By Tata Mbunwe
Residents of Small Soppo Wovila village in Buea marched to the office of the Divisional Director (DO) on Friday afternoon, expressing outrage over a new water management committee installed by the Second Deputy Mayor of Buea, Mosoko Edward Motuwe.
The protesters, carrying peace placards and plants, said the committee was not inclusive, alleging that key community stakeholders were being sidelined.
They accused the deputy mayor of tribalism, saying he had chosen mainly Bakweri indigenes, the dominant ethnic group in Buea, as members of the committee, without giving adequate representation to other stakeholders within the community.
The protest, which brought residents of Small Soppo to the DO’s office, is the latest outbreak of a protracted water management crisis in the community.
The crisis has left dozens of residents without clean water as the Soppo Old Boys and Girls Association, which built the water catchment, battles for control with the village’s Traditional Council.
Anthony Njefi, a resident of the village, explained that the association managed the water catchment until the Traditional Council began trying to take control.
The crisis has attracted the attention of the Buea Council and the administration.
On June 28, 2024, MMI reported how Buea Divisional Chief, Abba Abdurahman, intervened in the crisis to restore peace.
He brought temporary peace by establishing a water management committee through the second deputy mayor, Mosoko Edward.
The committee was supposed to bring together all the conflicting parties to jointly manage water. However, the outcome was inconclusive.
Anthony Njefi expressed residents’ dissatisfaction with the water management situation, saying the new committee does not reflect their aspirations.
“We came here today to show our dissatisfaction with the water management situation prevailing in Small Soppo Wovila village,” he said.
“We have water crises between the Soppo Old Boys and Girls Association and the Wovila Traditional Council. It has been going on for some time. And the DO of Buea, who is like our father, came here three weeks ago to resolve the problem.
“After consulting with all parties, he decided that he would come back to set up an inclusive committee that would coordinate water to ensure peace.
“The following week, he sent the second deputy mayor of Buea, Mr Mosoko Edward, to set up the committee. But we were surprised to find that at the time of setting up the committee, he was too biased. All the suggestions made by the association were dismissed.
“In setting up the committee, he set up a committee that was 80 per cent indigenous and only 20 per cent other stakeholders. We have six stakeholders but only three of them were members of this committee. The main stakeholder, the Soppo Old Boys and Girls Association, which built the water and has been supplying water to the community for over three decades, was sidelined,” he explained.
He also said the Traditional Council, which is made up of mostly indigenous people, wants to “grab” water from the Soppo Old Boys and Girls Association, which is run by a mix of indigenous and non-indigenous people from the village.
“It’s too unfair. It shows tribalism, it shows injustice. It shows that the committee was not set up in the spirit of living together that the head of state has always prescribed,” Anthony said indignantly.
The small community of Soppo Wovila, like most areas of Buea, is inhabited by a mixture of indigenous and non-indigenous people.
They have been living and working together peacefully for several years.
The disgruntled residents of Small Soppo expect the division chief not only to resolve the crisis and guarantee access to drinking water, but also to restore serenity and cohesion among the residents.
©Mimi Mefo Info
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings