Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
Newly elected and installed Mayor of the municipality of Buea, Patrick Esunge Ekema is all joyful and paying tribute to God for the numerous blessings received so far and asking for more. In one of the rare interviews granted just after his installation, Ekema spoke to iCameroon.com, where amongst other issues raised, gave his vision for the Buea Council he is heading for the next five years and his expectations from the people of the municipality of Buea fondly referred to as the town of LEGENDARY HOSPITALITY.
Read on!
Mr Patrick Esunge Ekema
How are you settling down to your newfound job as the Mayor of Buea after a hectic year 2013 for you?
2013 for me has been a wonderful one. To all, I give glory to God. That is why my hands are open to anything that has to do with God. As the harvest period runs through all the denominational churches, within the municipality of Buea, I have been involved by all the churches, even the Pentecostals. God has a purpose for me and that is the only way I can reward Him. He is an invisible God, though I cannot see Him, the only way to say thank you is to attend to his people.
How will you explain this action-packed year of yours, 2013?
It is said that ask and it shall be given. It has been more of dedication, consciousness, devotedness to the people of my municipality and the nation. Because God saw my involvement in what I was heading towards, he opened the way for me and I had it all. In March 2013, I was appointed Faculty Officer in the Faculty of Education, with the rank and prerogative of a deputy director. On May 27 2013, I was installed as Interim Mayor of Buea. September 30 2013, I was one of those who championed a CPDM crusade for elections in Buea and we won with flying colours. On October 16 2013, councillors met to elect a Mayor and I was elected. On November 22 2013, I was installed as the Mayor of Buea and Monday, November 25 2013 I was sworn in as a Civil Status Registrar for the second time at the Buea High Court. All these put together, I lack words to thank the Almighty. There are people who have worked all through their lives and do not have anything from the public or private sector, yet in less than nine months, God has been blessing me endlessly. The only way to say thanks is to participate in activities that glorify God and mankind.
That is not all; you also defended a Masters Degree on the Bakweri land issues…
Waoh!! That is a serious omission. Most importantly amongst the aforementioned, is the M.A Defence, which I participated and put in my best. For those who were there heard the comments and saw me defend my thesis. The final recommendation of the panel chaired by Prof. Cornelius Mbifung Lambi, encouraged me to continue in same vein and do a publication of that thesis, so that we can enrich the communities, especially where we belong – land issues and invited me to go in for a terminal degree, PhD. In January 2014, I will open the gates for that.
Do you have the energy to manage that and the ever demanding Buea municipality you have in your palms now?
I believe in participatory management approach. I do not see where there is a dichotomy between myself and my deputies. After our installation, in the days ahead, we are going to attribute functions to the deputies, such that everybody has something to do in the council. All of the council will not be on my head. I will rather play the role of a coordinator and expect weekly or quarterly reports of their activities carried out. And where my presence is needed, I will certainly step in and pursue my academic programme.
Elections, installation and oath taking have come and gone, what do you have for the people of Buea?
As a Christian, I need to bring the people together. There cannot be any meaningful development without reconciliation and peace. Development can only surface when these ingredients are there. And so, I am en route to bury the cracks we had as councillors and mend them forever. During our installation ceremony of Friday, November 22 2013, we introduced a novelty, moving, all of us as councillors and as a family from the new council building to the Mbongo square grand stand. This is a sign of unity and reconciliation. We will continue in same light and those still hanging out there, we will bring them in. As a council, we will forge ahead with developmental projects. And for the community, we will be proactive, dispatching some of our council agents to all the villages around the municipality to get a sample study of their pressing needs. That will help us develop our communal development plan 2014. The council is not quite vibrant as many may think, but from the communal development plan, we will select those projects we think we can handle in the 2014 financial year. We are also lucky to have partners like the PNDP, FEICOM and some NGOs, Human Rights organisations, which together, we can identify some other projects from the communal development plan and see at what level we can execute. Since it is a five-year mandate, we will grind slowly but surely. Before our five years are exhausted, we will get there.
What are the immediate things the population should expect from the council as you settle down?
What is immediate is the potable water problem that cuts across the municipality. The state has invested a lot of money on this project and it is not yielding fruits. We want to settle down and find out exactly the competent technical services that can be charged with that responsibility. We will have to find out if it is a natural difficulty and see where we can fit in as a council. We will also pre-occupy ourselves with the opening of farm-to-market roads. Buea is a bread basket for all the other Regions of the country; with agricultural output. We have the Bojongo – Mapanja road to open. The Mapanja people have been in the dark for too long. Patients are pushed in wheelbarrows and trucks. It is inhuman in the 21st century. The Lysoka-Wonjia-BonaKanda roads have to be attended to. For 2014, we will put stress on potable water and open the earth roads. As a council we may not have the capacity to tar roads but we have a duty to improve on the periphery of the municipality.
What is your message to the people of Buea?
They should continue to pray for me, for the municipality and for our nation, Cameroon.
Thank You Mr. Mayor!
You are welcome!!
Interviewed by Walter Wilson Nana
