By
Christopher Ambe
This light in
complexion, respectable Cameroonian woman, noted for her decent dressing is
always wearing a contagious smile. She is very welcoming and duty-conscious. In
deed, she has been described -in many quarters and by many critical observers -as
a workaholic.
Bate-Eya Florence Epse Arrey is a sworn Conservator/Registrar of Lands for Fako Division.
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| Bate-Eya Florence Eya.epse Arrey: Dedicated Land Conservator ! |
This likeable official
of Cameroon’s Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, is the first
ever English-speaking (Anglophone) woman to occupy such a sensitive office.
As a land
conservator/registrar, Mrs.Arrey, aged about 50, ensures that the procedures
for acquiring a land certificate in Cameroon is strictly applied.
Holder of BBA (Hons)
Degree in Secretarial Administration from the Irish University Business School,
London, Mrs. Arrey, according to my findings, does any piece of job entrusted
her with dedication.
This is even more obvious
in the performance of her functions as Land Registrar, conscious that a land
certificate is the only document to show proof of land ownership.
“I very much enjoy
doing my job, as the first woman to be a land registrar in Anglophone
Cameroon”, she told this writer. “No woman in this part of the country has ever
signed a land certificate, so I am determined to do only the right thing”
Mrs. Arrey masters land
tenure ordinances very well, conscious that the country has no school for the
training of land registrars as it has for surveyors.
“You must love your job
before you master how to go about it in order to satisfy public expectation”,
the land registar, who has retained the job now for four years, observed. “I
enjoy my job very well despite the challenges involved in it such as opposition
to the issuance of land certificate by some rival parties.
Mrs.Arrey’s jovial nature,
her mastery of the land tenure laws and Christian values help her face the
challenges of her job squarely.
She advises: “Land
owners and potential owners must do the right thing to see that they obtain a
land certificate. It is the only document to show proof of land property right
in Cameroon. It is invaluable and final. If you have not got it, then you don’t
own the property because in this country all land belongs to the State”
Mrs.Arrey would cite
the Bible book of Jeremiah 32:1-6
where God told Jeremiah to go have his property titled. “So, if God can advise an
individual to have a land certificate, it means that a land certificate is the
only document to show proof of land property right”, she noted, enumerating the
advantages of having it such as using it as collateral to secure bank loans.
“People buy shares
using their landed property. And they do that using a land certificate”
Assiduous Public Servant
Mrs.Arrey,who was recruited
into the public service in 1984 (in the then Ministry of Town Planning and Housing),
was transferred to the then Provincial Service of Lands in Buea. She has headed several
units and services at the Divisional and Regional levels of Public Service. In
1995, she was Chief of Bureau for General Affairs in the Provincial Service of
Lands, Buea; in 1999, Mrs.Arrey served as chief of Bureau du Livre.
In 2006, she was
appointed the Divisional Chief of Service for Land Tenure, Kumba-Meme Division.
In 2008, she served as Interim Provincial
Chief of Service for Administration and Finance at Provincial Delegation of
State Property and Land Tenure-Buea. In 2010, she served as Fako Divisional
Delegate cumulatively with the post of Conservator of Lands in Fako Division.
Up to date, Mrs. Arrey
is the Conservator of Lands for Fako Division, attracting accolade from the
service users. “ As she is in the office ,she will work past the closing time
provided people are waiting to be served”, one man who knows her well and came
to follow-up his land documents, told me.
Other frequent users of her service contacted
were all agreed that, although Mrs. Arrey likes to crack jokes, she is cannot
be induced into corrupt practices.
Staunch
CPDM Adherent
Mrs.Arrey is also
politically conscious. As member of the ruling CPDM in Cameroon, she thinks
this political party is one that any patriotic person should join. “In the CPDM
you have so many patriotic and responsible people committed to nation-building.
“When you read the Word
of God, it says no authority can exist without the approval of the Almighty
God. It is the CPDM whose chairperson is Cameroon’s Head of State. It is God
who has enthroned Mr. Paul Biya, CPDM National Chair as Head of State”, noted
Mrs.Arrey, who is Councilor of Mamfe Council. “The CPDM party for now is God’s choice,
so I will continue to be its member.
A
Christian Leader
Mrs. Arrey is a devout Christian.
She is an Ordained Mother of God in a
Jewish Church-The Holy Sabbath (Community of Yahweh worldwide), and Special Envoy to the General Overseer of
the above -mentioned religious organization in all French –speaking countries
in Africa.
What makes Mrs. Arrey
more special? She loves humanity. “I do to others what I want them do unto me as
the Bible in the Book of Mathieu recommends”, she says. She is empathic and
philanthropic. Anywhere, as the need arises, Mrs.Arrey educates the public on
land issues
She is very motherly
and a caring .She is member of several social groups such as the Solidarity Group -headed by the wife of
Southwest Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai.This group gives assistance in
different forms to the less-privileged. “I enjoy charitable works. That is one
of the things Mrs. Chantal Biya, the First Lady has taught us”, she told this
writer.
Married to Mr.Arrey E.Gregory,
she and the husband are blessed with four well-brought up children.
She is bilingual
(speaks English and French) and she loves preaching the Word of God and giving
hope to the less-privileged.
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