Donga Mantung: SDO, MP Condemned for Illegal Use of Police Escort

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-A memorial service observed in memory of the late veteran politician and statesman from the Donga Mantung Division, Hon SN Tamfu is now shrouded in controversy following allegations that the second assistant SDO for the division colluded with Awudu Mbya, the SDF MP for Nkambe to grant the latter privileges he was never entitled to.

Given that he could not be present at the memorial service which took place in late Tamfu’s native Taku village on Sunday December 15, 2013, the SDO for Donga Mantung was represented at the memorial service by the second assistant SDO, Nicholas Mashang Nkongho.

However, it subsequently emerged that while in Taku, the second assistant SDO offered the police vehicle with the siren to escort the Member of Parliament for Nkambe, Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian. The MP who was in Taku for the first time since his election on September 30 reportedly used the vehicle with the siren to parade the village in the company of the second assistant SDO - an act most observers have condemned.

Some of these observers say the second assistant SDO had been militating with the SDF parliamentarian even before his reelection into parliament. A CPDM loyalist from Nkambe who spoke to NewsWatch on grounds of anonymity indicated that the second assistant hid the truth of the havoc wreaked by some thugs that the MP hired during the campaign from the SDO who in most cases sent him (the second assistant) to scenes where the hooligans operated.

Upon being contacted, the SDO for Donga Mantung, Mr. Ndode Messape Bernard told NewsWatch that he did not offer any escort to Hon. Awudu Mbaya to Taku. “But if Hon. Awudu was in the same convoy as my assistant, I think the person who was being escorted was the SDO’s representative and not the MP”, Mr Ndode said. The Donga Mantung chief executive explained that if Hon. Awudu was visiting Taku in his capacity as questor at the National assembly, he would have been given an escort.

A source close to the SDF MP has however refuted allegations that the second assistant SDO offered the MP the escort he was given by his boss. The source insisted that “at no instant did the MP and the second assistant SDO sit in the same car in Taku. Hon Awudu was not even in church; he came only for the reception at the deceased’s residence and the MP and the second assistant SDO came separately”.

By press time, efforts at getting the second assistant SDO react had all proven futile.

By Ndi Eugene Ndi in Yaounde

Gov’t, Civil Society Clamp Down on Indecent Dressing

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-It is very common today especially in most state universities in Cameroon to see students with transparent dresses with most females not putting on brassieres. Some go as far as putting on dresses that exposes certain parts like the breasts, lower belly, waists, buttocks etc.

It is against this backdrop that Churches and civil society organizations in Cameroon have been called to join the government in the fight against indecent dressing prevalent amongst young girls in the country. This call is contained in a release signed by some four members of government in Yaounde on Tuesday November 19, 2013.

The signing of the release was the hallmark of a press conference to launch the National Campaign Against Indecent Dressing jointly granted by the Ministers of Women Empowerment and the Family, Arts and Culture, Communication and the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

During the press conference, the Minister of Women Empowerment and the Family, Prof. Marie Therese Abena Ondoua observed that indecent dressing exposes young girls to dangers such as sexual harassment.

Marie Therese Abena condemned this trend: “You know the role of the girl child in the family - mother of the children. She starts as a young girl and if at her young age she is not well-dressed and well-behaved, how she will be expected to raise a family?” the Minister questioned.

Although some expressed concerns about certain tribes which expose their bodies during dancing, according to Arts and Culture Minister, Ama Tutu Muna, some cultural practices are done within context. She said dress codes have to do with who you are, where you are and even what you are doing.

“You cannot wear a swim suit to a dinner party”, she said. “Pygmies expose their bodies when dancing as part of their tradition. Are you a normal person who lives in town to behave like a pygmy?” She further explained that pygmies are allowed to behave in a certain context the way they are used to, “so there is no problem with his own culture and the way he is living”.

Cameroon has a rich cultural heritage and the Arts and Culture Minister observed that  “at the level of the Ministry of Arts and Culture, when we project some of these cultures, we take into consideration a minimum code for decency and that is why we use certain clothes that are very transparent but hold and cover the body”.

Though some of these cultural practices might seem indecent, Ama Muna went on, “while you are not going to prevent people from acknowledging who they are, you are not going to walk around town like that”.

Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary on his part pledged the involvement of all the media houses in Cameroon in the fight.

Rev Agapitu Fon, auxiliary Bishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese says he will not give the sacrament to an indecently dressed Christian. “We don’t want people who are poorly dressed. If you appear dressed like that, we will send you out”.

Nonetheless, Larissa, a 23 years old University of Yaounde II student thinks that by asking young girls to dress modestly, “the old Ministers are simply expressing their jealousy of the young generation”.

Marie-Anabelle Ngono, a cyber café attendant in Ngousso Yaounde on her part says ‘sexy dressing’ is fashionable and she sees no reason why the government should be asking young girls to “dress like women of the 1960s”.

Prof Tafah Edokat, Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda says all students who come to school poorly dressed are simply sent back home. “We have instructed our campus police to send back home all students who dress indecently”.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics at the Catholic University of Bamenda, Prof Paul Nkwi says “Any student that dresses and exposes parts of the body as if that student was going to the night club is simply sent back”. He however holds that dress codes for students should be instituted in higher institutions of learning from day one.

Most of those who dress indecently might however just be ignorant of the legal implications. Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization said indecent dressing is punishable by law.

Article 263 of the Cameroon penal code provides that girls who dress half-naked could face a prison term ranging from two weeks to two years and fines ranging from CFA 20,000-100,000 CFA Frs, if prosecuted and found guilty.

By Ndi Eugene Ndi in Yaounde

Reunification Jubilee: Cameroon Celebrates 50 Years of Bilingual Broadcasting - Bayen

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-Plans to celebrate the reunification jubilee this year are two years behind schedule, notes Franklin Sone Bayen. The journalist, corporate communicator and researcher says:  “What is on schedule to be celebrated this year is 50 years of English language broadcasting on Radio Cameroon/CRTV radio or 50 years of bilingual broadcasting in Cameroon”.

Franklin Sone Bayen

In a release, Mr Bayen holds that this year marks 50 years since 1963 when the first English language broadcasters were recruited into Radio Cameroon Yaounde, following reunification in 1961. Francis Wete (CRTV deputy GM), Paul Mawo, Emmanuel Moudjih (former Radio Cameroon director), Ako Bryant, Sammy Chumfong, David Endeley, Frida Kima, Henry Fossung (retired ambassador), Peps Abia Nche, Neba Fabs and Alice Musa were among those Anglophones first recruited into Radio Cameroon Yaounde through a competitive test in 1963.

“Before their recruitment, Radio Douala (a French World War II propaganda radio created in 1940), Radio Yaounde (created in 1955), Radio Garoua (created in 1958) and, to a certain extent, Radio Buea which existed since 1961 but become fully operational only in 1967, were each broadcasting in only one official language”, writes Bayen.

The arrival of these first Anglophone broadcasters in Yaounde according to Mr Bayen, “marked the beginning of what has become this peculiar simultaneous bilingual broadcasting, with English-speaking and French-speaking broadcasters presenting news and programmes and running live commentaries in both languages without interpretation, to the astonishment and delight of foreign visitors”.

Mr Bayen believes that since private audio-visual outfits have followed suit as regards bilingual broadcasting in Cameroon, “it means this is not all about Radio Cameroon/CRTV; it also means 50 years of bilingual broadcasting in Cameroon in general”.

In view of this somewhat forgotten or neglected anniversary, preparations are underway in collaboration with other competent bodies to organize a Cameroon audio-visual bilingualism fair where audio-visual outfits will showcase Cameroons broadcasting bilingualism. On the sidelines of the fair, academic discussions will be organized. 

In the release, the journalist indicates that in view of the anniversary, he is finalizing two books - 50 Years of Bilingual Broadcasting in Cameroon or 50 Years of Radio Cameroon/CRTV “Reunification” – a historical account plus profiles of some key Anglophone broadcasters and Here is the news read by... – a comparative analysis of the two distinct styles of presenting news in English and French on CRTV radio.

By Ndi Eugene Ndi in Yaounde

CED, Traditional Rulers Militate for Inclusive Land Ownership Reform

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-The National Council of Cameroon Traditional Rulers (CNCTC) and the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) Cameroon, have called on the government to consider customary land rights in the elaboration of the new land reforms.

The call is contained in a memorandum sent to the government by both parties. The memorandum was handed to the Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure by CNCTC representatives in an audience the former granted officials of the latter in her cabinet on Thursday December 12, 2013 in Yaounde.

The audience was part of activities marking the first edition of the rural land week in Cameroon that was jointly organized by the Centre for Environment and Development and the National council of Cameroon Traditional Rulers.

Among the proposals submitted to government was the revision of the 1974 land tenure ordinance of Cameroon which has become obsolete. For them, going by the 39-year old land law, some cultural practices deprive women and indigenous people from ownership, paving the way for the rich and big multinationals to own greater parcels of land.

In the proposal, CNCTC want land ownership to be equal between men and women. They also want that limits should be placed on the amount of land that can be owned by an individual if the wealthy and influential are to be prevented from totally depriving those who are not so well of. Traditional rulers also want that in each village community, some land parcels should be reserved for community use.

The secretary general of CED, Samuel Nguiffo told the press that land is becoming scarcer in rural areas with several development activities like logging concessions, mining and infrastructural projects coming at a time many communities are eager to have more access to land. Thus, the objective of the organization of the rural land week in Cameroon was to create awareness and stimulate discussion on the importance of the land issue and the need to recognize and promote the land rights of rural communities and their recognition in the new land reforms under elaboration.

The representatives of traditional rulers and CED officials also discussed the proposals with the Network of Parliamentarians for Sustainable Management of Dense and Humid Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (REPAR).

The hallmark of the rural land week was the organization of a round table conference in Yaounde on Saturday December 14, 2013 with panelists like Prof. Pierre- Etienne Kenfack, law lecturer at the University of Yaoundé II, HRM Mvondo Bruno and Mama Jean Marie traditional rulers and members of the CNCTC and Madam Pa'ah Antoinette of the African Women's Network For Community Forests (REFACOF).

Madam Ndeh Doris of the Bamenda based civil society organization Community Initiative for Sustainable Development (COMINSUD) told NewsWatch that the non-ownership of land by women is a misinterpretation of cultures. “Men have changed cultures to disfavor women”. The activist pointed out that according to the culture and tradition of the North West, women can own but cannot inherit land. “Access rights to land are given to women, not ownership rights”. Thus, in her opinion, only women who are financially able can have access to land.

Prof. Pierre-Etienne Kenfack believes that considering customary land rights in the new land reforms of Cameroon is an obligation. The university don however says, customary rights should not be confused with the powers of a traditional ruler. “Customary laws are rights that a community considers as obligatory and these laws are different from the powers of a traditional ruler”.

‘Land ownership shouldn’t be a blank check’- Fon Chafah

According to HRH Fon Chafah XI of Bangolan in the Northwest region who is also secretary general of the National Council of Cameroon Traditional Rulers (CNCTC), the current land law of Cameroon is discriminatory. He advocated that land ownership should not be a blank check. “Women and minority groups like the pygmies and the Mborroros should own land”.

In Chafah’s opinion, traditional rulers are paying attention to the safeguarding of land rights for the less privileged in Cameroon. The current land law Fon Chafah says, allows the rich to grab land for themselves at the expense of the poor. The reality is that with the 1974 law, traditional rulers play a symbolic rule in the attribution of land though the reality is often different. He wishes that the government should take the proposals of traditional rulers into consideration in the elaboration of the new land reforms.

By Ndi Eugene Ndi in Yaounde

Donga Mantung Centre MPs Call for Reconciliation After Sept. 30

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-The Members of Parliament for Donga Mantung Centre (Ndu and Nkambe), in the North West region of Cameroon, Hon. Ngala Esther and Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian have called on their constituents to bury the differences registered during the September 30, 2013 twin elections and work hand in glove for the interest of all.

SDO (in white) and MPs-Picture from The Eye

In separate receptions for the MPs in Ndu and Nkambe on Saturday December 14, 2013, the political couple that was coming home officially for the first since their election on Sept. 30 told the population that “we have offered ourselves to serve the population of Ndu and Nkambe and if need be, we will die for you”.

According to Hon. Awudu who was reelected Questor at the lower house of parliament, the people of Ndu and Nkambe chose him and Hon. Ngala Esther to be their representatives at the National Assembly for the 9^th legislative period. “And we have come back to say thank you”, he added.

They called on those on whose toes they stepped during the campaigns to forgive them and revealed that they had also forgiven those who wronged them before, during and after the elections.

The Donga Mantung Centre representatives at the lower house of parliament called on the four MPs of the division to come together and work as a team for the division to emerge.

Reacting on whether the Donga Mantung Centre, Ndu and Nkambe should be separated, Hon. Awudu indicate he was not opposed to such a proposal but pointed out that it was not by error that President Paul Biya decided that the (wi) Mbum people of  Ndu and Nkambe should remind a united force after carving out Ako-Misaje and Nwa as special constituencies.

“We are hoping that with the coming of the Savannah Region, Ndu, Nkambe, Ako, Misaje and Nwa will all be upgraded into full-fledged Divisions, with Wat, Tabenken and Binka having their own councils”.

Welcoming the MPs earlier at the Ndu grandstand, the mayor of Ndu council Bunyui Emmanuel said the civic reception was a mark of the beginning of a new era in the life of Donga Mantung Centre Constituency. The mayor noted that politics is not meant to antagonize families and friends. He thus called on all the politicians to close ranks and forge ahead for meaningful development given that there is “neither SDF road nor CPDM water”.

Opposite camp reacts to call

Upon being contacted, the mayor of Nkambe council, Ngabir Paul Bantar said the MPs did not invite him to the reception. “I had an invitation from Mr Mangoh Jones Tanko, a notable of Nkambe town to attend the reception of the MPs”, he said. He explained that he was served an invitation that carried neither his name nor his position as mayor by the district chairman of the SDF. “The MP had to invite me in his name; he decided to play down on me. The DO and SDO had invitations signed by the MP himself; the mayor should have as well had his own. I represent an institution, so if I am not recognized, I will not be there”, the mayor said.

The mayor complained that after playing down on him during the reception, they still looked low on him during the opening of gun-firing for the funeral of the Fon of Njap on December 17.

“Though the mayor was not included in the program, the SDO refused to speak unless the mayor welcomed them. That is how the program was adjusted for me to speak there”. The mayor wondered why the MP who is saying he has forgiven all and is calling on them to join hands and work for the development of the municipality should still be engaging in intrigues. “At his reception, he ridiculed me; in Njap he did the same and then calls for reconciliation. The MP and I were the main actors during the campaigns - it is neither the notable who invited me nor the district chairman who has to reconcile us.”

By Ndi Eugene Ndi

Swedish University Lure Cameroonians with Scholarship Opportunities

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-Cameroonians have been urged to enroll into the Jonkoping University in Sweden and benefit from a 30% scholarship on all tuition fees. The Business Development Manager of Jonkoping University (JU), Mr. Jassim Sheikh was speaking at the Djeuga Palace Hotel in Yaounde, capital of political of Cameroon on Tuesday December 10, 2013 during an orientation seminar organized by the Swedish university for potential qualified Cameroon students.

Participants Pose With Jassim Sheikh

Jonkoping University is a private, non-profit making institution of Higher education with the right to award doctorates. Mr. Jassim said the university operates four school; Jonkoping International Business School, School of Engineering, School of Education and Communication.

The JU Business Development Manager told Cameroonians that “when you apply for studies at our university, you will be given a student residence permit that allows you to work with no time limit and have free health (within the European Union as well).

Nonetheless, the university he said, does not guarantee any work to students during their period of study.

According to Jassim Sheikh, in addition to training students who upon graduation have the possibility to start their own enterprises, “as a student in Jonkoping you will meet and work with students from all over the globe with various backgrounds and perspectives, sharing the common ambition to develop knowledge and experience”.

The orientation seminar took place in three phases; an open session for the close to 100 students who attended, a questions and answer session and a one-on-one session between the students and the JU official.

Sweden is a low profile country but is one of the world’s top nations regarding innovation, highest ranked in the European Union. The Scandinavia country of about 10 million inhabitants is the birth place of so many corporations and successful inventions.

According to an official of the Organization of African Youth (OAYouth), most Cameroonians only depend on the public sector for employment. “When you look at most of our state universities in Cameroon, they don’t train students for the job market and we need technocrats like those trained in JU in the country”.

The JU official left Yaounde for Bamenda, headquarters of the Northwest region for a similar exercise in the company of OAYouth Cameroon officials. The team will organize same orientation seminars in Buea and Douala.

New Nkambe Mayor Challenged to Beat Predecessor’s Development Record

(NewsWatch Cameroon)-The new Nkambe council executive has been urged to demonstrate transparency in the management of council funds irrespective of their sources. Donga Mantung SDO, Ndode Messape Bernard made the call at the Fon Nfor Ibrahim Jabfu Grandstand on Saturday December 7, 2013 as he installed 58-year old rural development consultant Ngabir Paul Bantar as mayor of Nkambe Council, his four deputies and 41 councilors.

SDO (in uniform), Nkambe DO (in gandora) with the Mayors

Besides being enjoined to judiciously use funds at their disposal, the Donga Mantung SDO called on the mayor and his deputies to ensure strict respect for laws governing local collectivities as they take over the council.

Above and beyond showing transparency in the management of council funds, the Mr. Messape Bernard advised the new mayor to work in solidarity and improve on the living conditions of denizens of the municipality. “You cannot do it alone, delegate functions for greater harmony with your four deputies”, the SDO told the mayor.

Mr. Ndode Messape Bernard urged the new council leadership to use its diverse experiences to source for finances to foster development in the Nkambe municipality. “Be at the fore of all constructive actions, liaise with other councils, development partners and bring the development the municipality needs”, Mr Ndode recommended.

Though conscious that the councilors were elected under the banner of a political party (the CPDM), following the outcome of the September 30 twin elections, the SDO warned that “councils are not organs of political parties”. Thus, the councilors and council executives were called upon to bury the political differences of yesterday and work for the interest of the people of the Nkambe municipality as a whole.

Mayor, Deputies Pose With CPDM Section Exco

Mr Ndode appreciated the outgone mayor of Nkambe, Mangoh Jones Tanko for services rendered during his seventeen years at the helm of the council. He also appreciated the people of Nkambe for their political maturity shown through the peace that reigned before, during and after the September 30 twin elections.

He reminded the new executive of the municipality that covers 17 villages of their campaign promises ahead of the September 30 twin polls. “Remember your campaign promises; the people want to see you act now”, the SDO said.

While pledging the government’s support to the newly installed council executive, the Donga Mantung SDO who was assisted at the installation ceremony by the Divisional Officer for Nkambe, implored the population of Nkambe to lend the team maximum collaboration.

The installation ceremony was attended by friends, relatives, colleagues of those installed and CPDM party comrades amongst others.
By Ndi Eugene Ndi in Nkambe