Makokou: Misappropriation of Local Development Funds (LDF)
8 mars 2023
The community of Adoué, assisted by Conservation Justice, decided to file a complaint against the company SNL Group Management, headed by Mr.BNB, owner of the structure, and Mr.HB, its local representative in Makokou. This decision followed suspicions of breach of trust and embezzlement of Local Development Funds (FDL). The complaint was filed on February 15, 2023, at the Secretariat of the Makokou Public Prosecutor’s Office.
This case concerns the financing of a project to build a dispensary in the village Adoué, through a Cahier de Charges Contractuelles (CCC) signed with the logger TBNI in 2016. However, it was revealed that the company mentioned above responsible for carrying out this project diverted 2,700,000 FCFA from the 4,112,843.4 FCFA planned for the construction of the dispensary to use it for other purposes. It should be noted that the projects financed by certain partners are often badly managed or badly planned, and the allocated funds are sometimes diverted, leaving the local communities without resources to improve their living environment.
After an investigation by the Judicial Police, Mr. BNB was presented to the Public Prosecutor at the Makokou Court of First Instance on February 27, 2023.
Conservation Justice followed the legal proceedings of the village community of Adoué against SNL Group management, which resulted in the indictment of Mr. BNB for the charges.
As the days went by, the village populations of Adoué were worried about the outcome of this legal action. They were nevertheless reassured by the resumption of construction work on March 2, 2023.
Clarification that for the same situation, the complaints of the communities of Mbes, Ebessi, Minkwala, Simitang and Ntsibelong were unsuccessful in 2022 since the entrepreneurs charged, including those of SNL, had been acquitted by the Makokou Court.
It is essential that local administrative officials and civil society organizations work closely together to ensure that development projects are designed and managed transparently, with the active participation of local communities. Those involved in acts of misappropriation must be brought to justice, in order to deter those who are tempted to commit similar acts in the future.
LA REDACTION