Tinto D.O. urges municipal councillors to be evangelists of peace as armed conflict paralyzes development efforts

Rising insecurity as a result of confrontations between armed separatists and state forces has been identified as a major factor impeding the development of Tinto sub-division in the Manyu division of the South West region. According to a municipal councillor, the council’s 2022 earmarked projects are either pending realization or yet to kick start especially in localities closer to Lebialem division known to be one of the hottest zones of the socio-political crisis.

“We have the mortuary – since 2022 that this contract was awarded, the contractors are still dangling with it. The new council chambers, given out since 2016 has not been realized till now. Shops that were to be constructed at a tune of FCFA 30 million in Tinto, nothing has started. A drainage system given in 2022 for FCFA 30 million, nothing has been done. The solar electricity project has been partially done with execution as poor standard materials were used. That’s why we are demanding the contractors to redo it. We have quarry sites in Tinto and Fotabe which are inaccessible because the contractors are sleeping.”

Even if Mayor Etchu Joseph Eyong told his collaborators, the councillors, that the non realization or completion of some of these projects is due to delayed FEICOM funding, the D.O. of Tinto during the Council’s budgetary session mentioned rising insecurity as a major threat to these projects.

“Tell the population that no project will be realized in Tinto if there is no peace. Owners of those construction machines say they are scared to work because of threats that their machines will be burnt,” stressed the D.O, Fogouong Amadou.

To step on this obstacle, the administrative officer commissioned the municipal councillors to be peace crusaders in their respective communities.

“We shouldn’t only sit and come for sessions. Try to get to your areas and preach peace. For us to succeed, I want councilors to be the first people to champion the peace crusade that we are about to launch,” the D.O emphasized.

If they are diving into their villages or communities to preach peace for development to accelerate, the councillors on their part urged the Mayor to be strict with some contractors who are hiding behind the crisis to poorly execute contracts or not finish them by either slamming them with suspension or suffocating them with pressure to realize the projects.