Tribute To Professor Ngwasiri: Go Well!

By Tazoacha Asonganyi in Yaounde.

Professor Clement Nforsi Ngwasiri(pictured) who passed away on April 12, 2008, was a man of profound beliefs. What is sure about him is that when he held a conviction, it was always difficult to move him from it!

We became good friends since October 1975 when we travelled in the same plane to London (UK) on Cameroon government scholarship for our postgraduate studies.
He had just graduated from the then University of Yaounde with a "Licence" in Law; I with one in Biochemistry. As it turned out, I did not have a clear address where I would stay on reaching London; he had the address of Mr (now Professor) Carlson Anyangwe who was living at Tabley Road in North London. That is the address at which we both stayed for the next month or two, until we moved to our own addresses in London!

We left Cameroon without having registered in any University. At that time, October was too late for a foreign student to be admitted in a University.
However, since we were Cameroon government scholarship students with a very sure source of fees, our case turned out not to be too difficult. Having arrived London on a weekend, we had to start the search for admission on Monday. Since Carlson was a student in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), we left for SOAS on Monday morning but they dropped me off at University College (University of London) which was only a few dozen metres from SOAS to look for admission at the Department of Biochemistry. As God would have it, we all returned to Tabley Road that evening happy lads: Clement had got admitted in SOAS and I in University College!

After that, we spent a wonderful four years in London with friends like Carlson Anyangwe, Njianjek Azefor (RIP) and many others. We later formed a discussion group – Forum XX – where we discussed issues related to Cameroon and Africa. We also visited Pa Ntumazah regularly to be fed with the history of Cameroon from his perspective. When we both returned to Cameroon early 1980, I got employment with IMPM and he with the Faculty of Law of the University of Yaounde. We met irregularly with other friends like Dr Azefor, Dr Ayangwe, Mr. Albert Mukong, Dr Asanga, etc. to talk politics, until 1987 when we decided to meet more regularly.

Clement moved into centre stage by late 1989/early 1990 when the decision to launch the SDF had been taken. Since he was the Head of the Legal Department of DGRST (now the Ministry of Research and Innovation) he used the facilities at his disposal to mail hundreds of letters to all the 10 provinces to announce the imminent launching of a political party. I used to work with him in his office until late at night. We gave the impression to his Secretary that those were invitations to fans of PWD Bamenda, so she worked without any suspicion.

Then the Party was launched on 26 May 1990 with him as one of the Founding Fathers. To ensure accountable governance in the party, a structure called the "National Advisory Council" was created as a structure to which all the founding fathers would belong to act as an institution for checking and balancing the powers of the National Executive Committee. The first chairperson of the council was Retired Justice Nyo’Wakai. He was replaced by Prof. Ngwasiri following the Yaounde Convention of 1999.

In that position, he never realised early enough that the "leader" he associated with in the party was a master of political infighting and intrigue who preferred a flock of quarrelling, timid sheep to be led by an enlightened shepherd. So when he was set up to provoke what became known as the Ngwasiri/Asonganyi crisis in NEC, he never knew that he was playing the surrogate. When he came to realise it in by 2005, he apologised profusely for having lived in a spell for many years!

When he was criticised in NEC some time in 2003, he decided to resign as the Chairman of the Advisory Council and actually tendered a letter of resignation to Mr. Fru Ndi, the National Chairman. Because they reached an agreement that he should not resign, he continued in his functions as President of the Advisory Council until when he entertained a memorandum from some members of the party in 2005 requesting the council to look into some problems in the party. Then the rest of us officials of the party started hearing that he had resigned as chairman of the council in 2003! I believed him when he told me that he withdrew the resignation letter when Mr. Fru Ndi refused to allow him to resign. In his capacity as the President of the Advisory Council, he supervised my handing over at the Secretariat of the SDF on 29 December 2005, to the chagrin of those who wanted me to leave unceremoniously.

He confided in me that he would die without forgetting that the person in whom he had a lot of trust in the past turned around and told him with a straight face that he actually resigned as the President of the Advisory Council! It is now history that the problems that arose in 2005 resulted in the taking over of the management of the party by the Advisory Council, led by Prof. Ngwasiri. He organised a Convention in Yaounde on 26 May 2006; the night before the convention, Nzall Diboule Grégoire was murdered by those who did not want the convention to hold.Bitterness ensued that led to court cases, an attempt on his life, peddling of rumours about his death and much more …Again, history will remember that the main cause of the bitterness in the SDF at that time, has become the cause of the bitterness in Cameroon today – changing the constitution for one man!

The wretched consequences of laxity are all around us and cause people to long for moral prohibitions. This leads them to join "churches" that are stern and uncompromising in their demands and offer strenuous codes and dissuasive condemnation if they are broken.
It is in this context that Prof. Ngwasiri made an effort to "reconcile" with even those who hurt him the most and even wished his death.

Born in Medankwe village of the North West Province,he joined the university teaching corps in 1980. With the advent of the University of Buea, he was transferred there as one of the pioneer dons, but he later resigned because of the intolerance of divergent political views in that university. He was later elected Member of Parliament for Mezam Constituency during the twin elections of 2002. It is when he was serving that parliamentary mandate that he fell sick until his recent demise.

He was a strong believer in life after death, so there is no doubt that he is presently living a better life than the one he lived here on earth. I am proud to have had him as a friend. I have no doubt that his family has lost a wonderful son, husband, father and much more! Clement, go well!

Cameroon :UB Vice-Chancellor, managers receive The Nation’s Transparency Awards

Picture 1:Christopher Ambe Shu(right) hands award to Prof. Titanji
Picture 2: Prof Titanji (middle displaying award),Harry McYemti(right) and Christopher Ambe in family photo

Professor Vincent P.K .Titanji, Vice-Chancellor(VC) of University of Buea(UB), Cameroon’s lone Anglo-Saxon varsity, has been honored for his stringent and transparent management of the institution by The Nation, a Yaoundé Based News magazine, whose publisher is veteran journalist Asong Ndifor.

Professor Titanji, who has been Vice-chancellor of University of Buea for less than two years, is one of few managers of public and private institutions in Cameroon identified by The Nation as laureates of The Nation 2007 Transparency Award.

According to the award- giver Publisher Asong Ndifor, the award is a yearly event and intended to encourage stringent management and transparency in Cameroon, a country which has been ranked at least twice as the most corrupt nation in the world by Transparency International, a Berlin-based good governance watchdog. He said the winners were selected from many nominations by a committee of people of integrity, based on objective criteria.

Other winners of the award include: Henry Njalla Quan, general manger of Cameroon Development Corporation; Sama Ignatius, general manager of Cameroon Civil Aviation; Obi Optun Wanobi Osang, general manager of PAMOL Plantations Plc;Richard Tita Fombon,Mayor of Tiko ; Daniel Matute,Mayor of Limbe 1 and Barrister Ntumfor Nico Halle,Northwest Representative at the National Elections Observatory(NEO)

A public ceremony was last April 4 organized in the conference hall of Fakoship Plaza in Buea, chaired Barrister Dang Aleh Elias, during which the laureates received their awards amid thunderous applause. Barrister Dang congratulated the laureates and urged them to continue to be management models, so that others could emulate them.

But conspicuously absent that day was laureate Professor Vincent P K.Titanji who was reportedly on mission in Yaoundé

On Wednesday,April 16, Christopher Ambe Shu, publisher of The Recorder Newspaper and special envoy of the award organizers led a two-man delegation that included Harry McYemti Ndienla(journalist of The Guardian Post) to the University of Buea to hand the Transparency Award to the Vice-chancellor.

Warmly received by the vice-chancellor, Christopher Ambe Shu then briefed Professor Titanji on the relevance of the award, handed it and urged him to keep up the spirit.

In response, the Vice –Chancellor said, “I feel greatly honored and I accept this award with all humility, knowing that the work of human beings can always be improved on. I will do my best to live up to the ideals of this award”
The Vice-Chancellor appealed to other holders of public offices to be patriotic and put the common interest first in discharging their various duties. “I think it is very easy to work in the public sector because the rules and regulations are very clearly written down. All we need to do is, follow them intelligently and you have little or no problem”

During the presentation of the awards to laureates last April 4 in Buea, Ntumfor Barrister Nico had given a talk on transparency.
He remarked, “Transparency is instituted as a means of holding people in public offices or institutions accountable and it is also a big tool to fight corruption
“An activity is therefore transparent if all information is open and easily available…Transparency ought to be the affair of every Cameroonian as this helps to promote good governance. Good governance is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end.”
Nico Halle recommended that, in every circumstance, public interest should be prime over private interest.
He also used the occasion to laud the Cameroonian press for its continued “fight against corruption and embezzlement on the one hand and the struggle for the strengthening of our budding democracy on the other hand”

Cameroon Parliament Scraps Presidential Term Limits Against Popular Wish

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Already in power for 26 years, Cameroonian President Paul Biya,75, stubbornly and against the popular wish of Cameroonians got his ruling party’s majority in Parliament yesterday, April 10, to scrap presidential term limits, paving the way for him to run for the presidency again in 2011 when his second seven -year mandate ends.

To check any street demonstration and protests against the amendment of the constitution, the Biya regime has deployed armed troops in towns with opposition sympathies.

Biya ‘s ambition to run again was made public when in his end of 2007 state address he claimed that there were popular calls for him to stay in power whereas the calls came from his party elite. In that speech he had noted that limiting presidential terms was a mockery of democracy and even unconstitutional, a clear indication that he would seek another term.

The ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement(CPDM) whose national chairman is Paul Biya has 153 seats out of 180 in parliament while Cameroon’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, SDF, has only 15 seats. The SDF had cried loudly against the amendment of the constitution and even boycotted the debate in parliament on it but the CPDM MP’s who were reportedly bribed voted the for the scraping of the presidential tern limits.

Joseph Banadzem, SDF's parliamentary group leader said they boycotted the session because the SDF did not want to take part in legitimizing the fraud by the ruling CPDM “The whole issue is a complete fraud. We do not want to legitimize it by taking part.”
In February, the thousands of opposition militants had demonstrated against the amendment of the constitution to prolong Biya’s stay in power but were confronted by armed troops who shot many people to death.

Only one CPDM MP, Hon Abine Paul Ayah of Akwaya, an outspoken career magistrate of the highest grade, is on records to have turned down the bribe reportedly given by the Government to endorse the amendment so to please Paul Biya whose 26 year rule has left Cameroonians in poverty and misery. The other CPDM MPs were bought with money so easily and so cheap.

Cameroon:Amending The Constitution For One Man!

By Tazoacha Asonganyi in Yaoundé.

Following the recent upheavals in Cameroon, the regime got the people’s message very clearly: that the people do not want the constitution to be amended to give Paul Biya the chance to continue to hang on come 2011,The regime having got the message turned its repressive apparatus full gear.First, hundreds of those arrested during the upheavals were summarily tried and thrown in jail. Second, the armed forces were poured into the towns and highways to harass and humiliate citizens on a daily basis to frighten them off any further prospect of open resistance. Third, having locked up the media houses that usually allowed contrary views to be expressed, the government-controlled media were used to play the broken record of the regime that the point of view of barons of the CPDM on constitutional amendment is the point of view of all Cameroonians. Fourth, the “ambitious” G11 was silenced through the so-called “operation epervier”. Fifth, on the same day that the government bill for the amendment of the constitution was sent to the assembly, the minister of justice held a press conference to drum up the dissuasive news that hundreds of those who were arrested during the upheavals have since received heavy jail terms!Following this intimidation of the population, the regime has hurried what it has been longing for to the national assembly, so it is now sure that article 6.2 of the constitution will be amended to remove term limits! The amendment is for the sake of one man: Paul Biya. Since the will of the people has not been respected, the regime should know that threat has always instilled obedience only temporarily. Lasting authority only comes from respect: of the people’s will, of the people’s point of view, of the people’saspirations. They have made it known that the way Paul
Biya is going is not the way they want to go!National and international opinion expected that the voices and counter voices we have heard about amending the constitution of Cameroon were calls for Paul Biya to step forward and provide a solid, firm and unshakeable foundation for our country and thus heal the rift over constitutionalism. He has failed to rise to the challenge. He has failed to put the interest of the country before his personal interest. He has failed to realize that it is the collective interest that is the national interest, not his personal interest… The people have recorded these failures as open provocation!It is clear that Cameroonians are divided over the issue of the constitution. History will remember that during nearly three decades at the helm of state, Paul Biya refused to seek compromise – common ground on which monuments to progress in our country could be built.In all of what is going on, he seems to give the impression that what happened to the first all -powerful President Ahmadou Ahidjo is haunting him. Having realized from the fate of Ahidjo that men are never anything but men, be they large or small, street sweepers or Presidents, he is fully aware that he himself is only "powerful" because he is Head of State, Executive President and Commander of the armed forces, not because of some supernatural force that he has. He seems to be frightened with what he was capable of doing to Ahidjo, "father of the nation" whom he served so loyally. He knows that in our African jungle of power struggle, "loyalty" is a meaningless word! Anything can happen when the sources of power evaporate with quitting the presidency, so better to hang on!In wishing to hang on, he has included a constitutional amendment that states that "acts
committed by the president of the republic in pursuance of articles 5, 8, 9 and 10 (of the constitution) shall be covered by immunity and he shall not be accountable for them after the exercise of his functions"! With what is going on with "operation epervier", this type of provision is frivolous to say the least. Having taught us that the constitution of the country is a piece of paper thatpower mongers can toy around with at will, he knows that putting such a provision in the constitution can be a nullity. With the fate of articles like 6(2) and others, we now know that merely enumeratingconstitutional provisions on paper is not to guarantee them; they are not worth the parchment they are written on if they are easily abrogated and unenforceable...This other amendment to meet self interest further undermines the power of the constitution in Cameroon, and so weakens the foundation on which the country is built. The constitution is supposed to be a binding force, a spring that provides life to the nation. The main challenge today is to ensure a stable future for Cameroon by completely changing the whole governance system that makes the constitution vulnerable to abuses by governments and self-seekers. We need a constitution, a supreme law of the land that cannot be modified by factions according to their whims and caprices. Following the departure of Paul Biya from the stage in 2011, we need to build a totally new foundation for Cameroon. Changing the political system and the institutional set-up he created to preserve his power will set the stage for a constitution based on the will of the people; this will release their talents and energies for the building of a strong and prosperous country.

Cameroon: Camair and the New Deal

By Tazoacha Asonganyi in Yaoundé

The fate of Cameroon Airlines (Camair) today reinforces the idea that ownership by the state is ownership by an impersonal entity which amounts to control by politicians and civil servants. The aim of the privatization process started a long time ago was to sell off public enterprises in order to shift the balance from the inefficient, unaccountable state to the more efficient private business. It was supposed to introduce popular capitalism by ensuring the widest ownership of shares by members of the public, to reduce the power of the state and enhance the power of the people. In state -owned structures like Camair, targets are set, new management appointed, performance monitored, warnings given; but these never work like in private business because it is the state that accounts for weaknesses to the state, not management to shareholders.Crony-run public corporations like Camair have since discredited the public sector that dominated left wing and third world economies, because they allowed too much borrowing and expansion without due regard for adequate returns. The corporations were bossed by inexperienced civil servants and shielded from the discipline of the market, so they were run on unprofitable bases, and created no wealth.This failure of state-run services contributed to the convergence of certain economic views between the socialists and capitalists and led to the resurrection of the market in all modern democracies – whether they were run by the left or the right.This is why with the collapse of Soviet communism and the re-emergence of Russia, the Russian republic launched a grand privatization programme. By the end of 1993, some 6.5 million state-owned apartments (about 20% of total) had been privatized. By 1994, more than 139 million Russians had invested their government-issued privatization vouchers, a participation rate of 94%; 70% of Russian industry (20.000 of the 28.000 large or medium sized industrial enterprises and 90.000 small firms) had been sold off.Indeed, by July 1994, cash in-flow into Russia was around $500 million a month due to the explosive growth in stock prices!Within this backdrop, how did Camair get to where it is today? Following the collapse of Air Afrique,Camair was established on 26 July 1971 as the national airline of Cameroon, a company owned by the Cameroon Government (96.43%) and Air France (3.57%). In June 2000, probably to catch-up with new economic exigencies, Yves Fotso took up duties as"Administrateur Directeur Général". He was later replaced by Dakayi Kamga, and then by Paul Ngamo Hamani who was appointed provisional administrator in February 2005 to prepare for"privatization/liquidation". In 2006, the Cameroon government reached an agreement with SN Airholding, the mother company of SN Brussels Airlines to revive the airline, without much effect. Then a presidential decree created a new company known as Cameroon Airlines Corporation, CAMAIR Co, to replace Camair. On 14 March 2008, government sacked Paul Ngamo Hamani and the Minister of Finance extended the mandate of the Liquidator of Camair by 12 months, with aco-liquidator, who would handle judicial matters about the privatization...To understand the present fate of Camair, it would be appropriate to examine the situation of other airlines related to it in one way or the other. Kenya Airways is said to have expressed interest in theprivatization of Camair. Kenya Airways was established in February 1977, after the demise of East African Airways and was wholly owned by the Kenyan government until April 1996. As far back as 1986, the Kenyan government expressed the need to privatize the airline, "in line with the country's need for economic development and growth". The government named a BoardChairman in 1991 with specific orders to privatize the airline. In 1992, government set the privatization of the airline as top priority.In 1994 the International Financial Corporation (IFC) was appointed to provide assistance in theprivatization process which ended in KLM buying 26% of the shares in 1997 and becoming the largest single shareholder. The shares were floated to the public, and the airline started trading on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Presently, it is owned by individual Kenyan shareholders (30.94%), KLM (now Air France-KLM) (26%),Kenyan government (23%), Kenyan institutional investors (14.2%), foreign institutional investors(4.47%) and individual foreign investors (1.39%). Kenya airways has won the 'African Airline of theYear' Award five times in seven years. In 2007, SkyTeam, the second-largest airline alliance in the world, welcomed Kenya Airways as one of the first official SkyTeam Associate Airlines.What of Air France, a partner of Camair at birth? In September 2003, Air France and KLM Royal DutchAirlines merged to form Air France-KLM. With the merger, Air France shareholders owned 81% of the new firm (44% owned by the French state, 37% by private shareholders), former KLM shareholders the rest. By reducing the French government shares from 54.4% to 44% of the newly created Air France-KLM Group, the airline was effectively privatized. In December 2004 the state sold 18.4% of its equity in Air France-KLM to own less than 20% of the shares. Air France-KLM is the largest airline in the world in terms of operating revenue and third-largest (largest in Europe) inpassenger kilometers.These are examples of success while Camair moved from failure to failure. So why have others worked these "miracles" of success while our own national airline continued to move from crisis to crisis? Why the “transformative intelligence” is other people use to bring prosperity to their countries absent in Cameroon? Why are others busy putting into practice the knowledge they got from the schools we all attended together while we in Cameroon are busy celebrating the certificates, and bathing in cronyism, tribalism, corruption and other unpatriotic ills? Why is the government stock with the privatisation of Camair?Central to using "transformative intelligence" to conquer underdevelopment and mass poverty and generate economic development is the ability of the individual citizen not only to form and hold conceptions of excellence but to realize them. This is only possible with "free", happy individuals! Such individuals are a product of the rule of law, checks and balances, strong social contracts and the attendant universal rights of the human being. These concepts we parrot everyday were conquered through serious struggles in history to put the individual citizen as the centerpiece of the modern political and legal systems.The individual citizen is protected and glorified by the universal declaration of human rights and freedoms and the African charter on human and peoples' rights, and highly valued and respected in their countries because all "transformative intelligence" is the product of the human mind. Indeed, the material culture that defines much of what we call "development" flows from the minds of individualcitizens. This is why it is usually said that the individual citizen represents the hen that lays the"golden egg" of development for a country, and so must be provided the environment to mature the eggs! The individual citizen has a lively, fertile mind full of ingenuity, imagination and creativity, but it all depends on nurture. When the appropriate environment exists, the individual citizen meets the challenge of laying the golden eggs everyday; when it is absent the eggs dry up!The chaos, injustice, corruption, favoritism, tribalism, immorality and deprivation in our societyare the causes of the sickness that is weighing down Camair. Camair is a mirror that reflects the nakedness of the New Deal regime!

Cameroon: More Ex-Ministers Arrested And Detained For Graft

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Two former ministers of Cameroon believed to be billionaires after allegedly embezzling public funds with impunity when they were in office have been languishing in detention since Monday March 31 when they were arrested by judicial police in Yaoundé
Polycarpe Abah Abah, former economy and finance minister and Urbain Olanguena Awono, former public health minister were arrested on allegations of corruption and embezzlement of public funds

Abah Abah, 58, became Cameroon’s minister of economy and finance in December 2004 and was sacked in September 2007 while Olanguena Awono, 53, became minister of public health in April 2001 and was only relieved of his functions in September 2007.
Abah Abah is being interrogated to justify how as director of taxes, before becoming minister, he got over FCFA 1.5 billion in his private account and other huge sums of money elsewhere.
Former minister Olanguena Awono is being asked to properly account for the use of some FCFA 70 billion being foreign aid given to fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Cameroon

But before they were arrested last Monday rumors of their possible arrests had been circulating in Yaounde for long, making the suspects to live in fear and anxiety. Last week, some Members of Parliament (MP’s) joined many other citizens to express disappointment at the rather slow pace the war against corruption was taking. The MPs thought the government’s foot-dragging in the corruption fight was giving suspects enough time to hide evidence of ill-gotten wealth.
But Cameroon’s Vice Prime Minister in charge of Justice, Ahmadou Ali, argued in the National Assembly that the government was simply being methodical and careful in the treatment of cases which are sensitive to ensure that legal procedures are followed. He disclosed that, over 100 persons suspected of corruption including ex-ministers, managers of public corporations had already been prosecuted, with many receiving jail terms ranging from 10 to 50 years.

The two most recently arrested ex-ministers are since Monday in detention alongside other top civil servants suspected of complicity in defrauding the state. They included Etogo Mbezele, former treasurer-general for the Centre Province and Maurice Fezeu, former director of the National AIDS Control Committee.Also, Dr Mrs. Rose Chia Forchingong, Southwest Provincial Coordinator of the ProvincialTechincal Group (PTG) for the Fight Against AIDS was Monday arrested in Buea for alleged complicity in the embezzlement of funds

It is not the first time ex-ministers have been arrested, tried and jailed in Cameroon for embezzlement of public funds.

Disturbed by Cameroon’s rating, at least twice (in 1998 and 1999) as the most corrupt nation in the world by Transparency International, a Berlin-based good governance NGO and the stigmatization of the name of Cameroon as synonymous to corruption, President Paul Biya in 2006 launched a stronger corruption clamp down after the previous one was not very effective.
The clampdown this time saw the arrest, trial and imprisonment of some former ministers charged for embezzlement of public funds such as Alphonse Siyam Siwe (he was last December jailed for 30 years) and general- managers of state-owned corporations such as Emmanuel Gerard Ondo Ndong of FEICOM and former Port Authority of Douala chair, Etonde Ekoto

But some critical minds have said the arrest of the two ex-ministers on Monday has political overtones especially as reports hold that the two are members of Generation 2011(G11),a group of Biya’s former cronies opposing the president’s plan to amend the constitution and run again for office when his current mandate ends in 2011.





.

Cameroon: GCE Board Issues Certificates to Thousands after 12 Years Delay

By Christopher Ambe Shu

At last, 85,836 candidates who wrote and passed technical examinations organized by the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (GCE) Board from 1995 to 2007 can now collect their certificates after years of delay.

But it remains unclear whether the GCE Board would compensate the candidates for the delay. The lack of certificates for years made it rather difficult if not impossible for many students wishing to further their studies in foreign institutions or universities in the situation where school authorities insisted on seeing certificates. Many others could not get employment for failing to present their certificates. Yet others who by some luck got admission into foreign universities on condition that they would later present their certificates have not been able to graduate several years after completing the courses for lack of the certificates. In the absence of certificates, the GCE Board was issuing attestations of results which were not accepted by some authorities as substitutes for certificates.

Humphrey Ekema, Monono incumbent registrar of Cameroon GCE on March 20 during a public ceremony at Bilingual Grammar School, Molyko-Buea to announce the availability of the certificates and to award certificates to some outstanding laureates, expressed regrets for the undue delay.
“Candiadtes, who have been successful in the GCE Technical Examinations since 1995 through 2007 and those of the Baccalaureate Technique and Brevet de Technicien Examinations organized in English since1997 through 2007, have gone without certificates”, said the registrar at the ceremony ,which was chaired by Louis Bapes Bapes ,Minister of Secondary Education.

The ceremony was considered special because it was the first time in the history of the GCE board that a government minister was handing out certificates directly to candidates who distinguished themselves in the 2007 Examinations organized by the Cameroon GCE Board

Conscious that the GCE Board also runs GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels but has been producing their certificates, Monono noted that the non-production of the technical examinations certificates had increased “the low opinion the public has of technical education”.
The GCE Board Registrar did not give reasons for the delay of technical examination certificates but thanked the Minister of Secondary Education for providing the means that ensured the production of the thousands of certificates, thus diffusing the tension that was “brewing among studnts, parents, teachers and school administrators on the non-existence of these official valuable documents”
The GCE Board as at now, Monono boasted, does not owe any candidate “any certificate debt” having produced 53,766 certificates(for 2007)session only) in general education,28,350 for Technical education,1,855 for Baccalaureate Technique and 1,877 certificates for Brevet de technician exams. It emerged that, as at now, the GCE board since its creation in 1994 has issued a total of 567,357 certificates including those of 1991-1993 GCE Examinations that were conducted by the Ministry of National Education. He added that the GCE Board started in 1994 with two examinations, 26 subjects and 23,826 candidates but in 2007, the Board had 8 examinations, 415 subjects and 76,188 candidates

The Registrar said the GCE board now produces exam results faster and is “working towards keeping that record, maintaining the validity and reliability of the examinations and measuring learning with honesty” .He lauded efforts made by his two predecessors-Mr Azong Wara Andrew and Dr.Omer Weyi Yembe for the “ solid foundation of today’s Board”

He said the Cameroon GCE Board is a member of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) and that Cameroon has been offered an opportunity to host the AEAA again in 2009.It first hosted in 2000.

The GCE Registrar used the ceremony to reiterate to the Minister the Board’s most pressing problems. According to Mr. Monono, they include tight office space, exposed offices with no convenient place to do confidential work, noisy environment that does not allow for concentration, lack of space to locate moderation halls, a printing press and the script library. He said the five buildings that house the services of the Board are scattered about, making it not only difficult to coordinate the scattered services but also difficult to move between the buildings.
“The State has provided land (for the construction of new GCE Board office), but the buildings are yet to come. We are aware that the minister is already doing much in this direction to ensure that befitting structures are built on the Board’s permanent site through a yearly provision of investment credits”, remarked Mr. Monono. The Board, he added, needs more skilled workers, and needs to improve on its stock of equipment. He called for much more state subvention
In his response, Minister Bapes Bapes described the award of the certificates to candidates as the success of one of the activities of the pedagogic chain. He said when he took office in at the end 2004 as minister one of the major problems inherited was the pending certificates for successful candidates at the GCE Technical Examinations, which he promised to address. “Toady after three years of hard work we are delivering 85836 certificates from 1995 to 2007-a period of 12 years”, he noted. The minister hailed the management of the GCE Board for living up to expectation.
He promised to address the problems of the Board presented by the Registrar.
He announced that some FCFA 200million has been allotted to do feasibility studies for the construction of a new GCE board office, an amount which was immediately considered by critics in the hall as too excessive. But Minister Bapes later told reporters that the large amount for feasibility studies is because the new office will cost billions of FCFA.
The Minister handed certificates to some 47 students who distinguished themselves at the 2007 GCE exams, and advised them not to sleep on their laurels so that others can emulate their performance. He later stopped at the GCE Board Office for a brief working session with the registrar and co.

Mayor Begins Environmental Protection Tree-Planting Project in Buea

ANAFOR Signs to give technical assistance to the project

By Christopher Ambe Shu

The Mayor of Buea, capital of Southwest Province-Cameroon and the management of the National Forestry Development Agency (ANAFOR) with headquarters in Yaoundé on March 14 in the Buea Council Hall signed a three -year convention of collaboration with regards to the implementation of a giant environment-friendly tree-planting project of Buea Council. ANAFOR is a public institution charged with supporting reforestation and the promotion of forest plantations in Cameroon.

Mayor Charles Mbella Moki (pictured) appended his signature for the Buea Council and Njombe Ewusi Bruno-Deputy-General Manager of ANAFOR did same for his boss at the signing ceremony, which was witnessed by officials and workers of both institutions, as well as journalists.

By the convention, ANAFOR shall give full technical support to Buea Council in its tree-planting project, and “ help realize the planting of council forests and support reforestation with school premises and certain areas chosen by the council,” according to an ANAFOR information sheet made available to the press.

It emerged at the ceremony that, some 40 kilometers of streets will be planted with trees in the Buea council area. Other benefits for the council include: reinforcement of capacity of council officials and workers on sylvicultural techniques, the amelioration of revenue of surrounding populations and creation of job through the maintenance of planted plots, the embellishment of the council surroundings through the planting and development of ornamental species and finally the preservation and restoration of the environment.

Mayor Moki, who in his first term of office started a tree-planting project in Buea which was not successful, noted that, he is more determined now to tree-plant the municipality. He said the Buea Council just adopted a huge budget to ensure that the tree-planting project this time is a great success. “This project is going to build or beef up our efforts towards environmental protection and preservation”, the mayor said. “This project starts almost immediately”

For his Part, Njombe Ewusi, Deputy- General Manager of ANAFOR said , “We are coming to give technical support to Buea Council and accompany them through out the project.ANAFOR is not a funding agency but part of our mission is to search for funds for tree-planting..”

The ANAFOR convention with Buea Council came shortly after similar ones with Tiko, Kumba 1& 2 councils, and after those signed last year with the councils of Abong Mbang Angossas, Bertoua rural, Dimako, Doumaintang and Messamena in the East of the country.

Cameroon: Picking Up The Pieces!

By Tazoacha Asonganyi in Yaounde.

All that is happening in Cameroon today is a result of the obstinate refusal of the regime to fully embrace political pluralism. It has refused to come to terms with the fact that the people are inherently plural, and that in a democracy, they represent an empty centre which no group, interest or institution can claim to incarnate. It has reduced the social domain to appointments and the privileges linked to them; and reduced differences to a slogan - "unity"!

The one party-like regime has so far tried to act like a vast refrigerator, replacing the habits of freedom with servitude; replacing the sovereignty of the people with the whims and caprices of administrative officials. It has given the false impression that official political expression like concocted motions of support are an expression of popular sentiments.

And the "opposition" has only helped to confuse the regime the more. By saying often that they would take action when they were not in a position to take it, the opposition and civil society allowed their bluff to be called so often that the regime became careless with the people. And so when the February upheavals came, they took them all off guard! The upheavals have left us with much speculation and many "facts" about the “"eal" origin of the crisis. The process of sorting the "facts" from the truth is still on-going, accompanied by a most bizarre political communication strategy!

In the process, the hauty regime is so dazed by the effectiveness of people power that it still believes that the people are incapable of the feat! Somebody, obviously of "supernatural" powers must be behind it all, commandeering the people to unwillingly or
unconsciously carry out their wishes!

Politics is a domain where the interaction of individual wills in various ways leads to the creation of a common will. Unfortunately, the repeated electoral "victories" of the regime have become an obstacle and a perennial illusion because they represent a utopian attempt to seize the people’s sovereign power through manipulations by a cabal. It has always been obvious that sooner or later, this would lapse into violence, destruction and killings.
Indeed, the hydra-headed, polymorphous enemy that haunts the nights of the regime is neither the progressives, the G10, the G11 nor the "opposition"; it is democracy!

What is evident is that since the February upheavals, politics has entered one of those febrile, nervous phases in which events seem to be moving towards some momentous but unknown climax, almost independent of the wishes of the actors!

In the cacophony, we are witnessing the usual self-delusion in politics: individual politicians believing that they are better than the others, and that the people trust them more than they trust others! Some being foolish enough to think that they would be understood whatever they say; that people would read their minds and replace what they say with what they think they had to say! Some give the impression that handshakes and smiles on-camera can be the magic wand with which to sweep away the complicated problems the regime has weaved around us!
To avoid the usual practice of eating their own words to remain credible, they should better always say what they mean and mean what they say.

Of course, conflicts and wars arise because we fail to consider the views of others, or communicate with them about mutual differences. Dialogue is a virtue in politics because it allows protagonists to find room for compromises that can save lives and in some cases, cause the mending of ways. Unfortunately, our politics since 1990 has been filled with mutual hatred and disrespect, to the extent that Paul Biya has not been able to bring himself to have direct communication with his "enemies" - the "opposition". He has instead indulged in secret deals, personal favours and intrigues, and thus failed to reassure the people that he has the nation’s good at heart.

The people are like a sensitive nervous system, responding unconsciously to events and signals all over the country. Their life is built on the accumulation of these responses, and shaped by the day-to-day, hour-to-hour signals sent to them from the top. The unconscious synthesis of the responses may create hard feelings that need to be expressed liberally. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi taught us that non-violence and tolerance are the effective weapons for expressing such feelings. Using the violence of the to prevent the people from expressing these feelings freely led to the February explosion, and will lead to future explosions!

The regime that came on stage in Cameroon in the ‘60s has refused to adjust to changing times: the arrival of the mobile phone, the internet, the inter-city buses, private news media, the global village ... and modern times! News black-outs on CRTV and Cameroon
Tribune, or false announcements about deals with leaders to call off strikes are for the past, not the present. People have better ways of talking to themselves over the heads of these controlled channels.

The signals we are receiving from Nigeria are prove that even hand-picked successors could have the combination of vision and prudence to set about changing the system that thrust them out of the crowd; that they can shine the torch even in their backyard!
All the talk about changing the constitution may be the fear for what could be discovered when such a light reaches the backyard of our own regime; the fear of skeletons in their cupboard!

Indeed, the talk about modifying article 6.2 of the constitution is daily sugar-coated in various forms, but it is uncalled for. If Paul Biya feels that he can embarrass the nation by a sudden exit, he should give way, rather than try to convince us that he wants changes to save the nation from a 45-day or other embarrassment. We should leave the business of papering-over the cracks; the whole governance system in Cameroon has to be changed. We have to rebuild the foundation, but Paul Biya has shown us his bad faith in the implementation of the 1996 constitution.
Therefore the proposed total renewal can only be properly done after 2011 under new leadership!

Paul Biya should no longer confuse the leader pages of Cameroon Tribune for vox-populi. He should listen to the people attentively. He definitely has a lot of advice, but he should know that much of it is the advice of those who want to use him. In moments of crisis, or when issues are controversial like the one concerned with the amendment of the constitution of Cameroon, it is his bounden duty to listen to the people.

Cameroon’s February Unrest: Sign of Last Days for Biya Regime?

By Mofor Samuel

Presently, Cameroon’s constitution prohibits Paul Biya, already president for close to 26years, from standing for re-election when his current and final seven-year mandate expires in 2011. What is giving Cameroonians sleepless nights is whether there is some level of performance to another term. Close to 26 years in power punctuated by dismal performance only adds Biya to a long list of African despots. Even his last re-election according to reports was a tainted victory.
One may not be exaggerating to say that Biya’s continuity bid heightened the already-charged socio-political atmosphere in the country. In fact Biya and his team appear to be sailing close to the wind that blew the likes of Mobutu, Habre and Amin out of power.
For a continent heading towards breakdown, the continuity syndrome only adds more salt to the wound. African leaders are glued to power while the people pay a heavy toll. Is it not yet time for African people to crush the sit-tight bug? An assemblage of leaders with so much to hide represents the darkness that has enveloped the continent for too long.
Grassroots disenchantment, especially among millions of unemployed people and the rural and urban poor had reached the point of no return. To the millions of Cameroonians reeling in the sun from the effects of hunger, poverty and destitution, Last February uprising by a compassionate group of young people, served to restore a sense of their own human worth. Their “pragmatic actions” have had a broader dimension in that they have helped Cameroonians to perceive again their dignity and self respect. It is precisely this awareness of the people’s physical suffering and of their mental torment and despair that the young people were encouraged to pave the way for a new social order.
Instead of trying to conceal the extent of the suffering; instead of denying that there actually is a problem, as Biya’s cronies have been doing all this while, they ought to as soon as they are appointed or “elected”, nurture ways and means whose sole and specific purpose was to save the people from the never ending economic woes. An important characteristic of the way forward from inception ought to be ingenuity, level- headedness and humility.
What was required of the Biya government was a sustained long- term commitment to the problem of poverty and underdevelopment. The scenario before the social unrest was a government bent on impoverishing its own people, uninterested in the living conditions and unaffected by the high rate of unemployed young persons.
The first characteristic of a new regime within the context of the new social order is to demonstrate its awareness on the causes of the people’s suffering; and above all, come up with a wide range of reforms in the economic and social domains geared towards alleviating the suffering.
The people’s inability to withstand the rigours of hardship stem directly from the traditional siphoning of their wealth by the “upper class” of the yesteryear. To address the causes of hardship would be to reduce the effects of poverty and the toll taken by the two.
The government must unchain the people from traditional indebtedness. Whatever trials and tribulations the country encounters in the future, the unchaining of the people and the country from erstwhile masters will probably remain the most far-reaching reform in Cameroon’s history. These problems were bequeathed by the imperial past which the lack of accountability has been compounding and rendering ever more difficult.
Despite corruption’s merciless pounding of the Cameroonian economy, the swindling of state funds has become more or less a constant feature of national life, with “pests” in the system exacerbating the already bad situation.
Biya and his ministers just can’t do what they need to the country to save it from disaster until they organize the people. With an almost rubber stamp National Assembly and image problems, president Biya needs a carnival of the country’s prefets, governors and ministers to sing “succeed thy self”.
Unable to continue bearing the brunt of the shortage of foreign exchange, basic consumer goods and services, worsening unemployment situation, and fiscal problems etc, Cameroonian youths are yearning for better days or for the Biya regime to quit the scene if they can no longer deliver .
From the very outset, the government was confronted with a range of obstacles which appeared insurmountable. Obviously it became clear to conscious groups in society that a national crisis was inevitable and that the suffering of the majority of the population was reaching unendurable proportions. The eventual outcome was clear: popular uprising in a disorganized manner and extremely violent in character.
The precipitated adjustment of prices and exoneration of taxes on “certain basic commodities” respectively, coupled with an increase of 15% of civil servants’ salaries and 20%in their housing allowance, to say the least, only breed more trouble for the powers that be in future. They are yet to provide a comprehensive answer to the thousands of young people who took to the streets to vent their anger on their plight and abandonment.
Future leaders should accept only that which lends credence to their claims that they are one with the people. They should present themselves as a new breed who seeks to defy the age old philosophy of African politics- that to be elected into public office is to bid farewell to the ghettos of one’s youth.
Hope may lie in the election or appointment of new brains free from fatigue that has been building up among leaders who have spent decades in power.
Finally unless the new breed of office holders are ready to make elections into political office a vocation, for this implies God’s hand in it therefore endowing one with all those godly virtues, then Cameroonians will be met by the same statistics we saw during the time of Mobutu and others of his type in Africa.

Female Genital Mutilation - A Heinous Practice

By Cecile Ndoh Enie,Washington DC

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision is one of the oldest and most harmful, traditional or cultural practices affecting the health of women and girls in some communities around the world.
According to a Wikipedia report, the traditional cultural practice predates both Islam and Christianity. A Greek papyrus from 163 B.C mentions girls in Egypt undergoing FGM. It is widely accepted to have originated in Egypt and the Nile valley at the time of the Pharaohs. Evidence from mummies have shown FGM present . While the spread of FGM is unknown, the procedure is now practiced among Muslims, Christians and Animist.
World Health Organization Report (WHO) states that, between 100 – 140 million girls and women in the world are estimated to have undergone such procedure, and 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk of undergoing FGM every year.
In addition, FGM has been documented in 28 African countries as well as several countries in Asia and middle East. Some form of practice have also been reported from other countries including certain ethnic groups in Central and South America. There is also evidence of increasing number of girls and women living outside Europe, who have undergone or may be undergoing FGM.
In Cameroon, it is practiced in some villages in the South west, Far North and Eastern Provinces. Around 60% of all Nigerian women experience FGM and it is most common in the south, where up to85% of women undergo it at some point in their lives.
The practice varies from area to area. In this regard, some perform the operation on infants as young as a few days old or on children between the ages seven to ten years or adolescents and often-on women who are about to marry. More so, the type of surgical forms differs.
WHO separates FGM procedures into four types, - The removal or splitting of the clitoral hood termed Hoodectomy. The excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora, also known as Khafd, meaning reduction in Arabic. The excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/ narrowing of the vaginal opening known as infibulation. What are left are a very smooth surface and a small opening to permit urination and menstrual discharge. The artificial opening is some time not larger than the flammable end of a matchstick. It is the most extreme form an accounts for about 15% of all FGM procedures. Infibulation is also known as Pharaonic circumcision. The fourth type are other forms and may not involve any tissue removal at all. This includes a diverse range of practices, including prickling the clitoris with needless, burning or scaring the genitals as well as ripping or tearing of the vagina or introducing herbs into the vagina to cause bleeding and a narrow vagina.
Like other crude traditional practices such as widowhood, women perform FGM and this ritual is mostly accompanied by celebrations and often takes place in a special hidden place away from the community. The women excisors who carry out these operations acquired their skills from their mothers or female relatives. They are also the community’s traditional birth attendants. In most cases anesthetic is not administered instead, three or four women hold down the child while the operation is done and this takes between 10 – 20 minutes depending on its nature. The wound is treated by applying mixtures of local herbs such as, earth, cow-dung, ash or butter depending on the skills of the excisor.
The motive behind FGM is on the grounds that, it decreases women sexual desire, hygiene aesthetics, facility of sexual relations, fertility, preserving the women’s virginity before marriage and fidelity then after, marking the coming of age of the female child and controlling sexuality. Although FGM is practiced within particular religious sub-cultures, the arguments used to justify FGM vary. They range from health- related to social benefits.
Generally, largely rural women living in traditional societies preserve the practice. Some societies holds in order to be clean for marriage, female circumcision is a pre -condition. Among the Bambara in Mali, it is believed that, if the clitoris touches the head of a baby being born the child will die. The clitoris is seen as the male characteristic of a woman. In order to enhance her femininity, this male part of her has to be removed.
Health wise, complications resulting from deep cuts and infected instruments can cause death. Hemorrhage can occur during circumcision, or accidental cuts to other organs can also lead to heavy loss of blood. Acute infections are commonplace when operations of infibulations are carried out in unhygienic surroundings and with un-sterilized instruments like -kitchen knife, razor blade, a piece of glass or even sharp fingernails. Even so, tetanus and general septicemia, chronic infection can also lead to infertility and anemia. Considering the same tools are usually repeated on numerous girls, it increases the risk of blood-transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.
Haematocolpos or the inability to pass menstrual blood (because the remaining opening is often too small) can lead to infection of other organs and also infertility, obstetric. The most frequent health problem results from vicious scars in the clitoral zone after excision. These scars open during childbirth and cause the anterior perineum to tear, leading to hemorrhaging that is often difficult to stop.
Psychologically, most children experience recurring nightmare. Girls who are FGM victims, have come to terms with the fact that they are not like majority of their friends. Thus, mood swings and irritability, constant states of depression and anxiety have all been noted among infibulated girls.
The practice violates among other International Human Rights Laws, the right of the child to “enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health as laid down in Article 24 (paras 1and 3) of the convention on the rights of the child.
Still from a WHO report, many countries have put in place policies and legislation to ban FGM.The number of women who do not want to continue the practice is increasing, and there are indications that the prevalence is declining in some countries, and that it is less prevalent in younger than in older age groups.
Despite , these successes however, the overrall decline has been very slow. Hence, to accelerate the process of abandonment of the practice, there is an urgent need for increased and improved work by all actors, since there is evidence, now that we know what is necessary to stimulate large- scale and speedy abandonment.
More so, some highly successful projects, increased knowledge about FGM and the reasons for its continuation as well as experiences with a vast variety of interventions, possible to significantly reduce the prevalence within one generation. This momentum suggesting that such a change is possible and that the willingness to invest the necessary resources can be achieved.
WHO is working on several fronts to contribute to the elimination of FGM. WHO is also contributing by supporting and initiating research within several fields. Another important contribution from WHO is working towards improved health care for the millions of girls and women who are living with the consequences of FGM.
The United Nations Fund For Population Activities recognizes February 6th as the International Day Against FGM.The push to end FGM by WHO and other Global Health Organizations have been for several decades but, due to the importance in traditional and religious life, the practice remains in many societies.

Buea:Female MP offers Scholarship to 125 Underprivileged Girls

Also gives crop seeds, money, cutlasses to rural women

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Pictured:Hon Lifaka(left) standing and discussing with some seated guests.Behind her rural women jubilating with packets of corn-seeds

Hon.Monjowa Lifaka Emilia, MP from Fako West Constituency in Cameroon on March 7, 2008 in Buea,donated corn-seeds and cutlasses to over 300 rural women as part of her efforts to empower them. Each woman smiled home with a packet of well treated corn-seeds and a cutlass. The beneficiaries who were mostly from the Bonjongo Court Area and Fako Women Development Association (FAWODA) expressed their hearty thanks to the MP, who, they said, would always think of them. The beneficiaries were particularly happy with their gifts because this month (March) is planting season.

Hon. Monjowa also pledged to sponsor 125 underprivileged girls of her constituency in vocational training centres -that is 25 girls each year for five years. She drew thunderous applause from the huge crowd that turned-up in front of her office in Buea, to witness the donations.
To prove her seriousness, she instantly handed a cheque of FCFA 500,000 to one of the school authorities present for the enrolment of the first 25 girls. She also gave an extra FCFA 500,000 to the women, plus one cow to be slaughtered and shared among them. Then, she gave FCFA 40,000 to two orphaned school girls who had complained to her they could not pay their school registration fees.
As the beneficiaries pledged their continued support to Hon Monjowa, she simply replied: “I have signed a family bond with all of you. Nobody will be strong enough to break it. Empowering women all is my concern”

The March 7 donations came shortly after the same MP made material donations to Government School Mapanja and Government Nursery School, Bova-all in her constituency, to the tune of about three millions FCFA.
Hon Monjowa’s donations, The Recorder learned, are part of her empowerment campaign targeting rural women and needy elementary schools in her constituency.
This MP’s activities continue to attract media attention because many MP’s are often accused of using their parliamentary grants for selfish purposes instead of assisting development in their constituencies.
“Hon Lifaka is an MP with difference. She is always by our side and not far away,” remarked one woman beneficiary. “Other people complain against their MPs, accuse them of greed and embezzlement, but we are OK with ours. She is selfless”

The March 7 donations were characterized by educative presentations on the following topics: government empowerment projects and loan facilities; HIV/AIDS Pandemic; Starting Businesses and government agricultural projects to assist the masses

Worthy of note is the fact that the following day (on March 8)-during celebrations marking the International Day of the Women, in Buea,Hon. Monjowa was singled out for praise by Dr Mrs. Niger Thomas Likowo Agbor,Southwest Provincial Delegate for Women Affairs and the Family.Dr Mrs. Niger publicly lauded her constant efforts to empower the women’s folk, hoping that her example would be quickly emulated.

The Despicable Aspects of Biya's Regime

By Cecile Ndoh Enie ,Washington DC

“ There is no place like home”. A critical look at Cameroon today, I fear if this statement still holds.Cameroon is Africa in miniature, blessed with abundance of natural resources, gifted with the most favourable climatic conditions, yet majority of the people live in abject poverty and deplorable conditions.After late Amadou Ahijo long term reign many longed for a change, hardly did they know the purported propaganda of ‘Rigour and Moralization’ was a mere sham. Just as they say, ‘ from fry pan to fire’.Citing our petroleum sector, where our neigbours Nigeria the African giant enjoyed an economic boom and Equatorial Guinea under the leadership of Obiang Nguema for about forty years, the exploitation of their petroleum sector can be perceived considering the new face-lift of this country.Whereas, the citizens of Cameroon are yet to pinpoint where the dividends of our petroleum sector goes, for there is absolutely little or nothing to show as benefits.The beginning of Biya’s reign started with Economic Crisis and Multi-party politics igniting uproar within the nation. Today ,bribery and corruption, inflation, exploitation and subordination are the order of the day.The most outrageous is the economic situation of Cameroon. Unemployment level is rocketing, some of the employed are yet to be paid or receive just a token vis-à-vis their qualification or working hours in the name of earnings.To make matters worse, the private sector which is supposed to assist the public sector in creating employment is being levied what many describe as uncompromising tax rates ,this way drowning most feasible business projects.The most awful is the small- and medium -sized businesses, which in other systems are limited in tax payments, but on the contrary in Cameroon, they are instead subjected to pay multiple taxes without an actual fixed value. While the so called ‘Big Guns’ under the guise of CPDM top Disciples are exempted from paying taxes or should I say exempted from taxes; so they enjoy what can be termed – Tax Free Economy.On a more serous note, this unprogressive taxing system has hampered many business and investment initiative. The situation is not only unfavourable for the indigenes but equally to potential foreign investors.Many Cameroonians living abroad have tried to invest back home, to helpcreate unemployment opportunities .But the procedure to establish and then the taxes involve beginning from excessive custom charges have turned many off, especially those who want to be straight.As a result, most of our citizens especially the youths have decided to stay on while many are planning to travel out in search for greener pasture, since they are not comfortable with the situation back home.Every damn thing is just ridiculous, the civil service, healthcare, education, agriculture, poor road infrastructure, utilities and the list continues.Unfortunately some people opt to eat and drink today forgetting tomorrow, so during political campaigns those sitting on the economic vault throw away money as if they are feeding pigeons in the parks. Today we are all complaining of the increased prices of basic commodities .I remember back home with the tricky CPDM victory celebrations in Buea and in a taxi a lady dressed in CPDM attire was very happy. With the present situation now in Cameroon the words of the cab driver comes back to me today. ‘Be happy now, but tomorrow we shall all go to the same market, because when prices are increased there is no specific market reserved for CPDM Militants. ’ To the Cameroon government the word maintenance or renovation is far-fetched. Thus, official buildings are erected the structure usual below the cost value. And within a few years these administrative buildings with big titles looks dilapidated.Money circulates regularly within the elitist ruling class and I guess they really cannot fathom what the common man goes through since their children study abroad and they spend their holidays abroad and enjoy the comforts they cannot enjoy in their own country. I ponder what stops them from developing their own country and make life comfortable for all.The rural sector slaves to farm and provide food with little or no incentive. The tax collectors ignore the bad roads to collect taxes from these people; meanwhile the living conditions in these rural areas are pathetic –no proper sanitary, educational facilities, poor water supply and no power supply. Yet each day there is fuel increase, I always imagine how those in the rural area cope, since they need constant supply of kerosene to light their lanternsCameroonians are known to be hospitable, patient, tolerant, but I guess enough is enough, when people are pushed to the wall at a certain point they are bound to react.Some people say those causing unrest are fools but I ask what caused them to be such. If those who graduate cannot get jobs what is going to spur youths to be educated. Considering that to be educated stipulates to live a better life. Again a wise saying states ‘ ‘ a hungry man is an angry man’Since 1985 to present day, with the CPDM anniversary celebrated yearly, what have been the achievements, what maturity has the party exhibited and if I may ask what has Biya’s regime to Show? A Cameroonian in the investment market in the US remarked, ‘If the Government of Cameroon could invest properly those at the top would even have more funds to siphone"

Traditional Rulers Supportive of PCC Women Empowerment Project

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Photo above: Traditional Chiefs at working session with WEEP resource women in Batoke
Photo below:WEEP 's women marching on Women's Day

Through out Cameroon, women last March 8 celebrated, in pomp, this year’s International Day of the Woman under the theme “Investing in Women and the Girl Child” .It was another occasion not only for government officials to show evidence of what the Cameroon Government has been doing to empower women so to lift them out of poverty but also for churches, organizations and individuals. There were calls here and there for people to invest in the woman and girl child. And in Buea, where this writer witnessed the celebrations at Independence Square, Southwest Provincial Governor Eyeya Zanga Louis was very emphatic on the point. Women make up 52% of the population of Cameroon and are known to be hard-working but lack the much needed support to forge ahead.

But this writer’s interest is in what the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) has done or is doing to empower Cameroonian women. My choice of PCC was influenced by the fact that during the march past in Buea by women as part of activities marking the women’s day, Ann Munjong, CTRV journalist and “master” of ceremony, in her public remarks, was full of praises for the PCC. Then of course, came a thunderous applause from onlookers .This was when gender -equality advocate Rev .Mary Kinge led women march past with placards of the Women’s Education and Empowerment Project (WEEP) of the PCC.
But what has WEEP done to receive such public accolade?
WEEP, coordinated by Rev Mary Kinge, is aimed at educating and empowering women collectively and individually. WEEP has so far carried out empowerment activities only in Fako Division of the Southwest Province of Cameroon, but plans to reach out to other women in far away areas.

According to Food and Rural Development Foundation (FORUDEF), Buea-Cameroon, a local NGO that recently evaluated the first phase of Women Education and Empowerment Project (WEEP) of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC), the project’s success rate stands at over 75%.
The writer learned that, WEEP has greatly reduced women’s ignorance about their rights and responsibilities, and improved their level of education on political and leadership issues. Many women are today local political party leaders, municipal councilors and deputy mayors in Fako, thanks to WEEP educative talks.
WEEP has also improved Cameroonian women’s access and control over resources as well as over their reproductive health.
WEEP achievements included sensitization meetings with women- round -table conferences on Women and Citizens’ rights, training of trainers workshops on gender and women’s rights, seminars on women and their legal rights,worshops on leadership and good governance, and on girl child education

But of more significance is how WEEP has succeeded to convince some traditional chiefs in Fako to accept to include more women in decision-making positions. More often than not traditions,norms and customs been identified a major barrier to the empowerment of the woman. .Traditional chiefs or rulers are the first custodians of these traditions. Conscious that chiefs could play a great role in the empowerment of women if persuaded, WEEP coordinator organized several meetings with some traditional rulers to sell its objectives, and solicit their support to lift women high. At one WEEP meeting with chiefs in Batoke-Limbe last December, Chief of Batoke, Molive Molungu Otto, said “my chiefdom is organized in such a way that women could be seen in all decision structures of my village”. The chief lauded WEEP for trying to increase the participation of women in decision-making, to improve on women’s participation in local governance and to reduce women’s ignorance about their rights and responsibilities. “Women need to come out and know that they have equal opportunities as men and must take up their responsibility to acquire the required knowledge and skills to match the men who are already in an advantaged position due to culture and inheritance”, cautioned Chief Otto at that meeting, hoping that other chiefs would give women the chance to prove their worth. The chief noted, “Once a woman is educated and empowered the nation is built on a solid foundation”
It is reported that chiefs who have met with WEEP educators are now bent on involving more women in decision-making positions, hitherto reserved only for men.
If chiefs, formerly seen as kind of a barrier to the empowerment of women, are today interested to lift the woman, the woman must take up the challenge to assert herself. Shouldn’t the PCC be lauded for its continued efforts to moralize society?

Cameroon’s socio-political drama: Who says it is all over?

By Mofor Samuel

Cameroon is a country endowed with enormous natural resources, brimming with milk and honey. Yet years of neglect and bearing the brunt of oil exploitation has left the common man at the bottom of Cameroon’s development league. Cameroonians are faced with the Herculean task of rewriting the history of a wealthy people savagely impoverished by state tyranny and the greed of their multinational collaborators. Cameroon urgently needs a leader to serve as the right spearhead for the campaign to bring a new era of freedom to the people and relieve them from want, undue marginalization, and injustice as well as freedom from repeated assault on their collective dignity. The palpable lack of development, reflected in all sub-sectors of the country’s economy is unsettling.

There is that great need therefore of a sense of duty for Cameroonians to start looking for someone they trust and believe in to give leadership in their battle to pull down all impediments to justice, as well as rally their resources against forces and agents that enthroned social injustice and inequity as fundamental principle of state policy.

Cameroonians are a patient lot. Furthermore, the struggle of the man on the street is to get the next meal on the table. Cameroonians nowadays are digging deep in their pockets to be able to buy basic necessities. The economy is far from out of the woods. The people yearn for a better deal. The university lecturer, civil servant, council workers and others who toil endlessly the economic wheels of the country turning but who have not receive pay commensurate to their efforts, recount tales of woe.

The latest upsurge of violence in Cameroon which erupted during the last week of February 2008 might have been stirred up by regime insiders. Biya’s government is now more than ever before expected to deliver the people from poverty and deprivation. He and his new team of ministers are faced with a gargantuan task. Concentrating on the problems that are besetting ordinary people’s daily lives would be more convincing. The government must be seen to be making a clean break from the past. Money and more precisely its management should not be a problem. Stories about fraud and corruption continue to litter pages of newspapers and magazines. Politics and money become deadly mix when the political machine is regarded as the means through which one can get one’s hands on some of the country’s money as is the case in Cameroon. It will take strong leadership to introduce a cleaner political culture.

Even the current fashionable combination of HIPC and pro-poor policies has not brought about improvements. In the absence of effective audit systems, an active parliament, proper legislation and planning systems, debt relief is a curse rather than a blessing, to quote one great scholar. It increases corruption, not reduces it. Corruption has been seen as the bane of Cameroon. If it is rooted out, the country could, probably survive without aid.

It is up to the government to get serious about the country’s many unsolved problems- poverty, no job prospects, too little educational and professional training or none at all. For many young men, to get a job is impossible and this makes them to get frustrated. Frustrated youngsters are easy prey for calls to violence and they may be again if nothing is done. Tensions continue to exist. The spectre of destabilization has already come from them and it could still come again.

For the time being, security operatives armed to the teeth are still patrolling the streets, positioned at strategic junctions or guarding certain public facilities. But then what will happen when they eventually leave? Citizens already walk the streets with the fear of intimidation, harassment or undue molestation by security agents. There are more indiscriminate arrests and detention without trial.

Democracy is supposed to equal improved welfare, the absence of dictatorship and the presence of equal rights. Democracy is not all about the rule of law, or the presence of peace in society, but more about how government responds to the basic problems to guarantee peace in the stomach. The prevailing opinion is that government at all levels has not done enough to improve the quality of life of the people.

Not many of the continent’s leaders appreciate the need for change and they believe in the supremacy of their reasoning. They tend to have their own vision of reality. Hence, the contradiction between what African leaders promise their people and what they actually do. Any wonder then that Paul Biya has a mountain of burden to contend with. A few months back, his party and his cronies announced their intention to seek an amendment to the constitution; to smoothen the road for ruling beyond 2011. This seems to be a dress rehearsal for the political atmosphere one can expect during the 2011presidential election.

Biya’s position which is art variance with the provisions of the constitution could only be explained by the need to pave the way for his safe passage to Etoudi.

With Paul Biya still harbouring the intention to run again in the race for the presidency, he is mobilizing quietly those he knows can be relied on to deliver his mandate in parliament and at the grassroots. It is a game of one good turn deserving another. CPDM had an absolute majority in parliament thanks to his total backing of the rigging machinery put in place during the twin elections.

Has Biya’s government learnt that foreign donors will no longer automatically finance the financial holes it created through corruption? Will the people be delivered from misery and frustration; and thus lose the impetus for another round of violence? Difficult to say giving that, it seems as if the population has been overwhelmed by the sit-tight mentality of those in authority, most of who pay more attention to feathering their own nests than to priority issues that affect the welfare of those they lead. The time has come for the dignity of the oppressed people to be restored, and by extension, the rights of Cameroonians to carry their destiny in their own hands by controlling the natural endowments in their country.
Even though the recent social unrest showed few signs of seriously threatening the regime’s control, other stresses within the country could encourage some in the hierarchy to continue the “war”. Who says it is all over?

Cameroonian Youth, Patriotism and Participation in Development

By Mofor Samuel

“The youth are the leaders of tomorrow.” This statement that is often been made by the powers that be in different occasions, when addressing youth has rightly or wrongly been received by the latter with a lot of mixed feelings. This skepticism on the part of the youth is due to the fact that policy makers scarcely or simply do not match words with action.
In every generation, there are problems a community must try to solve, dangers it must overcome and opportunities that it must seize. Cameroonians have long understood that education is the main escape route from poverty. Little attention is paid to educating youth to understand and cope with changes in social, economic and political life, and to opening their minds to changing ideas and values about the world. There is almost no political education to prepare for responsibility in a world where youth increasingly desire to share responsibility. Economic and political pressures on students and pupils therefore encourage passive conformity and discourage independence and responsibility.
During the last Youth Day, thousand of youth were seen marching past. But then one begins to wonder and imagine where they are marching to when the future looks so bleak. With little or no job opportunities, the rate of unemployment keeps soaring every year as young people are been churned out of schools. Some observers are of the opinion that the youth in Cameroon have no future because our leaders have mortgaged this future. Our leaders on their part say that they are doing everything possible to remedy the situation. The creation of the National Employment Fund, Vocational Centres to orient youth towards employment opportunities and above all, the creation of the Ministries of Employment and Vocational Training as well as of Small and Medium Size Enterprise are just some measures taken by government to curb unemployment. According to the National Employment Fund, the rate of unemployment for the cities of Douala and Yaoundé stood at 25.6 and 21.5% respectively.
The inability of the state to absorb the teeming number of youth or to create a conducive atmosphere for them to be self employed has put the youth at crossroads, with the immediate consequences being a high rate of unemployment, hardship and poverty amongst them. This has led to an upsurge in crime wave, fey mania, cultism, sects, kidnapping, murder, duping, drug trafficking and addiction, homosexuality etc to make ends meet. Others have turned to prostitution thus contracting HIV/AIDS; w hich is killing them in thousands thus affecting the labour force of the country. The bottom line being that there is a high rate of insecurity all over the country. Even government is helpless in the face of this increase in crime wave perpetrated by the youth.
Why is it that picking up a job in Cameroon has become a hard nut to crack? Who is to blame for the present situation; the high rate of unemployment in spite of all the employment opportunities in the country? Are Cameroonian youth just being lazy or lack initiatives, or is it the government that is indifferent to their plight? Does the government take major decisions before taking measure decisions concerning them? How are the youth involved in decision making as far the issue of employment is concerned?
Real and lasting development based on social justice can be achieved through effective participation of youth in decisions affecting their future. The youth must effectively participate in development programmes targeting them in decision making, planning and implementation of such projects, to enhance the success and future sustainability of project activities and outcomes. Programmes designed for youth should help them to become independent. They should be able to, orgnise change on the basis of their access to knowledge, to political process, and to financial, social and natural resources. The State has an important role in providing a policy and legal framework that promotes free and autonomous youth organizations. For example, by-laws and property laws needs to be re-examined and where necessary modified to encourage youth’s entitlement to membership and access to management committees. Procedure by which organizations can acquire legal recognition should not be cumbersome and should not impose internal structure and rules on organizations.
The solutions to practical and immediate needs usually serve as the easiest and the best entry point for mobilizing youth, for building social cohesion and for creating self- management capability.
The social cohesion of youth groups is best strengthened by encouraging youth self organization, creativity and initiative. Youth should be allowed to devise their own form of organization and rules according to their needs and particularities, although participatory and democratic management within youth groups should be encouraged. It is usually effective to build upon already existing, if any youth groups.
The Cameroonian youth have often accused the government of not letting them have a say in many decisions taken concerning them. The issue of employment and the high rate of unemployment is an ocular proof to this accusation. The youth in their vast majority believe that the existing powers are placing a lot of stumbling blocks and obstacles in front of them as far as employment is concerned.
One hand cannot tie a bundle and secondly the future of every nation belongs to the youth, and so it is very normal for policy makers to involve them actively in the designing, planning and shaping of this future. The theme of this year’s Youth Day is youth, patriotism and participation. Patriotism is not pretence and so if the powers that be are really serious as far as the future of the youth is concerned then they have to put in place the necessary mechanisms needed to attain this objective.

British Southern Cameroons Hits Hard on Biya Regime over Human Rights Violations

VIEWS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS’ NATIONAL DEFENSE COUNCIL ON THE MOST RECENT POGROM AND HAVOCKS COMITTED ON THE TERRITORY OF THE BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS BY THE BIYA REGIME:

Fellow-citizens of the British Southern Cameroons,

In the last week of February, the people of Cameroun Republic gave an example of how the rebellion would be when they finally sit up against Biya’s long years of political stewardship to the French. That popular revolt was triggered by one man’s stubborn and reckless determination to crown himself life president of that country. It was also triggered by the cruel economic hardship and grinding poverty cynically imposed on the population by that man’s hideous misgovernment and ghastly mismanagement. That revolt spilled over into our Homeland, the British Southern Cameroons, which is for the time being still under the colonial occupation of Cameroun Republic.
The Yaoundé colonial regime seized upon that spill-over revolt as was stated in the earlier statement from the Presidency of the British Southern Cameroons, to once more order its military and police forces to carry out yet another round of organized extensive massacres of our people. These barbarities, which the ruler of Cameroun Republic and his brutal regime find very congenial, partake of that country’s national policy of continuing ferocious repression in the Southern Cameroons. That policy of repression is carried out in the hopeless hope of striking terror in us. The terror is meant to deflect us from the sacred task of breaking the chains of colonialism with which we are fettered and rightfully asserting our everlasting freedom as a sovereign independent nation.
But we are proud we have a gallant and avant-garde youth with an iron-will determination to soldier on with us until we get to the Promised Land. Our youths, girls and boys, students and non-students, employed and unemployed are the spear of our nation. They have never hesitated to attend to the call of Destiny and History. They have dedicated themselves to bringing forth a new nation in Africa dedicated to freedom, the pursuit of happiness, human rights, democracy, good management and the rule of law. We salute them even as we mourn those murdered in cold blood by the colonizer. We condole with the relatives and friends of all those visited by the angel of death from Cameroun Republic. Those who have been murdered by the colonizer gave their lives for the Southern Cameroons nation to be born. It shall be! We must therefore dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work that they have so far nobly advanced. Let the tyrant, with so much blood on his hands fear! He has to face this alternative: either the people of the Southern Cameroons are to be exterminated or the people of the Southern Cameroons are to be free from colonial bondage!
Fellow-citizens,
Our Homeland was once a peaceful, free, democratic, prosperous and fully self-governing country. It was a country under the rule of law and effective human rights protection. It was a beacon of hope and freedom in Africa, and, in fact, a home to thousands of refugees fleeing from French Cameroun. Bloodshed, repression, political prisoners, political assassinations, extrajudicial killings, torture, police maltreatment and harassment, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment were all unknown in our Homeland. But since coming under the colonial occupation of Cameroun Republic we have known nothing but death, mayhem, suffering, humiliation and sorrow. Our land has experienced nothing but desolation and spoliation. Complete darkness has descended on our land and on our people. There is hopelessness everywhere. The colonizer’s thirst for our blood seems unquenchable. Day in day out the colonizer slaughters our people. Day in day out we bury our dead. Day in day out we mourn our dead. Day in day out we grief over our relatives and friends maimed, tortured and arbitrarily imprisoned by the colonizer. Even those who have persisted in hoping against hope that they can patch up with the colonial occupation of our Homeland must now see that there is no future whatsoever under colonial rule. It is not by error that mankind has classed occupation and colonization as crimes against humanity, never to be accepted.
Fellow-citizens,
How long shall the people of Southern Cameroons grief and groan under the burden of foreign occupation? How long shall we carry this cross placed on our heads from across the Mungo by the Yaoundé colonial regime? How long shall we tolerate this colonization from hell as if we can do nothing about it?
Surely it cannot be our destined end and lot on earth to suffer and toil forever under the yoke of colonial occupation by the neighbouring country of Cameroun Republic. The time has come to shirk off the spirit of self-resignation and make a turning point in our history. We once did it before, and we shall do it again! ‘It was by daring and by doing that the Roman state grew and not by the timid policies that cowards call caution.’
The time of orphanage for our people is over! The time when the people of Southern Cameroons were like a flock without a shepherd is over! We have reached a turning point in the quest for the restoration of our homeland. The Restoration Government and all of us are condemned by Fate to set our land and ourselves free and to restore the peace, freedom, prosperity and the life of light and hope that existed in our land, before it was covetously occupied by a predatory Cameroun Republic!
The Restoration Government calls on every woman, man, youth, and child of the Southern Cameroons, as a first and bold step towards our liberation, to, as from now withdraw from all participation in the political life of Cameroun Republic. We have no business with the affairs of that country, except that aspect of its affairs that consists in trying to keep us in bondage, in regard to which it is our sacred duty to ensure that its colonial occupation of our land comes to grief.
We call on traders, taxi drivers etc in all our towns and all our professionals to form and manage their own separate associations for the defence of their interests.
We request that those of our men and women called to holy orders should, in their weekly prayers of intercession, never tire of asking God to bring the Southern Cameroons out of the Cameroun Republic house of bondage even as He delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. For Jesus gave the assurance that ‘ask, and it shall be given you.’
Our men and women in uniform serving in Cameroun Republic have no business getting involved in the restless tribal intrigues among the politicians and military/police of that country. They would do well to avoid getting involved in the various crimes against humanity in which the civil and military leadership of that country would soon be indicted for. The task of today for our men and women in uniform is to factor their savvy into our national liberation struggle and thereby contribute towards our collective freedom as a people.
From now on we, the people of Southern Cameroons, have only one dream, one focus and one mission: the restoration of our Statehood. That is the only legitimate cause for which we must all focus all our energy and wherewithal. With this in mind we ask all our people to hold themselves ready to execute the commands of the Restoration Government. The moment of revolt for our cause shall come. For it is clear even to the cursory observer that this recent dance of death and mayhem by Cameroun Republic is a curious mixture of unconsciousness and deliberateness, of blindness and awareness, in which the doomed leadership of that country is moving, like the last days of the Nazi leadership, towards inexorable disaster.
The Restoration Government is at work. The outward symbols of the independent state of the Southern Cameroons (flag, anthem, emblem, motto etc) have already been formally publicized. There would follow in the weeks ahead the proposed draft national constitutional which will be submitted to the people for extensive debate and eventual adoption. There has been set in motion a process by which we can all participate in the choice of our country’s name. At the end of the process the name selected for the country would be formally announced. Furthermore, there are a number of policy frameworks that are in gestation. These will be put out one after the other as soon as they are ready. The major one, an economic framework, is near completion. As soon as it is ready it shall be made available to the people to see and gauge the vision we have for independent Southern Cameroons.
We have been informed by a number of stakeholders of certain initiatives by them that are afoot. There is unshakable determination out there to ensure that the civil and military officials of the Biya royal gangsterdom who are most criminally responsible for crimes against humanity are made to answer for their crimes internationally. We shall actively support that initiative by providing the documentary and real evidence that we have gathered over the years relating to those crimes. We invite our people to supply us with more names and evidence. We are determined to put an end to the institutionalized culture in Cameroun Republic of impunity for crimes under international law. Our support for this initiative does not of course mean we shall remove the names of the individuals concerned from the ‘List of Most Wanted Persons for Crimes against Humanity’ that we have compiled and continue to update.
We are also informed that at the moment a list of some of the persons involved is being put together for the purpose of initiating an international campaign for asset freeze and travel bans. We have some names ourselves and would support this initiative as well.
Finally, a Cameroun Republic human rights organization based in Douala, known as ‘Maison des Droits de l’Homme’, and a Cameroun Republic political organization in exile, Known as ‘Conseil National pour la Résistance’, are both calling for an international commission of inquiry into the latest pogrom carried out by Biya and his military and police forces. We support that call and would work with those organizations to ensure that such a commission is instituted.
The liberation of the Southern Cameroons is not a matter of if, but when. Right now, the captive citizen of the Southern Cameroons is up on his feet resolved to be a slave no more. He is resolved not to commit the historical contradiction of submitting to the very colonialism which has wrought age-long suffering and ruin in the Southern Cameroons, the very colonialism to be fought and which makes the sovereign statehood of the Southern Cameroons a categorical imperative.
God made the Southern Cameroons our own land. He tells us, ‘I have given you the land to possess it; stop begging for what you are entitled to.’ That land shall be our own space of existence on Earth!
The British Southern Cameroons shall be free, come what may!

Calson Anyangwe ,
Head of Restoration Government

How to Bungle a Healing Process

By Prof.Tazoacha Asonganyi

Rosa Luxemburg used to say that revolution is the only form of war in which the final victory is prepared by a series of ‘defeats’. To me, the end of the recent upheavals in Cameroon cannot really be taken as a defeat for the people, although the behavior of some barons of the regime is giving that impression. In each regime, there are always those who have much in common with that figure in Dicken’s ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ called Vengeance, who hover around and cause much harm to those they consider the vanquished.In politics like in sports, there will always be winners and losers. Following victory, the wounds inflicted on adversaries during the struggle to obtain victory have to be dressed; how best to heal the wounds of those victory casts as losers is fundamental to society. After all, it is one thing to win a dirty fight in politics; it is quite another to ensure that dirt is not hurled into the arena you control becauseof your victory.The outing of the so-called "elites" of Mfoundi has certainly hurled much dirt into the regime’s arena; sotoo the many deaths and the shabby treatment of those who were "arrested" in relation to the upheavals. The "elites" have sent a clear message that the Head of State has surrounded himself with second rate people, minions who would not puncture his ill-placedpolitics. The minions are in positions they are certainly least qualified to occupy. Those of them whoare dissociating themselves from their heinous outing are just the proverbial wolves in sheep’s clothing!Following his ‘victory’ over those who attempted to overthrow him by coup-d’état in April 1984, Paul Biya made a monumental mistake by leaving the fate of the vanquished to those who would have been hurt had the coup succeeded. They were the ones who prescribed punishment, and punishment they prescribed! Everybody knows about the mass graves in Mbalmayo, and the scars they left behind. One of the scars is his fear of the most important decision that faces him: letting go the presidency in 2011 as directed by the Constitution of Cameroon.Following this other ‘victory’, he seems to be in the process of making virtually the same mistake. Children are being pushed into prison as if there is no tomorrow. Prisons are not separate from our society; they are part of it. Prison is not a huge cupboard where we dispose of people we simply want to lock up and forget about. All prisoners except a handful that will die in prison or get shot will sooner or later be released into society. We all know that our prisons do not work, because most prisoners return to crime when they are released. The hundreds of our youths being sent to prison have to be prepared there for the jobs they were asking for through the upheavals. Their education there will not be a luxury; it is inextricably linked to the future safety of all citizens.As these injustices are being perpetrated, the public media built up during the era of the one party regime have set themselves up as a force opposed to the will of the people. On a daily basis, their editorial comments masquerade as news. They select ‘facts’ to support their predetermined point of view that the constitution of Cameroon should be given "a general touch" so that in the process, article 6.2 can also be touched to allow their man to face his fear of quitting! To strengthen this point of view, counter arguments have been silenced by closing up private media organs.The people are already locked in a fearful embrace with the regime, insisting on the opposite of what the regime wants. In seeking to extricate the regime from this embrace, there are plenty of shortcuts that can be used, but all of them are dangerous traps. Whatever shortcut the regime is dreaming up, they better think about what they would be putting at risk. They can win battles, but Cameroonians have their eyes on the final victory!