Public Independent Conciliator : Crusade For Amicable Dev’t In NW

The Public Independent Conciliator (PIC) for the North West Region Tamfu Simon Fai and two research officers from his Office on June 15, 2023 for eleven hours painstakingly braved the bumpy, slippery and terrible road to Wum headquarters of Menchum Division. Here, they drilled Wum Council officials and the population who are users of its services on how to make use of out-of-court settlement of differences in order to foster local development.
Mr Tamfu Simon Fai’s maiden visit to the Wum municipality marked the beginning of the planned crusade to all Divisional headquarters of the North West Region to sensitize people on missions and functioning of the PIC.  The ultimate goal is to urge the people to know how to amicably resolve problems at the local level and at that of the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator in order to pull all resources and efforts towards enhancing local development. The visits are also intended to get first-hand information on some challenges councils face in their quest for optimal functioning. Such challenges would subsequently be forwarded to the President of the Republic for consideration.
During the presentation and ensuing question and answer session in the Wum Council hall in the presence of some traditional rulers, councillors, council staff and members of the public, Mr Tamfu Simon Fai said the PIC was not a court. He said it was created to reconcile people amicably, be a pacificator, bring peace, be a watchdog and an advocate for better services. “We make sure that councils work for the betterment of the living conditions of the population,” he said. Stating that the PIC solves problems of service between the Regional, City, Subdivisional and Local Councils and users, Tamfu Simon Fai disclosed that they have so far received 89 complaints and have already solved 72 of them. He fur...