Exclusive Interview: Former UN Senior Official Urges More Powers to Cameroon's Regional Councils

Dr.Amos Namanga Ngongi ,former UN Senior Official ,has commended the recent takeoff of Cameroon’s regional councils provided for by the country’s January 1996 constitution.

But this Cameroonian and former Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the UN to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Head of the Peacekeeping Mission (MONUC), says the regional councils can effectively bring about the much-needed development if given more powers.

Dr. Ngongi, who had also served, for several years, as Member of the United Nations Management Board, sat down, December 23, 2020, for an exclusive interview with AFRICA EXCELLENCE’s Editor-in-Chief Christopher Ambe.

Excerpts:

At long last-after close to 25 years that Cameroon’s Constitution provided for Regional councils, elections for regional councils took place last December 6. And on Tuesday December 22, the ten regional councils in Cameroon voted into office their executive bureaus. What is your reaction to this democratic development?

 First of all I would say it was a very impressive and historic event, the election of the executive bureau of the Southwest Regional Assembly. 

In fact, January 18, 2021 will make 25 years since the Constitution of 1996 provided for regional councils. It is a great sigh of relief that finally the long-awaited regional institutions are being put in place. 

It is a major step forward. I know a lot of people would say it has come too late, but it is necessary that the constitution should be implemented.

 And it is being implemented. In my view, we are at the end of the first phase of the process. The real test will be the functioning of the institutions being put in place and effective implementation of decentralization.

The Regional Councilors are now known but not their offices.  Take the case of Southwest region where its regional councilors held their first session as of right but at Buea Council Office.  One would have expected the councilors to do that in their own office. What is your take on the fact that the child has been put to bed before they are looking for its permanent house?

Let us start by congratulating the president of our regional assembly (Southwest). It is wonderful to have experienced people who have discharged high responsibilities in the country before being charged to take care of the region.

 The President, Mr. Bakuma Elango Zacheus, his Vice, Chief Dr. Atem Ebako and the other members of the Bureau are known personalities. My congratulations to the President and his team. Let us focus on the people first before the buildings. They can meet in the Buea Council, deliberate and take decisions that will foster the socio-economic development of the Region.

 I am sure the Mayor and Buea Council will be happy to host the Regional Assembly for as long as they need the premises. Every effort should be made to construct a befitting structure for the South West Regional Assembly as soon as possible.

Do you think putting in place of these regional assemblies can really bring about the much-needed development, conscious that they are deliberative organs with limited powers?

We all know that deliberation is not in a vacuum. The Regional Assemblies and Councils have been given areas in which they participate or collaborate with the Central Administration.  

They can thus put original ideas on the table. The Southwest Regional Assembly can propose concrete, implementable programs for the national investment budget and some for implementation with regional resources. Investment projects can also be prepared that can attract external partners.

 The scope is quite broad and should be fully exploited. It does not mean they themselves must implement them directly. The Regional Assembly has an opportunity to sharpen the identification of its areas of competence. These have not been cast in stone.

In effect, are you saying that you believe they can bring about the needed development?

 I believe the Regional Assembly can bring about change because we as Anglophones are used to the bottom-up approach to development.

 If Municipal Councils, which are the building blocks of decentralization, are able to contribute to development in their municipalities with the limited resources at their disposition, there is no reason why Regional Assemblies and Regional Councils should not be able to do so in their respective Regions.

 At the moment there are no appropriate mechanisms for neighbouring municipal councils to work together to tackle problems that are too heavy for one council.

 In the case of Fako, for example, the regional assembly provides an opportunity for the seven councils or a sub-set of them to work together and solve the chronic water problem. 

However, as you are aware, development will not be possible without peace and security returning to the North West and South West Regions.

Article 66 of Cameroon constitution calls for declaration of assets by certain categories of government officials, including “all holders of elective office.” But this article is yet to go operational. Do you have any recommendation to our regional councilors on this?

It is unfortunate that this article of the 1996 constitution has not been implemented up to date. It is corruption that is sapping the energy confidence of the population. 

When the people see that officials are living well above their means they are discouraged and lose confidence in public institutions and officials. Corruption is rampant; projects are started, never completed but the budget is spent.

 The issue of corruption is very serious. CONAC is doing its best to educate the population and conducts investigations but it lacks the power to take corrective action. 

The Head of State has on many occasions decried the high level of corruption in the country and there are many former senior government officials in jail on corruption charges. It would make it easier for people to actually monitor and respect the declarations of the Head of State against corruption if Article 66 of the constitution was implemented.

In effect, are you recommending that regional councilors should become pace-setters in asset declaration?

This is a constitutional provision. We are in a system in which a decree of application is needed before constitutional provisions are implemented. That decree has to come out.

 I think it would not be wise for regional councilors to declare themselves as pace-setters on this issue. There should be a formal procedure for the implementation of this constitutional provision.

 On the other hand the President of the Regional Assembly should ensure that he appoints men and women of probity to positions of responsibility and that there is an audit function in the Regional Administration.

From your assessment, how special is the Special Status accorded to the two Anglophone regions?

As I said earlier, we are at both the end of the first phase of decentralization and the beginning of the second phase, which means we should be focusing on effective implementation of decentralization.

 It will require several months for the newly elected bureaux to sit down and look at the provisions in decentralization law, assess where there are gaps, where clarifications are needed and where they think there are omissions. 

There could be modifications of the law in the course of implementation. Without making it a battleground, issues can be identified that would enhance the effectiveness regional assemblies and the councils.

In the Special Status of the Northwest and Southwest regions, the specificities need to be examined and clarified. 

What is clear is that the Northwest and Southwest Regions have Regional Assemblies with two chambers; a House of Chiefs and a House of Divisional Delegates while the other eight Regions have Regional Councils of a single chamber including the Chiefs.

 The North West and South West Regions will also have Independent Conciliators. Hopefully in the months ahead there will be some clarity in the substance of the Special Status that could be easily understood.

 It may be that the North West and South West Regions will have wide margins of maneuver within their areas of competence to enhance Anglo-Saxon principles and norms, especially, community participation in socioeconomic development programmes and the award and control of contracts.

 If communities can be re-engaged in support of development activities that would be great. I saw my father and his friends convert an orchard to the present community field in Victoria using machetes, shovels and pickaxes. 

The Centenary stadium was started in 1957 or so with the same instruments. As a senior primary school pupil I also worked in the stadium picking stones together with my schoolmates.

 I saw my father start a water committee in Mutengene in the 1960s that resulted in the establishment of the water system that is still in use to this day. Community participation can enhance the realization of many socioeconomic infrastructures. 

This spirit has been discouraged by a system of shadowy centrally awarded contracts that are poorly executed but I am sure the population will respond positively if approached.

Concerning the ongoing Anglophone Crisis, You recently published an article in The Horizon newspaper, titled “Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: Now is the time to give peace a chance!” Why do you say peace be given a chance now when we know it is necessary for our daily living?

Yes, peace is necessary every day but it has been absent from the North West and South West Regions for many years now. The contribution of regional assembles and councils to development in these regions depends on the restoration of peace and security.

 There has never been a time when the Anglophone regions were connected by better roads. From Victoria (Limbe) to Mamfe to Bamenda and from Mamfe to Nigeria. If physical infrastructure alone could bring about development, we would be witnessing today our fastest pace of development. But that is not the case. Why? Because there is not peace and Security!

 Now regional institutions that were clamored for and whose absence contributed to the crisis are being put in place and now that there is increased evidence of appreciation of the discomfort and pain of Anglophones, peace is needed so as to create and enabling environment for resolution of any outstanding issues.

 We have all witnessed the pain people are going through, including the recent kidnapping of three Chiefs in Buea Municipality and the despicable murder of Chief Ikome Ngale of Dibanda village. 

When we start celebrating the opening of a few schools here and there while the vast majority are closed, when we jubilate that a few thousand IDPs have been given Christmas gifts while a million go unnoticed, when we announce with pride the distribution of a few hundred million FCFA to a hundreds of youths while millions of livelihoods have been destroyed, it is time to stop and address the issues that have gotten us to where we are before it gets worse. 

Reconstruction plans announced for the North West and South West Regions have a slim chance of success without peace. As we approach our 60^th anniversary as a country, we should reflect on our achievements and failures. Yes, now is the time to give peace a chance.

You could see that there was a general atmosphere of euphoria at the Buea Council during the election of the bureau of the SW Regional Assembly. Let us build on that, declare a ceasefire and sit around an inclusive dialogue table.

How do you feel as a Cameroonian that Cameroon which used to enjoy the moniker “Island of Peace in Central Africa” is now plagued by multiple crises?

Let me put it this way: The conflict in Cameroon is not a unique invention by Cameroon. A country is not just an anthem, a map, and a flag. A country is basically people and how they relate to each other; how they live and work together; how they interact with one another, how they share power and wealth. Building a country is work in progress. These issues need to be discussed from time to time and a modus vivendi agreed.

We should not feel ashamed that we have almost lost our appellation of an island of peace. The shame should be if we do little or nothing to regain it. Many countries, and some the great ones of today, have gone through similar problems or worse. 

The sad part for Cameroon is that elements of the current crisis were identified in the document Vision 2035 but attention was not paid to them. Cameroon is still struggling to become a country, still learning how to live together, how to respect each other’s tribal and cultural values including those inherited from colonization. 

The problems in the country are not all internal. In the East are refugees from Central African Republic; in the North we have refugees from Nigeria and IDPs resulting from activities of Boko Haram. The most urgent problem is the Anglophone crisis. If we solve that it would be easier to handle the rest and reclaim the moniker: “Island of peace.”

Dr. Ngongi, when you were a senior official with the United Nations you were instrumental in the resolution of several crises in other countries. If you were before President Paul Biya of Cameroon, what would you propose to him as the way forward toward resolving the Anglophone crisis?

We should bear in mind that no two countries or situations are exactly the same. Lessons can be learned and used to solve problems in different settings. Thus besides the normal courtesies of this festive season, I would raise three issues:

First, that he considers the declaration of a ceasefire and convening of an inclusive dialogue by an independent mediator as soon as possible. Such a modality could be attractive to the separatists. 

The pain being felt by people in the North West and South West Regions, especially women and children, is unbearable. An inclusive dialogue can result in the immediate resumption of education and socioeconomic activities in the two Regions. I would suggest that such a dialogue be convened before the 60^th anniversary of Unification.

Second, that Article 66 of the 1996 constitution be implemented with some urgency. This is needed for the population to regain confidence in state institutions and officials. In addition, the drain on the country’s limited financial resources through corruption is a serious constraint on development efforts by the public and private operators and jeopardizes the achievement of Vision 2035.

Third, that the newly established Regional Assemblies and Councils be empowered to render real services to their populations. There was great euphoria in the election of the Regional Assembly Bureaux.  This should be capitalized on. These three issues are what I would respectfully put to him. 

Do you have an appeal to make to separatist leaders?

It should be clear to all that the separatists have made their point. Many actions that are being taken by government in the past two years are in response to some of the grievances expressed by the separatists but without express recognition. 

Had these resulted from an inclusive dialogue the situation could have been different.  I would encourage the separatists to open up to an inclusive dialogue and also give peace a chance. 

 I would plead that they consider the unintended consequences of this crisis. I do not think that it is their deliberate decision that Anglophone children should not go to school or that the population should not engage in productive activities.

 I do not think they do not want Anglophones to take advantage of development opportunities around them or for the North West and South West Regions to take development advantage of their immense resources. The time is now for the separatist to take a deep breath and indicate clear willingness to participate in an inclusive dialogue.

What is your 2021 New Year wish for Cameroon?

Peace! Peace before the country’s 60^th unification anniversary. This will be a wonderful blessing to the people and the country. But Peace cannot be obtained by wishing, we all have to work for it.

(Courtesy: Africa Excellence magazine,January-February 2021 ,Cameroon)