Esuka Mafany
The Minister of Decentralization and Local Development (MINDDEVEL), George Elanga Obam, has called on local authorities to ensure financial transparency in the management of resources that will accrue from the municipal housing estate.
Minister Elanga Obam made the call in Poli, Faro Division of the North Region, on Saturday, October 24, during a double ceremony to officially inaugurate the municipal housing estate and a potable water supply network.
The official inauguration ceremony of the magnificent projects was attended by the Secretary General of the North Governor’s Office, Joseph Densou, personal representative of the Governor, and the Senior Divisional Officer for Faro, Dr. Absalom Woloa Monono.
In his inauguration speech, Minister Elanga Obam urged local authorities to lead by example.
“I urge you to put in place a commission that will ensure the recovery of rents, financial transparency, accountability, and proper maintenance of both projects. The money that will be generated from these houses through rents will be used to repay the contracted loan,” he said.
The Mayor of the Poli Municipality, HRH El Hadj Sadou Yaouba, noted that the realization of both projects was eloquent proof that the policy of decentralization, as prescribed by the Head of State, is concrete and not a myth.
Acting like Oliver Twist, Mayor Sadou expressed the desire for the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) to accompany the council in financing other key projects that will go a long way toward improving the living conditions of the population.
He mentioned the installation of solar energy, the construction of a multipurpose hall, modern market stores, and the realization of a modern motorcycle park, among others.
Presenting the municipal housing estate, the representative of the General Manager of FEICOM said the realization of both projects falls within the National Strategic Development Plan, SND 2020–2030, which aims to ensure quality healthcare and provide decent living conditions for all.
The realization of the twenty-four apartments cost about FCFA 381,184,091. Each apartment is made up of a veranda, a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a balcony.
With a population of about 57,000, the installation of the potable water supply network will go a long way toward addressing the problem of acute water shortage in the municipality.
Constructed to the tune of about FCFA 288,602,205, the Poli potable water supply network is composed of four boreholes, a water reservoir, twenty-one taps installed around the municipality, and a distribution point.
