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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Cameroon's 2011 Presidential Election Billed for October 9

By Christopher Ambe Shu 

 Cameroonians at home and abroad will go to the polls to elect a president on October 9, following a presidential  decree  signed and published by  Cameroon's President, Paul Biya today ,according to state radio.
According to the decree,polling stations will open as from 8 am and close at 6 pm local .
The convening of the electoral college according to the law brings to a halt the enrollment of voters in electoral registers.Registration of voters officially had as target nine million voters,but it not clear whether the target was hit.

Political parties have up to one week to submit files of their presidential aspirants at  the offices of Elections Cameroon(ELECAM),which is the electoral body in charge of  conducting and managing of election.

By convening the electoral college,President Biya has ignored calls from some quarters especially the leading opposition party,the Social Democratic Front(SDF) for the election to be postponed to give sufficient time for more enrollment of voters.
The SDF ,which had threatened to boycott  this year's  presidential election on grounds that ELECAM was not independent and credible, and asked its militants not to enroll in the electoral registers,recently reversed its decision following the review of ELECAM,whose Board of Directors membership moved from 12 to 18.

The recent appointment by President Biya of six more members believed to be independent-minded to the ELECAM Board apparently pleased the SDF,which  now called on its militants to enroll in the voter registration.

But political pundits argue that, SDF late registration may negatively affect their votes ,especially as members and sympathizers of the ruling CPDM and other parties had started registration from day one.

The CPDM has scheduled its congress to elect its presidential candidate for the 15 and 16 of September.Paul Biya's mandate as National President of the CPDM expired last July.

His mandate too as president of Cameroon expires on November 3. Biya has ruled Cameroon for close to 29 years,since November1982 when  he took over from Cameroon's first president Ahmadou Ahidjo

Presidential campaigns are supposed to begin two weeks to polling day. It is not yet clear how many of Cameroon's more 200 political parties will field candidates

Who will be Cameroon's next President? October 9 votes will tell !









Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Cameroon:Biya’s former in-laws tell of abandonment

Former commander of presidential guard given the task to convey message

By CHIEF BISONG ETAHOBEN
Since the death of President Biya’s first wife Jeanne-Irene Biya 19 years ago, her name has hardly come up for mention; not with the predatory influence of Biya’s new wife Chantal Biya.

However, with the presidential election less than two months away, the worms are crawling out of the cans.And hardly an opportunity is missed to let Biya know the pound of flesh each one of his hitherto “home” constituencies want in exchange for their vote.The late first lady was from Endom village, in the Nyong and Mfoumou Division of the Centre Region. While she lived in the presidential palace, the division received favours, which most other administrative units of the region saw as undeserved.

“She had a sort of silent and unspoken force over the president that could clearly be seen in the favours that her kith and kin enjoyed by way of appointments to senior positions in government, social amenities as well as business opportunities for her kinsmen.

Since her death, Nyong and Mfoumou division has been on a downward slide in all aspects of national life”, opined political activist Egolan Engome.

A visit by ruling CPDM Secretary General, Réné Sadi to the division’s chief town Akonolinga {recently} gave the Nyong and Mfoumou militants of the party a chance to openly express their discontent over what is happening to their division since their daughter died under mysterious circumstances in 1992.
Former presidential guard commandant, Colonel Titus Ebogo was the man chosen by his people because of his courage, to send the message to President Biya that his former in-laws are not happy with the way his administration is treating them.

“Lest we forget, let the message be sent down from generation to generation that Nyong and Mfoumou division in the past harvested the fruits of the nation by way of roads, schools, hospitals etc.”, Col Ebogo (retired) said adding that residents of the division had in the past been nominated to high positions of responsibility in government.

“It should not be because she (former first lady) is no longer there that Nyong and Mfoumou should be forgotten”, Col Ebogo warned and went ahead to remind the head of state that “during the sombre moments in April 1984 (when Biya was almost killed in an attempted coup d’etat by former President Ahidjo’s clansmen) it was a son of Nyong and Mfoumou (himself then Commandant of the presidential guard) who contributed in a decisive manner in bringing order in Yaounde, the political capital”.

He finally cynically referred to the single minister that the division now has in government in the person of Prof Robert Nkili, junior brother to the late Jeanne-Irene Biya
-Daily Nation

Cameroon:Let's Follow in the Footsteps of late Dr. Ngwa Che Francis in Protecting Nature

By Mofor Samuel Che

Despite the phenomenal rate of technological advancement in recent decades, solutions to many simple problems continue to elude the world community. The conservation of our natural environment and the provision of clean water within easy reach of every household are just some of them. The reasons for the failure of the world community to meet even the basic needs of its citizens – clean environment, clean reliable water supplies, control of pollution and deforestation are complex and lie in the realms of politics and economics at both national and global levels. Worldwide pressure on natural resources- water, forest (flora and fauna); land etc continues to mount as population growth, increasing consumption, pollution and climate change take their toll.
 
The theme for this year’s World Environment Day was  “Nature at our service”. The environment: “a war we must win”, is a slogan closely associated with the late Dr. Ngwa Che Francis-  widely known botanist and environmentalist, who spent virtually all his professional life teaching some 25,000 youths how to plant flowers.   

Beyond just teaching young people, he was the brain behind the creation of the Savannah Botanic Garden (SABOGA) otherwise known as the Bafut Botanic Garden. Through him nature has been put as the service of the people. The Savannah Botanic Garden has a surface of 17 hectares which includes a savannah botanic garden and sanctuary forest reserve.

Late Dr. Ngwa Che Francis  then as the North West Provincial Delegate for Environment and Forest, was very supportive of  the project. According to Tafor Princewill Che, Coordinator of the Project, Dr. Ngwa Che assigned Tangie Peters to do the survey, mapping and prepare a technical report. Once the report was completed, they started involving and sensitizing the surrounding populations on the need to conserve the patches of the forest found in the project area. 
In June 1997, the first thematic gardens were established. These are the ornamental garden, a medicinal garden, a rock garden and a waterfall garden.

  The Bafut Botanic Garden project has identified and intends to conserve some patches of the lowland forest savanna. These forests are rich in plant and animal (bird) life. The forests are at Akossia, Akoyoh, Buwie, Ndung, Aga and Mako Bujang. These forests make a major contribution to the flow of the famous Menchum Falls. Unfortunately these forests are being cut and burnt for farmland and timber. According to the Project Coordinator, they intended to introduce conservation methods and income- generating activities such as agro forestry, bee farming and mushroom cultivation in order to control the abusive exploitation of these natural resources.

  The Bafut Botanic Garden with all its waterfall, patch of forest and thematic gardens enhances the tourist potential and provides a quiet and natural environment for relaxation and leisure.
    It is necessary to make mention of Fon Abumbi II of Bafut, another individual behind the project who willingly gave the old palaces of Mbebeli and Njibujang and the main garden area of Niko/Mankaha for the project.  The Bafut people built the palace here when they first arrived from Tikari several hundred years ago. It contains the tombs of the first three fons- Firloo, Nebasi Suh and Ambebi. Libation for the famous Bafut Annual Dance “Abin” begins here. It will now serve as an arboretum.
The palace at Njibujang contains the tomb of the 8th King of Bafut- Achrimbi. It harbours some rare medicinal plants and has a grinding mill which was used to grind an extinct species of maize (musang). This will serve as the second arboretum.

  Elsewhere in an interview accorded to The Recorder newspaper early this year, the Mayor of Bafut Council, Ngwa Abel Che said they recently planted 4,725 trees following a convention signed with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. The Bafut Council planted some ornamental trees along roadsides, planted water-giving trees in catchment areas; planted some trees and timber in the Bafut Council Forest.

   At a time when the consequences of climate change in Cameroon are being felt through poor crop yields, rising temperatures in the north; floods in the south, advancing desert, lack of water and arable land, movement of farmers, herders/fishermen, loss of property etc, Cameroonians in all walks of life must strive to continue and above all sustain this great initiative started by an illustrious son of theirs in the person of the late Dr.Ngwa Che Francis to conserve and protect our biodiversity by protecting our environment.

From  the University of Buea at the foot of Mount Cameroon through Dibanda, Mutengene, major junctions in Douala, Yaoundé, Hilton Hotel, Presbyterian Church Bastos- Yaoundé, Kribi and many other towns in Cameroon, one sees the great work started by this great environmentalist of blessed memory. The beautiful flowers and the landscapes all have something to do with him either directly or indirectly. Not to talk of the countless number of young persons who now earn a living by planting and selling flowers. This very exemplary initiative of his is like using one stone to shoot two birds – beauty and nature on the one hand and earning a living on the other hand. In fact when one passes where these plants and flowers are planted, the beauty alone takes away any form of stress that one has in mind. Pollution and global warming have no place in these environment, public places or surroundings.

   The best tribute we as policy makers, administrators, municipal authorities, communities, the civil society, lovers of nature and beauty, fellow botanists and environmentalists can pay to Dr. Ngwa Che Francis is to preserve the legacy that he has left behind as individuals and as communities. It is only by doing this that we can put nature at our service and contain the onslaught and devastation caused by climate change and global warming.
                                 

Friday, August 19, 2011

Cameroon:Paul Ayah Under Threat !


By Ayah Paul Abine

Paul  Ayah:facing  threats
Those familiar with Cameroon’s politics since 1982 would acknowledge that no-one has ever challenged Mr. Biya’s leadership in CPDM without being dumped in prison or forced into exile. Examples being of worldwide notoriety, any specific mention of names here would be in superfluity. Those who had thought that Ayah’s case could constitute some unique exception may soon be proved wrong in the light of the way Ayah has been placed under surveillance and subjected to threats of even bodily harm.

Incontrovertible evidence exists to the effect that People’s Action Party – PAP – was legally registered on April 26, 1991 as No 16 of over 200 political parties in Cameroon today. Ayah heads that party now and the authorities in Cameroon have been notified as by law required. God alone knows why all the over 200 parties are functioning with little hitch whereas there are hurdles in the way each time PAP proposes to carry out political activities as permitted by the law.

It is already well known that Ayah was prevented at the nick of time from using semi-public premises – the OIC. In Bamenda, the flimsy excuse was that the premises belonged to a missionary organization – the Catholic Mission. But the CPDM uses even cathedrals for political activities. Even when we paid for private premises, the Administration still had the premises stormed by the police and journalists were brutalized for covering police brutality.
 
 For months now, CPDM has been extorting money from members of the public ostensibly to register their members and supporters on the electoral rolls with the connivance of the Government. But when for once PAP declared they would hold a rally to sensitized Cameroonians to register for elections, the Divisional Officer for Buea promptly sent the police to disrupt the rally without even the courtesy to notify any banning order to PAP.
 
 PAP had earlier declared the rally to the Divisional Officer within the law. A day before the rally, Ayah had received distress calls that the Commissioner of Police for Muea had summoned up the owner of the premises and threatened him with reprisals including bodily harm and closure of the establishment if he allowed PAP to use the premises. When Ayah contacted the said commissioner on the phone to find out what the matter was the latter banged the phone on him.
 
 Not having been served any banning order, Ayah moved to Muea in a convoy at the appointed time and found the police in front of the premises. To avoid confrontation, PAP had no choice but to amass by the roadside about opposite the premises. The Commissioner of Police for Buea and other officers in both uniforms and plain clothes came up to Paul Ayah and told him to leave with the crowd. Ayah insisted that, having complied with the law, the rally must go on where the crowd had amassed whatever the consequences. As the police were on their phones,…Ayah climbed on a pick-up and proceeded to address the crowd on the necessity to get registered on the electoral rolls absolutely before the remaining two weeks for registration had run out. The police stood by at the opposite side of the road, listening.
 
 Ayah later led the crowd in a march along the main street of Muea, addressing the people at two other locations. The convoy then drove to Mile 17 Roundabout for Ayah’s fourth and final address to the crowds. The convoy finally retired to the PAP secretariat at Bakassi Na Cameroon. The police had trailed the crowd all along and only dispersed at Bakassi Na Cameroon. They clearly marveled at the peaceful and orderly conduct of the rally; not least by PAP’s message to Cameroonians.

But the unanswered question is why Mr. Biya’s agents are continually clamping down on Paul Ayah. Could it be that they want to push Ayah to the wall so he could give them the pretext to eliminate him? This supposition finds pertinence in the fact that, just the day before, some other candidate had held a clearly illegal rally at Mile 17 Roundabout without even a declaration to the very Divisional Officer; and yet without any negative official move. It is all the more pertinent as Ayah remains consistently targeted even as PAP is a legal political party; and Ayah is only one of over twenty declared candidates for the upcoming election in Cameroon? OVER!

 

    

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Cameroon:The People’s New Challenges

By Tazoacha Asonganyi,Yaounde.

This article is dedicated to my friend Barrister Augustine Mbami for his unforgettable
friendship, and for calling on youths, 24 hours before his unfortunate demise on August 15,2011, to take over from tiring elders like himself and prosecute the deadlocked struggle for change in Cameroon, not because he knew he would die so soon, but because he wanted to live the advent of change…

Mbami serving his  50th anniversary drink on 15 Dec.2002
The last few years have been replete with the exploits of the people around the world. Those in ex-colonies like Cameroon, in spite of the distorted history of their countries taught them, have become fully aware that their “independence” was handed to people who did not ask for it; and that those of them that took this inheritance, governed their societies not for the benefit of their people, but in thankfulness to those who handed them the inheritance.

 And so after many years of pent up resentments and latent frustrations, the people started sticking up for themselves by the thousands or millions, from one public square after
another, asking to be handed back their inheritance. Most of the time, their known
“leaders”that had accompanied them in their frustrations and resentments were far, far behind them,hurrying frantically forward, as if to say that the new-style revolutions still needed their old-style, hesitant leadership! Invariably, these “leaders” always got elbowed away, in preference to new leadership equally elbowed forward from the ranks of writers, journalists,trade unionists, professors, entrepreneurs, civil servants, bayam-sellams; elbowed into more assertive positions of power by the tectonic movements caused by the rumblings of the swelling, sweating crowds determined to manage and govern their societies according to their own reasons, not those of other peoples.

Luckily for us, every political party that came to the scene in the ‘90s has always claimed that education of the masses – of the people – was their principal mission. We assume that the purpose of such education was to enable the people to think and act for themselves. In which case, the people are fully prepared to effect change, in spite of their “leaders” that have become less and less courageous, and more and more cautious. We expect the change to sweep away these “old” leaders who for over 20 years, have refused to learn about the peril of focusing on differences that divide the people, rather than commonalities and mutual  interests that band them together to dictate the pace of the society. The opposition forces that guided the people have refused to find a way of being together while being different,in order to address matters that require common actions with national impact – like organizing free and fair elections.

Time has caught up with the “old” leaders, and exposed their emptiness – their dissimilarity to what they said they were! Time has revealed them as people cowed into paralysis by years of “activism” and secret deals. Time and its new gadgets have taught the people about what their peers are doing elsewhere – about the good things happening in places near and far that could happen here too if their leaders were wiser and more inventive.

The people, in spite of years of “education,” may not know how to write platforms, or manage an economy, or govern society; but they know from the experience of their daily lives that the those who claim to have produced dozens and dozens of “platforms” and “programmes of government” in the past are not very good at management and governance either. They know that what the “leaders” are doing is not good enough, or at all, and needs to be changed.

Time has revealed to the people, the foundation on which their society rests and the subhuman fate that is theirs, and thrust many possible human choices at them. Now they know that in places near and far where all avenues are closed, these choices are made at the centre of the public square!

The corollary of an election that is not free and fair is not peace. Everybody seems to be talking about “peace” – in motions of support, in resolutions of opposition parties, in  press conferences! Everybody is becoming more devoted to "order" than to justice, thus preferring what Martin Luther King would call “negative peace” which is the absence of tension, to “positive peace” which is the presence of justice.

Every political party seems to be calling on their supporters to give up their efforts to ensure that their basic constitutional rights on elections are respected because such a quest would disturb “peace.” Everybody seems to be resigned to the belief that nothing can be done to ensure that elections are free and fair, since nothing has been done effectively in that direction since 1992. Everybody seems to have given up on the quest for justice, so it seems to now be left to some “reckless” youths to do what they did in 2008: vent their long suppressed frustrations by disturbing “negative peace” in order to have “positive peace”; vent their latent anger by laying the election case before the conscience of the national and international communities.

Democracy is no respecter of persons. In a democracy the people are the boss; you cross the line to meet them not because you like them or you want to be friendly with them, but because you know who you aspire to work for. That is how it has always been. Those who refuse peaceful change demanded by the people may end up facing violent change imposed by the people. Only then will they realize how much they had been eaten up by their own conceit; how much they had been consumed by their own petty arrogance.Then they will have only their eyes to weep and their hearts to bleed, like some of their peers far and near are doing now!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Cameroon’s Presidential Aspirant Paul Ayah under Mounting Persecution


     By AYAH Paul ABINE
When Akwaya gendarmes killed and wounded innocent villagers at Okerika on January 19, 2011, for the simple reason that they expressed their delight at Paul Ayah’s declaration to contest the upcoming presidential election in Cameroon, the heinous crime received little attention from the national and international communities. Nor was Paul Ayah taken seriously when he declared that there were instructions from high quarters, or, perhaps, from the highest quarters in Cameroon, that Paul Ayah’s activities should be disrupted at all times and at all levels.

 Before the dust could settle, however, a journalist of the State-controlled radio, CRTV, Buea, was suspended for granting Paul Ayah an interview over the news media in question. After the suspension, the journalist was promptly transferred to Northern Cameroon, some 2000 kilometres from where Ayah lives. That was in keeping with official instructions that Ayah should neither be heard nor seen on CRTV, even though Ayah pays monthly for the functioning of that media. This was soon followed by the banning of the launch of Ayah”s book by the Administration in Bamenda without any justification. It did not take a month before warders at Kondengui Prison were sanctioned for permitting Ayah to visit prisoners.

The persecution of Ayah goes far beyond the disrupting of his activities. Persons treating with him, let alone supporting him, are equally targeted. It is no news that the Vice President of the People’s Action Party-PAP-, the party Ayah joined after resigning from the ruling party, (Mr. Biya’s CPDM), was brought under sustained threats in Kumba until he fled Cameroon for Lagos in Nigeria for upwards of four months. And the Secretary General of the party reports that he has just been given a notice to quit the property where he lives on the ground that he belongs to the same party as Paul Ayah.

As the day of polling draws nearer, the persecution of Ayah and his relations has intensified. Government’s agents have been assigned to level hollow criminal accusations against Ayah for the Biya regime to use as a pretext to disqualify Ayah from standing election. A dependable official recently disclosed how a gendarmerie company commander in Northwest Cameroon has gratuitously written how some woman had told him that Ayah had sent a million francs for the purchase of arms for his side in the Messaga-Essimbi war. Unable to identify the said woman, the Biya agent is now intimidating woman after woman in a bid to procure some woman to hold herself out as the accuser.

Nor has the Biya regime relented in their persecution. Last Friday, August 12, 2011, Ayah was prevented from meeting prisoners in the New Bell Prison, (Douala), at the request of some prisoner in need of help. Aand Ayah’ campaign manager in English was recently prevented from taking part in a programme over CRTV, Buea. He had regularly been listed as a member of the panel. But upon discovering he was Ayah’s campaign manager, the presenter of the programme physically barred his entry into the studio.

That is called advanced democracy a la Camerounaise!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Buea: Mayor Victorious in Case to Construct Modern Council Office in Disputed Land

By Christopher Ambe Shu

The Mayor of Buea, Charles Mbella Moki, has emerged victorious in a case pitting the Buea-based National School of Penitentiary Administration (ENAP) against Buea Council over a strategic piece of land in the center of the town.
Mayor  Moki:making a point.
The land in question is owned by the State of Cameroon and is adjacent to ENAP.
But because of its strategic location, the Mayor of Buea earmarked the said piece of land for the construction of an ultra-modern council office worth 400million francs.
And construction work actually started two weeks ago when ENAP claiming that the piece of land in question belonged to it, caused the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako (SDO), Bona Ebengue François, to issue an injunction on the disputed area. An SDO, by regulation, is manager of state land within his jurisdiction.
The Fako SDO then convened a crisis meeting bringing together the quarreling parties-ENAP and Buea Council, which are both state institutions and other authorities in charge of land matters, to ascertain the true legal owner of the disputed area.
But investigations proved that in 1986 Buea Council had applied for the said area to build a market but did not fulfill the requirements to become its legal owner. It also emerged that, in 2001 ENAP also started the process to legally own the piece of land, but did not go through.
In delivering his judgment after hearing the warring parties, scrutinizing land documents and visiting the site, the SDO for Fako ruled in favor of the mayor for the construction of a befitting council hall.
Bona Ebengue was convinced that the construction of the council hall there would not disturb in anyway the smooth functioning of the ENAP.He even disclosed that ENAP will be moved to its new site near Muea in Buea subdivision soon.
 Before the SDO’s ruling favoring the mayor, the Paramount Chief of Buea, retired Justice SML Endeley, was worried that the SDO had issued an order stopping the construction of the council hall, and as such, led his council of notables and met the SDO, during which he publicly backed the mayor’s decision to build the council hall at the chosen location.
It appeared that if the SDO did not finally approve the construction of the council office on the chosen but disputed area, Buea residents would have staged street demonstrations to back the mayor; for they have been waiting to witness the realization of the council building project, which their mayor had promised them and later secured the funds for its realization.
The construction of the council hall is scheduled to take less than one year and is one of mayor Moki’s key projects in his almost ten years in office.
An elated Mayor Moki expressed thanks to the SDO for being development-oriented and equally to ENAP Director, Immaculate Fonkem, for consideration
“The council hall is a jewel for the people of Buea.The building will have a 300-seat hall and another 100-seat hall. It will have the office of the mayor. It is a two-storey building, which upon completion will look like a mountain. Let me tell the people of Buea that not all the services of the council will be transferred here,” the mayor told journalists on the site minutes after the SDO gave the go-ahead for the construction.
The construction of the council hall is taking off just when the mayor has launched the elaboration of Buea Council Development Plan in partnership with the National Community-driven Development Program (PNDP).And GREMPCO, Buea has been chosen as the local support organization in realizing the plan.


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Cameroon:SDF Finally Joins Voters Registration

By Choves Loh
This was one of the major resolutions of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Bamenda on sunday.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) ended in Bamenda on August 7, with a resolution urging all Cameroonians to submit to the voters registration exercise put in place by Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) ahead of the 2011 presidential election.

The stakes were high and the waiting was long in the NEC session of August 6 and 7 with SDF Chairman, John Fru Ndi presiding. The session moved the party away from sitting on the fence in what the NEC member and Minister of Justice in the SDF Shadow Cabinet, Professor Kofete Kale said, " the supreme interest of Cameroonians influenced NEC decision to avoid further ambiguity in their minds about the party's position ahead of the 2011 presidential election". He said, the SDF recognises the ballot box as the best instrument of grabbing power.

  The SDF according to Professor Kale, recognises the fact that President Paul Biya has reacted to some of the party's requests in recent times by expanding the Electoral Board of ELECAM and the involvement of Cameroonians in the Diaspora in the electoral process.

The agenda of the NEC meeting acknowledged that Cameroon needed a clear position from the SDF. It also emerged that Chairman Fru Ndi will grant a press conference in Yaounde on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 and equally receive a visiting delegation of Socialist International to Cameroon in the days ahead.Hon. Jean Jacques Ekindi, the President of the Progressive Movement (MP) on a working visit to Bamenda was also received by Fru Ndi on the sidelines of the NEC meeting. Hon. Ekindi told the press that the meeting was to renew contacts with the SDF Chairman-Cameroon Tribune

Monday, August 8, 2011

Cameroon’s lone woman presidential candidate

Kah Walla
By Comfort Musa,Global Press Institute

BAMENDA, CAMEROON (GPI) August , 2011 – At every stop along the campaign trail, Edith Kabbang Walla, 45, popularly known here as Kah Walla, is generating excitement among women nationwide. Walla is the only female candidate running for president in Cameroon’s October elections.

 “The interest of women in politics has been aroused, but now we want their active participation,” Walla says during a recent visit to Bamenda, a city in northwestern Cameroon.

 Walla entered the national political scene in 2007 and was named by the World Bank in 2008 as one of seven women entrepreneurs in Africa. She declared her candidacy in October 2010, and the Cameroon People’s Party endorsed her in April 2011.

 Tracing women’s political participation in Cameroon, Walla says that women were the first group to hold a public demonstration against colonizers in the fight for Cameroon’s independence. But she says that after the country gained independence from France in 1960 and Great Britain in 1961, women’s participation faded into playing traditional roles within political party circles instead of seizing strategic positions, such as president.

“In 1992, a woman ran for presidency, but later joined [the] presidential majority,” she says. “We saw another in 2004, but her candidacy was never accepted. So my candidacy is first to draw national and international attention as [a] woman candidate.”

She believes that her candidacy and her work in the field to get Cameroonians to register to vote have already had an impact on the community and on the way women view politics. If elected president, Walla says she plans to continue to integrate more Cameroonian voices into the decision-making process. Her three priorities are women, the disabled, and the linguistic and ethnic minority.

“These people have been left out of the decision-making processes in the country,” she says.

Walla, a board member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, an international community of entrepreneurs, says she also plans on reviving Cameroon’s economy.

“Cameroon has tremendous natural and human resources,” she says. “We have the potential to be a strong economic force on the African continent. We need to get our vibrant informal sector formal so that people can have decent work. Jobs are a major focus for my economic program. We need to take advantage of our geopolitical position to build [a] gateway into Central Africa.”

She says she also plans to rebuild social services.

“Socially, we need to rebuild our social service, health, education and security systems so that Cameroonians can have access to basic social services,” she says.

Walla, who is running her campaign under the slogan, “The time is now,” says her main supporters are youth, who have been active in her campaign. She says getting women involved is more challenging.

“Women are excited about having a woman candidate, but the challenge is to get them active,” she says. “We need to see them register, vote and seek to be voted across all political party lines.”

Walla says women daring to enter politics also face challenges from opposition, ranging from kidnapping to intimidation by administrative and cultural authorities to cultural practices that undermine women’s leadership potential.

“I was kidnapped on the 20th of May, 2011,” Walla recounts among other obstacles to her candidacy. “I had water cannons turned on me, and I have had some forms of intimidation, too.”

She says this happens because Cameroon is a republic, not a democracy.

“The big challenge in Cameroon is that we don’t have a democracy, so people that are politically active in the opposition get harassed and sometimes physically threatened,” she says. “These aspects are a big distraction and challenge when one is running a campaign.”

But she says the biggest challenge is changing people’s perceptions about women in leadership roles.

“As a woman, the strongest challenge is getting people to see the possibility of having a woman as their leader,” she says. “However, because our male leadership has not been successful, many people see a woman as a possible change for the better.”

As women strive to become more involved in politics in Cameroon, they say the main challenges they face are intimidation and the doubt that women can hold positions of power. Political players attribute this to Cameroon’s patriarchal society, which has created deep-rooted gender roles that welcome men in the public sphere yet relegate women to the home. Various organizations are working to change this to get women more active in politics.

The percentage of Cameroonian women in politics is low. There are only 21 women members of parliament, MPs, out of a total of 180, and 29 women mayors out of 360 nationwide, Henriette Ekwe Ebongo, a Cameroonian journalist and winner of a 2011 International Women of Courage Award, said at a conference at the U.S. Department of State earlier this year. There currently aren’t any female governors, female senior divisional officers or female military generals in Cameroon.

Like Walla, Diana Ambofei, vice regional chairwoman of the Social Democratic Front, Cameroon’s main opposition party, in Cameroon’s Northwest region, says intimidation is a major challenge to women in politics here.

Ambofei says she tried to run for Parliament in 2002 but withdrew from the campaign because of death threats from traditional leaders within her constituency.

“I was summoned to a hut by the traditional heads in my constituency, and palm wine was sprinkled at the entrance of the hut,” she says. “They said if I wanted to live, I should cross the entrance of the hut and stop my campaign of [mine], but if I do not want to see the dawn of the next day, I should cross the entrance of the hut and go on with the campaign. I left the hut and declined my candidacy.”

Martin Fon Yembe, a political analyst and staff writer for the Political Punch, a Cameroonian political newsletter, says that many agree that Walla has what it takes to be the president of Cameroon.

“But, what is wrong?” he asks. “People say, ‘Oh things are too rough for a woman to handle,’ etc. I say, nonsense, given that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia won elections on the heels of very wild civil war!”

But he says intimidation and foul play may obstruct Walla’s chances of winning.

“Given a level playing field, Kah Walla will single-handedly defeat the other candidates in the election,” he says. “But, alas, there is blackmail, slander, corruption and all those vices, which are already playing against her and any other female candidates in Cameroon.”

Ambe Julia is the divisional delegate of Elections Cameroon, an independent body responsible for organization, management and supervision of all election operations and referendums, in Mezam, the department that holds Bamenda.

 She says there are many reasons that account for the continued intimidation and disinterest of women when it comes to politics here. She says the underlying cause is that Cameroon is a highly patriarchal society that defines the role of women as within the domestic sphere. Meanwhile, she says men have control over the public sphere and get to decide on issues that affect women directly and indirectly.

 She says that when her organization is out in the field encouraging people to register to vote in the presidential polls, the women they meet say they need to seek consent from their husbands on whether they can register. Also, she says most women are farmers, so it’s usually hard to find them at home during the door-to-door voter registration exercises.

Mercy Ngwa, 26, a cyber café attendant, says she registered to vote for the first time this year.

“I have registered, and I will vote,” she says. “I have never voted before, so this will be my first time to vote, and I hope it will count.”

She says she believes that a woman president could do the job as well as a man.

“Having a woman president is a good idea, and it’s possible because women are equal to the tasks,” she says. “We have women who are as qualified as their male political counterparts.”

Julia says women constitute the bulk of members in any political party in Cameroon but that they are vulnerable because they have little access to political debates. Instead, she says they play traditional roles in their parties, such as cooking food and providing entertainment during party events.



Michelle Hain, a European volunteer serving in Cameroon under Voluntary Service Overseas, an international development organization, volunteers as the organizational development adviser for the Community Initiative for Sustainable Development, COMINSUD, an organization dedicated to sustainable development in the Northwest region of Cameroon. She says she has noticed that men dominate the political field in Cameroon. Consequently, most Cameroonian women concentrate their efforts in civil society organizations, parent-teacher associations and other nongovernmental organizations, where their efforts can have a direct impact on their society.



“Women are interested but disengaged if they think their participation will be pointless,” she says. “They want to see change. If politics presents itself as a vehicle for positive change, they will want to be a part of it. They want to see practical change. They will not go into politics for just the power and prestige. Also, they need role models.”



Fon Nsoh, COMINSUD coordinator, says that the organization has been looking to engage women in politics through the Democracy and Empowerment of Women, DEW, project.



“In the Northwest region of Cameroon, in over 100 opportunities for woman to be an MP, we have had just one female parliamentarian in the past 15 years,” he says. “Through the DEW project, we are identifying and promoting women and youth candidates to run in elections. Our interest is not in pushing the agenda of any political party. We are interested in seeing women in elected positions.”

Nsoh says from field experience that they ascertain that women still have many limiting factors to overcome before they can fully participate in politics. For example, he says Cameroon’s Constitution does not set any minimum requirement for the percentage of Parliament that must be women, as other countries in the region have done.

“Some women do not trust the political environment,” he says. “That’s why we have voter apathy. Stereotypes need to be uplifted. Also, we still have many records of outright intimidation against women daring into politics by men. Election campaigns could be expensive for most women, who most times don’t have pockets as deep as those of men.”

Nsoh says that COMINSUD’s role as a civil society organization is to work hard to eliminate these barriers. He says he is hopeful that by the end of the year, they will have up to 1,000 potential women and youth candidates to run in the municipal and legislative elections in 2012.

Whether Walla wins the presidential race in the fall, she says that women’s political participation in Cameroon has greatly changed for the better thanks to her campaign. She says she is honored to have inspired other Cameroonian women to see the possibility of women actively participating in politics.

“I am honored to know that an 8-year-old pupil wrote my name as her model in a class exercise when their teacher asked them to cite the name of someone who inspires them,” she says. “I also have women who walk up to me and thank me for taking a bold step and making a statement that women can aspire and dream big dreams.”

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Cameroon: Government more determined to check "Secessionists"

By Ako King
The recent announcement by the SCNC,which is fighting for the restoration of the independence of Southern Cameroons that they will celebrate in grand style the 50th anniversary of Southern Cameroons independence next October 1 has rekindled the determination of the Cameroon Government to crack down on SCNC activists,whom the government describes as secessionists,a security source revealed

A recent release issued by activist Oben Maxwell,announcing commemorative activities for the coming golden jubilee also appealed to Britain and the United Nations to “stop La Republique’s occupation and colonization of Southern Cameroons”.
Mr.Oben reiterated that there is no legal union between the la Republique du Cameroun and Southern Cameroons recognized by the United Nations

The golden jubilee of the independence of Southern Cameroons is expected to coincide with celebrations announced by President Paul Biya to mark the golden jubilee of Cameroon's reunification .

It was on October 1,1961 that Southern Cameroons gained its independence by from Britain by joining La Republique du Cameroun,which had earlier gained its own
independence in January 1960.

A security source said because the government is not comfortable with the SCNC campaign,which is likely to jeopardize the golden jubilee of the Cameroon's reunification,security forces have been put on red alert and told to crack down on these "secessionists"
The Government is also said to have intensified the search for radical SCNC
activists,especially as SCNC National Chairman, Chief Ayamba Ette Ottun recently announced the election of the movement’s United Kingdom executive bureau.
According to the release, the six-man bureau executive represents the Southern Cameroons National Council in the UK.
This reporter gathered that following the publication of the release last week,
unidentified security agents raided the family residence in kumba of the UK Financial Secretary of the organization,Nana Serge Bertrand,said to be a radical SCNC man. The agents reportedly said they were looking for SCNC materials,but it emerged they did not find any.
Nana Bertrand had fled Cameroon reportedly because of repeated threats on his life as other activists were being prosecuted.

Our source said the Government of Cameroon fears that if the SCNC is allowed to operate freely,one day Southern Cameroons will become an independent state,just as South Sudan is now,recognized by the UN and the rest of the world.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Cameroon:Buea Confronts Biya with Memo as He Contemplates Reunification Venue

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Shortly after publicly calling on President Biya to pronounce Buea host of the golden jubilee of Cameroon’s reunification, the Buea Traditional Council (BTC) again on July 28 stormed the office of Southwest Regional Governor and handed what a source described as a ‘hot memorandum’ intended for the Head of state, to Governor koumpa Issa, for onward transmission.

The nine-person delegation that handed the memo to the governor was led by Hon.Peter Ray Ikundi, vice chair of the BTC, which is headed by the Paramount Chief of Buea ,retired Justice SML Endeley who reportedly due to ill-health could not be on board.

Governor koumpa who received the memo promised to dispatch it with immediate effect.
Nothing leaked to the press with regards to the content of the memo as delegation members were tight-lipped when confronted by inquisitive reporters.

But political pundits believe the memo must be emphasizing, among other things, the readiness and justification of the people of Buea to host golden jubilee of reunification, as well as Bakweri urgent demand for more settlement land from the Government.

“Land is no longer a negotiable issue, it is an imperative. Bakweri villages of Buea need land”, Professor Ndiva kofele kale, distinguished professor of law in the USA and native of Buea told reporters recently, regretting the expropriation of Bakweri most habitable land by the Germans, which land was later ceded to CDC on a lease basis.

The expropriation has left the Bawkeri, natives of Buea with little or no land and many of them have been pushed by the situation to settle on hills.
It is even worse now that the Government has limited their access into the Mt Fako forest; they fear that their children may not have land in future to build on if the government does not return to them enough land

Also,Buea people are reportedly not happy with attempts by elites of some other regions to persuade the Head of State to ignore Buea and choose another town as venue of the reunification celebrations.

“There is no reason why the venue of the celebrations should not be Buea,”Professor kale, had earlier told reporters. “Buea is where the reunification idea-in the legal terms, was conceived and consummated.”

Buea, which is today the headquarters of the Southwest Region of Cameroon, had been capital of German Cameroon, Seat of British Southern Cameroons and Capital of West Cameroon State.

Professor kale told reporters last July 28 that October 1, 1961 is a date of double significance to Anglophone Cameroon.
“First it was the day British Southern Cameroons got rid of the yoke of colonial rule and became independent. So on October 1, 2011, Anglophone Cameroon shall be celebrating their independence...October 1.2011 marks 50 years of an independent state for Anglophones.
“Second, as we were consummating our independence, we also agreed to reunify with our brothers of French Cameroon,” the law professor noted.
He said the modern history of Cameroon is 95years(1916 to 2011),adding that for 56 years(1916 to 1972) of the 95 years, Buea was the main radiating center for English speaking Cameroonians.

It is highly hoped that President Biya, after reading the memo, would waste no time in endorsing Buea -so to appease Anglophones who feel grossly marginalized in their union with La Republique du Cameroun, with some of them calling for secession-championed by SCNC.



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