The Cameroon Development and Investment Group have called on the City Mayor of Bamenda to convene the special commission, charged with looking for a private partner to work with the Bamenda City council to construct markets in Bamenda to carry their assignment to a logical end.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Group, Michael Mubang says the group incurred a lot of cost, looking for experts to prepare their documents, meeting national regulations. This is the reason why the Development and Investment Group scored a 75.5/100 in front of the special commission.
"We needed a chartered accountant to go through our accounts and prepare them following OHADA norms. We submitted a bid and we were retained. So what suddenly happened that our bid was thrown out using the back door? If this should be the case, the City Mayor has to pay for damages." Michael Mubang told journalists.
Background
According to Law No 2006/012 of 19th December 2006 laying down general regulations for partnership contracts, public-private partnership contracts are carried for projects with huge financial implications that cannot be borne by the budgets of the public partner.
The public private partnership contract is set to follow, an initiation step, feasibility studies, opinion of the Ministry of the Economy, evaluation by the Sill Board implementing partnership contracts support council for the realization of the partnership contracts (CARPA).
Tha law further stipulates the procedure to establish the public private partnership.
A public tender with the manifestation of interest. A restricted tender, the presentation of tender for study and analysis by the special commission, Dialogue of pre-qualification, adjudication, notification of results and signing of the tender.
The PPP is divided into three lots. One to construct the Bamenda Modern Central Commercial Market, the Bamenda Modern Food Market and the Nkwen Bamenda Commodity Market.
After a manifestation of public interest on the 24th May 2017 by the Cameroon Investment and Development Group (CAMDIG), their bid was retained.
On the 8th January 2020, CAMDIG was required after two sittings of the special commission to provide more technical documents through the city council to the special commission.
Since then, the special commission has not been convened to finish its work and hand the documents for signature between the Bamenda City Council and the Cameroon Investment and Development Group.
Where are we Now?
The inferno of February 22
In March 2024, during a special session of the Bamenda City Board, a deliberation was voted to authorize the City Mayor to obtain a loan from FEICOM to the tune of 6 billion to reconstruct the Bamenda Main Market. Parts of the market was engulfed by fire on the 22nd February 2024.
According to Michael Mubang, there was another deliberation authorizing the Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, to sign a Public Private Partnership for the construction of the three markets. This deliberation he says has not been repealed. He went further to state that the current Bamenda City Mayor, Paul Achobong was a Grand councillor then.
Debris cleared by Edge
What does the Cameroon Development and Investment Group want?
The Cameroon Development and Investment Group want the Bamenda City Mayor to convene the special commission to sit, deliberate and present their final results.
Quizzed if handing to this group the three main markets in Bamenda will not impede the revenue generated by the council, Michael Mubang said they had not gotten to the point of negotiations.
"We had not reached the point of negotiations. Here we would have agreed the number of years to control the market, we were even to agree the number of market stalls that we will control and what they will control.
"It is not even feasible that we have enough financial institutions in Bamenda and we want to opt for a six billion loan to construct just one market. When do they intend to repay this loan?
Further asked as to how much they intended to use to rebuild the markets, Michael Mubang said they envisaged to use 1.1 billion for the Bamenda Main Market, 800 million for the Food Market and 600 Million for the Nkwen market.
These figures he said were not definitive because the final negotiations have not been done.
Position of the Bamenda City Mayor
City Mayor Paul Achobong
According to an interview accorded to the The Herald Tribune by the City Mayor of Bamenda, these are antics from the former Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, Vincent Ndumu Nji to hijack markets in the City council for as much as 20 years.
"We cannot surrender markets in the City of Bamenda to private individuals for this long. This is the biggest source of council revenue."
The council has rather opted to get a loan from the council support fund for mutual assistance, FEICOM.
What is the Cameroon Investment and Development Group proposing?
For the special commission to sit and carry its mission to the logical end.
"Will the City Mayor contravene a Prime Ministerial instructions?."
Asked if they have written to the Prime Minister's Office to explain the twist of events, Michael Mubang said that has not been done as they expect the City Mayor to act with reason.
Asked if the city Mayor proceeds with his loan bid what will become of CAMDIG, Mubang Michael was clear that damages will be paid to his company plus every franc spent to prepare documents before the special commission.
By
Ndi Tsembom Elvis
0 Comments