The alleged case of misappropriation was exposed by the South West Regional Delegate of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Ivo Bende Eseke.
Similarly, the Mayor of Buea reported the abandonment of the Bokwaongo Health Centre project expected to have been completed in 2010 with money reportedly paid out to the contractor. Follow committee members also expressed concern at the quick rate of deterioration of earth roads in the region. They cited examples of abandoned roads to include the Sasse-Buea and Molyko-Bova-Bonakanda road portions. Irked by such flagrant thwarting of government efforts to improve the road network in the region, committee members requested the Regional Delegation of Public Works to prepare a situation report of roads in the region for presentation to the committee at its next meeting. The committee noted that though government had allocated FCFA 16 billion for roads in the region in 2011, the public was generally dissatisfied with the quality of work so far carried out.
The Mayor of Buea, Mbella Moki Charles, held the committee spellbound as he explained some of the tactics used by contract awarding authorities and contractors to cheat beneficiary communities, thereby frustrating government’s well-intentioned actions. For example, he explained how some officials in Fako Division had awarded contracts to girl friends and advised them to sublet them to third parties in violation of the law. “In the final analysis, the contracts are abandoned with some money cashed from the public treasury,” concluded Mayor Mbella. He therefore urged follow up committee members to stand up to their responsibilities by reporting any irregularities observed on the field.
