By Bakah Derick
The collection of waste in the city of Bamenda has been halted for some time now resulting to huge dump sites in the town. Vehicles and workers of the Health and Sanitation Company of Cameroon better known by its French acronym HYSACAM contracted by the Bamenda City Council to clean the city have not been spotted anywhere performing the task assigned to them.
Unofficial sources at the company say the major reason that made them to stop work was the shooting to dead of one of their workers at the Ntarikon neighbourhood and the burning of one of their waste transportation vehicles at the small Mankon neigbourhood in Bamenda during the month of April 2022.
Away from this, www.hilltopvoices.com has gathered that the five years contract of the company with the Bamenda City Council signed by the then Government Delegate Vincent Nji Ndumu has expired. Contracted on the 22 of February 2017, HYSACAM had the responsibility of collecting waste from streets and even quarters.
This contract expired on the 22 of February 2022 but the company could still be seen doing work. Hilltopvoices gathered that this continuation of work was without the renewal of the contract and the reason for the continuation of work is not known despite the none renewal of contract and certainly unpaid bills.
Sources close to the Bamenda City Council have disclosed to www.hilltopvoices.com that the council is at a tight corner as relates the renewal of the contract. Though the source refused to admit that the issue has to do with finances, we have also gathered that the city board is under pressure to decentralised waste management in the city especially at this time of the armed conflict and repeated suspension of work by company. The procedure required for the renewal is consider not easy.
At the time of the contract, Bamenda was the 10th regional capital to the contracted for the collection of waste in the country.
