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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Medical Education in Cameroon

By Tazoacha Asonganyi * in Yaounde. 
We are informed by the press that the National commission for medical education (with french acronym CNFMP) has taken a decision to organize one entrance examination for all faculties of medicine in Cameroon with candidates choosing only one institution and one filiation of general medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy. CNFMP will select candidates for each institution; the state will no longer interfere with charging of training fees in private institutions, and will no longer pay part of the fees for students in private institutions.
     This brings to an end the half-thought-out programme of not only imposing fees to be paid in private universities, but also fooling the children of the poor that they would get medical training in private universities in Cameroon on state scholarship. When at the end of the 2013/2014 academic year the Minister of Higher Education abandoned the children that he had admitted to study medicine in private institutions to their parents after just one year of cacophony and chaotic payment of their fees, most of the poor parents were left with the difficult task of convincing their children that they could not afford the fees for them to continue their medical education in the private universities.
     This failed programme of “harmonization” does not seem to have dampened the “leveling” zeal of the minister. It is not surprising that the University of Buea Chapter of the National Union of Teachers of Higher Education (SYNES),recently wrote a letter of protest to the Minister of Higher Education against his intended “Harmonisation of university programmes to enhance the mobility of students from one University to another.”The minister seems to abhor diversity which necessarily breeds competition that is always the mother of individual and group genius and intelligence – and excellence!
     It will be recalled that in 2013, when the Minister of Higher Education, Grand Chancellor of Academic Orders, etc. started toying with what he called “reforms” of Medical education in Cameroon, I wrote an article expressing doubt about the wisdom of what he was about to do. Most of the reforms have now come to naught after causing so much pain and hardship to many households. Unfortunately, the new dispositions announced by CNFMP still have a lot of shortcomings. This is because the dispositions ignore the fact that every Cameroonian child that wants to study medicine has the right to compete for a place in a low-fee-paying state university faculty first; when theyn fail to get a place, they can then elect to study in a private, high-fee-paying university faculty. Therefore I still think that the best the state should do is organize a national common entrance examination for candidates who would like to study medicine in Cameroon.
     Such an exam should be marked nationally, and those who score marks that class them in a group with the highest aptitude to study medicine (List A) should be so classified, and the role of the state should end there. Each Faculty, of private or public universities, should then proceed to organize interviews/oral examinations for admission of candidates from “List A” into its Faculty. To be fair to the candidates and give all of them an equal opportunity to benefit from state sponsorship, Faculties of state universities should first conduct their interviews before the private universities follow suit.From my personal knowledge of the performance of such candidates over a period of some 30 years, I have no doubt that even if we multiply the present number of Faculties of medicine by 10, they will still be unable to absorb all those who will qualify for “List A” each year.
    This said, since I think that what I wrote in 2013 is still very pertinent to what CNFMP is presently engaged in, I have decided to make it available as part of this new article.


Medical Education in Cameroon Needs Product Approval and Certification, Not Disruption! (Yaounde, December 2, 2013).

“Vision-2035” that has since become the mantra of the Cameroon government promises in the area of health, education, science, and technology that “A national product approval and certification system will be established.” Such products, one would hope, include goods, services, and trained manpower. The system should include an oversight on the production process. If well executed, the system would prevent people from settling on the notion that “anything goes.” The system should be based on special codes to reduce complexity and establish behavioral expectations. It should not threaten the autonomy of society and the vibrancy of the private sector. It should be robust enough to avoid being abused or being used for strategic ends of groups or individuals, whoever they may be. To increase their robustness, such codes should be constantly acted on through plural democratic processes that not only put into question the established “norms,” but also help to legitimate, concretize, or improve them.

     When government policy is not well thought out and appropriately communicated to society, public opinion is easily dominated by general, speculative ideas. If policy that should be shared through processes of participation and communication becomes subject to the organizational logic of administrative power, this leads to confusion, demobilization, distrust, and poor implementation.
    The recent activities of the ministry of Higher Education in relation to medical education in Cameroon were an effort at fighting against an old error which the ministry was a willing accomplice in perpetuating. The ministry gave authorization to persons to start medical training institutions without clear rules of engagement; without enforceable codes of conduct. So when the ministry started playing the catch-up game, it left the impression of the desperation of someone trying to catch a train that was already in motion. It also left the perception of theatrical actions that did not seem to have been well thought out, and so lacked a well laid out plan. In the process, it appeared to the public like the settling of personal or group scores because it ended up with decisions that were not only extremely disruptive, but were also certainly unsustainable.
    Citizens usually want well-being not only in body but also in mind; they want both health and happiness. It is because of this that we are clamouring for “development;” for “emergence.” To achieve these, they need to be powered mainly by science, and by the things that science has already delivered to us, and will surely deliver to our children, our grandchildren and beyond. This is why all education systems of the 21st century have the “STEM” component – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – as their centerpiece. Since Medicine that the ministry of Higher Education seems to be grappling with is a well-deserved component, we can say that it is “STEMM.”  But medicine is just part of a broad spectrum, and should not be allowed, as the ministry seems to be trying to do, to distract attention from other important components of STEMM.
     It is the place we give the STEMM component in our education system that will permit our universities to become knowledge centres of excellence, and generators of knowledge, entrepreneurship and innovation - elements that will impact the economy and general policy development. It is STEMM that should drive our university system and ensure that the universities, private and public alike, produce highly skilled manpower that is internationally competitive; manpower that is disciplined because it pays attention to details induced by careful and rigorous training received from highly motivated staff. Such skilled, disciplined and highly competitive manpower is obviously not the “semi-skilled workers and second-line managers” our universities are presently spinning out as holders of “professional” diplomas and degrees.
    The theatrics engaged by the minister of Higher Education in the medical education sector should not distract attention from the fact that our universities lack infrastructure and a friendly environment to support teaching and research in all domains; that university leadership is appointed, not based on merit but on nepotism, tribalism, and cronyism; that university administration is tele-guided from a central control point in Yaounde that has a penchant for leveling and cutting every institution to size, thus, usually blocking the individual genius and human intelligence that invariably make one country different from the other, one institution different from the other, and one university different from the other.
     If “product approval and certification” means merging the public and private sectors into one unit under the diktats of the government, it will obviously be more destructive than constructive. In the pursuit of the goals of “approval and certification,” the public and private spheres should co-exist and depend on each other, but should operate as different units. The goodness in the private sector is usually the strength of a sure factor – the human factor - which, in the exercise of free choices and actions in an open society, can give birth to competitive institutions that set the bar high on what universities can achieve. Indeed, the goodness of the private sector is in the generation of competition, which has always been the surest means to bring all human capacities to full development. The private sector works on the imperative of efficiency that rejects advancement by personal favour, tribalism, regionalism, corruption or party affiliation that have become the hallmarks of the public sector in Cameroon.
   In what looks like a confused effort to streamline medical education in Cameroon, government is being perceived as an actor among other actors rather than as the provider of the framework that makes possible the competitive operation of university institutions in the public and private realms. The government is perceived as attempting to impose itself on private actors, who, in reaction, seek to resist it because government is believed to have lost its proper function by being reduced to an object of social competition, and a prey to real interests. Such a posture denies government the autonomy and responsibility of judgment in the formulation of just and sustainable policies for medical education in Cameroon. The posture has led to a lack of trust in what government is doing because it is believed that it is tainted with personal, selfish considerations. Indeed, it has led to actors looking for somebody to rescue them from the government!
     National product approval and certification is obviously good for any country engaged in the great catch-up development race of the 21st century. But it should be a system that encourages competition and excellence, not blocks them. What we urgently need today is not the sort of confused actions the ministry of Higher Education has engaged in the medical education sector. We need an all-encompassing approach defined in a national education forum that charts out strategies for an education system that can make Cameroon a talented player in the biotechnology, technology, medical and other professional and industrial sectors.
 *Tazoacha Asonganyi is professor ,teaching at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde 1,Cameroon.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Assault on Chief Abia & burning down of his palace: Offenders jailed & fined to pay 50m FCFA !

Chief Boniface Abia
By Christopher Ambe
Nhuan Boniface Nhwuasoh Abia II, traditional ruler of Babensi 1 in Nguti subdivision of the Southwest Region,who was  assaulted by his own subjects and whose palace valued at over 40 million Fcfa was razed by  irate villagers forcing  him to flee his  village for about two years,  has been given justice by a court ruling.
    Those who assaulted him and burned down his palace have been sentenced to jail terms and or fined to pay millions of Francs FCFA in damages.
     The chief has since his assault been living in Buea for fear of his safety. Babensi 1 is a village with a population over 1500 inhabitants, along the Kumba-Mamfe road.
    Chief Abia, who was enthroned in May 2009, told The Recorder that  he never had any   opposition to his enthronement.
    The story goes that during a funeral of a soldier, Adjudant Chef-Major Ngwe Bernard Ewoundo in Babensi 1,in  April 2013, the soldier’s relative publicly accused one Daniel Ebue Esaka of killing him through witchcraft. Shocked by the revelation, a gang of village mourners immediately rushed for Esaka who also attended the funeral and started beating him to force him confess. 
    For fear that the mob could kill Mr. Esaka,Chief Abia  who also attended the burial immediately stepped in and  was trying to discourage mob justice.
    But some irate villagers instead fell on him and got him beaten, accusing him of being a co-killer-occultist. It was thanks to the efforts of some villagers that Chief Abia was rescued from his attackers and taken back to his palace.
    Suspecting  that Chief Abia who already sustained injuries could be further attacked, Chief Eseme of a neighboring village (Kokobuma) came and took Chief Abia to the former’s palace where he was administered First Aid  ahead of a planned medical check elsewhere.
     The gang that had beaten Chief Abia later stormed his Babensi 1 palace, apparently believing that he was in so that they could continue their assault on him.
 But unfortunately for them Chief Abia was not there.
    Angered by his absence, the reportedly gang ordered Chief Abia’s relations who were in the palace to come out from it, or be burnt alive with the palace.  And when the threatened relatives ran out for safety, the gang set ablaze the over 30 million Fcfa palace with all its valuables.
    Meanwhile Mr. Esaka Daniel, who was badly beaten and injured, was only rescued by some military men who had accompanied the corpse of their colleague for the burial.Mr. Esaka was then rushed to Limbe Reference Hospital for serious medical attention.
    Chief Abia, who is a retired Senior Inspector of Treasury, then lodged a criminal complaint against his 17 attackers to seek for justice, which resulted to their prosecution at Bangem Court of First Instance, presided at by Magistrate (Mrs) Nchak Comfort Yufounyui Ngum.
    The 17 accused  faced a three-count charge: count 1-simple  harm contrary to and punishable under Section 280 of the penal Code;count 2- arson contrary to and punishable under Section 227(1)(a) of the Penal Code and count 3- slight harm contrary to and punishable under Section 281 of same.
        After an examination of the evidence before her and submissions of counsels, the magistrate recently found 13 of the 17 accused guilty of the offences of simple harm, slight harm and arson. Three of the 17 were discharged.
    For count 1, the convicted were each sentenced to pay a fine of 200,000 FRS or serve nine months imprisonment in default of payment. For count 2, the convicted were each sentenced to pay a fine of 500,000 FRS or serve 18 months imprisonment in default of payment. For count 3, the convicted were each sentenced to pay a fine of 50.000 FRS or serve six months imprisonment in default of payment.
    Concerning the civil claim, the court ordered that both Mr.Daniel Ebue Esaka and Chief Boniface N. Abia,both the prosecution witnesses and civil claimants who testified having suffered financial and material losses as a result of the commission of these offences as well as psychological torture, be compensated. The court ordered that the“convicts shall compensate the civil claimants with the sum of fifty million (50,000,000) francs CFA for damage caused to them as a result of the offences which they committed. This shall be jointly and severally”
    The  Court ordered that the sentences shall run concurrently; that the convicts shall bear the cost of proceedings valued at 876.310FCFA, which shall be divided amongst the convicts.
    Imprisonment warrants were issued against all the convicts. They include: Akama Johnson,Esape N. Henry,Ekoko Asick Armstrong,Ewunsoh Galeb Abia,Ehape Abel Enombo,Asue David Awah,Ekoko Peter Ahape, Ahape Gabriel,Abia Ferdinand Ewunsoh,Nguti Edward, Elobi Alexamder Kinjoh,Anyie Peter,Eleh Simon Akepa and Akame Ejabi James.
    The Recorder gathered that, despite the notice of ten days within which any dissatisfied party could lodge an appeal against the judgment, the deadline expired without any appeal registered. #
(First published in The RECORDER Newspaper,Cameroon,of June 10,2015)

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Cameroon OIC Buea 40 M Fcfa Embezzlement Scandal: Sacked Director, Others Contest Board’s Decision!


By Christopher Ambe
Four recently sacked officials of Cameroon Opportunities  Industrialization Centre (COIC ) Buea who were accused of embezzling a total of about 40 million Fcfa  being  money put at their disposal for the smooth running of the institution, have reportedly rubbished the decision of the  Board of Directors relieving them of their functions.
      COIC Buea, an affiliate of OIC International with headquarters in Philadelphia, USA, was established in 1986 as a non-profit, community-based skills training Program. COIC depends largely on Government subvention which stands at 150 million Fcfa yearly.
        In separate protest letters addressed to the Board Chairman of Cameroon OIC, Barrister Sam Ekontang Elad, dependable sources told The Recorder that, the sacked officials described as unfounded the allegations leveled against them- that they are embezzlers.
COIC  Board  Chair Barrister  Ekontang Elad,
      The sacked officials include Madam Clara Limunga Molua, who was Cameroon OIC Director for several years and was relieved of her functions, and ordered to reimburse within one month over 16 million Fcfa she reportedly embezzled or be prosecuted.
      The three others are Fritz Ikome Lyonga, former Finance Officer who was also accused of embezzling a little over 16 mFcfa; OIC Pavilion Accountant Mbua Michael Nganje, accused of pocketing 3.8 mFcfa and the OIC Pavilion Business Manager, Lucy Ndelly who reportedly swindled 3.8 m Fcfa.They were equally asked to reimburse the money within a month or be prosecuted
     The four were slammed the punitive sanctions following a recent Board of Directors’ meeting, which was rather chaired by Hon. Meoto Paul Njie, who is the Board’s vice -chair, even as Chairman Sam Ekontang Elad was present.
    The officials were punitively sanctioned based on the “findings” of an ad hoc committee headed by OIC Board member and retired military official, Commandant Ekeke Moses.
 The committee was charged with investigating into the financial management of the institution.
     The Recorder learned that, because of serious allegations of financial impropriety in the institution, which receives a yearly government subvention of 150 million Fcfa even the Board Chair was reportedly grilled by the Board’s own commission of inquiry, especially as he is the vote-holder.
    Ex-Director of COIC   Clara  Limunga Molua, for example, is quoted by our source  to have stated bluntly in her protest letter to the Board Chairman that, “ I wish to state without fear of contradiction that I have never embezzled any sum of money as alleged by your correspondence dated May 8,2015.”
    The disgraced officials, we learned, are at loss to understand how the Board could take sensitive decisions such as   sacking senior workers based on the findings of a commission of inquiry, yet those accused or affected are, despite request, denied access to the same report.
“This seems to be some mafia; if not, let them make public their findings so that the affected would see where and how they embezzled .Who is hiding what?” one COIC worker, who is an advocate of transparency, wondered.
     Our sources also wondered why C OIC board meetings held without an invitation extended to the director of the centre, who is very pivotal in the running of human resource development centre..
      The recorder gathered that the sacked officials are eager to lay hands on the findings of the commission of inquiry which nailed- particularly because the state auditors recently came twice to COIC on mission and they reportedly left satisfied.
     Upon receipt of the protest letters from the accused and sacked officials, the Board has reportedly told them that, the next board meeting will examine deeply their worries.
It should be noted that, the sacked officials have not had their employment contracts terminated but have simply been redeployed to lower positions in the same institution, which has had difficulty paying salaries on a monthly basis.
    COIC offers vocational/technical training in the following trades areas: Auto Mechanics/Motor Electricity * Building Construction * Hotel Catering & Management * Information & Communication Technology *Metal Fabrication, Welding and Spraying & Wood Work. It has graduated since inception at least 27,000 trainees.
(First published in The RECORDER Newspaper, Cameroon, of June 10, 2015)

Cameroon:Bate-Eya Florence Rated “Best Land Conservator”

By Christopher Ambe
Bate-Eya Florence Eya Epse Arrey, a sworn land conservator of the Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, has been as the Best Land Conservator in Cameroon.

        Mrs. Arrey until recently was Fako Land Registrar for five years. She is on record to be the first ever English-speaking (Anglophone) woman to occupy such a sensitive office and she did her best to educate the public on land issues.

        She is one of the laureates of LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, which took place on Saturday May 30, 2015 at Blue Pearl Hotel Bamenda.

Bate-Eya Florence Eya  displays award
      The award ceremony, chaired by Quetong Handerson Kongeh, the Senior Divisional Officer for Kupe Manenguba, was organized by Life Time, a Bamenda-based newspaper.  The chairman said Life Time newspaper is noted for its investigative reports and implored the laureates to keep up the winning spirit, by contributing even more towards nation-building.

     Tim Finnian Njua, publisher of Life Time Newspaper, who congratulated the different laureates for their outstanding performances in whatever they are engaged in, personally handed out the prizes to the awardees that included West Governor Awa Fonka Augustine - who emerged as Life Time’s Man of the Year, for his proficiency as civil administrator. The award ceremony coincided with the newspaper’s “four years of journalistic excellence”, according to a statement from the event’s organizing committee.

      It emerged that the laureates were the results of random sampling and public opinion conducted by Life Time.

      Colbert Gwain (of L’Action Newspaper), chair of the organizing committee of the ceremony, remarked in a notification letter to Mrs. Arrey before the award proper: “This award is in recognition of your exemplary and selfless sacrifices towards nation-building.”  The inscription on her plague-award reads: “LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2014-2015 RECOGNIZES THE PROFICIENCY OF ARREY BATE EYA FLORENCE AS THE BEST LAND CONSERVATOR”

     Concerning her job as land registrar, Mrs Arrey told The Recorder in January 2014:“I very much enjoy doing my job as the first woman to be a land registrar in Anglophone Cameroon. No woman in this part of the country has ever signed a land certificate.”      

     Mrs. Arrey holds a BBA (Hons) Degree in Secretarial Administration from the Irish University Business School, London.

    She was recruited into the public service in 1984 (in the then Ministry of Town Planning and Housing), and transferred to the then Provincial Service of Lands in Buea. She has headed several units and services at the Divisional and Regional levels of Public Service. In 1995, she was Chief of Bureau for General Affairs in the Provincial Service of Lands, Buea; in 1999, Mrs.Arrey served as chief of Bureau du Livre.

In 2006, she was appointed the Divisional Chief of Service for Land Tenure, Kumba-Meme Division. In 2008, she served as Interim Provincial Chief of Service for Administration and Finance at Provincial Delegation of State Property and Land Tenure-Buea. In 2010, she served as Fako Divisional Delegate cumulatively with the post of Conservator of Lands in Fako Division.

      Staunch CPDM Adherent

 Mrs.Arrey is  politically conscious. As member of the ruling CPDM in Cameroon, she thinks this political party is one that any patriotic person should join. “In the CPDM you have so many patriotic and responsible people committed to nation-building.

“When you read the Word of God, it says no authority can exist without the approval of the Almighty God. It is the CPDM whose chairperson is Cameroon’s Head of State. It is God who has enthroned Mr. Paul Biya, CPDM National Chair as Head of State”, noted Mrs. Arrey, who is Councilor of Mamfe Council. “The CPDM party for now is God’s choice, so I will continue to be its member.
     Devout Christian
     Mrs. Arrey is a devout Christian. She is an Ordained Mother of God in a Jewish Church-The Holy Sabbath (Community of Yahweh worldwide), and former Special Envoy to the General Overseer of the above -mentioned religious organization in all French –speaking countries in Africa.

She loves humanity. “I do to others what I want them do unto me as the Bible in the Book of Mathieu recommends”, she says. She is empathic and philanthropic.

     She is very motherly and a caring .She is member of several social groups such as the Solidarity Group -headed by the wife of Southwest Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai.This group gives assistance in different forms to the less-privileged. “I enjoy charitable works. That is one of the things Mrs. Chantal Biya, the First Lady has taught us”, she told this writer.

    Married to Mr.Arrey E.Gregory, she and the husband are blessed with four well-brought up children.

   Mrs. Arrey is bilingual (speaks English and French) and she loves preaching the Word of God and giving hope to the less-privileged.

(First published in The RECORDER Newspaper, Cameroon, of June 10, 2015)










Cameroon: NCC Suspends more Media Houses

This is not the first  time the NCC is meting out sanctions against media houses and practitioners .Following is  the  communique :
NATIONAL COMMUNICATION COUNCIL
COMMUNIQUE
4 JUNE 2015

The Vice-president of the National Communication Council informs promoters, media professionals and the general public that on 30 April 2015, this autonomous regulatory body held its 10th ordinary session, in compliance with the provisions of Decree No 2012/038 of 23 January 2012 reorganising the NCC.
The agenda of the proceedings focused mainly on preparations for the 2015 commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day and ten (10) case reviews. The following decisions were taken after the reviews:

1/- In Afriland First Bank’s case against “Le Renard”,
The complaining financial institution petitioned the NCC against the print media organ named “Le Renard” for publishing unfounded accusations that may be prejudicial to its image in its 038th issue of 19 February 2015.
The Council, after establishing the responsibility of the newspaper’s publisher given the publication of unfounded claims, which neither fulfilled the requirements of verification nor balance in the treatment of information, separately suspended “Le Renard” and its publisher from practicing the journalism profession in Cameroon for a period of six (06) months for misconduct which constitutes violations of professional ethics in mass communication.

2/- Concerning Pamol Plantation Ltd’s case against “Cameroon Herald”,
Following the publication of unfounded accusations of mismanagement and embezzlement in its 090th issue against the Interim General Manager of Pamol Plantations Plc and certain senior public figures,
The Council, after establishing the responsibility of the publisher of the newspaper in question for not respecting the requirements of verification and balance, separately suspended “Cameroon Herald” and its publisher from practicing the journalism profession in Cameroon for a period of six (06) months for misconduct which constitutes violations of professional ethics in mass communication.

3/- In the NCC’s case against “Afrique Media”,
The Council:
-      Based on the programmes “Le mérite panafricain” and “le débat panafricain” broadcast respectively on the aforementioned television station on 1, 8, 20, 27 February and 16 March 2015 during which certain guests leveled baseless accusations and incitement to hatred likely to impair the image and dignity of personalities, institutions and foreign countries;
-      Specifying that the choice of guests and the conduct of television programmes are the responsibilities of their presenters;
-      Taking into account repeated professional slips of a similar nature which prompted it to call the attention of “Afrique Media’s” management to the risks involved in broadcasting live programmes with contributions from guests, some of whose spur-of-the-moment declarations can cause irreparable damage,
-      Recalling that pledges to respect professional ethics made by the management of Afrique Media after they were first summoned before the NCC were never followed by action,
-      Noting that the generalization of the aforementioned professional breaches have resulted in detrimental confusion between free speech and the violation of the dignity of moral and physical persons, suspended Afrique Media for a period of one month, and Magne Tada Juliana and Mohammed Bachir Ladan , presenters of the aforementioned programmes for six (06) months each from practicing journalism in Cameroon for repeated professional misconduct characterized by a lack of control of the aforementioned programmes permitting the guests to make unjustified accusations likely to impair the image and honour of personalities, institutions and foreign countries.

4/- In the NCC’s case against “LTM”,
The Council, which reproached Awilo, presenter of the programme “Town Cryer” on LTM for making an unjustified accusation concerning the war between Cameroon and the Islamist sect Boko Haram which is likely to impair the honour and dignity of a foreign country, separately suspended the programme “Town Cryer” and its presenter from practicing journalism in Cameroon for a period of three (03) months for broadcasting a baseless accusation which constitutes violation of professional ethics in mass communication.
5/- In Martinez Zogo’s case against “Climat Social”,
Mr. Martinez Zogo, journalist at “Amplitude FM” filed a petition to the NCC against the newspaper “Climat Social”, following the publication in its 0061st issue of unjustified accusations which impinged on his person and dignity.
The Council,
After confirming the responsibility of “Climat Social’s” publisher pertaining to his media organ’s non respect for the professional requirements of verification and balance resulting in the publication of unjustified accusations against the petitioner, separately suspended “Climat Social” and its publisher from practicing journalism in Cameroon for a period of six (06) months for misconduct which constitutes violation of professional ethics in mass communication.

6/- Concerning Oswald Baboke’s case against “Royal FM”,
Mr. Oswald Baboke, Technical Adviser at the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic, filed a petition to the NCC against “Royal FM” after the presenter of the programme “le débat républicain” broadcast on 2 February 2015 on this radio station, declared that the petitioner embezzled the sum of 15,000, 000 FCFA, which Cameroon’s First Lady allegedly sent to Mr. Emmanuel Mbombog Mbog Matip.
The Council,
After establishing the responsibility of “Royal FM” and that of the presenter of the contested programme for failing to respect the two-fold requirement of verification and balance in the treatment of information which led to the broadcast of an unfounded accusation likely to violate the petitioner’s dignity, separately suspended “Royal FM” for one (01) month and Mr. Martin Marcelin Ateba, presenter of the programme “le débat républicain” for three (03) months from practicing journalism in Cameroon, for misconduct which constitutes violation of professional ethics in mass communication.
7/- In Vincent Nji Ndumu’s case against “Vanguard”,
Mr. Vincent Nji Ndumu, Governmnt Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, filed a petition to the NCC against the print media organ “Vanguard” following the publication of accusations of mismanagement in the exercise of his duties in its 120th issue of 9 February 2015.
The Council,
After establishing the responsibility of the publisher of the newspaper in question for breaching the dual requirement of verification and balance in the treatment of information which resulted in the publication of unfounded claims against the petitioner, separately suspended “Vanguard” and its publisher for six (06) months from practicing the journalism profession in Cameroon, for misconduct which constitutes violation of professional ethics in mass communication.
8/- In the cases between Mr. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Communication and “Mutations”, “Quotidien Emergence” and “Le Messager”, following:
-      The publication of information concerning a photograph of the Head of State bowing before the remains of soldiers who died in the war front posted on the Presidency of the Republic’s website on 09 March 2015,
-      And the republication by these newspapers of an article about the health condition of Cameroon’s presidential couple originally published on the website of the “Le Monde” newspaper,
The Council,
After a debate which took Members’ contradictory positions into account, decided to defer its deliberation on the three aforementioned cases. 
                                                                                               For the Council,
                                                                                                             The Vice-President,             
                                                                                    Peter Essoka



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