people from being idle,” Agbor Benson said. 

Zooms of dev’t strides of council 

Quizzed on projects implemented by the mayor to have merited the award, Agbor Benson Besong said the results are fruits plenty. He attributed the successes recorded by the council to team work and open door policy of the mayor. 

“We have been working with the administration and also trying to let those who are disturbing us to know that it is our country and we have to work to develop it, appealing to them to come and join us rather than remain in the bushes and create problems…,” he said.  

The Deputy Mayor reiterated the need for those carrying arms to surrender, federate forces with the council and contribute to nation building instead of fronting separation.

He said Mamfe Council is not only into revenue collection but also “carrying out activities that will generate income to the council to better living conditions of the populace. 

He cited the council’s close to 19 hectares of cassava farm and about 10 hectares of maize farm among others as projects aimed to boost the council’s revenue sources.

“We have a pig farm that we are taking care of. The first pigs were given to us by the Senator but we have enlarged the farm and brought in more pigs and we are engaging people who were doing nothing and they are happy earning something from us because they are doing a job for the council,” he added. 

The deputy mayor said hygiene and sanitation remains priority to the council and the community has become so used to it. This, he said, contributed to the council almost emerging first in the South West Region in the domain of hygiene and sanitation. 

Agbor Benson said the newly inaugurated road pavement linking the Mamfe roundabout and the BICEC main street, ranked as one of the major stretches in the town, “is a giant step in the right direction” by the council in rehabilitating its road network. 

He said the recently inaugurated section gives the council the zeal to use more of local materials to touch other bad roads within the municipality.

Mayor Robertson Tabenchong Ashu, it should be said, has remained one of the most courageous municipal authorities in the crisis-hit North West and South West regions who has stayed back within their municipalities to continue carrying out development projects.

The Mayor has since his election, carried out road rehabilitation works, road pavement as well as opened new roads to ease circulation within the municipality. 

He has constructed culverts and bridges to link different neighbourhoods in the municipality, implanted solar lights along major streets to curb insecurity. 

He has also provided holiday jobs to over 300 youth in the area to help them prepare for the next school year. In a bid to keep youth within the municipality busy during the holiday period, the Mayor has been organising football tournaments.

He has been using the football tourney dubbed “Manyu Unity Cup”, foster peace, unity, social cohesion, living together and patriotism in Manyu Division of the South West Region. 

Hailed by administration 

The Mayor’s has repeatedly been commended by the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Manyu Division, Viang Mekala, for his development efforts and efforts to promote peace in the municipality. 

The administrator has also hailed him for what he describes as his never seen mobilisation of thousands to celebrate the 57^th edition of the Youth Day and other public ceremonies in the administrative unit.