Mayor of The Month
Peter Chenwi:
Mayor Bamenda II Council
Community development as a concept has been commonised to the extent people don’t even know who is who in the local development agenda.
But there are council areas where those who have been voted into office as mayors have adopted unique strategies that have been moving their municipalities forward despite the challenges that abound.
One of such municipal authorities that has gained public admiration is the workaholic mayor of Bamenda II Council in Mezam Division of the North West Region, Peter Chenwi.
This humble yet fearless community mobiliser and serviceable people leader has even in the face of threats to his life remained focus on using his mandate as mayor to work for the people and not wait to be served.
Mayor Chenwi Peter understands so clearly and emphatically that any politics that those not prioritise the interest of a people is not politics at all.
It is this passion to serve his people that has seen him since 2020 been working tirelessly to put Bamenda II municipality in the map of councils that are keeping pace with the realities of not only decentralisation but the also of real local development.
He is one of the rare gems that have been working from an inclusiveness stand point, involving councillors, quarter heads, people living with disabilities, PLWDs and other minorities in the local development drive.This has earned him respect across the board.
He cuts the image of a mayor who does not discriminate, rather he works without minding which party the population voted for during election.
At Municipal Updates, even as we feature this charismatic local development champion as mayor of the month, Mayor Peter Chenwi, has remained an icon in moving his municipality forward on all fronts.
Even the most minute of social components of the municipality have always saluted his community approach to issues and concern for social matters that affect the vulnerable.
To begin with, as a visionary person, this unique municipal authority is created with having revamped education in Bamenda II municipality since he was voted into office in the first half of 2020.
Aware of the threats Amba fighters had posed to the education industry which was the mainstay of the North West Region before the Anglophone crisis, Mayor Chenwi Peter has stood out as a municipal authority who worked to revamp the sector.
From crusading effective schooling, to the annual donation of didactics to thousands of children across Bamenda II municipality and the construction of classrooms, this inspiring local development official, has been unstoppable.
He has supported education without discrimination, touching even schools that belong to missions such as the Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC. Renowned institutions in the municipality that have been razed in the council area have been refurbished thanks to the desire of mayor Chennwi Peter to help build the next generation.
Even when it comes to vocational education, he has remained strong in reviving community interest especially for young people in acquiring skills that can enable them live profitable lives.
Even the domain of health, Municipal Updates’ Mayor of The Month has refurbished, equipped and increased the capacity of community health centres without reserve.
This is a mayor that has been working tirelessly for his people with the sole aim of addressing their worries and making them enjoy the dividends of decentralisation.
A few days ago, it was commercial bikers who had enjoyed the mayor’s largesse on several occasions that gathered to honour this distinguished local development champion.
Besides coming with symbolic gifts to show appreciation, they bikers saluted the leadership of Peter Chenwi at the helm of the Bamenda II Council.
They were clear how he has remained accessible and helpful in defending their interest since he got elected into office.
This is a mayor who has offered school materials to kids of bikers, eased the acquisition of drivers’ license by the same group of persons, offered them foodstuff at Christmas and during other national celebrations and more.
Many who know the prowess and Charisma of Peter Chenwi are unanimous that, he remains an inspiring youth leader who has all what it takes to serve his people better than what many can imagine.
Chenwi Peter is also being praised for being daring to make Bamenda II Council stable and safe from the spell of separatist fighters. Even when the misguided youth set fire on his home, the mayor remained focus on community service undeterred.
The incidents of isolation and loneliness that had elected permanent portions of the population of Bamenda II subdivision, with many not seeing themselves in local development initiatives have disappeared.
The mayor works with quarter heads, councils and traditional rulers. This has resulted in a bottom-top approach to local development that is not seen in many communities. This alone, accounts for the huge mobilisation behind the activities of the Mayor Peter Chenwi.
He has been repeatedly hailed for making the people of Bamenda II to know and believe that development knows no political coloration.
Despite being elected on the ticket of the CPDM to the Bamenda II Council, Chenwi Peter has been talking development and not politics while in office.
Many see him as a man who is not living for himself but for his people because he knows fully well that the fibre that connect him to the population of Bamenda II are many.
Even Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs of the Anglophone Crisis who have found refuge in Bamenda II Council area have benefitted from the development policies of this dynamic and energetic community development agent.
All in all, Chenwi Peter has stood the test of rebuilding Bamenda II from the ashes of a separatist spell to make it become a peaceful and accommodating municipality.
The wonder in all of this is that, the towering achievements have come amid the shoe-string budget of the council. Many of its revenue sources remained in dire straits coupled with disagreements with the Bamenda City Council on the management of local markets but all these have not stopped the visionary mayor from showing the people what it means to serve. Lord Mayor Chenwi Peter, our readers and Municipal Updates daily newspaper celebrate you.