Fru Ndi’s Leadership Reshuffle: Prof .Kale Regrets Architects of SDF’s Electoral Defeats Still in Command.

 *Recommends Leadership by Example 

By Christopher Ambe 

University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ndiva Kofele Kale

Buea- Ndiva Kofele Kale Esq., University Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and a pillar of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), has reacted to his sacking as a member of the Shadow Cabinet of the leading opposition party in Cameroon.

Prof.Kale is one of senior officials recently replaced as shadow cabinet ministers by Ni John Fru Ndi, aged about 81, who has been the National Chairman of  SDF for 32 years (since  launch of the party in May 1990).

“Transfusion of fresh blood into a political organization, especially one as sclerotic as the SDF’s National Executive Committee (NEC), is salutary,” said Kale in a June 17, 2022 statement, titled “Reacting To My ‘Sacking’ From The SDF Shadow Cabinet.”

But the legal luminary quipped,“ If, and this is a big  if, the recent cooptation and appointments to NEC are an indication of a desire to rejuvenate the party leadership and not simply an excuse to purge the ranks of ‘ideological undesirables’ then it’s all good.

Prof. Kale, who in 2012 had reportedly tendered his resignation from the party's shadow cabinet  to the National Chairman but the latter refused to let him go, said in his June 17,2022 statement that, the leadership changes just made were long overdue.

He revealed: “Resignations were expected in 2018 when the party’s standard bearer at the presidential election could barely lay claim to 4% of the votes cast. It is here that cleansing at the helm of the party should have commenced. That would have been in keeping with our fundamental principles and values and in conformity with our social Democratic tradition and practice. . Examples of this practice in our sister social democratic parties around the world abound.

 “The conduct of leaders of the French PS, our sister party in the Socialist International, is exemplary and worthy of emulation. Lionel Jospin tendered his resignation as Socialist Party boss after two failed attempts at the French presidency. A few years later President Francois Hollande who succeeded Jospin as First Secretary of the PS and it’s standard bearer for the 2012 French presidential elections would gladly borrow a page from his predecessor’s play book and retire quietly from politics when his chances for a second presidential mandate took a nose dive at the end of his first term in 2017. 

 “We can also take the case of the British Labour Party another sister party in the Socialist International whose Westminster Foundation has funded many of our capacity-building workshops and seminars over the last three decades. In the May 6, 2010 British general election, Labour lost its majority in the House of Commons, finishing second to the Conservatives, although neither party achieved a majority. Shortly thereafter Gordon Brown announced that he was stepping down as Labour leader. On May 11, after negotiations to form a coalition government with the third-place-finishing Liberal Democrats failed, Brown tendered his resignation as Prime Minister. Germany where social democracy had its early beginnings and whose  Social Democratic Party (SPD) through its Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has accompanied the SDF since the 1990’s in its march toward a democratic future also has a lot to teach us about leadership in general and leadership accountability in particular, especially in response to grassroots complaints. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was forced to resign as SPD leader in the face of furious internal criticism of his government’s reforms”

The emeritus professor, well-known for his outspokenness, doubted if the SDF has actually learnt from international conferences of social democrats.

“For a little over two decades SDF leaders have rubbed shoulders with those of the PS, SPD, Labour and many many others in annual Socialist International summits around the globe. And this begs the question: which aspects of social democracy, which of its fundamental values and principles did our own leaders bring back to Cameroon to share with party comrades?”

According to Prof Kale, “A similar change of guard was again expected in February 2019 when the party decided to field candidates for municipal and legislative elections in clear violation of a NEC resolution to not participate in these elections until the insurgency in the Anglophone regions was brought under some sort of discipline.  They went ahead unperturbed by the fact that the SDF’s fief in the NW and SW regions was at war making it impossible to hold credible elections there.

 “Not surprisingly the party came out battered and bloodied with a miserly five (5) National Assembly seats, down from the sixteen (16) in the previous Assembly

Prof Kale, who served as SDF Shadow Cabinet Minister of Justice for sixteen (16) years (since 2006) and as  a member of the party's National Executive Committee(NEC) for twenty-six (26) years, pointed out:

 “The irony is that the architects of two of the SDF’s most humiliating electoral defeats in its 32 years of existence are still in command! I think they should be leading by example, inspired by their PS, SPD and Labour colleagues, and should have been the first to seize this opportunity to pass the leadership baton to a new crop of leaders. It’s only through such wholesale, not partial and selective; cleansing that one can give true meaning to the National Chairman’s claim that the personnel changes he just orchestrated will “achieve better organizational efficiency.”

Kale Doesn’t Regret His Sacking

Prof. Kale admitted that the party’s constitution vests in the National Chairman the power to appoint and dismiss its shadow cabinet.

 “It follows therefore that all shadow cabinet members serve at the chairman’s pleasure, “he said, adding he served as Head of Legal and Judicial Affairs [for the SDF] since 2006.

 “I have no quarrel with [Ni John Fru’s] decision to relieve me of this responsibility. Sixteen years is a long time to be hugging the same post.  If I had any sense I would have tended my resignation a long while back to make room for new blood! Be that as it may, the National Chairman has helped me to make that decision and I thank him immensely.”

Buea : LIGHT OF EXCELLENCE School Graduates Pioneer Batch in Pomp.

Pioneer graduates of Light of Excellence Nursey & Primary School,Great Soppo -Buea

By Theobin Fuh Tumfung.

The Light of Excellence Nursery and Primary School-Great Soppo –Buea, which went operational in September 2021 and admitted applicants- from Nursery 1 to Class Six Primary, on Saturday June 11, graduated its pioneer batch of Nursery II and Class Six pupils in a show of magnificence.

The graduation, which took place in the Catholic Mission Hall, Lower Farms-Buea, was witnessed by a huge crowd of parents and invitees.

 The twenty-four Class six graduates of the school performed excellently at this year’s Government Common Entrance, scoring 100 percent, reflecting the name of the school, Light of Excellence

. The brilliant performance of the Class Six pupils is already attracting greater public attention to the school, which although is just about one year old, promises to be among the best such educational institutions in Buea.

In her welcome address during the ceremony, Head teacher II, Mrs. Claris D.Ambe nee Mbinkar, noted;

“This school, which went operational in September 2021, is legally registered and recognized by the Ministry of Basic Education.

“The idea of LIGHT OF EXCELLENCE was conceived by a group of seasoned pedagogues who decidedly said bye-bye to a former employer. These pedagogues run the school in partnership with other patriotic nation-builders.”

 Mrs. Claris D. Ambe informed the audience “that the first batch of Class Six pupils who wrote this year’s Government Common Entrance (GCE) performed excellently and did us proud.   The highest scorer in List A ,in the center where our pupils and others from different schools wrote, came from LIGHT OF EXCELLENCE.”

She went on, “At LIGHT OF EXCELLENCE, we don’t only help to create the future of our children, who are the leaders of tomorrow; but we also brighten it with the kind of education we give them-education that builds.”

The teaching staff of Light of Excellence 

The head teacher appreciated the sacrifices made by parents to ensure that their children were well-educated.  “We can assure you that we won’t fail on our promise of giving children [who gain admission into our school] just the best”, she vowed.

Also speaking, Javis Mokete, headteacher I/administrator of Light of Excellence, congratulated the graduates and appealed to the prospective form one students to be good ambassadors of the school as they further their studies. He was confident that the solid educational foundation the graduates have had from Light of Excellence would facilitate their learning in secondary school.

Representing Mr. Sampson Tandu Tanyi,Board chairman of LIGHT OF EXCELLENCE  at the graduation was Mr. Samuel Monono,who is also a Board member. He acknowledged that the successes so far registered by the school were largely because of the commitment of the teachers and other staff. He promised the constant support of the board to the stringent management of the school.

The graduation was marked by sketches, musical displays, dances and award of testimonial and prizes.

The school is situated near Gendarmerie Brigade, Great Soppo –Buea and it   started with a kid-pupil population of over 420 and a staff of about 30.

 

 

 

 

Coronation of Paramount Chief of Limbe: Legal action for annulment of PM’s approval order started!

By Christopher Ambe

Chief Kingi Liwoto II

As   preparations intensify for the coronation of Mr. John Elufa Manga Williams as the Paramount   Chief of Limbe this weekend, Chief Kingi Liwoto II of Bambuko    has initiated legal action at the Administrative Court in Yaoundé, calling for the annulment of the Prime Ministerial Order that recognized the former as First-class Traditional Chief of Limbe.

Chief Kinghi  informed this reporter,  yesterday , that  he was at the Administrative Court in Yaounde  last Monday  where he gave  his submissions  ,adding that his application for the stay of execution of  the Prime Ministerial Order was  upheld, pending the hearing of the substantive matter as to why  Mr.John  Elufa Manga Williams should not be the First-Class Chief of Limbe.Asked if he was already in possession of a copy of the Court ruling temporarily suspending the Prime Ministerial order, Chief kinghi said no but expressed hope that the signed ruling will be out soon. “I have not collected the ruling yet. It may be ready by Friday”, he said.

The Prime Minister, Head of Government  ,Joseph  Dion Ngute,in an order No 004 and dated January 13, 2022 , noted: “ The appointment of Mr. John Elufa Manga Williams as  first class traditional  Chief of Limbe,Fako Division ,Southwest Region, in replacement of Mr. Ferguson Bill Manga  Williams, who died on the 9^th of July 2005, is hereby approved with effects from 18^th July 2018.”

But the PM’s order sparked controversy and angered some indigenes of Limbe(Bambukos and Bakweris)s  who feel betrayed by the order.

And Chief kinghi, who alleges that Mr. John Elufa Manga Williams is a “stranger in Bakweri land” , last month filed an ex parte motion  at the Administrative Court in Yaounde ,requesting the cancellation of the PM’s order that approved Mr. John Elufa Manga Williams as First-Class Traditional Chief of Limbe. 

At a press conference in Limbe last Saturday, Chief Kinghi told reporters that he had invited them to clarify in good faith on an illegality about to happen.

“This illegality is about the coronation of John Elufa Manga Williams as Chief of Limbe of Bambuko tribe”, he said in his introductory remarks, stressing that “the Bambuko and Bakweri People of Limbe say no to the coronation of a stranger,Elufa John Manga Williams as their chief”

The Horizon has not been able to independently verify the claim that Mr. Elufa John Manga Williams is a stranger in Limbe.

According to Chief Kinghi, the Prime Minister was misled into signing the order that approved Mr. Elufa John Manga Williams as first-Class Traditional chief and as such there is that urgent need for justice to be done.

[ First published in The Horizon  Newspaper ,Cameroon  June 9,2022 ]