Community Based Liaison Officers have presented reports of their activities within local councils. The reports were presented during an evaluation meeting convened by the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator in Buea on August 14, 2024 to review the state of relations between the grassroots populations and thirty-one (31) municipal councils across the six divisions of the South-West Region. The reports compiled by the Community Based Liaison Officers drawn from the South-West regional arm of the National Youth Council presented an in-depth view of issues faced by the local populations in their interactions with their councils.

Commissioned in June 2024, the Community Based Liaison Officers were charged to sensitize the population on the existence of OPIC, collect unbiased information concerning the state of relations between local authorities and their inhabitants as well as serve as relay between the institution and the grassroot population. In this regard, the Community Based Liaison officer in the presentation of their reports were expected to present a true picture of interactions between councils and the grassroots population.

During the presentation of the reports, recurrent challenges identified by all the officers is the constant request from council users to pay a fee for the issuance of civil status documents like birth, marriage and death certificates out of the stipulated time period. Equally brought to fore was the relocation of some councils to some neighbouring towns due to the prevailing security situation in the region, making it difficult for their inhabitants to obtain basic routine services. This is the case of communities like Alou, Menji, Konye, and Nguti councils relocated to Dschang, Kumba and Buea respectively. Other issues raised by some liaison officers is the execution rate of public investment projects carried by some municipalities. Sadly, they realized that what some councils report does not match the reality on the ground.

While satisfied with the reports presented by the Community Based Liaison Officers, the Public Independent Conciliator at the end of the exercise exhorted them to remain objective and neutral, reiterating that their perceptions should match the reality on the ground.  Its worth mentioning that Public Independent Conciliator called on the liaison officers to refrain from publishing any information about the institution on the social media as well speak on behalf of the institution on any media platform. She also reminded that their mandate end receiving complaints from the population on behalf of OPIC.