Tubah mayor wins Cameroon’s Best Mayor Award.

CENPA Award Jury, headed by renowned and global legal luminary and anti-corruption crusader, Barrister Akere Muna, said Tanjong emerged Cameroon’s best mayor for “his far-reaching sustainable development projects, particularly in the areas of environmental protection, climate change, waste management, infrastructure and youth empowerment”. 

CENPA, it should be said, is a grouping of 38 English language newspaper publishers in Cameroon.

The ceremony to crown Mayor Tanjong as Cameroon’s best mayor, was staged at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, on July 25, 2024.

Several members of government, members of the diplomatic corps, General Managers of state and private companies, political, religious, traditional and civil society leaders joined others to witness the decoration of Tanjong Martin as Cameroon’s best mayor.

A jury, consisting of Akere Muna as President, Senator Nfon Ekoko Mukete IV as Secretary and renowned Peace crusader, Esther Omam as member, judged the works of Tubah Mayor as outstanding, remarkable and applaudable.

The municipal authority was treated to a round of applause for successfully managing waste in Tubah municipality, something which is a nightmare, nationwide.

Disclosing his secret to the press, Mayor Tanjong said: “If you come to Tubah today, you will find not less than 200 youth who we have employed, picking papers on the streets and cleaning gutters. They also go around sorting waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. I can assure you that you cannot find waste littered on the streets of Tubah,” he said.

He said non-biodegradable plastics, gotten from the waste have been used to produce pavement blocks. The blocks, which he said are more resistant, are used to pave roads within the Tubah municipality.

Earlier in May, he was applauded for his brilliant skills in waste management, by the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Georges Elanga Obam. That was during an international summit in Kigali, Rwanda.

Quizzed on how the best practices in waste management in his municipality can be propagated nationwide, Mayor Tanjong said they at the Tubah Council remain open to sharing their ideas with other councils.

He regretted however that their proposal to train workers of other councils in the domain hasn’t had positive feedback.

He said it was time authorities of other municipalities across the country learn from the Tubah Council example and curb haphazard waste disposal, which is a big threat to humans and animals. 

Talking about mitigating climate change, Mayor Tanjong disclosed that the Tubah Council has planted no fewer than 7,000 trees within the last one month. 

“We have been carrying out tree planting for the past 15 years. We have planted thousands of trees and will continue to do so because these trees play a very important role in fight against climate change,” Mayor Tanjong said.

The Tubah Mayor is noted for being a development guru, whose efforts to beautify his municipality, through the construction of bridges, opening of new roads, supply of improved seedlings to farmers is a recurrent exercise.

He dedicated the award to the population of his municipality, whom he said play a vital role in the realisation of development projects initiated by the council.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3185 of Wednesday July 31, 2024