Kumba II Municipality : Council, Population Unite To Improve Services

A town hall meeting between the Kumba II Council and its population provided an avenue for frank talk. Summoned by the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator (OPIC) for the South West Region, the meeting at the Kumba II Council hall on July 31, 2025, brought together religious, and traditional authorities, leaders of civil society organisations and professional groups. The discussions centered on three main aspects: garbage heaps with uncomfortable stench, building permits and encroachments and poor state of roads. 
Head of block 5 in Kosala, Mandie Philomine, complained that the council staff stopped her from renovating her roof on grounds that she needed to acquire another building permit. A builder complained that council staff often seized their working tools instead to cause owners of the worksites to regularize their building permitsituation. There were also complaints on menace on bike riders and drivers among others. The issue of garbage heaps, poor roads, lack of potable water and electricity also came to the fore. Kumba II Mayor, Mbachu Jacob Kay, acknowledged that the complaints are genuine. He frowned at the population for not showing up at his office to report the situations. However, he promised to address the issues. The mayor called on the population to denounce council staff who harass them. 
The Divisional Officer for Kumba II, Edwin Nkenya Ngwana, tasked the population to report to his office any persons encroaching on the road with a structure. Fonju Bernard Njukang who represented the Public Independent Conciliator for the South West Region said the...