The mayor of the mountain-side city of Buea, David Mafani Namange has described the state of security affairs of his town as improving. With this in mind, he however had a sad message for proponents of the return of commercial motorbikes to the town. The decision to prohibit bikes and now to reinstate, he noted, is above his singular powers.
The local administrator who was speaking on the request of pressmen after the 5th session of the Follow-up and Evaluation of the Recommendation is the Major National Dialogue, August 11 in Buea says all is not yet set for bikes to begin plying the streets of Buea.
“We prioritise security to individual wants, but we hope with time we are going to look into that. To remind, the prime ministerial decree regarding the commercial bikes, it says it can be depending on the decision of the council in session to define where they can operate. For now we think the conditions are not ripe enough for us to introduce ‘okada’ as it is fondly called in Buea.”
The ban of bikes which comprises both commercial and private since July 31, 2018 to Mayor Namange is well received by the local population. “I think, the people appreciate it better because we go into other towns they tell us Buea is better without bikes. We know it has a toll on the population but we all need security for peace to permit us do other things.”
The Mayor of the Buea Council, Barrister David Mafani Namange addressing the recent persistent security challenges with cab drivers emphasized on the need for cooperation to bring order to the sector.
Taxi driver unions and syndicates, he noted, “are partners in development. The union has a role to play because we have noticed the infiltration of unions by people who have come into Buea. Make no mistake, we don’t say that we don’t want people to come but it should be done in an orderly manner.”
“The union should identify those coming to work in Buea. And then inform us because we can’t act without information,” he added.