SW Regional Assembly presents positive balance sheet, unveils ambitious projects.

This was during the first ordinary session of the Regional Assembly for 2023. The session held in Buea was dedicated to the presentation of two key reports.

One of such reports was presented by the Governor of the South West Region while the other was delivered by the President of the Regional Assembly.

“I am satisfied that the regional and local authorities to whom the state gives 80% of the public investment budget for last year had an acceptable execution last year and we pray that they can continue in that same light,” said Governor Okalia Bilai.

For the fiscal year 2022, the South Regional Assembly had 57 projects. By the end of the year, 50 had been executed at 100%, while the five other projects are ongoing, it was said.

Two other projects failed to materialize in Limbe and Wabane due to unavailability of the contractors, the president of the Regional Assembly, Elango Zacheus Bakoma, disclosed.

Speaking during the meeting, the governor had called on regional councillors to be present on the ground to ensure that projects they proposed are executed to the fullest.

“Regional Councilors should be present on the field, because if the state of Cameroon earmarks projects for certain localities and we are not there to follow-up, we should not come here to complain that those projects were not executed,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, speaking to the press, the President of the Regional Assembly explained his administration is fully involved in ensuring that all projects are awarded this year on time.

“A lot will be done this 2023, because I just had a meeting with the engineers who are building our technical files. They are already done with work, so after the meeting with the tenders’ board, we will be ready to award the projects. My joy is for projects to be realised,” he said.

Some of the priority areas for the 2023 fiscal year for the South West Regional Assembly, he said. will involve projects in the domain of health (equip and build health facilities), education (build and equip classrooms with benches, construct modern latrines), public works, with the rehabilitation of roads to ease the evacuation of produce from farms to the markets.

Councillors hail Biya

In an address during the session in Buea, the Regional Assembly president on behalf of regional councilors, had expressed thanks to the Head of State for some earmarked road infrastructure projects in the region.

“…the Government of President Paul Biya, under the stewardship of our illustrious brother and father of South West origin, His Excellency Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, will this year 2023, rehabilitate the 28 km Mbonge (Meme Division) Boa- Bamusso (Ndian Division) road at a global cost of 287, 070,525 FCFA, as well as the 135.43 Km Mundemba-Toko-Dikome-Balue (Ndian Division) Three Corners Ekombe road (Meme Division), for an amount of 600,000,000 FCEA,” he disclosed during the meeting.

Ghost contractors, adventurers retarding projects

The president had also expressed his dismay at the fact that some of the projects that were not executed resulted from the failures of “ghost contractors and adventurers in the sector who do low standard jobs or disappear after winning contracts”.

To assuage the worry, he had appealed on contractors of South West origin to bid for contracts in the region, so as to join in developing the region’s social and economic infrastructure.

“I want to appeal to contractors of South West origin to help us develop the South West Region, because we want to avoid the issues of ghost contractors, and adventurers who come and lobby for contracts and when they are awarded, they go and sublet them. That is what killed the maternity ward project in Wabane,” he concluded.