Tubah Mayor says construction of 'sheds' poses no threat to Bamenda University

By Martial Gnoukapasir

Tubah Council mayor speaking to the press on construction site of new market stalls

Tanjong Martin, mayor of Tubah Council, a municipality hosting the university of Bamenda in a press outing has claimed that the ongoing construction of market stalls directly opposite the Bambili market poses no threat to the university of Bamenda as insinuated by the Vice Chancellor.

The mayor was speaking Tuesday April 26th at the site where the construction of the new market block was ongoing.

" ... i don't understand what is happening and I'm surprised. I received a call last Wednesday from the SDO for Mezam telling me that a complain has come from the Vice Chancellor of the university of Bamenda (Uba) saying the council is constructing sheds inside the university of Bamenda, disturbing students from learning.... before I arrived  Tubah I got a summons from the Divisional Officer of Tubah on thesame issue.."

Market stalls under construction directly opposite the Bambili market

The mayor expressed to the press, his dissatisfaction with the action of the university, insisting that as collaborators, he would have expected the Vice Chancellor to draw his attention or get to the council on the issue, that's if at all there was something wrong with his action.

"I want to tell the press that I'm so surprised, that if the Vice Chancellor has a misunderstanding or something that she doesn't understand so well, instead of inviting the mayor or come to the council as people who've been working together to look at it, infact I don't know why this one happened the way it happened.."

 He maintained that he doesn't see how the market block under construction will affect the studies of students in the university as claimed by the school authorities.

area view of the Bambili market from accros the road where construction of market stalls are ongoing

"...we are standing where the sheds are and the university is kilometers away from here... infact some people use a taxi or bike to get to the university from here. I'm not interested in disturbing the studies of my children. If the surveyor carved out the area where the sheds are and added to the university of Bamenda land in 2019 when the university went in for their land certificate, then they misleaded her.." Tanjong said.

The mayor said it is the responsibility of the council to create markets, hospitals for the population and if the market which the stalls are part of, the roads which is rather giving more trouble, more sound, more noise than the stalls is causing trouble to the university, then the university and Senior divisional officer for Mezam should remove not just the stalls but the Bambili market and the roads as well.

 "I cannot go against the government and that's my declaration"  

 He goes on to say that for safety reasons and to avoid any risk, studies were made with certain stipulations being respected as construction of the market block, directly opposite the Bambili market goes on.

"My sheds are on thesame land were the high tension lines are, MTN cables and Camtel lines are and I don't know how the Vice Chancellor of the university can choose to incorporate all these into her property"

He also made a technical presentation of the market block .

 " ... this gutter is 1m wide, there's a 3metre parking before the road, providing enough space for parking.. a shed is 3metres with a 2m50 width, the frontage is 1m50... by law the utility space is suppose to 7metres from the gutter, leaving 1m50 behind the sheds so incase of returning walls or drainage, cleaning can be easy.."

mayor Tanjong Martin at construction site

MNews237 same Tuesday April 26th visited the campus of the university of Bamenda to get a comment or position statement from the university, but couldn't get an appropriate authority to talk to.

Hence this news site is making available space for the university now and in the nearest future, should the university choose to give a comment on mayor Tanjong's press outing.