EULOGY FOR Batonnier TCHAKOUTE PATIE CHARLES

 Yaounde, the 13th November 2020

(In The Form Of A Letter To Him),

FROM Senator/Barrister KEMENDE HENRY GAMSEY

Dear Learned Brother, Mr. President, Sir,

What really happened to you after you and I in your Bar office in Yaounde, drew some lessons from the passing-on of your Learned Brother and predecessor, Batonnier SAMA Francis ASANGA. This was after you had consoled me upon joining you at the club of orphans. I had not finished thanking you for the show of solidarity in that regard when you decided to exit the world of the living. One of the lessons we drew from SAMA’s death was that he was late in seeking medical attention and that by the time he seized the hospital, it was already too late. What then happened in your case such that you were rushed to France and died less than three days after? I would want to think that you were overtaken by work to an extent whereby you forgot about some of your supposedly delicate medical dispositions. No, No, Mr. President, you fell into the very trappings we analysed of Batonnier SAMA Francis and it would appear, from the look of things, that nobody is spared that temptation, for all of us most often forget we are made of flesh as opposed to iron, even though iron equally gets weak.

I had often told you personally that since joining us in the Bar Council (after you had stayed off for some time), I never for one minute regretted knowing you. Without waiting to praise you through an eulogy like this, I praised you in your face for your piercing and didactic contributions over every topic under discussion in the Bar Council. Proof of my appreciation of your intellectual wealth is when after specially inviting me for the Elective Bar General Assembly in Douala in 2018 that saw you elected Bar President, I put in all it took for that successful outing. I even supported some of your candidates I would never have supported but for my love for you in particular, and the Cameroon Bar at large, for I had withdrawn my candidature in a bid to concentrate on my debut of the Senate experience. Thereafter, even though I watched you from a distance (i. e. away from the Bar Council), your performance did not the least disappoint me. Until your untimely departure, your second mandate was a foregone conclusion. However, God the Almighty knows why he has called you home just when you were at your best.

Batonnier TCHAKOUTE, permit me hereby inform you of the aftermath of your departure in the life of the Cameroon Bar Association. To tell you how human being make meaning only when alive, shortly after news of your death covered the entire social media and other media landscapes and while the Cameroon Bar was still gripped in an atmosphere of disbelief, who to fill the vacancy created (both in the short and long terms) became the subject of discussion, some openly and others behind the scene. I hope you do not take offence hearing about this, even if it has to do with some of your hitherto closest associates. After all, you are quite conversant with our grassfield tradition that the throne is never left vacant and that meetings by Kingmakers for a new Chief multiply with each passing day. Never mind, for you shall hear more to your disbelief when the first witness shall personally meet you.

Batonnier, to conclude my short story of events after your demise, we are presently feeling what it takes to be professional orphans. You would not want to believe that the Courtroom at  Bonanjo – Douala; the official shrine of Justice; the pride and source of the Lawyers’ power; ‘caught fire’ in the night of the 10th December 2020 when your colleagues were teargased and others received bullet wounds. Our bereavement through your passing-on meant nothing to the Forces of Law and Order and the Authorities commanding their actions. The treatment that was earlier meted out to the Common Law Lawyers repeated itself before the Douala – Bonanjo Court of First Instance. From the streets and now into the Courtroom, there is no gainsaying the fact that our professional identification papers and windscreen stickers shall soon have no meaning. God forbid! 

Please, Batonnier TCHAKOUTE, intercede for us in order that the good Lord and Most High could save our world-cherished profession. You cannot imagine that everyday everybody in one way or the other, play the role of the Advocate but nobody wants to see the professional Advocate. This can only happen in Cameroon, a country of the ‘jamais vus’.  Let this incident not however, worry you a lot since you cannot return to do what you could have done in the circumstances. What I can tell you in order that your spirit can rest in peace is that unless some of us are taken off the scene, we shall not see the worst happen. Faced with the challenge of survival, the Lawyers are expected to sharpen their legal fighting skills, for that remains the only weapon they understand manipulating better. With you, Batonnier SAMA Francis and Batonnier Bernard MUNA on the other side, we are sure to succeed, God being our helper.

Without much ado and in order not to disturb your quiet and deserved rest, permit me end here by wishing you safe journey to the world of no return. We shall live to remember you as the Bar President who made a historic tour of the country in a bid to ensure continuity in the life of the Cameroon Bar Association. We now understand you bid us farewell as you moved from one Court of Appeal to the other, over-seeing the swearing-in of young colleagues.

ADIEU, ADIEU, Most Learned Batonnier, Our Bar President !!  You are FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS.

MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PEACE !!

Yours truly,

              Senator/Barrister KEMENDE Henry GAMSEY

Les Gens Du Cameroun

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Frontline Academician and Health Developer Receives Performance Award

Professor Egbe Philip Egbengu, Head of Department of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the Catholic University in Cameroon CATUC, Bamenda and Medical Director of the Royal Victoria Clinic in Bamenda has received the Cameroon Performance Award. This took place on Saturday in the city of Bamenda within the confines of the Royal Victoria Clinic premises at Loh Benson Quarters, Foncha Street. 

According to the Organising Committee of Cameroon Performance Awards through the words of its National Coordinator, Francis Ekongang Nzante, the Award is in recognition of the efforts Professor Egbe Philip Egbengu has been putting in the Academic Field building a formidable Department of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the Catholic University CATUC Bamenda. "It is also in recognition of your efforts as Medical Director of the Royal Victoria Clinic during these trying moments of the COVID 19 Pandemic" he said.

The CPA Organising Committee emphasised that because of these inputs, Professor Egbe was truly a Frontline Academician and a Health Developer.

On reception of the CPA Award, Professor Egbe said, he wasn't aware that sometimes when you do some of these things you were observed. He recounted how he started the clinic in the heat of the Anglophone Crisis. Against all the challenges as well as advise from friends and colleagues who discouraged him, he went ahead. "Professor Berynyuy who was one of the first patients here certainly remembers how this place was very bushy. We maintained our focus and started from no where and today we are where you find us. Some people may think it is time to sit on our laureals but no, it is time to work. We have just realised only 30% of what we set out to do." 

The professor did not fail to mention contributions from well wishing Cameroonians. He equally mentioned Rev Father Bintum and Professor Berynyuy whom he said had constantly chipped in very constructive ideas as he worked on the Royal Victoria Clinic Project.

The next thing in his program would be a Mental Health Outfit he said adding that he had been receiving lots of encouragement and ideas on this project from Reverend Father Bintum whom he said had been a driving force in his project all along. 

Talking about his dream for Royal Victoria Clinic the Health Developer said "It is not just us here. We have a lot of inputs from friends of the clinic and well wishing Cameroonians who have visions which impact on our professional calling. Visions which we incorporate into the grand project of Royal Victoria Clinic. It is not just about opening a clinic. It's about opening a standard clinic." He said it was unfortunate that when Africans study abroad and see top quality structures, they always failed to maintain the same standards when they wanted to build their own structures back home. 

Royal Victoria Clinic he said was trying to fill all those lapses. "This project is trying to meet all those ramifications, the technical quality, the professional calling, the social impact or the impact on society. We are trying to incorporate all of these and come out with a strong Blueprint that will represent health in Cameroon not only in our contemporary time but also in the future."

Professor Egbe Philip Egbengu has been involved in teaching and the practice of Professional Medicine for almost fourty years. Commenting on this, he said medicine was not just the intellect but the application of what had been gathered over the years. 

In building the clinic, cognizance was taken of certain present realities like the COVID 19 Pandemic. The reception area at the entrance to the clinic as well as the entrance to the Laboratory are provided with glass shields that separate the patients from the health personnel attending to them. 

Medical Practice today he said goes with the necessary technology adding that in that domain, Royal Victoria Clinic could comfortably hold its head above water level. 

Though Royal Victoria Clinic provides Health Services, the professor unequivocally stated that they were also in business. "We've gone past that stage when health was considered as a humanitarian activity. When you make health a business, you do it better."

Proudly stating the achievements so far made by the clinic in one year seven months, the professor said there was no hospital in Bamenda and by extension the North West Region that had the standards of Victoria Royal Clinic. He said  that's why when you come to the clinic your health problems were solved. 

Professor Egbe Philip Egbengu said he was very gratified to be recognized by the Cameroon Performance Awards. "I am not the only Medical Doctor around and if I can be singled among the few that have been recognized by your Award out of the 2900 doctors in the country it gives me the greatest pleasure. Secondly it's like a showcase to my establishment. There are very few occasions where five media organs will visit an organization like ours so I have every reason to be grateful."

The Professor seized the opportunity to take his guests on a guided tour of the clinic from the reception area through the spotless and we'll equipped Laboratory to the wards.

Les Gens Du Cameroun

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Senator Barrister Kemende bags Prestigious Performance Award

- Dedicates it to Suffering Masses in the NW & SW

Senator Barrister Kemende Henry Gamsey on Sunday September 27 in Bamenda, received the Cameroon Performance Award in a gathering of friends, family and colleagues. According to the National Coordinator and Chairperson of the Organising Committee, this award was given in recognition of what Barrister Kemende Henry Gamsey has been doing since he became a member of the Upper House.

 

The presence of this outspoken gentleman in the Senate had made debates to better reflect the presence of Opposition parties. The organizers further explained that his constant media outings had made him an indespensable ingredient in the Political Transformation Process of Cameroon. "Your ideas and prescriptions have fuelled the National Debate on how the country should move forward" the organiser stated. Meantime, the senator has dedicated his award to the suffering masses in the crisis riddled Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon.

In a press briefing shortly after reception of the prestigious award, the Senator expressed the way he felt in the following words: "This award means a lot to me. Even as the war rages on, there is always room for the market to hold. Permit me use that African adage. In my vernacular, there is an adage to the effect that while the war goes on, market days don't fail to hold.  During these market days, the ongoings are discussed. To me this Award Event represents such Market Days during war and I have dedicated it to the people who are victims of the ongoing crisis."

He explained that while some parties that were directly involved in the war were not suffering, many innocent civilians had been forced to undergo untold hardships as a result of the crisis. The Senator said it was for the suffering people that he constantly intervened in the Upper House and that it was as a result of these constant interventions that this award was being given to him. 

"Without the ongoing crisis I don't think I would have had the chance to keep intervening through the media. I want to thank the organizers of the CPA for organising this and for recognizing me."

He called on the suffering masses in the two crisis riddled regions to stay calm and pray for peace to return soon.  

Explaining why he felt he had been recognized, he said apart from what had been written on the award, the recognition comes against a backdrop of a parliament that is dominantly made up of hand clappers who contribute nothing towards the advancement of the democratic process but simply serve as rubber stamps to endorse anything that is rammed down their throats. In such a parliament he felt he had to constantly speak for the people. "I thank the God Almighty for empowering me to see things differently and to propose different solutions. Maybe if the solutions proposed by me and my political party were heeded to we would not be where we are today."

Hinting on the rationale behind Cameroon Performance Awards the Senator said people should always allow the potential that's in them to sprout. People he said should always show the exceptional qualities in them adding that if God deemed it necessary to create you after creating millions of other humans then there was certainly an extra reason for creating you. Each individual had an extra quality that must always be worked upon he said.

The National Coordinator of the CPA Francis Ekongang Nzante was accompanied for the Award Event in Bamenda by some members of the Organising Committee; Mr Emmanuel Bah Toko from Bamenda, Mr Leonard Sigeh L. from Yaounde and Mr Belack Ernest Jimbam who sat in for Dr Felix Ekiye, who's an Organiser in Montreal, Canada taking charge of the Diaspora.

Meantime the Senator was accompanied for the event by his wife, kids, relatives, close friends and colleagues amongst whom were the President of the Northwest Lawyers Association NOWELA, Barrister Acha Collins, Justice Taminang Ignatius ATTE amongst others.

Les Gens Du Cameroon

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Hon Yoyo Emmanuel

Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction of the Northwest and Southwest Regions

"What the Minister said cannot work in the present Context"- Hon Yoyo Emmanuel 

By Francis Ekongang Nzante 

Against a backdrop of wide and varied reactions towards the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction of the Northwest and Southwest Regions, Honourable Yoyo Emmanuel, erstwhile SDF MP has said the approach of Minister Paul Tassong in the Reconstruction and Development Plan cannot work in the present context. He was Speaking recently in Bamenda, the Northwest Regional Capital in an encounter with a battery of journalists who sort to know his take on the issue which has sparked off multiple arguments.

Hon Yoyo Emmanuel insisted that during the Minister's visit he clearly stated the impossibility of carrying out the project under the prevailing circumstances. Hear him; "you cannot talk of Reconstruction and Development when there is violence and insecurity in the whole Region. That is why I cited the Babadjou-Bamenda Road which has not been constructed up till now whereas it was launched more than three years ago. It is because of insecurity."

Hon Yoyo Emmanuel quoted other projects in the region which had been abandoned because of insecurity. He said in his village in Ngoketunjia Division there was a road project worth about 600 million FCFA which had not been executed since it was approved two years earlier. The reason he said was simply insecurity.

"I pointed out to the Minister that the Government and the Separatists are not on the same wavelength on what should be done here. They need to reconcile and I don't need to be the one to tell them how to go about it but I know that the Government has to reconcile with the Separatists. It may be by granting them a Federal System or by any other means. But I know that in the present context you can't carry out this programme of reconstruction."

The erstwhile MP painted a scenario depicting a situation in which buildings were being destroyed behind as construction went ahead. He said if this was to be the case then nothing would have been achieved at the end adding that if an evaluation estimated at 90 Billions FCFA was already carried out some time in the past then the estimates were presently inaccurate because destruction was still going on. 

Describing it as "putting the cat before the horse" Hon Yoyo Emmanuel said if they went ahead with it then it would not be in the interest of the people. 

Citing the case of cattle that had been lost during the crisis, he wondered how they arrived at that figure. "I wondered whether they included mine because I am a cattle Farmer. I lost so many of them and nobody ever came to me to ask if I lost anything.  Everything is being done too hurriedly. What they should have done was to evaluate the damages done up to a certain point and then vote a budget which would carry out reconstruction up to that point. Then afterwards they might be looking for money to reconstruct other things that might have been destroyed along the line. This is the way I look at it and the Minister seems to have understood to an extent the seriousness of the points I put forth." 

Commenting on the Minister's modus operandi that the Presidential Plan for Reconstruction and Development of the two restive regions was a step towards peace he said "reconstruction cannot be a step towards peace but it is peace that should be a step towards reconstruction. When there is peace then there can be reconstruction. You cannot construct when there is violence with nobody having confidence in his neighbor."


An Edev Concept
Cameroon People
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Dr Denis Nsame Nforniwe

We now Do COVID-19 Tests in Bamenda - Director of Bamenda Regional Hospital
 

Doctor Denis Nsame Nforniwe is the Director of the Bamenda Regional Hospital. This Medical Doctor with 20 years of experience also served as Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital before being transferred to Bamenda where he replaced Dr Kingue Thompson who was also transferred from Bamenda to Limbe as Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital. In this interview which is dominantly focused on efforts to combat the deadly COVID-19 Pandemic, the Medical Doctor states that COVID 19 tests are now done in Bamenda. Dr Denis Nsame begins with a vivid description of the Bamenda Regional Hospital.

"The Bamenda Regional Hospital is really a mighty hospital having 400 beds and Five Hundred Staff. Out of this number, there are 42 Doctors and 200 Nurses, 36 Laboratory Technicians and the rest are Juniour Sanitation Workers and Paramedical Staff with about 30 structures. In a General Hospital like this, we have all the services with some Specialized Services like the Imaging Center, the Dialysis Center and the Daycare Center, where we have about 6000 patients who come for HIV Treatment and for the taking of their daily drugs."

............

What additional structures have come in as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

............

With the coming of COVID-19, at least we've had another additional Specialized Service and we have termed it the "Solidarity Ward". This ward is not really inside the Hospital but is found at the main entrance to the hospital at the Hospital Roundabout. It is in a fenced building having three rooms with six beds and we've had a tent outside with ten beds so it has a capacity of 16 beds. Since the advent of COVID-19, we registered the first case on the 20th of April. Today the second of May we have 11 confirmed cases. It will be good to inform the public that almost all these cases came through importation from Douala. The first case was someone who was not satisfied with his treatment in Douala and decided to drive himself to the Northwest Region where he presented himself for testing. After that we had another case from Yaounde and since then we are in phase II because we are having Community Transmission. When you have a confirmed case you start having contacts since there is movement from one place to the other.  So far we have tested close to 60 people and it is still going on as we continue to test the contacts and suspected cases. Unfortunately, among the first 11 confirmed cases, we lost one. This person came and samples were collected and he did not pass up to 48 hours here. He however gave up the Ghost before results could come out. 

............

How are the corpses of COVID-19 victims handled?

............

As we know, managing of corpses as concerns this highly infectious diseases means that the corpses are buried immediately. The burial of this case was done by the Medical Staff. We also need to disinfect the compound and supervise the burial. Burial should be done by the City Council but this one was an exceptional case since the compound was inside the town. The grave was dug and we came in and did the burial immediately. The other ten cases are responding to treatment at the Solidarity Ward. 

............

Out of the Hospital Premises, what other facilities do you have?

............

We also have some External Isolation Centers. This includes Azam Hotel with 72 rooms and if this becomes insufficient, the Governor will request for space elsewhere maybe at the Ayaba Hotel, Low Cost Houses, the Military Hospital and the Police Hospital where they are also trying to make sure that other logistics are put in place. 

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What measures have been put in place to handle suspected and confirmed cases?

............

We have a team of 20 people made up of Doctors, Nurses and Laboratory Technicians who are manning their redeployment to Isolation Centers and see into the day-to-day running of these centers. For now the treatment of COVID-19 is free as prescribed by the Government. We should however know that we have some cases of co-mobilities. If you have Coronavirus and you have hypertension, it doesn't mean that you will not continue to have your treatment for Hypertension.You will have to continue buying your drugs. If you are COVID-19 positive and diabetic at the same time, you will have to continue taking your insulin. If we discover some other things that are not linked to the Protocol of Management of COVID-19, then accordingly, the patient will take care of treatment for the other things while we continue to manage him. But we know that everything as concerns the Personal Protective Equipment, all the Management and Hospitalisation is free and then all the drugs as concerns the COVID-19 as the protocol is spelled out by the Ministry of Health are free. Its case by case. Some people warrant admission or hospitalization. All of this is not paid for.

.............

Is there a Regional structure in place that has been created to handle the Pandemic?

................

We have a Regional Committee headed by the Governor of the Northwest Region and we have an Incident Management System headed by the Regional Delegate of Public Health where we have all the various sections: Communication, Coordination, Case Management and Diagnosis.

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We understand Testing still poses lots of problems since specimens have to be taken to Yaounde..

............

Another good message to share with the public is that we now do the testing in Bamenda. We have a Reference Laboratory. Specialist came from "Centre Pasteur" in Yaounde and installed the platform for testing so we no longer carry specimens to Yaounde. It was very tedious from the beginning and Bamenda is already receiving speciments from Bafoussam. Bafoussam is getting more and more overloaded with contacts to test. 

............

What measures are you putting in place to keep the Medical Staff safe?

............

Another message is to the Health Personnel. We are at the Frontline of this fight. The message we are giving out is that we don't want visitors and that people should stay at home. People should be well masked as they move out. They should practice the Hand Washing Habit and the use of Hand Sanitizers. People should only move when it is absolutely necessary. 

Even in the Hospital, we insist on one patient one carer. We don't need extra carers. Sometimes you see one patient having 5 to 7 carers. We don't need that. We are given the mandate to controle Social Distancing even within the Hospital. It is really a challenge and we really wish that the population should respect it. They can call their loved ones who are admitted rather than just stroll into the hospital for visits. This will make our hospitals crowded and increase the risk of transmission which can happen even within the hospital.

..............
There is the Tendency for the population to panic anytime a flu-like symptom is observed..
..............
 

We will continue to treat other diseases. These may have flu-like symptoms but not necessarily COVID-19. You can still have Pneumonia which is not COVID-19. So if the population is hiding and not coming out to check themselves then this is bad and we will have many deaths from other diseases that is not COVID-19. We want the public to know that Coronavirus exists, that it kills and that it is a very contagious disease. 

Cameroon is just starting. You heard of 2000 people dying within 24 hours in the USA. With the limited resources that we have, lets make use of the preventive measures. As for the masks, the medical ones are not really available in enough quantity for the population but the Government has been encouraging local production. We are calling on producers to do so in the right way. Atleast three layers with the cotton and the latex in the middle. Accredited Centres for the production are not yet established but we call on those producing it to follow these rules. It is better that each person should at least have protection. We are happy that our Northwest Special fund has been producing Sanitizers and masks.

..............
Any special message to the public?
.............. 
 

Coronavirus is real and there is already Community Transmission. If you have Flulike Symptoms, you must not come to the Hospital. Call the Toll Free number 1510 or the other numbers. We have 233361503 or 233361506 or 233361507 or 677564650 or 677032723. These are numbers of the Call Center at the Regional Delegation of Public Health in Bamenda. You shouldn't be running to the health facilities but should rather call and you will be given the appropriate information on what to do. If necessary we may even come and investigate you in your house.  

At the level of the hospital we have also locked the main gate and we concentrate firstly on pre-screening at the level of the gate. If you have fever, cough or difficulty in breathing, we have a pathway that you have to follow. If you have upper respiratory tract infection then you will be screened to make a difference between the one which is bacteria and that which is suspicious for COVID-19 and then we manage accordingly so that staff and doctors at the hospital are protected.

Interviewed in Bamenda by Francis Ekongang Nzante 


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Dr Bijingni Kuwoh Pius

"The PBF Project Can Transform the Health Sector in Cameroon" Dr. Bijingni Kuwoh Pius

................

The last time Dr. Bijingni Kuwoh Pius worked with the Public Service in Cameroon was as Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital. However, just when he was handing over from the post of Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital, he received a call requesting him to work as a Consultant with the Performance Based Financing (PBF) project in Yagoua in the Far North Region. The Non-Governmental Organization IRESCO was chosen to execute the project. The experienced Public Health Physician, had been contacted earlier but they called him that day to inform him that he had been selected to coordinate the pilote phase of the PBF project. The erstwhile Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital started the job in August 2016. He begins this revealing Interview by giving a detailed description of the nature of his job in the Far North Region of Cameroon.

"There was an antenna in Yagoua that took care of five Health Districts.  There was another antenna in Maroua which took care of Six Heath Districts.  There was a manager in Maroua and then I was Manager in Yagoua. We managed the Pilote Phase from August 2016 to December 2017 and because the results were encouraging, the Government asked us to extend the project to all the 30 Health Districts in the Far North Region in 2018.  From January 2018 we started the expansion and then I was also moved from Yagoua to Maroua where the Head Quarters is found. We succeeded in extending the project to all the 30 Health Districts in 2018. This is 2019 and we are still working at it. The project ends in 2022"

............

Your appointment in the Far North came at a time when the Boko Haram insurgency was at its peak. How challenging did this make the execution of your job?

............

The attacks from Boko Haram did not spare our Health Facilities. It makes the life of Health officials and the movement between Health Facilities very difficult. Health Facilities were attacked and burnt and were forced to be closed. This pushed Health Officials to go and seek for space in other existing facilities in order to continue with consultations. Most of these burnt facilities are not in main town Maroua but are instead around the border with Nigeria and Chad. It has made work very difficult in those areas but we have however succeeded in working in all the 30 Health Districts. Sometimes we've had to work with Administrators and the Forces of Law and Order to escort personnel to facilities. In fact Health Personnel have left the dangerous areas to stay in safer areas. They only go there to carry out their duties. These are some of the strategies used to continue providing Health Services to the people. 

..............

Can you briefly describe how the project is organized and how it functions?

..............

The contracts with IRESCO ended in September 2017.  The IRESCO program is being funded by the World Bank. The World Bank wanted to collaborate with a local NGO and so they chose IRESCO. The NGO was co-implementing the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health. When the contract with IRESCO ended in December 2017, the project was then put under the Special Fund for Health Promotion SFHP. In 2016 and 2017, the Special Fund for Health Promotion SFHP had not yet been put in place in the Far North Region. The structure executing the project is called the Contract Development and Verification Agency (CDVA). 

This project shifts away from the traditional way of financing Health Projects where Credit Cards are given by the Government. We call them inputs and when they don't give the inputs we sit and wait. Performance Based Financing (PBF) moved away from the traditional way of financing to an output way of financing. The PBF comes out with what we call indicators like consultations, deliveries, surgeries, transfusions and so on. We work with what they call verification agents and the hospitals carry out their activities normally. At the end of the month we send our verification agents to the hospitals. They are given the registers of the health facility and they go in and count. The verification agents come in and count these indicators. The hospital staff may have declared 100 consultations but the verification team may acknowledge or validate only 98. Each of these activities has a unit price that you multiply by it and have a certain amount. At the end we make the total and come out with invoices that are sent to the Technical Team at the Ministry of Health that processes them and sends them in for payment. Apart from this we carry out community Surveys every three months so we work with Community Based Organizations (CBOs). They go down into the field every three months and get information from people in the community who benefit from services of health facilities. We also worked on the management aspect with an intention of improving upon the management quality of our facilities. We have a tool which we call the Indice Tool in which the Health Facility has to declare all that it has as revenue and also declare all its expenditure. In PBF we believe that the staff must be motivated. We have a tool that we use to evaluate the performance of our staff. We believe that at the end of every month, there should be some money left for the motivation of staff so that it will deter them from doing parallel activities and encourage them to work better. 

............

How successful do you think the project has been so far?

............

The general objective of the project is to strengthen the performances of the health system in Cameroon. It also aims at reaching the population especially the poor and vulnerable with quality health care. From the data that we are assembling we see that the number of people who are attending health facilities is going up. Also the number of poor and vulnerable who are receiving health care is increasing. Health facilities are improving their infrastructure and equipment. Health facilities have also been able to recruit personnel. More and more health facilities are paying performance bonus to their staff. There are some Health Facilities that have acquired Solar Panels, some have employed Personnel and improved upon infrastructure. This has made the personnel generally happier and more motivated with these bonuses that are being paid. The patients themselves are getting more satisfaction and if you see their ratings of their satisfaction with services at the facilities you will see that it falls from 80% upwards.  Some even go above 90%. For technical quality, the score ranges between 60% and 70%. On Management, the score ranges between 50% and 60%. On the whole its been very successful and the Government is relying on it to attain the Universal Health Coverage.  

.............

Briefly speaking, has it been a smooth sail?

............

Not at all. Firstly it is about introducing a change in the way services were being managed. When you talk about change those who feel threatened will oppose if they see their interest threatened. The credit cards are transformed into subsidies and paid directly into the account of the health facilities. So no more 30%. Also the heads of the health facilities have to manage the resources in a transparent manner. They have to sit down with their collaborators and plan and discuss how resources have to be managed. Even those who accepted did not know how to go about it so we had to organize trainings before enrolling health facilities into the project. But gradually even those who were opposed at the beginning are becoming convinced of the positive changes that the project was bringing especially when they started receiving the first payments. Yes at the beginning we give the facility what we call Quality Improvement Budget. So facilities that have infrastructural problems are given what we call Quality Improvement Bonus (QIB). There are some Health Facilities that have acquired their Solar Panels, some have employed Personnel and improved upon infrastructure. 

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For a Professional of your caliber how satisfying is your present occupation?

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I am that kind of person who likes to work especially when I am convinced that the results will bring about a positive change.  I believe that if it is well implemented it will bring about the big change that we expect in the Health Sector. It fits in with my vision of what the Health Sector should be. 

..........

Do you think the COVID-19 Pandemic is going to find a solution that quickly? Secondly, what message do you have for Cameroonians with regards to the pandemic?

...........

The COVID-19 they say is similar to the SARS. Its infectious but less deadly than the SARS. A lot is still to be known about the COVID-19. For the moment Cameroonians should implement the safety measures that have been prescribed. Washing of hands and avoiding the touching of their faces as well as maintaining Social Distancing. These measures have worked elsewhere and can work here as well. The Cameroon health system is not strong enough to respond to such a Pandemic if huge numbers of patients storm our health facilities in a very short time. The best option is to stick to safety measures, while hoping that a cure or a vaccine is found very quickly.

   

Interviewed By Francis Ekongang Nzante 

Edev Newspaper Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ edevnewspaper@gmail.com

Senator Kinyang George pays Tribute to Late Hon Mbah Ndam

"The Anglophone Crisis is now used for Business"
 -Senator Kinyang George

While decrying the killings, back biting, settling of scores, destruction and hate that have hijacked the struggle of Southern Cameroonians or the Anglophone Crisis as it is commonly referred to, Senator Kinyang George has equally decried the fact the belligerents are now turning the Anglophone Problem into a lucrative business. In tribute to the Late Honourable Mbah Ndam he insists that Federalism which the late MP supported fiercely could provide all the solutions to the Anglophone Problem. He said a Two State Federation could save the country from all the violence, killings and destruction that was presently going on. The Late Hon Mbah Ndam he said struggled to put this idea across throughout the Anglophone struggle. Some quarters he said understood his stance while some did not.

............

What are those things that you vividly remember about Honourable Mbah Ndam?

............

I remember him as a University Don. It will surprise you that he even taught me at the University of Yaounde. The only University that we had at the time in the Republic of Cameroon. He taught me Civil Procedure between 1990 and 1991. He was one of the Pillars of the party. He was the Lead Counsel or the most Seniour National Legal Adviser of the party. He as such played a very big role in orienting the party legally. Most of the political actions could not also be carried on without his Legal Advise. I consider him to be one of the most intelligent university professors that we have had in this country. He contributed greatly to bring democracy under the platform of the SDF into Cameroon. My only disappointment and disagreement with the Late Honourable Mbah Ndam  is the fact that he accepted to run for the last Twin Elections. To me it was a political blunder.

............

Can you revisit his tenure in the National Assembly and his contribution towards revolutionising the ways things were done there?

............

He started his political career as an SDF Parliamentary Group Leader when he just got into Parliament around 1997. He was one of the pioneer Parliamentarians of the party. He was also appointed as one of the questors of the National Assembly and from there he occupied the post of the Vice Speaker until his demise. As a Bureau member, there was nothing undemocratic that could pass in the Bureau of the National Assembly with him present. He actually played the role of the Opposition in the Bureau of the National Assembly. You know that we are in a dictatorship where everything that comes from the Government is just adopted without even considering opposing opinions but the Late Honourable Mbah Ndam used to stand his ground. He used to orientate the party on serious political actions to be taken at the level of the Bureau. You see, the measures that were taken to defend the Southern Cameroons position with regards to marginalization and other related issues were spearheaded by Honorable Mbah Ndam. I get so embarrassed when I see people writing and castigating him that he did not defend the Southern Cameroons position. His outings are there and the videos are there to show that even at the level of his own village, Mbah Ndam stood against the marginalization of his people. Cameroonians should not be castigating Mbah Ndam because he was a Federalist. Federalism is the position of the SDF and it is also another way of fighting for the liberation of Southern Cameroonians. The SDF has always stood for a Two State Federation, insisting that we should go back to the 1961 Constitution. It centers on getting political power and being able to take Administrative Decisions. Everything coming from the Central Power should not be imposed. The SDF has always insisted that we had to revert to the 1961 Federal System or the Two State Federation. With this Two State Federation, Anglophone problems would be solved without resorting to this violence and killings, self destruction, settlement of scores and hatred. We are presently experiencing all of these and it is not doing us any good. Mbah Ndam spearheaded all of these and it will be unfair today for him to be described as a black leg or somebody who faught against the interest of Anglophones. It is unfair. We need to be truthful in our approach and to consider other opinions. Mbah Ndam has been pushing the story of the Southern Cameroons to the International Community using the platform of the parliament since he was a parliamentarian. He was a CEMAC Member of Parliament so these are all International Platforms that he used in the fight. People should not think that its every one who has to take up arms and go into the bushes. It is not everybody who has to fight for the Anglophone course physically. I salute Mbah Ndam for all that he did for the Anglophone Community.

............

We are slowly seeing the exit of all the "grey cats". Are you also of the opinion that it is time the party mutates from the older generation to a younger and more vibrant generation?

............

Yes all the older people are going. It is normal. These older people constitute the pioneer members of the party. Age ushers in illness and most of them have been sick. That's the truth about it and its not about getting into politics or changing hands. The shift simply has to do with age and ill Health. The SDF is conscious about this and that's why the Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi did not stand as candidate  during the last Presidential Elections in Cameroon. That is why it was Honourable Joshua Osih Nambangi, a young and dynamic person who stood as Presidential candidate. At the level of the NEC National Executive Committee, most of the delegates who are in Command today in terms of Administration and Leadership are of the younger generation. The party is quite aware of the fact that we need to reform and hand power to the younger generation. Subsequently many decisions will be taken in that direction to strengthen the party. This will build more confidence in the population and make them know that the SDF remains the only political party on which they can count. 

...........

Any message to Mbah Ndam's immediate family and to the SDF family?

............

The family should know that everybody is passing and that everybody is going to die. These things happen so that we can learn a lesson from them. I grew up as a christian and my dad was a Reverend Pastor. These things happen for us to know that we are in a temporal world. I was very scandalized when a certain Social Activist Abdul Kharim sent a write up which has gone viral on Social Media in which he questions what Mbah Ndam was going to benefit from gaining the world and losing his soul. It is a very embarrassing position for someone whom I had respect for to take.  Who is he to Judge Mbah Ndam? Is he God? I don't know if in Islam you can judge but in Christianity judgement is the sole prerogative of God. He went as far as stating that Mbah Ndam took a political option that was temporal. Is there any political option that is permanent? That write up is emotional and when emotions come in, we lose reason and cannot solve problems. This issue of the Diaspora trying to encourage violence has destroyed us. We need to re-strategise to see that this fight which is very genuine is well managed without us hating one another, without us back biting and using it for business. Everyone is now using the Anglophone Crisis for business. They have forgotten that there are people in the bushes with nothing to eat and no medicine to take for their illnesses. I say farewell to Honourable Mbah Ndam. He did all he could do. We appreciate what he did and we thank God for him and his family. I pray that the God that has taken him should give his family the strength to accept his departure. 

Interviewed in Yaounde by Francis Ekongang Nzante

Cameroon People Magazine: Email: edevnewspaper@gmail.com or francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237696896001/+237678401408

Senator Henry Kemende Comments on Transition within the SDF

- Says its Time for the Older Generation to Think Differently! 

- Praises Late Honourable Mbah Ndam for Job well Done in the SDF

Senator Henry Kemende has hinted that Transition within the Social Democratic Front SDF from the older to the younger Generation is just a natural course of things that cannot be altered. The old he said must as prescribed by nature always give way to the young. For the party to move on smoothly, those of the older generation still hanging on he insists will have to begin thinking differently and in a way that ties with the ways of thinking of militants at the base who constitute the greater segment of party militants. The Senator also paid glowing Tributes to the Late Honourable Mbah Ndam who passed on recently.  He was interviewed recently in Yaounde during the Senate Session that just rounded up in the Nation's Capital. He begins by talking about those qualities of the Late Honourable Mbah Ndam that he will hardly ever forget?

Senator Barrister Henry Kemende

............

"In fact, he was a Legal Icon and a reflection of who a true legislator is supposed to be because he has been in Parliament for close to 25 years. He taught me Law at the University of Yaounde, specifically Civil Procedure  and he was a square peg in a square hole when it came to matters of Civil Procedure because he was a Legal Practitioner. When he taught me Civil Procedure in the Late eighties, I found myself in the courtroom because his tone, pronunciation and his mastery of the Subject Matter made you to admire becoming a Lawyer. He made you to live the Courtroom Atmosphere by the way he would make us to feel practice and that's why he was a good teacher first of all to begin with."

............

How were your early contacts with him and what impressions of him did you get?

............

After we took part in the launching of the SDF in 1990 though we were rounding up at the University of Yaounde I saw in him a true politician, a true defender of the people, a true defender of Human Rights and a voice of the voiceless. In Parliament when he spoke at the rostrum, you felt that he was truly representing the people because he will articulate the problems that you are facing. He never sounded artificial like some people do, sounding as if they were talking to Europeans. He on the contrary sounded very original. You saw somebody articulating with all the conviction of a Lawyer who believes in his case. You saw somebody articulating your case and you really felt you had a representative. He carried out that role for 23 years until the crisis set in. 

............

How do you think he impacted on the way things are done in Parliament during his more than twenty years in there?

...........

I can only speak as somebody who observed from a distance. You know there is the Lower and the Upper House. I am of the Senate and they are of the National Assembly. I cannot say I have actually lived him in the same hall intervenining for bills but when it comes to Speaking to the population I can imagine what he does when speaking in the Lower House. I think he has taught our brothers East of the Mungo what Parliamentary Democracy is all about. It is not just a matter of endorsing whatever the government comes in with. It is an institutional issue and when the government comes in with a bill it doesn't matter which Political Party one belongs to. It is a matter of scrutinizing the Government so that when the bill comes out into Law, it will make the people  much more comfortable better than they were before. He never undermined the other colleagues from the other Political Parties. 

............

 What was that extra touch that he brought into the SDF party?

............

He encouraged some of us to think that we could take Front Line Stage in the Politics of this country as it is normally supposed to be because in the world, Lawyers are leaders, Politicians and Presidents. He transformed the party from being the party of the layman to a party in which you had people who could be the backbone in terms of legislation, interpreting the Laws even of the very party. We needed such a brain to be able to handle even NEC Meetings and even other events where intervention of Jurists were needed to interpret the Constitution of the SDF.

Senator Henry Kemende in an Interview with Francis Ekongang Nzante

 

............

Many people are of the opinion that the party is transitory at the moment. Many people think the party is shifting from the first phase to the second phase of its existence. What's your take on this?

............

We have seen the passing on of people like Dr Sigha Asanga, Ngwasiri, Joseph Banadzem, Justice Nyoh Wakai and now Honourable Mbah Ndam. It is but normal. It is a natural process. If you don't want that process to take place while you are alive, it will take place naturally. It is the way of nature that the old shall give way to the young. It sounds a warning bell to those who are still left that either they look at things differently the way the younger generation like us look at it, or they just surrender and give way. This is because they will soon discover that their ideas do not correspond with those of people at the Party base who constitute the majority of the party now. They will soon discover that they are operating at the analog level while we are already in the digital age. 

............

You certainly have a message for Late Honourable Mbah Ndam' Family and for the SDF Family as well...

............

 The message for the immediate family is to take heart and that what has happened to him will happen to each and everyone of us. They should not also care about what his critics are saying. Certainly, the life of a politician requires that he makes enemies and as he makes enemies, he makes friends too. They should focus on the friends of Late Honourable Mbah Ndam. If they focus on his detractors then they will feel that life has no meaning. They should look at the positive side of the late man and be consoled by those who have good words for him like us. Those who are judging him have no rights to do so. They are neither his God nor his maker. To the SDF family I call on them to take this as a lesson that life is vanity and that when they are given a task to do, they should do it diligently. When we are called to serve the people we should do so with all our hearts and should not always think only of the self. Honourable Mbah Ndam spent years serving the people and I don't think he had the time to enjoy himself. The message is that we should serve the people and make the world better than we met it and that we should be forward looking. We are going through the challenge of our lives as politicians and as members of the SDF. The challenge of our lives as Anglophones and as Cameroonians. The challenge Late Honourable Mbah Ndam faced was that of handling the Anglophone Crisis without stepping on any toes. It has been a very tricky one for him because you see yourself serving one side and abandoning the other and considering yourself as not serving the Republic or serving the Republic and seeing yourself as not serving "the people." People who were not party militants got into the show and started dictating to him who was voted on a party platform. It became really tricky. Honourable Mbah Ndam was who he became because of a particular system he was voted to serve. A revolution does not need the institutional setup of what it is revolting against to succeed. A revolt that is bound to succeed does not need the support of the institutional setup that it is fighting to succeed. It pushes its way through making everybody to comply.

Interviewed in Yaounde By Francis Ekongang Nzante 


Edev Newspaper: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237696896001/ +237678401408

Ngufor Peter Njontor CEO of Farmer's House Throws weight behind Anti COVID-19 Efforts

- Equips Bafanji with necessary Anti COVID-19 Gadgets 

By Francis Ekongang Nzante 

Against a backdrop of the Presidential Grant of FCFA 2 Billion given by His Exellency President Paul Biya to help in intensifying the fight against the New Coronavirus COVID-19, Ngufor Peter, the CEO of Farmer's House, one of the leading Agro-industries in the Central African Sub Region has thrown his weight behind the dreaded virus. The donation which constitutes a first step in a series of other donations that will follow was made up of 900 Cubes of Soap, 50 buckets and 500 face masks was earmarked for the Indigenes of Bafanji in the Bali kumbat Subdivision.

Speaking during a brief ceremony to mark the occasion at the Head Quarters of Farmer's House in Bamenda, Ngufor Peter Njontor said, "With the New Coronavirus that is attacking the whole world and in particular Cameroon,  we heard that the Head of State instituted the Solidarity Fund so we felt that we have to come together to help him to help the country and to help our population to fight the Pandemic. This is my own little contribution to fight against this Pandemic. This package is to help the people of Bafanji. I hope that others should follow suit and do something like this or even better. Fighting this Virus is more or less like a war and its not a joking matter. Its not a fight meant for a single person but rather its a collective one.

The fight is going to be a long and tedious one because the virus will not be going away anytime soon. So we've got to fight using every means possible. Many people have done greater than what I did today but this is my own little effort."

Explaining why he chose to start with Bafanji, Ngufor Peter Njontor said "I have started with Bafanji village because that's where I come from. I am not limited to Bafanji and I plan to move to other communities like the area where I stay in Bamenda. I will certainly do something in Nkwen and you should understand that it has to do with means available."

Cognizant of the difficulties that could occur at the level of distribution of the gadgets, he explained that "the Traditional Council to which these goods are addressed will use their discretion in the distribution of these items. They actually asked for it. They said they needed support in the fight against COVID-19. They already have their plan on how they are going to distribute them throughout all the quarters of Bafanji so that the population has access to these facilities." 

Cameroon People Magazine: email: edevnewspaper@gmail.com / francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237696896001/+237678401408

His Royal Highness Senator Kumbongsi

-His Trajectory  from Childhood in Mfe to the Senate.

-His Efforts to Stem the Brewing Conflict Between Fulanis and Indigenous People in Donga Mantung!

- His Tributes to Late Honourable Mbah Ndam

His Royal Highness Senator Kumbongsi was born in Mfe village in Yamba in what is presently referred to as the Nwa Subdivision then located in Nkambe East in the Nkambe Division now Donga Mantung Division. He went to Primary School in Mfe, Gom and Luz and attended Secondary School in the Cameroon Protestant College, CPC Bali. He was later employed by the West Cameroon Government in Buea in the Lands and Surveys Department. His Royal Highness begins this interview by delving into one of his earliest working experiences with the Cameroon Development Corporation CDC.

..........

"After working in Buea for the Lands and Surveys Department, I was employed by the Cameroon Development Corporation CDC. I worked there for a few months and they sent me to the Cameroon College of Arts Science and Technology CCAST Bambili in the School of Agriculture. When I came back to the CDC, I worked there for some time and was lucky to benefit from a Dutch Technical Assistance Scholarship to go to Holland to the Tropical School of Agriculture where I did Tropical and Sub Tropical Agriculture. I graduated there with a First Degree in Agronomy. From Holland, I proceeded to Canada where I took a degree at Magill University in Montreal and I did my Masters in Plant Breeding. This was followed by a PhD in Agricultural Entomology. Thereafter, I worked for the Canadian Provincial Government in Agriculture working with farmers. Afterwards I had a job with the Canadian Federal Department of Forestry. After a couple of years on this job I went private. 

..........

How did your Practice in the Private Sector unfold?

..........

In the private sector, I was growing Forestry Seedlings for the Forest industry producing basically Forest Tree Seedlings at a specified height and a specified Root Collar Diameter. Logging Companies that fell trees by Law were obligated to replace two times more in this way ensuring that there would be enough trees for future generations. During that periode in the Private Sector, I was hired by the New York Department of Parks and Recreation where I worked for about five years as a Managing Director of the Greenhouse. When I returned to Canada from the USA, I became a consultant in the industry.

.............. 

Tell us something about your family, your Dad for instance.

..........

My Father was a member of the former House of Chiefs in Buea. Following his demise in 2011, he designated me as his successor. When I returned to Cameroon in 2012, all the King Makers and notables put me as the designated successor to my father. 

............

So how did you  get elected into the Upper House or the Senate?

............

Yes at the same time, the Social Democratic Front Party SDF asked me if I could run on the party's ticket for the Senate. I had supported the party when I was out of the country. I accepted the offer, participated in the elections and was elected. That was in 2018 and I have occupied that position till now. 

............

How do you think your training, work experience and exposure can be put to use in Cameroon?

............

My training and work experience abroad has given me an exposure that we can use in this country. Our Forests for example are being cut down and there is no systematic system of replanting including the undergrowth which provides shelter and feed for animals. So in the long run if we don't replace the vegetation, we are going to lose the fauna as the animals may migrate to other places.I think that now that I am at home, I can suggest to the authorities what we can do to replace what is being cut down including the undergrowth. That way we can secure for future generations what we have now. 

............

While in the Senate you certainly have occupied some key assigned roles. 

............

Yes at the Senate I am a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. We consider the bills sent to us from the Lower House that have to do with foreign issues. We are in a position to scrutinize those laws before they are given Presidential approval to become Law. I also feel that I can be a member of another Commission which is that of Production and Trade because that will involve aspects of Forestry and Agriculture both domains in which i have lots of experience. I am working on that with the Secretary General of the Senate. 

............

 You certainly have a good grasp of the restlessness that has been taking place in parts of Donga Mantung recently?

............

One thing that really worries me is that the Fulani "Ardo" resident in Mfe in the Nwa Subdivision  has gone to Nigeria and recruited Fulanis from there, armed them and these people have been terrorising our people to the extent that some very innocent people have been killed. They have engaged themselves in stealing property such as cattle, goats, sheep, fowls and burning down Grain Storage Facilities and whole houses to the extent that a lot of people have ran out of the village. This doesn't only end in my Subdivision. If you go to the Ako and Misaje area, you have a similar phenomenon where Fulanis have turned against the people. They have been used by the Forces of Law and Order to point out the "Amba Boys" as the Separatist Fighters are locally referred to. Unfortunately they've not done only that but have used the opportunity to also point out their rivals as far as Cattle Farming Business is concerned. Their long term plan is to rid the place of the natives and convert it into Grazing Land. I take exception to that. A lot of people who were born and raised there have run away and are now in other towns. They will want to come back one day and when they do, its not going to be pretty because they will not be happy that strangers have come and taken over their land. This situation is creating a very fertile ground for future conflicts.

............

What is the root cause of the problem and what has so far been done by you as Senator from the area?

..........

I am doing all I can to communicate with the fulanis, firstly those in Nwa Subdivision and to tell them that what they are doing is not right and that they cannot be part of a community and at the same time teaming up with the Forces of Law and Order to exact brutality on the indigenous people. 

The father of the "Ardo" that I mentioned earlier was "Ardo" Nyana. When he was Ardo, he was caught with arms in his residence, arrested and taken to Bafoussam, the Military Headquarters of the area and from there he was released under circumstances that we don't understand. Now his son to whom he handed over as "Ardo" (meaning ruler) has gone to Nigeria, brought in Fulanis, armed them and they are terrorising the villagers. That is unacceptable. If the military come into the village they should go after the "amba boys" and should not rely on the fulanis who unfairly point at innocent citizens who are competitors with them on the grazing lands. Some of these natives have cows and their cows have all been stolen. These cows have been taken to Nigeria and sold and the money used in buying arms which are in turn used to brutalise the same villagers.

............

Apart from trying to disuade the fulanis from their heinous activities what else has been done?

............

I complained to the Seniour Divisional Officer in Nkambe. I wrote to him and copied the Governor of the Northwest Region in Bamenda and the Minister of Territorial Administration in Yaounde. I also copied the Gendarmerie Brigade Commanders in the Five Subdivisions: Nwa, Ndu, Nkambe, Ako and Misaje. I equally copied the Police Commissioner of the Special Branch in the Five Subdivisions telling them exactly what the Fulanis were doing and entreating them to do something. Up to this moment that I am talking to you I have had no feed back from anyone of them. I didn't end there. Since I am temporarily settled in Yaounde, I booked for an interview with the Head of the Military Security and he directed me to see the person who reports directly to the Minister of Defense. I met this gentleman who reports directly to Joseph Beti Assomo(the Minister of Defense) and explained what the Fulanis were doing back in my area. He looked at me and told me to go there. I wondered how my going there would solve the problem. I told him I couldn't go there because of the violence and insecurity. Then he asked me to write another letter copying the same people who had already received letters from me. I told him all these people had already been notified and that there was no reason to do so again. Though I temporarily live in Yaounde, I have my informants on the ground who provide me with information about all the happenings in the area. The Fulanis involved in these atrocities are the same ones who had problems with the Mambila People in Nigeria and the Mambila People defeated them. The Ardo now openly moves around visibly armed. 

............

Recently Honourable Mbah Ndam passed on. He was the Head of the SDF Parliamentary group for many years and Vice President of the House. How would you like people to remember him?

..............

Honourable Mbah Ndam was a staunch member of the SDF Party. He was the Legal Adviser of the National Chairman and the Party and to the best of my knowledge he did a lot to calm the waters as far as the Anglophone Crisis is concerned. He went to his constituency and emphasised on the fact that the SDF as a Party was for Federalism in Cameroon and not secession and died without wavering from that stance. I remember Honourable Mbah Ndam as somebody who was consistent in what he believed in. He was consistent in emphasising on what had to be done to bring peace to this country. It's unfortunate that he died so early. Even though he lost his seat in parliament during the recent elections,  his wealth of experience would have still been very useful. He had lots of experience on the workings in Parliament and on how things are done in Yaounde. 

............

Don't you think the SDF as a party is shifting to the next era of its existence with many possible changes in the offing?

............

I do know that SDF lost a lot of steam in the last elections. Due to the peculiar circumstances, it lost more seats and now has fewer seats than before. As Senator and a member of NEC there are certain principles by which any Political Organisation operates. In August 2019 we had a NEC Meeting in Douala during which it was decided that SDF would not participate in the elections if the problem of the Anglophone Crisis was not solved. In the other NEC Meeting that we had in December 2019 in Yaounde we maintained that the Party was not going to participate in the elections if the Anglophone Crisis was not settled. Many of us were taken aback when we were informed that the National Chairman had decided that we should participate in the elections. As it turned out, we went in for the elections and the results were obvious. We have lost more Parliamentarians than we had before and the second position that our party formerly occupied has been taken over by Professor Maurice Kamto's Cameroon Renaissance Movement. I don't know how we are going to recover from that but I want to state that given a free and fair election,  the situation wouldn't have been the same.

Interviewed in Yaounde by Francis Ekongang Nzante

"The Chloroquine used as a Therapeutic Agent for COVID-19 is not the same as that used for Malaria"

 -Professor Egbengu Philip

Professor Egbengu Philip is the Chief Executive Officer CEO of Royal Victoria Clinic at Foncha Street, specifically at Virgin Land (Loh Benson Quarters), Bamenda in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. He is also a Professor and Head of the College of Medical Studies at the Catholic University in Bamenda, Cameroon. In this interview accorded him by Cameroon People Magazine, the learned Professor states unambiguously that the Chloroquine that is used as a Therapeutic agent for COVID-19 is not the same regular Chloroquine that we buy from the Pharmacist's for the treatment of Malaria. The Professor begins by touching on the alarming spread of the Flu Virus in the world. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante.

Professor Egbe Philip Egbengu

The COVID-19 Pandemic which has been raging all over the world has become a cause for concern for all nations , towns and communities. The methods used in managing the Pandemic so far have varied from country to country based on their perceived knowledge of the virus and on their health capabilities in terms of material, personnel and facilities on the ground. 

Precisely what type of virus is the COVID-19?

The virus itself is a Flu Virus like many other Flu Viruses. Before this virus came, we had the SARS virus. Before SARS came we had the Respiratory Syncytial Virus and other viruses which are Flu related. The whole idea of the Coronavirus has been in existence and all the Flu Viruses are Corona. They are called Coronaviruses because the surface membranes are like crowns. They have spikes like on a crown and that's how they derive the name Corona. It has been in existence for long but with this particular episode, we have a variant of the Coronavirus which is the COVID-19 and its more virulent than the previous ones. As children we had Flu in our Tropical and Equatorial Environments which we handled almost offhandedly but in the cold environments viruses thrive more. That's why we may think that being a Flu Virus it may not be so virulent in the Tropics or Equatorial Regions. 

Many Conspiracy theories still doubt the Existence of the Coronavirus...

This particular version of the Flu Virus is claimed to have originated from Wuhan City in China but how it came about is not a matter for us to conjecture. It is there and we have to deal with it. Let me categorically state here that it is real. It hit China, its in Europe in France, Italy, England, Spain and is now creating a lot of havoc in the United States.

What do you think should be the focus of Cameroon as a nation in the fight against COVID-19?

 Considering that the world is now a Global Village, when it hits one end of the world, before you know it, its all over the world and that's why we should take particular precautions to guard against it more on the bases of preventive measures than curative measures. This is because when it hits us, we are going to find ourselves in the doldrums because our health facilities are not ready. We are not capable in all the ramifications, personnel, material and facilities so we have to emphasise on preventive measures. Numerous preventive measures have been circulated around the place but we want to rely on our Ministry of Health because they have a very well circumscribed description of the conditions and measures to be taken. 

How exactly is the COVID-19 spread?

Of course we know that it is spread by Droplet Contamination and so the importance of wearing face masks cannot be over emphasised. The Ministry of Public Health in Cameroon has made it clear that everyone must wear a face mask atleast within the periode when we think that the virus is still there floating around. Secondly it thrives for variable durations on surfaces. This is the reason why they emphasise on hand washing and hand sanitizers as well as the cleaning of surfaces which come in contact with hands. 

To what degree do you think Cameroonians are responding to measures put in place by MINSANTE and the WHO?

To a very fair degree, I would say that the population is responding favourably. In Bamenda when I moved out today I noticed that about 80 to 90% of the population put on their masks. 

How is  the Victoria Royal Clinic contributing to the fight against the spread of COVID-19?

In our own small way, we are trying to make the thing prevented. Because when it gets here, its going to be disastrous and we pray it never gets here. At the Royal Victoria Clinic, we have put in place very stringent measures. When you came in you saw what happened. They kept you somewhere and they put you on hand Sanitizer before you got closer to the people and luckily you came in with a mask and that keeps us safe. In hospital environments we receive all sorts of people and we are at high risks so we take extra measures to protect ourselves because in doing so we are also protecting the community. We have large volumes of Hand Sanitizers and we have bottles on every table and in each office, every room and at every bedside. As you enter here, your hands are sanitized and as you leave the same procedure takes place. The cleaning of the surfaces and the floor is done every three hours and I personally make an hourly walk through to make sure that things are in place. 

We are are practicing all the preventive measures put in place by the Ministry of Public Health, our menthor.

What is your take on the way it is being handled at the National Level?

At the National level, there was a little bit of tardiness at the initial level and we cried foul that adequate measures were not being taken. Apparently it was out of the natural apathy for  things like that and the natural slow response from our environment. We are not proactive but recently, the Government has woken up to the call and has fully taken its responsibility. Even on phone now, every call begins with some information on COVID-19 which is laudable and that must have been sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health.

Talking about the use of Chloroquine, many people still seem to be confused about this.

Coming to the issue of the use of Hydroxy Chloroquine lets be very clear. When we talk about Chloroquine being a Therapeutic Agent for COVID-19 we should have it very clear that it is not the regular Chloroquine we sell in the market for maleria. It is a hybrid of Chloroquine which is Hydroxy Chloroquine which in the past had been sold in Cameroon under the proprietary name PLAQUENIL. It was used to treat Severe Acute Arthritis. People should get it very clear. It is not Chloroquine Sulphate that we use in the treatment of Malaria. Unfortunately for those of us who were using it to cure Arthritis, we have completely run short of it in the market. 

PLAQUENIL is out of stock and the layman in the street believes that it is Chloroquine. The problem with Chloroquine is that people take it to prevent which is completely out of the question here. Chloroquine has a very toxique side effect and it can cause Arrhythmias; Irregular Heart Beats. These are things which on themselves are very toxique  so people must be very careful when they take Chloroquine. Science has not yet proven that Chloroquine is that effective. There have been a few publications on the use of HydroxyChloroquine as a Therapeutic Agent in association with Azithromycine. The studies have been done in France and repeated in other countries  and patients have responded to these Treatment Cocktails but again in the Scientific world we need more evidence than just running a few samples on some people and coming out with some assertions which we want to hold true. More studies have to be done and we are looking forward to that. We really pray that Hydroxy Chloroquine does the job. From the small samples they have done, the results have been very encouraging. 

If deemed necessary, when exactly should HydroxyChloroquine be used?

I warn that it should not be used as a Prophylaxis because using it as preventive will generate the problem of resistance. When COVID-19 become full blown in our society and we want to use it for treatment, the responses will not be effective. 

Interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante Lenjo


Edev Newspaper: Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237696896001/ 678401408

"Separatists should Reorientate their Focus towards a Two State Federation"

-Senator Kinyang George 

 Senator Kinyang George, a Cameroonian Politician and Legal Luminary has sent a strong appeal to Separatists especially those fighting in the bushes to reorientate their focus and consider the proposal of a Two State Federation. He explains that for the attention of the international community to be attracted, Anglophones need to speak the same Language. He further states that Seperatists Fighters don't have the means to succesfully wage a war of secession. He also recently started the Tour of Bui  with Noni, one of the three ethnic groupings that make up Bui Division. This saw him convening the Noni Reflection Forum in Yaounde which came out with resolutions that are already being implemented through committees that were created. Senator Kinyang George proceeded to meet with Traditional leaders or Nfons from Noni. In this interview the Senator doesn't only tell us about grounds so far covered in Bui Division but also presents his stand on the Twin Elections in Cameroon. He begins by talking about the grounds so far covered in Bui Division.

"The first issue is that we have made the Noni People to understand that they need to love themselves and that they need to talk Noni and not Djottin, Lasn, Nkor or Din. When you get to the Noni Forum on WhatsApp you will notice that they now talk much more about unity and development. This shows that the Noni Reflection Forum was a success. The forum was called to address the issue of antagonism between the Noni People. We are now focused and prepared to act as one people in the interest of Noni. After the meeting in Yaounde, I held a meeting with the Traditional Rulers of Noni on the instructions of the Yaounde Forum. The Nfons came to Bamenda and we met and talked on development issues and on ways to take Noni forward. We talked on ways to bring peace back to Noni. If there is a problem and there is fighting, it should not divide us as Noni People. It shouldn't kill the love and unity that we once shared as a people. The roads that were blocked by Amba Boys have now been opened and vehicles are now going everywhere in the land. Transportation is once more fluid in Noni. Amba Boys have been made to understand that although they are fighting an Anglophone course, they shouldn't destroy society by obstructing development while doing so. There is a problem but while we look for ways to solve that problem, we should not be self destructive. We have told them that kidnapping is not a solution to our problems. We also hope they should listen to us so that Noni children should be given a chance to go to school. The Yaounde Brainstorming Forum is yielding fruits."

What are the main problems facing Bui Division today and what do you think are the solutions to these problems?

The main problem facing Bui Division is lack of unity. They don't act as people from the same Division. I have six Subdivisions under my controle and my main aim is to bridge the divisions that exist between these subdivisions. We should act as one person focusing on development. From Noni, I will be moving to Oku with the same message of Unity, Peace and Development. From there I will move to Nkum and eventually to Kumbo, the big brother of Bui Division. My tour will ofcourse take me to Jakiri and Mbiame. All of these areas must be covered before the end of my mandate to make sure that there is real development. We should take advantage of the new law. It may not be perfect but we should try to see how we can exploit it in the interest of the Bui people. 

You recently responded to a call from the Nkum People. What was it all about?

One of their counsellors drew my attention to the fact that their health center was dilapidated and needed a facelift. So we sent them 45 cartoons of Medical Equipment and did the same thing for the Nkor Subdivisional Hospital. Still in Nkum an initiative to help internally displaced people wrote to me requesting help. I sent them a package which I think has been helpful. There have been many interventions of this nature. Help individually and collectively has been extended to the Bui People in Prison in Yaounde. There is the case of one Ngalim Felix who was there and needed to be operated upon but hadn't the means. We had to make a move to help him get out of Hospital. The people should know that the Senator is there with an intervention fund. It is not a fund for micro projects but for intervention to help individuals, groups of people and villages. SDF has also greatly suffered from the hands of kidnappers and we have spent a lot of resources in this light. 

Lots of IDPs from Bui are in towns all over Cameroon. We understand you reached out with some assistance to some of them.

Yes. What we have in package for these interventions is not enough so we try to do the best we can do. I am also trying to use my nephew who is running a Medical Laboratory in Douala. We are looking for ways to help the IDPs especially those who are sick. We offer them help at the Laboratory for free laboratory tests to be carried out. We are also concerned with Education and are doing much in this direction. We have been giving out scholarships. I am Senator for the Northwest Region from the Bui Constituency. I fellowship at the Mabanda Baptist Church in Douala and there I decided to give Scholarships to the underprivileged beginning from the Pre Nursery to Primary Six. With the Rev. Pastor we have arranged to get to the poorest in every class. We've been helping these children for the past three years. Though I am Senator for Bui, I am Senator for the nation as well. 

Many people criticise the bills that were recently passed in Parliament and forced through the Senate. What's your take on this?

The Bill on Bilingualism was bad law and you will notice that it was rejected by all Parliamentarians both from the ruling party and the Opposition. The fact that all of us rejected that Bill and it was still promulgated by the Head of State has no respect for the Anglophones. A law which says a Magistrate can give a judgement in French in English Speaking Cameroon clearly disrespects the English Common Law. At the Major National it was aknowledged that the Common Law is very distinct from the Civil Law and that it has specifications that are not in the Civil Law and we agreed that it should be handled separately from the Civil Law. We were surprised that they would use the issue of Cameroon being a Bilingual Country to say that a judgement could be issued in the Common Law Jurisdiction in French. It was another aspect of subjugation which we decried. 

Secondly there is the Law on Regional and Local Authorities in which they say article 327 and 328 have given the Anglophones a Special Status in comformity with section 62 Sub 2 of the Constitution. That is fake and there is nothing of that sort. I told the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development that it is fake and that is nothing like Special Status for Anglophones. Because in a Special Status we maybe talking about something which is similar to 1961 Federal System of Government which we enjoyed at the time when we resolved to join our Francophone brothers. At that time we had a Prime Minister, a Government, Police force, a Legislative Body and were functioning as a State under a Federal System with Equal Status. The Judicial Committee which I was a member during the Major National Dialogue together with the Minister of Justice strongly Advised the Head of State to declare a cease fire and to grant pardon and Armnesty. They didn't do this but instead brought in a funny law referring to it as Special Status to a people who do not have the powers to legislate. A people who do not have the power to construct their own regions. The people have not been given the powers to say legislation on Common Law and our educational system that the state may consult to legislate on our educational system. So where is the Special Status? If we do not have the powers to legislate or construct our own regions then there is no Special Status. The House of Chiefs is a Sharm and there is nothing there that will create any development to improve the wellbeing of the chiefs. The same Governors, SDOs, DOs that were imposed on us are still there performing the same duties and responsibilities. When the Regional and Local Authorities sit and deliberate, they will have to subject their reports to the Governor. The Governor can decide to frustrate everything if he is not satisfied with it. Even if it gets to the Presidency and the President is not satisfied with the recommendations, it will stay in the drawers. Special Status is a deception, nothing has changed.

Don't you think there is a certain lack of understanding of the stance of the SDF?

It is true that SDF has not officially come out with a position. In our internal forums I have been very disturbed about this situation. Me as Senator and as an individual, I have my position. My position is that I am not going to participate in the elections. I will not expose my people to go and be killed. One soul lost in Bui is too much for me. The SDF's Participation in this fake elections will not be in the interest of the party. This will simply give an endorsement to the credibility of the CPDM. I will not be part of this endorsement. I know my population in Bui and I know that they will not come out to vote. 

Do you have any special message?

I am sending a message to our brothers and sisters in the Northwest and Southwest who are fighting. They a reorientation. They have seen the position of the US which states that there will be no secession. We know that secession does not depend on the US but on us. But I am saying that at the moment the means to fight and get secession are not there. People have died and the Northwest and Southwest Regions have been destroyed. So I am begging that the position of the SDF which is a Two State Federation as at 1961 be considered. The Chairman has echoed this in all the Fora that he has addressed. This position should be considered. Let the Amba fighters reorientate their focus. We need the support of the Internal Community and when we are talking a different Language and they are talking a different Language, it gives power to the state. This proposal of a Two State Federation is some thing we should seriousl consider as we get into 2020.

Interviewed By Francis Ekongang