MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF PEOPLE’S ACTION PARTY – PAP - AYAH P ABINE TO THE NATION

Fellow Cameroonians (Camerounese, Kamerunians),

Upon the demise of 2011 and on the birth of 2012, it behoves us well o cast a bird’s eye look at the annual ground we have traversed, and to project into the upcoming year. None can dispute that the future belongs to God the Almighty alone. But hope entitles us to plan for tomorrow that may never be ours, yet in the hope that our Father in heaven will approve our projections.

As we are already all aware, the biggest event of the dying year was the fraudulent presidential election that never was. To recur to the point I have made before, the “re-election” of Mr. Biya is the worst thing that ever happened to our country. In saying this, I am not unaware that the Pauls almost invariably succeed at the end. Mr.Biya’s frantic effort these days may not be at variance with that observation.

But the effort to reconcile himself with us without a parallel effort to establish an acceptable process of peaceful transition does not augur well for our rich nation. To pretend not to see that there is every probability that upon his exit CPDM will be split is inconsistent with the love of nation – patriotism! The aftermath of such a split will invariably be the split of the nation. The cracks in the wall are developing into rift valleys – call them gaping chasms if you please. Even the blind can feel them!

Yet must we remember always that God is good! Another chance has the Almighty in his love for our nation given us to cleanse the filth that has been leaped on our nation for three decades. Not only is 2012
special for being a leap year, but it is our last chance to elect a functional parliament: parliamentarians that will fearlessly cater for the interest of the nation – the general good. The CPDM automatic majority has ruined our nation for far too long! It has reduced our parliament into a formality institution where every Bill is applauded and sails through like a meteor! So similar to garbage in garbage out!

Nor are our councils functioning any better. Devolution from several ministries has left little impact on the ground. It is an open secret that the real managers of councils are administrators who are now styled “Government representatives” – previously referred to supervisory authorities. The fact of the appointed lording it over the elected is a serious contradiction in terms. As the loquacious Government spokesman, Mr. Issa Tchiroma, shamelessly told us recently with uncouth arrogance, appointees are answerable to the “Head of State and not to the nation”. The role of appointed administrators at the level of the councils is to collect the little that is apparently sent to us for our development and share with Yaounde. In the end,pipe-borne water in the local communities is a luxury, not any less electricity and basic medical amenities!

No tale we tell that a country we know around us that has only groundnuts as its cash crop; and yet it is far more developed than Cameroon. Another has only cotton and it is not any less better off.
Outside oil and minerals, Cameroon has groundnuts, cotton, bananas,rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm-oil, maize, millet, sugar cane, a good variety of food crops…A pastor has been quoted as saying recently that Canaan - the land flowing with milk and honey that God promised to lead the Jews to – was most probably a miss-pronunciation of Cameroon; because the Jews were in fact led to a desert… The pertinent question
then is: why are Cameroonians suffering on the land of plenty?

The answer simply is that our wealth has been confiscated by a tiny minority under the CPDM government. The annual budget is there all this to substantiate. The huge salaries received by the members of
Government, a fact jealously kept from the public, tell it all.Therefore is it in the interest of justice and equity that it was high time we got our country back – the time we effected change. Not the change of persons! The change of the way of doing government business!A systemic change!

It is in line with such bid that the national chairman of PAP has published “My Vision of a Born Again Cameroon” which outlines the best system of government for our country: the federal system that will
empower the local communities to manage their own affairs. A system that will enable the women to stand side by side with men as to moiety in the running of the country! A wonderful system where no woman ever
again shall be behind any successful man! A system where the youth shall prepare the future that is more theirs than of adults by occupying 60% of public offices, including ministerial positions! A system that will rid Cameroon of senility in perpetuity!

CPDM is in power. There are parties of the opposition. PAP is the Third Option! The midway house, sticking to a happy medium! PAP is the bridge the youth have to cross to take power from the senile! PAP
embodies the future of Cameroon! The future where occupants of public offices shall be servants of the people: serving with probity, effable and accountable to the people rather than to the “head of State” who
himself shall be an exemplary servant of the people! A future where there will be no purported gods in human form, aloof and spiteful!

PAP is the ultimate train of victory! That train is gathering speed!Come on board soonest and take a comfortable seat! Wait not for theevening train; not even that of noon! Such other train may be too
late!

May 2012 be the best of your years so far on earth!

Long live People’s Action Party – PAP!
Long live Cameroon (Kamerun?)!

People's Action Party(PAP) Reacts to Mr. Biya's Speech

By Ayah Paul Abine 

Mr. Biya has replayed his empty interminable promises to Cameroonians just again! We have moved from empty moral rectitude to entrenched corruption.From failed brash undertaking to personally supervise the tarring of roads to a limping promise of personal supervision of the performance of a “government with a mission!” Read the Head of  State's  New Year Message to The Nation on December 31,2011

From reckless structural adjustment through vacant completion point, dark light at the end of the tunnel, intangible HIPC funds to a trash “Growth and Employment Strategy Paper”!  From hollow “grand débat to large débat! From veiled tripartite talks through self-beneficial constitutional amendments, monolithic multi-party system, retarded advanced democracy to colossal electoral fraud. From…to…From…to…From…to…world without end Amen!

One cannot help calling Mr. President’s “government with a mission”facetious! A few years back Mr. President staged the signing of performance contracts by his ministers. Years later Mr. President

pejoratively caricatured the very government as the mother of inertia.Nor has he depicted it any more differently in the speech under consideration! Those very ministers form today the bulk of the present

“government with a mission”. If in a state of inertia they were at the time they were energetic, what is the foundation of Mr. President’s assertion that, in senility, they will deliver on his novel promise?

Is not it only logical to argue that, just as it has taken thirty years for Mr. rigorous and vigorous President to plan as per the 2012 budget to deliver on his promise to personally supervise the tarring of roads, we shall have to wait for over thirty years for Mr. President in his advanced age to personally supervise with positive

results the “government with a mission?

No-one can help laughing when Mr. President asserts that the last presidential election “was fair and reflect the will of the majority of our people”. Is election fair when Mr. President occupies CRTV 98%

of the time while 22 other candidates share 2%? Is it fair election when over 19.3 billions of taxpayers’ money is spent on Mr. President-candidate with unlawful giant posters even in the forest and in banana plantations whereas another candidate is given 15 millions for his own campaign only three days to the polling day? Who is talking about fair election where civil servants are intimidated into campaigning for and are under the obligation to vote the incumbent conditional on their losing their jobs otherwise? We daresay that fairness forbids anyone calling the election fair when he is possessed of the fact that many were polling stations that displayed only the ballot papers of the incumbent! Where is the fairness when citizens are forced into abject poverty in order to secure the compliant selling of their votes, at times for as little as 500 francs? Is it“the will of the majority of our people” the involuntary purchase by them of misery wrapped in 500 francs notes?

We wish at this juncture to give credit to Mr. President for taking the courage to decry nepotism. But Mr. President himself knows that his lieutenants have missed no occasion to din into the heads of

Cameroonians and Camerounese that top-bottom is a uni-directional order of things in our country. If therefore nepotism has accounted for inertia these thirty years, the top must examine its conscience.

As a matter of fact, few have been comfortable with the examples from the top. Take for instance the composition of the “government with a mission”! Is not it a fact that too big a percentage of it is composed of Mr. President’s kith and kin and/or school-fellows? How does Mr.President convince us that, even as Anglophones constitute some 20% of the population, they are not meritorious enough to occupy more than

two of 37 cabinet positions? A percentage far less than Mr.President’s clan-persons! Mr. President surely will provide us the answer at Buea during the revived 50th anniversary of Reunification!

Then and only then shall we take seriously Mr. President’s apparent condemnation of nepotism, and his subtle indication to combat it.

One is much more at sea about Mr. President’s claptrap about women and the youth. The number of women in the government and the marginal ministries they occupy fall far far below the UN recommended 30%. Any patting on the back relative to such blatant under-representation seems grossly idle. As for the youth, they are completely absent from the government. Mr. President’s CPDM Constitution sets the ceiling for the youth at 35 years. If therefore a person of 45 is appointed in the place of the youth, it amounts to abuse of terms offending against even Mr. President’s party’s constitution to call him a youth. Were he

a youth even, it would still be insulting to give to the youth who are 60% of the population only one of 35 positions? The youth surely will not miss to take note!

As regards the economy, we have already heard so many flourishes about growth with no corresponding positive impact that they are now meaningless to us. If FIMAC, FONADER, CREDIT AGRICOLE, FARMERS’ CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES, and the like have all failed in the past,nothing there is today that tells us the situation of farmers will be any better with the creation of more similar white elephants today or tomorrow. Truly, even we non-economists would opine that growth is not contingent on swelling the Public Service but by creating propitious enabling climate for investment.

All in all then, Mr. President’s message sounds like a high-sounding nothing! Those who have failed him over the decades are still tightly seated, and the system that has been the logical fiasco is still firmly entrenched. Mr. President may wish to borrow a leaf from the book of wisdom and humility!

Cameroon :HEAD OF STATE’S NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO THE NATION

Yaounde, 31 December 2011

Fellow Cameroonians, My dear compatriots,
Here we are on the threshold of the first phase of our “long march” towards becoming an emerging country.
The recent presidential election has laid a solid foundation for this purpose. You voted for stability and peace, thus confirming your sound judgement and sense of responsibility. No matter what some people might have said, the poll was fair and reflected the will of the majority of our people who - I must emphasize – refused to heed calls for street protests. I take this opportunity to reaffirm that the dysfunctions noted and which, anyway, were not likely to cast doubt over the outcome of the election, will be corrected before the next election.

As I promised, the period now beginning will essentially be devoted to the stimulation of growth. By the way, we have no choice. Either we move on and have reason for hope, or we mark time and our problems will only worsen. Indeed, it should be realized that, like most African countries, we are caught in a pursuit race between our development and our population growth. To win the race, we must implement the “new impetus” I proposed during the election campaign.

What have we lacked so far to revive our economy?
I believe that, in the past, government action suffered from a lack of the entrepreneurial approach and the administration from inactivity. We must overcome this inertia which has caused us so much harm.
Corruption is another insidious and dreadful enemy. It does not only cart off a huge chunk of public funds, but also causes delays in the implementation of projects which are indispensable for our country’s economic recovery. I have, on several occasions, said that we will continue to wage a relentless war against this scourge. The establishment of the Special Criminal Court, which will speed up the trial of pending cases and, hopefully, the refund of sums misappropriated, demonstrates our resolve in this regard.
In addition to the difficulties we have faced and continue to face in stimulating growth, I must, to be fair, mention those arising from the global context. Without dwelling on inequity in the terms of trade, structural adjustment constraints and the consequences of the recent economic and financial crisis, I believe I can, without distorting the truth, say that excessive deregulation, disruptions caused by speculation and the decrease in official development assistance have compounded the task of countries like ours.

The point here is not to look for excuses for our poor performance, but simply to recall the facts. If one can, legitimately, express disappointment at the effects of globalization, one might also get worried about the slow pace of ongoing negotiations within bodies such as the G8, the G20 and the WTO, negotiations whose avowed goal was to clean up the global economy and finance, to make world trade more equitable and ensure greater solidarity between the North and the South. But it can be seen that the problems of the western world, particularly sovereign debt, override those of developing countries.
Thus, we must increasingly rely on our own efforts and draw inspiration from the experience of emerging countries. To achieve this goal, I believe that we should consider recovery as a genuine national cause. All our economic players should mobilize, with the support of public authorities, to channel their efforts towards the one and only objective of ensuring Cameroon’s economic take-off, in the vein of the new Asian “dragons” some thirty years ago. This economic “patriotism” could marshal all the country’s vital forces. In saying this, I am thinking particularly of Cameroonian women whose dynamism is widely acknowledged, but also of the youth who, despite their competences, have difficulty working their way up to positions of responsibility.
We have the necessary assets to achieve this great vision.
We now have a roadmap, the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, which sets the objectives for this decade, and our budget programming framework, which, in 2012, will hinge on efforts to further improve public financial management, particularly through the judicious collection of budgetary revenues and improvement of the quality of spending. Fiscal and customs incentives will boost investment. In the same spirit, the 2012 public investment budget has been increased significantly. It will be allocated primarily to two major sectors: infrastructure and production sub-sectors. These measures, among others, reflect the State’s determination to act energetically to accelerate our economic recovery.

I do not have, I believe, to dwell on our natural resources, which are well known. I will only recall the main ones:
- Agriculture, with vast expanses of land and favourable climatic conditions. It should be remembered that in Ebolowa I presented a brief outline of the “agrarian revolution” which must be launched at all costs during this seven-year term;
- Mineral resources, particularly iron, bauxite and cobalt, which will soon be exploited;
- Energy resources, hydroelectricity, oil and gas, the exploitation of which is underway or planned.
I will not fail to mention our numerous, hardworking and well-trained human resources who should find employment with the implementation of our major projects and acceleration of the professionalization of education.
Will these assets suffice to achieve our great vision? The question is worth asking.
Indeed, to take advantage of these favourable factors, we need to question the behavioural patterns responsible for our deficiencies or our failures. The foremost among them is the quest for personal benefit at the expense of the general interest which ought to be the golden rule of public service. The Supreme State Audit should be inflexible in this regard. Similarly, bad habits such as nepotism, influence peddling and fraud, which are widespread, should be eradicated.

Furthermore, we should not hide the fact that the “new impetus” we intend to spearhead will require of State services as well as civil society considerable efforts and devotion. This is the type of patriotism I mentioned earlier on because it involves nothing less than getting Cameroon out of the category of developing countries and raising it to the level of new emerging countries. It should be acknowledged that it is a long haul.
We have also to reckon with global economic trends which are now full of uncertainties... Against this backdrop, we have no choice but to accelerate the development of our resources by launching our major projects as soon as possible. To finance these projects, we will, besides our public investment budget, have recourse to national savings, that is borrowing, international or other donors, and friendly countries.
I will not dwell on the major projects which I elaborated on before the National Assembly during my swearing-in ceremony, and which are included in the new Government’s agenda. I count on this government - which I consider as a “government with a mission” - to devote all its energy and competences to the implementation of these projects. I will see to that personally.

My dear compatriots,
I am well aware that the efforts I am asking you to make to support our common vision should not be without compensation. In fact, it is about time you reap the benefits of the sacrifices you have made.
If we succeed in vigorously reviving our economy, as I believe, the employment situation will ease significantly. The social strata most affected by unemployment, especially the youth, could gain access to employment and see their lot improve. We will do everything we can to achieve this objective. On the other hand, the State will continue to create openings into the public service as far as it can.
My other priority, as you know, is to improve the living conditions of our people which are not worthy of a country like ours. In this regard, the revival of growth should give us a greater leeway. Be it health, education, housing, social security, access to electricity and drinking water, rest assured that the commitments I made will be honoured as far as possible.

Fellow Cameroonians, My dear compatriots,
That is a summary of the terms of the pact of confidence which I sealed with you on 3 November before the National Assembly. We are thus committed to making Cameroon an exemplary Republic, a Nation that is respected in the world, a fair State that ensures equal opportunities, a country where national wealth will be equally distributed.

This challenge is undoubtedly one of the most important we have had to face since the advent of democracy in our country. Time has come to decide whether we want to summon all our strength to revive our economy and provide adequate living conditions for the majority of our people.
For my part, I am convinced that together we can succeed. If, as I believe, I can count on you as you can count on me, I have no doubt that we will succeed.

Before I conclude, I would like to say that the fiftieth anniversary of our reunification, which took place, as you are aware, on 1 October 1961, will be celebrated with all the necessary solemnity. Because the anniversary of this historic event had to take place at the same time as the presidential election, we could not celebrate it when we would have liked. It will take place in Buea, as soon as possible, with the desired dignity and fervour because we should always remember that reunification was our Nation’s first step towards its unity.

My Dear compatriots,
It is now time for me to extend to you all, my most sincere wishes for health and happiness in the New Year.
Happy New Year 2012.
Long live Cameroon!

Mayor Mbella Moki: “I am not yet ready to quit Buea council. My mission is not yet complete”

By Chrsitopher Ambe 

Mayor Mbella Moki

Two-term Mayor of Buea,Charles Mbella Moki,considered a political wizard within the  CPDM last December 21 during the second ordinary session of Buea Council for 2011put to rest doubts as to whether he will still be a candidate for 2012 municipal election by hinting  that he plans to stand for reelection as mayor.

The mayor who is admired by many and hated as well by many others shocked his critics when teased by one councilor about his chances of retaining the mayorship next year. 

As if he was expecting the question, Mbella Moki quipped, “Let me be frank: I am not yet ready to quit Buea council.Our mission of developing the municipality is not yet complete

 “It is only God who will ask us to quit then shall we do so. If not, we will stay at this council because we have much work to do for the development of this town of Legendary Hospitality”,Mayor Moki said in his concluding remarks at the session that was primarily intended to vote the council budget for 2012.

The sum of one billion francs CFA was adopted as the council’s budget for next year –a budget described as by Bona Ebengue François, DO for Fako who attended the session as realistic and urged the council to improve its revenue collection and focus more on developing the town.

The session held just a week after the mayor had visited construction sites of projects directly or indirectly funded by the council estimated to cost over two billion Francs.

During the session Mayor Moki in a scripted speech, counted his achievements during his tenure.

Following are some major achievements cited by the mayor although his detractors see them as grossly in sufficient:

The Achievements:

“The Council has made giant strides since we were entrusted with the responsibility of accomplishing its municipal development missions, notably providing basic services to the population which include, maintaining hygiene and sanitation, provision of portable water supply and electricity to our local communities.

When we came into office some years back, we introduced a new approach to the management of our Council as a response to growing necessity for a Participatory Management Approach with Public – Private – Partnership Initiatives.  We needed a council that would be closer to its population and  where the population could effectively participate in their own local development, to uphold Henry Ford’s assertion  that“Coming together is a Beginning, Keeping together is Progress, Working together is Success” thus we created a Logo with the Motto “Let’s Work Together,”. We are projecting and publicizing BUEA as the Land Of Legendary Hospitality. In this team spirit, we elaborated the Strategic Development Plan for the Buea Municipality which has been the Council road map in achieving our municipal development goals.

“We initiated major projects as innovations in Council management such as the Scholarship Programme for Underprivileged but Deserving Students of the Buea Municipality, we re-constituted and expanded the Holiday Job Programme and introduced the Widows Fund intended alleviate the living conditions of suffering widows.  Such innovations have been copied by councils everywhere today becoming a reference and contributing greatly in improving the Human Capital Development of local communities.  We have completely regularized the situation of Council workers by paying up to date all inherited debts to staff  including National Social Insurance Fund dues; we re-structured the Council services and proposed an organizational chart for hierarchy which was modified and recommended for Councils throughout our national territory; we have increased the staff strength, reclassified workers; invested on training and increased our  trainees in CEFAM to improve the capacities of the personnel with varying opportunities thereby changing the perception that Council workers are desperate and lowly paid. In the provision of basic services to the community, we constructed rural markets in Lysoka, Bonjongo and Bokwaongo and the Mile 17 Motor Park; we constructed bridges to improve accessibility in Ndongo – Molyko, Wokoko – Bonduma, Sandpit – Great Soppo. We assisted in extending portable water supply to various communities such as Muea, Lysoka, Mile 16, Mile 14 Dibanda, Great Soppo/ Wokoko/Molyko; we assisted in extending rural electrification and rehabilitation of rural roads in Bwassa Likombe and Mapanja; we initiated the street lighting project from the police roundabout to Mile 17 and it is ongoing with extension to strategic areas of the town.

            Major development projects have been achieved with the initiation of the Public – Private – Partnership Initiative (PPPI) which has been operationalized within the component of Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) programme rendering the municipality pro-active with the following projects:

-       Construction of the Buea Town Market with about 200 stores.

-       Embellishment of the Clerks Quarters area and the construction of modern structures that will replace the meat slab and other dilapidating structures at Clerks Quarters.

-       The ongoing construction of 50 Stores at the Mile 17 Motor Park and the subsequent construction of Restaurants/Bars with 28 stores, 50 open shades, 6 modern Bus Agencies, construction of Offices, Sales points, water and toilet facilities.

-       The ongoing construction of a Shopping Mall with 28 stores and Parking Lots at the Old Motor Park in Buea Town.

The BOT component is trendy and has registered tremendous success in our municipality.  We invite all stakeholders to venture into this programme, so that together we can bring the change we all believe in.

The construction of the new Council Chambers will end by December and the second phase for its completion by March 2012 and to cost over five hundred million; the construction of three bridges in Great Soppo worth forty-two million francs cfa has commenced with that over the Musole ravine. We have continued to provide basic services to our population such as maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation and a vast programme to protect our environment of which the services of HYSACAM have remained commendable.

We have assisted in extending and rehabilitating water supply in many communities like Dibanda Mile 14, Wonjia, Small Soppo Wonganga, Mapanja; assisted with extending electricity supply to the Bwassa-Likombe Health Centre and primary School; rehabilitated Government School Bwassa-Likombe, assistance for the completion of two classrooms at Government School Great Soppo, extended assistance to Government services like Central Prisons – Buea to purchase farming materials, Public Health to support health programmes  especially HIV/AIDS and CHOLERA.

We have reinforced broad- based assistance to the underprivileged and needy community members in the areas of education, ranging from Nursery to Higher institutions of learning through the Annual Holiday Jobs and the elaborate Scholarship Programme as well as Holiday Sports and Leisure Programmes exhibited during the decentralized Inter-quarter Competition in the various Court areas.

The elaboration of the Communal Development Plan by an NGO “GREMPCO” with PNDP funding will in soon result in the realization of projects worth fifty-eight million, four hundred thousand francs cfa distributed as follows:

-       Maintenance of rural roads                          =          20.000.000

-       Rural electricity supply                                   =          10.000.000

-       Water extension                                              =            4.000.000

-       Provision of farm inputs                                 =            5.000.000

-       Construction of Bridges                                 =          10.000.000

-       School supplies                                               =            4.400.000

-       Health facilities                                               =            5.000.000

The above accomplishments could only be realized thanks to the increase in government subventions (Additional Council Taxes) and the concerted efforts of the council administration and staff, councilors and stakeholders

 “…we cannot forget the valuable contribution of FEICOM in financially backing some of our projects; we recognize the change HYSACAM has brought to our municipality”. 

Ayuk Akpoeban Peter: A Genuine Financial Expert and Development Advocate.

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Ayuk A.Peter: a noted financial expert/Recorder C

 His eloquence in English language to those who meet him for the first time may give them the impression that this gentleman is an English language teacher-or that English is his mother tongue. Far from that. Ayuk  Akpoeban Peter,  a native of Manyu Division of the Southwest Region ,is a financial expert, who graduated from ENAM Yaoundé in 1990 as Inspector of Treasury.

Even before entering ENAM, his love for the English language, had first taken him to the then University of Yaounde where he read Modern Letters and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree  and later a Post-Graduate Diploma in Modern Letters.

Currently, Ayuk Peter is the Treasurer-Paymaster General for the Southwest Region. This forty-something- year old  father  and Inspector of Treasury took over as the Treasurer-General of the Southwest Region last January and immediately went to work ,ensuring that accounting principles are strictly respected in the execution of the state budget.

The duties of the Treasurer-General  include: the supervison,coordination and control of accounting operations of the Southwest Financial circumscription; the  follow-up and facilitation of transfer of financial resources from the state to the councils; the consolidation of receipt and expenditure figures of the region; the production of the region’s management accounts; the control, coordination and supervision of the activities of attached treasuries of the Southwest Region, related to the fight against corruption, poverty alleviation and facilitate business activities through prompt payments. In deed, these are delicate and challenging tasks that not just anybody can perform superbly.

Users of the Buea Regional Treasury would not hesitate to tell anybody who cares to listen that, the treatment of flies there now, under Mr. Ayuk said to be a workaholic and financial wizard, is done with rapidity and all the seriousness required when dealing with financial l matters.

Mr. Ayuk’s duty-consciousness and stringency has always pushed Hierarchy to assign him very challenging tasks. It would be recalled that upon graduation and integration into the public service, Mr.Ayuk handled certain sensitive positions with dexterity, winning the confidence of hierarchy. He had served as Provincial Auditor, Regional Tresaury of Bafousam from 1991 to 1194; Divsional Treasurer at Nanga Eboko from 1994 to 1997; Divisional Treasurer at Ndop from 1997 to 1998; Chief of Service of Budget in the Ministry of Public Works from 1998 to 2002; Inspector at the National Audit Unit of the Ministry of Finance from 2002 to January 2011. 

Impressed by his skills, performance and simple lifestyle, the Minister of Finance on January 6 this year appointed him as Treasurer Paymaster-General, in replacement of Mr. Martin Ojongfong Ojong, another stringent financial expert.

While installing Mr.Ayuk Peter into his functions as Treasurer Paymaster-General, Governor Koumpa Issa had made this remark about him: “Mr.Ayuk Akpoeban Peter is a replica of academic brilliance and long professional experience. It is for this reason that he attracted the vigilant eye of hierarchy and has been catapulted to the prestigious post of treasurer paymaster General for the southwest Region”

The Governor had challenged Mr .Ayuk to continue promoting the principles of probity and performance, so “to improve on the negative image which the general public has always had of the treasury.”

 The Recorder has observed that the Buea Regional Treasury appears to be corruption-free, thanks to what a worker there described as the TPG’s “rigor and moralization policy”

Buea Regional treasury users and some staff who spoke to The Recorder about the Mr. Ayuk Peter, were agreed that, he is an anti corruption and embezzlement crusader, as well as a determined development agent.

Truly Mr.Ayuk could be rightly described as a development advocate. It would be recalled that, during the third coordination meetings of treasury accounts of the Southwest region last November in Mundemba, the Treasurer Paymaster-General expressed regrets at the very slow rate of consumption of credits provided for the councils by the State.

He even appealed to the Governor of the Southwest Region to cause stakeholders-be they authorizing officers, treasury accountants or service providers to take their responsibilities more seriously.

Mr. Ayuk bluntly told the meeting of treasury accountants also attended by some administrative authorities “that any unjustified delay in the execution of this nature of credits has a direct and nefarious impact on Government projections and planning towards an emergent Cameroon in the year 2035”, addin that, “the entire decentralization process is tied to effective utilization of this nature of credits within the respective regions”

 How else can some one be truly patriotic if it not by contributing in several ways to the development and growth of his own country?  

Mr. Ayuk, The Recorder which advocates stringent and transparent management, sees you as an exemplar and encourages you to keep up the spirit! 

First Published in The RECORDER Newspaper,Cameroon,of December 31,2011

Commonwealth Wants Level Electoral Playing Field in Cameroon.

And is ready to offer support

 By Chrsitopher Ambe Shu

The Commonwealth has issued its Final Report on the October 9, 2011 Presidential Election in Cameroon. According to the report, some benchmarks for democratic elections were met. But there is “the need for a more level electoral playing field in Cameroon”, it said.

Paul Biya, 78, was reelected president with 87.9% at the October 9 presidential election, which was contested by 23 candidates.

The Cameroon opposition said the election was marred by fraud and irregularities, and called for its cancellation, a call which was rejected by the country’s Supreme Court, sitting in for the Constitutional Council, yet to be set up.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma on 22 December 2011 released the Final Report of the Commonwealth Expert Team which observed the 9 October 2011 Presidential Election in Cameroon.

He said: "The Commonwealth Expert Team found that overall, the election was credible and some of the benchmarks for democratic elections were met. The Team noted that, though more could have been done to level the playing field, the election represented further progress for Cameroon in strengthening its democratic processes. 

The Team noted the establishment of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) as a laudable first step and commended its efforts in the overall management of the process, when compared to previous elections. The Team also noted that ELECAM could have done more to affirm its independence and to address the legal, administrative and logistical constraints it faced in managing the campaigning and electoral environment. The Team also offered a number of recommendations for upgrading electoral procedures in Cameroon, particularly with regard to voter registration.”

The Secretary-General stressed that: “The Commonwealth stands ready to assist Cameroon in further strengthening its democratic process.”

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries (totaling some two billion people) that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development.

Cameroon became a member of the Commonwealth in 1995

Cameroon:Buea Mayor presented with Key of City of Mission, Texas as he’s invited to USA

By Christopher Ambe Shu

L-R:Mrs. Cathy Garcia hands  KEY to Mayor Mok

The Mayor of the City of Mission, Texas, USA Norberto “Beto” Salinas has  gladly presented to the Mayor of Buea, Cameroon, Charles Mbella Moki, “the KEY to the City of Mission “ and invited him to  visit their community as soon as possible.

   According to Mayor Salinas, who was represented at the key handing over ceremony, Thursday 15, 2011 in Buea, by City of Mission Ambassador Mrs. Cathy Garcia, the  key is “a symbol of Friendship, Goodwill and Kindness between Mission, Texas, USA and Buea, SWR, Cameroon, Africa”

    Part of Mayor Salinas’ letter of invitation, which was read in public to Buea Council staff and invitees by Pastor Penny Cruz, member of the City of Mission delegation to Buea, says:

“I would …like to extend a warm South Texas welcome to you Lord Mayor and invite you to visit our community. We have a famous saying here… “Mi Casa es su Casa” which translates to My home is your Home. Come savor the flavor of Mission, Texas”

Mrs .Garcia and co. were in Cameroon primarily for an evangelical mission and to assist an orphanage –HOTPEC I4, Buea realize a bakery project estimated to cost about 20 million Francs.

   The US delegation came to Cameroon under the canopy of Hope Outreach International Ministries, an organization led by Dr.Julius Esunge, a Cameroonian based in the USA.

Pastor Penny Cruz  reads Mayor Salinas' letter to Mayor Moki

It emerged that Mrs. Garcia is not only a caring pastor, but also an invaluable volunteer and respected leader in the City of Mission, presently serving as Chairman of the Board for the Mission Economic Development Corporation, reason why Mayor Salinas felt honored “to have Cathy officially representing my office as Mayor and the entire City of Mission during this visit”

   Mayor Charles Mbella Moki welcomed his visitors and made a presented Buea, the Town of Legendary Hospitality, to them.

“Just as the mayor of City of Mission, Texas, USA has invited us to community, so too we are inviting him; for we are ready to receive him in Buea”,an elated Mayor Mbella Moki  said, emphasizing on the hospitability of his citizens.

   As a token of love, Mayor Mbella Moki also handed to his visitors Buea Council fabric and brochure, wishing them a healthy and fruitful stay in Cameroon and a safe return to the USA.

   The Mayor showered praises on Dr.Julius Esunge, a native of Buea, for serving as a goodwill ambassador of Buea council in the USA and for his constant efforts to improve the lot of the underprivileged

Asked what the City of Mission Texas would benefit from their ties with Buea council, Pastor Mrs.Garcia, said “We can learn much from the hospitality you have given us. We could share development approaches...and a lot more”

Family picture after Key presentation

 “There can be exchange in the area of business, in economic development and education facilities. I would say things are on the table, and the extent to which things can go would depend on the level of cooperation and mutual understanding between the parties involved”, Dr. Esunge added.

Dr. Esunge told reporters that their activities in Cameroon also included: offering a Christmas party to targeted orphans, holding evangelistic meetings in Ekona, organizing medical outreach and the training of pastors.

Cameroon FA confirms Samuel Eto’o’s 15-match international ban

After denying the rumours earlier this week, the Cameroon FA confirmed on Friday the Indomitable Lions’ captain has been suspended following a match bonus row

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 This time it’s for real. Samuel Eto’o has been slapped with a 15-match suspension for instigating strike action within the Cameroon national team last month after officials delayed the payment of match bonuses from the LG Cup held in Morocco. The player strike subsequently botched up a scheduled international friendly against Algeria on November 15.

After a disciplinary hearing held by the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecfoot) in Yaounde on December 12, which Eto’o attended personally, the local media immediately revealed that the Anzhi forward had been banned for seven international games, but the body denied saying it was yet to reach a verdict. The Fecafoot confirmed the 15-match ban to Goal.com.

The team’s vice-captain Enoh Eyong, accused of conspiring with Eto’o, was given a two-match ban, while Tottenham’s Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who has been spurning call-ups, has been fined £1,300.

Eto’o told reporters after the hearing that the reasons for the strike action were deeper and broader than the match bonus affair, assuring that Cameroonians would soon hear “the whole truth” of the matter.

Newly appointed coach Denis Lavagne and his assistant Martin Ndtoungou Mpile, as well as the Fecafoot vice-president Francis Mveng were also heard by the committee.

The Algeria football federation, which is demanding £650,000 in damages incurred from the scrapped meeting, saluted the exemplary decision of the Fecafoot, but did not say whether it would abandon its case against the Cameroonian body.

-Goal.com

Devaluing a controversial currency

By Julie Owono*

 Fourteen African countries use a currency that hurts their economies and benefits their former colonial master, France.

Three weeks ago, a rumour emerged that the CFA franc - two closely-related currencies used by 14 countries in western and central Africa - would be devalued by 35 per cent on January 1, 2012.

As a result, anxiety is taking hold of the 140 million citizens of francophone Africa. The devaluation could create a liquidity crisis and cause inflation rates to soar. Although the two governors of the central banks of Western and Central Africa have dismissed the rumour, the fact that French authorities and African heads of state failed to comment fuels peoples' fears and could result in a massive financial outflow.

The eurozone crisis and France's struggle to maintain its credit rating deepened fears that devaluing the CFA franc could be indirectly used as an instrument to safeguard the euro.

 On November 14, 2011, a not-so-minor diplomatic incident took place on the tarmac of Cotonou International Airport in Benin: One Gabonese presidential aircraft was boarded and inspected by Beninese public forces. Beninese citizen Maixent Acrombessi, who is Gabon President Ali Bongo's Director of Cabinet, was found with a huge amount of currency.

The story was reported by Le Béninois Libéré, a Beninese newspaper. Aboubakar Tacou, who wrote the article, said that the superintendent in charge of the affair stopped the plane over suspicions of illicit currency outflows. Tacou, whose newspaper has been permanently suspended because of this story, added that Benin, which, like other countries in the region, faces liquidity issues and could be affected by this capital flight.

Illicit financial outflows has historically been a scourge for African countries, particularly those in the CFA zone. A study led by the Global Financial Institute in 2010 showed that the amount of illegal financial outflows in the zone between 1970 and 2008 reached US $48bn. Within this period, US $20bn disappeared between 2000 and 2008.

These outflows are made easier by how the currency works. The CFA franc is freely transferable, allowing capital to exit the CFA zone and enter France without any oversight. Furthermore, there are no limits to its convertibility, meaning that African countries cannot create money themselves. In fact, CFA zone countries have to deposit 50 per cent of their currency reserves into a so-called "operations account" managed by the French Treasury, in order to guarantee the convertibility of the CFA franc into euros.

France's annual budget contains a line concerning the CFA franc called the "Account of financial cooperation - International Monetary Agreements". The 2012 French public budget states that: "Given the high levels of reserves held by central banks of the franc zone and the very low probability of a call of guarantee of the State that results, this mission is provided with no credit for 2012, as previous years."

This means that the account in which African countries from the CFA zone deposit part of their financial reserves is usually redundant. This is quite unique in the international monetary system: The issuing of a currency used by 140 million people in 14 different countries is endorsed each year by a foreign parliament - in this case, the French National Assembly and Senate.

By the French parliament's own admission, the monetary system of the CFA franc zone countries is in rather good health. Therefore a devaluation, which is usually justified by the necessity to revive an economically weak state by allowing cheaper exports, does not seem necessary in the case of the 14 western and central African states concerned. (A 15th country, Comoros, has its own central bank that issues Comorian francs, which are pegged to the CFA franc.)

Speculation against the CFA

The devaluation rumour started on November 25, 2011, when a journalist writing for the Ivory Coast's main opposition newspaper, Notre Voie, reported that he had been told such information by a European diplomat and a reliable source in Ivory Coast's capital, Abidjan. The journalist even argued that Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso were told by France to convince their African counterparts that devaluation was a good decision. Three Notre Voie reporters were subsequently held in custody and charged with "attempt to infringe the State economy" before being released on December 7.

This devaluation, if it happens, would be the second in the region. In January 1994, both the Central Bank of West African States and the Bank of Central African States banks, in accordance with the French Central Bank (Banque de France), and the International Monetary Fund, agreed to let the currency lose half of its value. Where one French franc had been worth 50 CFA francs, each French franc was now worth 100 CFA francs.

In this instance, too, the devaluation was preceded by rumours that allowed speculators and companies based in the region to deposit huge amounts of CFA francs in tax havens, patiently waiting for January 1, 1994 to come. This operation was very lucrative: One CFA stored abroad gave them two new CFA as of January 1994.

Moreover, studies have proven that convertibility played a role in the 1994 devaluation: Cecile Richard, a French economist, reported in a 1995 article that in 1992, two years before the devaluation, an average of 730m French francs were converted from CFA francs every month. Before 1984, this amount was less than 284m French francs per month.

In spite of all these similarities, it is worth noting that, this time around, economic indicators in the region are positive. The region grew at a 4.3 per cent rate in 2010. The area's balance of payments has been positive during the last five years.

A devaluation, if real, would thus be eminently political. According to Senegalese economist Sanou Mbaye and a former African Development Bank professional, "the CFA franc does not profit African economies (...). To devalue the CFA Franc would allow France to resist the eurozone crisis". Western and central African countries are resource-rich: The Gulf of Guinea countries are significant oil producers, and Niger is a major source of uranium. According to the National Intelligence Council of the United States, the Gulf of Guinea could provide 25 per cent of US oil needs by 2015.

This has two consequences: Because a devaluation would reduce the price of raw materials produced in CFA zone countries by 35 per cent, France would be able to buy three oil barrels for the price of two. Conversely, CFA zone countries would have to export much more in order to obtain the same amount of money as before the devaluation. Moreover, the prices of most raw materials are denominated in US dollars - the main foreign currency reserves owned by CFA franc zone states. But the French Treasury, as previously mentioned, controls 50 per cent of these reserves.

The CFA's controversial origins

The rumour of the devaluation also reignited debate on the origins of the CFA franc, created after World War II by a 1945 decree signed by Charles de Gaulle.

According to the currency's many detractors, its control by the French treasury, its free transferability, and its unlimited convertibility originate from a monetary policy imposed on France's occupied territories by the Nazi regime. Professor Nicolas Agbohou goes so far as to speak of "monetary Nazism".

During World War II, the French economy became an important part of the German war effort. One of the consequences of the 1940 "armistice" signed between the countries was to force France to pay reparations to Germany for the cost of occupation. Each year during the occupation, nearly 20 per cent of French GDP was transferred to the Third Reich.

After signing the armistice, Germany forced a devaluation of the French franc, causing the currency to lose half its worth. A German commissioner with the right to veto was appointed to the Bank of France's board of directors.

Similarly, no decision can be taken today by central banks of the CFA franc zone without the endorsement of French representatives serving on their boards of directors.

This is a financial anachronism. Healthy countries continue to be baby-sitted monetarily by their former colonial power. Fifty years after African countries' independence, the monetary policy of the CFA franc zone remains decided by France, depending on its own interests. Statements from the French Minister of Finance and by CFA franc zone heads of state would help markets in the region regain confidence - and stanch capital outflows.

A readjustment of principles of free transferability, unlimited convertibility of the CFA would allow to sustainably safeguard the value of this currency. Limited transferability would mean that countries could better control the flight of capital and currency into tax havens. And greater transparency of the operations account would silence critics who see in the CFA franc an instrument of political and economic domination.

*Julie Owono is a Cameroonian freelance journalist and international relations consultant based in Paris. She blogs at Global Voices and is the Africa Desk Cordinator at Internet Sans Frontières, a French NGO which promotes online freedom of expression.

Follow her on Twitter: @JulieOwono