When unscrupulous mayors mock Independent Conciliator!.

Appointed by Decree No. 2021/342 of June 10, 2021, their responsibilities in the decentralisation process as a component of the Special Status, is meant to guarantee the protection of minority status of Anglophones and ensure the preservation of their distinctive identity, specifically in the linguistic, education and judicial spheres.

Like an ombudsman, the conciliator intervenes in municipal authorities, if the rights and freedoms of their constituents are in peril.

In the 2024 report of the South West Public Independent Conciliator, published last week in Buea, it highlighted the "deplorable attitudes and tendencies of recalcitrance or refusal to collaborate increasingly demonstrated by some municipal authorities".

Reading through the report, Tiko Council, which Mayor is Chief Peter Messeso, emerged as the most indicted in the South West Region. Unlike other councils in the Region, where separatist vandals targeted mayors, Tiko Council is "one of the predominantly urban municipalities of Fako Division that enjoyed an atmosphere of peace perturbed only by sporadic incidents".

The report praised the council for "the potable water scheme, realised with the support of the German Cooperation mission and officially inaugurated in June 2024, by H.E. the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development".

The report also applauded "the completion of the construction of a multi-purpose Youth Empowerment Centre. However, reservations expressed about the project concerned the quality of work done and this delayed its inauguration".

It should be noted that the Minister had told the Mayor that money spent for his lavish reception would have been used to complete the job. In anger, he left without inaugurating the structure.

The Conciliator's report added that: "The Mayor and Tiko Council administration also undertook the opening up and maintenance of some peripheral roads. However, this programme sparked controversy in some localities such as Mutengene, where misunderstandings or misinterpretations led to some acts of public protests and discontent. The regrettable incident concerning an otherwise beneficial project was a pointer to the need for better sensitisation or concertation between local stakeholders and the council administration in identifying and determining priority actions intended for the benefit of citizens".

"As regards the provision of conventional services such as the establishment and issuance of various civil status documents, the action of the council could be described as only partially satisfactory because several inhabitants or Service Users, as observed during a town hall meeting in the Tiko council hall, decried the persistent practice of the payment of money in return for the delivery of Birth certificates, citing tendencies of extortion of money by some council personnel,” the reported stated.

It added that: "In the same light, some market vendors complained about discriminatory practices in the allocation of market space and glaring cases of favouritism with some citing instances of other vendors being dispossessed of previously allocated spaces for the benefit of others who openly boast of being ‘protégés’ of the mayor".

Because of the "unpleasant consequences of such allegations", the report pointed out that the Deputy Mayor, who represented the Head of the Council Executive at the Town Hall, was advised "to pay prompt attention to that concern as it could jeopardise the policy of national integration and living together".

The report added that the "actions of the council administration did not militate in favour of cordial relations with citizens”. 

"The sector which remains probably the biggest source of contentious relations with the council administration was protracted delays observed in the payment of service providers. Some victims of this situation even disagree with the idea of ordinary ‘delay’ and describe it as a blatant refusal to pay for their services in spite of formal reception of works; arguing that the indifference to repeated appeals for even partial payment constituted an illustration of bad faith or victimization," the reported said. 

It explained further that "it is important to indicate that after examining some complaints against the Tiko council administration and holding conciliation sessions in view of finding an amicable settlement, it became very embarrassing that the Head of the Municipal Executive who had demonstrated a spirit of collaboration during the process and even promised to effect installmental settlement of some outstanding bills suddenly adopted an incomprehensible attitude. This surprising change of attitude compelled our institution, acting in conformity with the provisions of Article 14 (4) of Decree No 2020/773 of 24th December 2020, to draw the attention of the Local Representative of the State," who is the SDO.

From the Conciliator's report, it is clear that the Council authority snubbed the advice of the Ombudsman of the Region. Reporting the mayor to the supervisory authority is like making an accused a judge in his own case, as some of the unprincipled administrators work hand in glove with unscrupulous mayors.

After all, "it is obvious, since they feel that the Public Independent Conciliator has no prerogatives to either sanction or cause them to be sanctioned".

The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Fako, Viang Mekala, is, however, known to be a rigid administrator. However, the report suspects the administrator is not the right judge, even though empowered by the law.

It therefore recommended a solution to end the impunity of unscrupulous council mayors, which The Guardian Post supports, given the crucial role of councils in the decentralisation process.

There should be a review "of the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities" or "a provision in the instruments governing the discharge of duties of Public Independent Conciliator for corrective or appropriate administrative or political actions against the concerned municipal authorities, where it is established that refusal to collaborate is a deliberate act of defiance or disrespect of the institution".

The ball has been played to the court of the Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development. How the minister, Elanga Obam, plays it, will determine the effectiveness of "transferring resources and competences" to councils, President Biya's cherished policy of "living together" and "Rigour and Moralisation".

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3414 of Tuesday April 08, 2025