The announcement was made during last Saturday??s joint Conference of the CPDM in Mamfe. The people of Manyu have called on the Chairman of the Cameroon People??s Democratic Movement (CPDM), to visit Manyu Division. The call was read by the Mayor of Mamfe, Ayuk Taku Nchung, during an extra-ordinary joint conference of the party in Mamfe last
Saturday. The joint conference, which ended with a unanimous call by the militants for the Chairman of the party to vie for the 2011 presidential election, was also a forum for the sons and daughters of the area to take stock of what has been achieved and put in place a viable socio-political road map. According to the different personalities who mounted the rostrum, Manyu Division is plagued by several problems, top amongst them, is the road network. Through out the year, to travel in and out of Manyu Division is a nightmare, especially during the rainy season. At times, the situation is such that some families are forced to bury the corpses of their loved ones by the road side after spending several days on the same spot. Constant load shedding in Mamfe and lack of electricity in some Sub-Divisions and villages has been identified as a major cause behind the exodus of youths to other towns. Despite the presence of several rivers in Manyu Division and Mamfe in particular, potable water is still scarce. The town is said to go for several weeks without water. Unemployment of youths, lack of funds for those with professional skills to kick-start a workshop or business were pointed out. The various speakers, all clad in party outfit, also condemned gossiping, blackmailing and petition-writing, which they said are vices against development.
To the problems raised by the different speakers, the two ministers present, former ministers and parliamentarians assured the population that solutions will be found. According to Victor Mengot Arrey, Minister in Charge of Special Duties at the Presidency, Manyu Division has received its own share of the national cake. Apart from the appointment of several sons of the Division to positions of responsibility, road construction projects like the Number-Batibo road are afoot, funds are already available and tenders opened for the Mamfe-Enugu stretch of the trans African highway.With regard to the problem of potable water in Mamfe, the board chairman of CAMWATER, Jerome Obi Etta, said the lack of a generator and a large storage tank is the reason behind the constant water shortage. He said, in a few weeks, the issue will be history, as CAMWTER has already provided funds for the purchase of a generator and the extension of the reservoir. On the heels of the former minister of public works, Jerome Obi Etta, was Professor Peter Agbor Tabi Minister, Assistant Secretary General at the Presidency, who prescribed sensitisation, hard work and synergy as great solutions to the problems faced by the Division. He said the population of Manyu should throw their weight behind President Paul Biya, work hand-in-glove with their internal and external elite. He condemned chieftaincy wrangling in the Division and announced plans to put in place strategies to end the phenomenon. He thanked the numerous friends of Manyu Division like, Chief Victor Mukete of Kumba; Eyeya Zanga Louis, Governor of the South West Region; Mouelle Kombi, Director of IRIC; Mbella Moki, Mayor of Buea; Victor Ngoh Government Delegate of Kumba, who braved the odds to commune with the Manyu people.
Eldickson AGBORTOGO, Cameroon Tribune
