Demolition To Clean Limbe: Motanga Means Business

By Mbonda Lizzy Noel

The Limbe City Mayor, Motanga Andrew Monjimba has said he shall stop at nothing to give Limbe a face-lift.

“For no matter what reason, be it humanitarian, social or economic, are we going to sacrifice the beauty and cleanliness of Limbe. The bulldozers and the caterpillars are going to be back on the streets next week.” He said.

The City Council Boss was speaking in the inner chambers of the council on July 23 during a council session aimed at examining the administrative, management and stores accounts of the 2019 financial year.

Motanga continued  that  “I know there is a lot of distress outside since we embarked on the long announced demolition of makeshift structures on our major streets and which are fast turning our municipality into an eye sore”

The session which is coming on the hills of the ongoing demolition, the city mayor said, no amount of consideration will stop the city council from sacrificing the beauty and cleanliness of the seaside resort city. 

He said these persons who park the sidewalks of the streets daily with diverse forms of petty businesses have turned the “municipality into an eyesore.

He called on all the chiefs and quarter heads to join him in the fight to kick the squatters off the streets. 

He said they have noticed that after tossing off the makeshifts kiosks and metallic made phone booths, the operators have started lining the streets again with umbrellas.

“I see some have now changed from call boxes to call umbrellas,” Motanga noted. He said a 24 on 24 hour monitoring team has been set up to be out even at night to check those who are trying to come back to the street. I am particularly calling on all the traditional rulers to embrace this campaign " Motanga said.

According to Motanga, more demolitions would take place in the days ahead to ensure that Limbe maintains its name as a clean City.

It should be noted that over a week ago, had the Limbe city mayor had begun the daunting task of demolishing what the Council considers as makeshift structures along the major streets of the City of Limbe. 

The operation keep Limbe clean led to the destruction of all pay-phone booths all the streets, makeshift stalls, corn grilling stands and the complete ejection of all those who have been using the sidewalks, money transfers and all other petty businesses that go on along the major street corners across cities in Cameroon.

Going The Ekema, Mafani Way

Another high point of the City Mayor’s address to the people’s representative, Motanga promised that it is time to put an end to Ghost Towns In Limbe every Monday.

“Talking about this phenomenon of ghost town, it really beats my senses to understand that our town has not been able to surmount and defeat this Ghost despite all the security measures taken by the Administration,” Motanga said.

He promised to soon come out with his “sledge hammer of repression” against anyone who will refuse to yield to the call for them to re-open.

“May I inform our economic operators, especially the banks, business men and women, owners of stores in our markets and around our town that the recreation is over, serious measures are being put in place to see that this Ghost is unveiled and that Mondays become effective working days again by all means, we are therefore calling on all service providers to open their doors on Mondays before the sledge hammer of repression …falls on anyone.”

Drop In Revenue

Another revelation from the session is that of a drop in revenue collection rate for the 2019 financial year compared to that of 2018.

The more than 12% decline in revenue collection has also been blamed on business persons respecting the Monday ghost town called by separatists.

Of the 9750, 000,000 FCFA budgeted for the 2019 fiscal year, 5,071,505,301FCFA was recovered giving a recovery percentage of 52% compared to 64.02% realized in 2018,,given a 12% decline.

“We had an exceptionally high level of irrecoverable revenue because we could not obtain the loan previewed from FEICOM for investment" the city mayor said. Motanga blamed the drop partly on the anglophone crisis" the socio political unrest in the North West and South West regions of the country makes it difficult for our staff not to good out for recovery; business is slow and tax payers do not have the willingness to pay their taxes".

He adds that due to financial constraints, they were unable to realize certain earmarked projects." Projects such as the construction of the ultra modern market, bridge to Limbe clerk's quarter and the new market for 2019 were carried over to this financial year due to financial difficulties" Motanga said.

Despite the hard times, the city council remained steadfast and committed in accomplish the aspirations of its people as roads like the CDE junction to Towe that was constructed other earth roads that was graded.

The special session which was the first of its kind after the February 2020 municipal pool, that has changed the fate of the city board from 18 councilors to 33, with a lot of new faces, while congratulating them, to focus on the challenges ahead of them .

FCFA 300,000 For Home Burials

Sitting at the deliberating chambers of the Limbe city council 32 in numbers, the city councilors for the very first time took more than an hour deliberating on the amount to paid y families to bury their love ones within their premises. However they ended up that, as from January 1, 2021, anyone in Limbe who decides to bury his or her love one at home other than the public cemetery shall have to pay FCFA 300,000 to the Limbe City Council and ensures his or her compound meant for burial is fenced before such a burial can happen.

Motanga, initially, had put up a deliberation with a burial tax of FCFA 500,000 for home burials. But the councilors said this amount was too high. The Mayors of Limbe II and III initially argued that the indigenes should be given some consideration. Some proposed the sum of FCFA 150,000.

 But Motanga, whose drive was to discourage people from burying corpses at home said if they should give a special consideration to indigenes or reduce the amount, this will instead encourage people to be burying corpses at home.

He went further to state that in the event of any future development project in Limbe whereby such piece of land, with a buried corpse, will have to be used, the Council shall need to pay heavily before expropriating it.

 “Limbe is a city and not a village, look at the future of this town" Motanga said

Only a vote of 22 Councillors for FCFA 300,000 as against six with 4 null ended the long drawn arguments for and against the proposal.

Though Motanga noted that 2019 was a very difficult year, he is optimistic that despite the Anglophone crisis which to him is gradually subsiding and the global health pandemic, 2020 will be a better year.