It is very rare to hear an administrator in the present political dispensation heaving praises for an opposition figure. The situation in Belo council since Mr. Bernard Tosam took the helm of affairs there has been so positive that the SDO Mamadou Haman told the over 10.000 man crowd at the installation of Mr. Tosam Bernard that the latter has made a difference in the financial management of Council funds and using them well unlike his colleagues in Fundong and Fonfuka Rural Council.

The SDO was commissioning Mr. Bernard Tosam and his three other deputies into office last Tuesday, October 23, 2007. The SDO linked Mr. Tosam's success at the helm of the Council to his readiness to always take advice and directives from the administration of Belo, Boyo and Yaoundé. Being the gateway into the Division, the SDO called on the mayor to be exemplary in the management of state funds on developmental issues and not on his family as some are doing else where. He must ensure regional development, social welfare, and cultural development the SDO said.

Speaking to The Frontier Telegraph shortly after, Mayor Tosam expressed satisfaction with the heavy turn-out, which, he stated was a show of love and trust for him. He is thus condemned to serve the people well not to betray their trust in him. He however condemned blackmail, a syndrome that is fast gaining ground in Belo.

Mr. Bernard Tosam is a highly respected militant of the SDF, of the Old Breed Generation. He is remembered for having led the first ever disciplinary committee of the SDF in Belo Electoral District in 1994, thus restoring order in that party in Belo. He never went in for the 1996 Council elections, but watched the game very keenly until 2002 when he went in, saw and conquered. Since then, he has been at the helm of Belo Council. He will be assisted by the following 1 st Deputy, Mr. Peter Njong; 2 nd Deputy, Mr. Augustine Alfred: 3 rd Deputy, Mrs Martha Sih, and 4 th Deputy Stephen Bunyon

Another Victim of SDF's Article 8.2 Commissioned as Mayor
By Chryspus Ateh in Fundong

The venue was the Njinikom Municipal stadium, and the date was October 30, 2007 when the population of the area, elite traditional rulers and militants of the CPDM, APF and UDP turned out in their numbers to witness the installation ceremony of the SDF- won Njinikom council. The occasion which kicked off at 11:15 a.m. with the arrival of the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Boyo, Mr. Mamoudou Haman, took place on the back drop of controversies rocking that Council, especially as the SDF had earlier expelled the main figure of the day, Mr. Chiatoh Ngong David alias Mukube.

In his installation speech, Mr. Mamoudou Haman ran short of justifying why the SDF hierarchy had to choose someone else to manage the affairs of Njinikom Council. The SDO declared, without mincing words that the Njinikom Council is a source of mockery to Boyo due to mismanagement of funds, dishonesty, regular fighting between the mayor and the sub-treasurer, the running of Council affairs as if it is a private estate. The SDO regretted that the Njinikom Council is championing the following ills: non-payment of workers' salaries, permanent quarrels, petitioning and purposelessness. The Council, the SDO regretted, is a good example of one always in the red.

Turning to the controversial sacking of Mr. Chiatoh Ngong David from the SDF, Mr. Mamoudou Haman warned that the elected Councillors have no right to let down the Njinikom people who entrusted their confidence in them last July 22, 2007. The SDO said it is being rumoured that the 1 st and 2 nd Deputy Mayors elected on July 31 st 2007 in session have resigned. To this he quoted law No 100/1/2/2004/13 of 25 August 2004 which states that the resignation of Mayors and their deputies is addressed to the supervisory authority, and any such councillor continues in office until his successor is installed.

The SDO went even further to cite the law of ineligibility of a Councillor in case of resignation or dismissal, concluding that any vacancy resulting thereof shall be established by the mayor and approved by the supervisory authority. In this case where the deputies and some Councillors have decided to go into hiding, it is difficult to say how they will go about it.

Speaking earlier, a representative of the elite regretted that the people of Njinikom gave their mandate to the SDF Councillors, who today have decided to put the cart before the horse. He wondered how reasonable adults could vote for someone, just to turn overnight to say they did not know what they were doing. He warned that the Mayor is not a Mayor of any political party, and none should hijack the Council.

Speaking to the Press later, Hon. Francis Bochong Nkwain stated that a political party is not a cult. He said political parties have a right to make sure that their members understand public law, so that when they take over, they act accordingly. He advised the SDF that quick swift decisions are only based on emotions--they never succeed in helping to bring the people or the party together. Hear him:

"There is nothing in the law that the Mayor should be accountable to the political party. He is accountable to the municipality. The office of Mayor is the people's office. When we go to choose leaders, the political parties help to hunt out individuals so that they can compete and we get the best. If we got the best and he is SDF, he becomes our leader, the leader of the municipality, accountable to the people of this municipality and to the Supervisory Authority, not to any party..."

Hon. Nkwain however indicated that the SDF is a new party that rushed to take a position prematurely with no training or experience. He cannot blame Chiatoh Ngong David, and hopes the elite will help him to succeed.

On his part, the newly installed Mayor promised, as a point of priority, to visit all the thirteen traditional Councillors of his municipality before the end of November seeking to know their problems. He acknowledged that for the past five years, the Council has achieved very little because of financial mismanagement, citing the case of some fifteen million francs that was unaccounted for. He vowed to show the difference this time around.

The occasion was graced by close to twenty traditional dance groups and Prince Afo-Akom, an internationally acclaimed artist from Njinikom based in Yaoundé.