/By Macdonald Ayang Okumb/
The mayor of
Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge, has issued a communiqué saying he is now ready to let
go the hundreds of Motorbikes impounded by his council upon payment of the impoundment
fee of FCFA 25, 000.
The press release
prescribed Friday 26 June as deadline for the motorbikes to be claimed, failure
of which they shall be sold by auction.
 |
| Patrick Ekema: Buea Mayor |
Mayor Ekema also
stated in the release that in an effort to find a comprehensive solution to the
crisis, he had decided to “…graciously waive all other penalties associated to
the impounded motorbikes which are statutory based on municipal deliberation
no. 10/2014 banning clandestine transportation and regulating the circulation
of commercial motorbikes within the urban periphery of Buea.” He however pointed
out that the circulatory limits prescribed for motorbikes within the municipality
of Buea remain in force.
It would be
recalled that activities at Buea’s commercial hub, Mile 17, had virtually come
to a standstill Tuesday 23 June, as crowds of motorbike riders blocked the main
road in protest over what they said was the mayor’s ‘refusal to release’ their
impounded motorbikes against a proposed payment of impoundment fines.
After failed
attempts by the Divisional Officer for Buea, Paul Kouam Wokam, to calm flaring
tempers, anti-riot police resorted to
releasing tear gas, dynamites as well as other explosives to neutralise and
disperse the irate and rampaging crowd but the protesters replied by throwing
stones and other objects.
The protesting
bike riders went ahead to vandalise billboards, burnt tires on the main road and
reportedly also set a council bus alight. The police made about nine arrests in
the process.
Those arrested,
we gathered, will be taken to court in the days ahead and there are fears that
provisions of the recent anti-terrorism law which talk about disturbance of
public order and the disruption of public activities, could be used against
them.
The
mayor has also announced an emergency meeting with executive members of bike riders’
syndicates within the municipality for Thursday 25 June at the Buea council
premises to further find common ground on the crisis.
No comments:
Post a Comment