“The problems in Cameroon are as a result of an over centralized system”

-Ajong Dobgima Sylvanus

Ajong Dobgima Sylvanus

Ajong Dobgima Sylvanus is presently the Lord Mayor of the Bali Nyonga Municipality. Before becoming Mayor, he was the CPDM Section President for Bali. He is a product of the prestigious Higher Institute of Administration and Magistracy known in its French acronym as ENAM where he studied Administration and Finance. From this institution Ajong Dobgima Sylvanus served in different capacities in the Civil Service. His last appointment was at the Regional Delegation of Agriculture for the North West Region from where he retired in 2005. Amongst other things, Ajong Dobgima Sylvanus declared that the problems of Cameroon lie in an over centralized system. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante. He begins by touching on what inspired him to get into politics.

“Throughout my career I have been managing finances and taking care of people. When I retired I became a full politician and this gave me an opportunity to better take care of people.”

During this period Bali has been transformed into one of the biggest towns in the North West Region. What is this force that has been pushing the town forward?

Our trick is just hard work with all of us putting hands together. The elites have been lobbying and putting all their forces together to bring development to Bali. This gave us the possibility to transform Bali into the town that you have here today.

If you were to suggest that something still had to be done in Bali specifically and Cameroon at large, what would that thing be?

Bali is one of the oldest Sub Divisions in the North West Region and if there is anything that I want to ask, it will be that Bali should be raised to the status of a full Division. Bali was among the earliest places to become an academic hob and to have some of the most educated elite. One of the oldest secondary schools in these parts of the country was created in Bali; Cameroon Protestant College and Bali has now become a University town with the creation of the Cameroon Christian University.

What specific problems can you identify in Bali and what solutions do you propose?

The powers that be should let decentralization become a reality in Cameroon. The problems in Cameroon are as a result of an over centralized system. For anything to be done here, one has to constantly go to Yaounde. We have water crises in Bali and there is also the problem of shortage of electricity supply. These are the major problems. When there is water and electricity, other development projects will follow. If this is done in Bali and in the other villages within the Municipality then the place will be completely transformed. 

Les Gens Du Cameroun/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237696896001/+237678401408  

Livestock and Fishery should be Business, not a hand to mouth activity

Dr. Atanga Heinendez, Regional Delegate, NW

Dr. Atanga Heinendez, Regional Delegate of the North West for Livestock and Fishery has called on stake holders of the sector to put in every effort to make sure that Livestock and Fishery activities in the Region are pushed to the level of sustainable business and not just a hand to mouth activity. In this interview that took place at the Regional Delegation of Livestock and Fishery for the North West Region, Dr. Atanga Heinendez revisits the route so far covered by the North West Region and among things calls to mind the fact that the North West Region is among the first two as far as this invaluable sector is concerned in Cameroon. He begins by talking about the situation he met in the field when he came to the North West Region and how things have so far evolved?  He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante.  

 

Dr. Atanga Heinendez

Presently the North West Region occupies the second position in Beef Cattle in the country. We have over 500.000 cattle and thanks to HEIFA we have the highest daily production. In Poultry we are in second position after the West Region which occupies first position in the country. Every Division in the Region has its own specifics. When you talk of cattle then you have to go to Donga Mantung, Bui and Boyo Divisions. When you talk of poultry and pigs then it’s Mezam and Ngoketunjia. In Aqua culture we are a little behind but we are doing well and this activity is concentrated around Mezam, Boyo and Ngoketunjia. When we talk of fish harvest it is of course Ngoketunjia with the Bambalang fish.

What has your ministry done in terms of putting in place infrastructures like Training Centers for refurbishing of stakeholders and training experts?

The Ministry first of all has the moral obligation of making sure that good quality meat is available to the people. To do that, it has its extension services but for continuous training, projects are regularly put in place like ACEFA to follow up the farmers designed production process. We also have PNVIA which permits farmers to be taught modern techniques of production. The most recent that we have is LIFIDEP; Livestock and Fishery Development Project which is funded by the Islamic Development Bank. This project provides infrastructure and other accessories to make sure that Livestock and Fishery activities in the North West are at their utmost. Mass vaccination is an initiative that is subsidized by the Government to make vaccines available at highly subsidized rates. Traditional practices do not permit for maximum production so the government has production farms at Kounden in the West Region which is a specialised Livestock Station for pigs from where highly improved grades of pigs are churned out for farmers. At 6 months, these improved species can weigh a hundred Kilograms.

 What are the grounds so far covered in the North West since you took office here? 

  

When I took over we had some challenges like disease out breaks but for some time now we have not recorded any outbreak in the region. Take the cattle vaccination for example. In 2012 we vaccinated 124.000 herds of cattle. In 2016 we vaccinated 160.000 cattle and this year we are targeting 180.000 herds of cattle or more. It should be recalled that the North West Region has never missed a year in the mass vaccination process. We need to take advantage of all of this so that we will be able to have sufficient quantities that will take care of our needs and even meet up with the demands of neighbours who count on us. We equally had to fight very hard to make sure that the Avian Influenza or Bird Flu didn’t get into the Region. It was a collective fight that involved everybody from the security men, the farmers among others directly or indirectly concerned. I will continue to make the meat safe for human consumption and I call on all to know that it is a collective fight and not only that of the technician.

Are you satisfied with what has so far been done?

I cannot say I am satisfied because success is a journey and we are on the right track getting there though we are not yet there. The Ministry has put in place so many things for the population of the North West Region to benefit from. We have the veterinary School in Jakiri that trains technicians. We have the AFOP Programme and Training Centre at Ku-Bome in Mbengwi; an Aqua Culture Station used for the training of youths. There is the Nazareth Centre in Bamenda and the PRTC Nfonta, Bambui in the Tubah Municipality. Those graduating write projects and these projects are funded to help them settle. We call on youths to contact the Regional Delegations to take advantage of many programmes that the government provides for youths. Livestock and Fishery should be a real business and not a hand to mouth activity.

Les Gens Du Cameroun/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel:+237696896001/ +237678401408

-Joshua Osih: ". 79% of Cameroonians are in favour of a Federal System in Cameroon"

According to Joshua Osih, the Deputy Vice National Chairperson of the Social Democratic Front SDF, 79% of Cameroonians are in favor of a Federal system of government in Cameroon. He equally states that the major problem of Cameroon is the form and structure of the state. He made this declaration at the Ntarikon Residence of Ni John Fru Ndi on Saturday August 5 shortly after the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Social Democratic Front. He began by touching on the main issues that the NEC meeting explored. 

Joshua Osih: Vice President of the Cameroon Social Democratic Front: SDF

We’ve had an intense meeting and we had important declarations made on the Anglophone issue. We also are aware that responsibilities have to be well defined. We also talked about the President of the Republic and his obligations and the moves he has so far made in recognition of these problems. We talked on the life of the party as well as that of the state and expressed our horror on the attacks of Boko Haram especially that of this evening that resulted into a number of deaths.

What is the way forward for Cameroon in the present dead?

Most of the negotiators who sat at the Prime Minister’s table for negotiations ended up in jail and now it is necessary for President Paul Biya to take a decision because he is the only one who can take that decision now to liberate all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in our jails before we can start talking about political dialogue that can take Cameroon out of its problems and whether kids are going back to school or not. The Social Democratic Front recognises the need for children to go to school and we understand that education is paramount and deplore the fact that schools are closed. We frown and are devastated by the fact that schools have not been opened for a school year but the person responsible for all of this is called Paul Biya. He is the one who can solve that problem and who should have solved it a year ago. It is clear that people should understand our stand on this as it is clearly spelled out in the declarations of our meeting. The Government should demilitarize the North West and South West Regions and should release those detained for a cause that the government itself had recognised and even taken some measures to address them. Since the President of the Republic has recognised that there is a problem he should solve that problem.

Cameroon has sent out delegations to negotiate and carried out Diplomatic offensives. What is your take on this?

 I think they should stop wasting useful money. They should solve the problems at home before moving out of the country. They shouldn’t just go around in some sort of a tourist tour out of the country. Everybody knows there is a problem but what we are waiting from the government is solutions. Cameroon cannot be ruled now as it was in the fifties. The major problem of Cameroon is the form and structure of the state. 79% of Cameroonians are in favor of a Federal System in Cameroon. It is a system in which powers are separated from the centralized system that we have now which is at the heart of bad governance in Cameroon.

With the build up to the reopening of schools in September, there is already a National Debate on the issue. Should children go back to school?

 It is true that there is a national debate on whether schools should reopen or not but the problem is much deeper. Paul Biya has recognised that the problem is deeper and has taken a series of actions which points to the fact that he has recognised this fact. We came out today with a declaration called Declaration of the Fifth of August 2017on the Anglophone Crises. We are very clear that Biya is solely responsible for the present predicament in which the country finds itself, for the terrible situation in the North West and South West Regions and for the terrible situation in which Anglophones find themselves. President Paul Biya is solely responsible for the Anglophone Crises in Cameroon. He is the only one who can find a solution. Since he has refused to solve the problem therefore he has defacto abdicated from his functions so he should go right to the end of that logic and resign from his position.  

Interviewed By Francis Ekongang Nzante (EDEV Web News), Frederique Tarkang(BBC Afrique), Donna Suffo (Le Messager), Wifah Jennyhans (The Sun), Nchong Christantus(The Horizon)

Les Gens Du Cameroun/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ +237678401408/=237696896001 

“We appeal on government to review reports of the Northwest Ad-hoc Committee”

Crecy Tawah

-Retired Diplomat, Minister Plenipotentiary, Business man and politician

Crecy Tawah

Crecy Tawah is a retired Cameroonian Diplomat and Minister Plenipotentiary. His last posting as a Diplomat out of Cameroon was in Washington D.C. Back in Cameroon he worked in the Ministry of External Relations. Since retirement he has been into a cross section of initiatives ranging from Business to development projects in collaboration with many other development oriented minds in Cameroon. In this interview he appeals to the Cameroon Government to review reports of the Ad-hoc Committee for the evaluation of resources in the NW Region that was created by Governor Aboubakar Ahmat. Talking about some problems presently plaguing Cameroon he says Cameroon belongs to everybody and that everything should be done preserve our two inherited cultures. Specifically, he is involved in the quarry sector, Real Estate and the sale of Building materials. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante. He begins by explaining why politically he is of the ruling CPDM Party.

Excerpts

Politically I am of the ruling party, the CPDM. During the last political exercise though I had 28000 votes I lost the Parliamentary seat to Hon. Nchinda who won and the exercise was democratically carried out so I duff my hat to him. I hold positions of responsibility in both the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon and I am also the head of the Alanyifu clan; one of the largest clans in Mankon. I am the overall head of that clan and of the Tawah family more precisely. 

How has your political orientation helped you to contribute to the development of the immediate community from which you come?

I chose the CPDM because I was convinced with the policies of its leader President Paul Biya. His idea of Communal Liberalism and balanced development was ideal. I know that no human organisation is 100% perfect but I chose the CPDM because it is the best when you take a look at it from an overall perspective. When you look at the political landscape of Cameroon, it is the best in the market and I believe that through the CPDM Cameroon will achieve its development goals faster than with any other political player that is on the scene at the moment.

How satisfied are you with the evolution of the Sociopolitical landscape in Cameroon at the moment?

I am very satisfied in a number of ways but there are also challenging issues. There is the Anglophone problem that has been there for some time. It is a problem that must be dealt with. It is not the only problem in Cameroon but it is among the thorny issues in the country including the Boko Haram problem in the North of the country. There are also developmental issues affecting the various parts of the country. Cameroon is a country with two inherited cultures and as an Anglophone; I feel that our own aspect of the culture has been ignored in the mainstream of political dialogue. That is why I praise President Paul Biya for introducing a Common Law Bench at the Supreme Court and doing a couple of other things to re-instate the Anglophone legal system and a couple of things to ensure the smooth flow of the English Educational system. It is a nation building process and it has started. Anglophones must be involved in the general process and treated as part of it. However we should avoid problems, violence and destruction while seeking for solutions. When you are in the international arena that’s when you appreciate the importance of the Bilingualism that we enjoy in Cameroon. Across the Continent we talk of African unity but that unity is not achievable when in a small country like ours we cannot successfully preserve what we have in our cultures. I also challenge Francophones who believe that when you talk of the Anglophone problem it means that you are challenging the unity of the country. That’s not true. When we have two cultures we should for example in each of the Technical fields use the culture that is better as the measuring rode. If this is done, then the country will be a better one for all of us. There are a lot of Cameroonians of Francophone origins who are regarded as an integral part of Anglophone culture. For those of us who went to the Yaounde University, there was nobody who was more Anglophone than Professor Ntamark and all Anglophones were proud of him notwithstanding his Francophone origins. The Fobete family constitutes another shouting example. Anglophoness is not a question of exclusion but of how Cameroon becomes a better country. 

Can we take a look at the medium through which you realise your development goals?    

I am in my sixties and if you look around the world, you will notice that most people who have had a reasonable impact on their societies fall in this age group or are older. In the United States, the richest people are dominantly those who got into business when they retired. So I am simply trying to contribute my own little quota in terms of what I have seen across the world. How do we bring in those ideas? I am into local building materials thanks to Professor Uphie Melo through MIPROMALO who is now Rector of the Ngoundere University. We produce burn bricks; the classical ones and those that are produced by my company. So when you go into a sector, see what you can bring in that is new. When we got into the quarry sector we were challenged by Aboubakar Ahmat Governor of the North West Region at the time and following the directives of the Prime Minister Philemon Yang created an Ad-hoc Committee for the evaluation of resources of the North West Region and I had the privilege of being made the President of that Committee. The governor said rather than looking at the hills around us as obstacles to development, we should look at them as developmental opportunities through the use of rocks found in them. As a result of that, there are now three quarries in the North West Region. When Governor Lele L’Afrique came, he continued with the initiative. Some of the ideas still have to be pushed forward. For instance the idea of the commercial free trade zone has not yet been implemented and we are hoping and praying that government will implement that. This will prevent Cameroonians from going to other Free Trade Zones and spending their money there. If that is done here, people will come in from Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic from Ghana and in the process will be spending money throughout their stay in Cameroon as they travel to Bamenda. You should understand that being an English speaking zone, we can serve as a bridge between West Africa and the dominantly French speaking Central African countries. Cameroon will become win-win because some people will prefer to come and buy in Cameroon rather than go to Nigeria.

Who were the members of this Ad-hoc Committee for the development of North West?  

Members of that group included Edison Fru Ndi of Dreamland Enterprises. Look at some of the things he is doing. These were included in some of the challenges that were put forth by Governor Aboubakar Ahmat. Look at the things Senator Awanga is doing. Some of the things are inspired from there. Look at what one of the richest persons in the country Elhadj Baba Danpullo is doing and its great input into the economy. As an Ad-hoc Committee we have challenged some of the Movers and shakers of the Region not only to invest in the country but to invest in the North West Region and they are beginning to do that. Other members of that Ad-hoc Committee included Minister J.B.Ndeh, Mr. Offong of the SDF, Benedict Fultang, Ndofeke Olivier, the Regional Delegate of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises for the North West Region and many other proud sons and daughters of the Region. The work that was done was selfless. We appeal on government to review reports of the Northwest Ad-hoc Committee for evaluation of natural resources. Let private members also view and implement some of the ideas that were put there and implement them. 

You certainly have a last message that you will put out to your political audience and the Cameroonian audience in general.  

Cameroon belongs to all Cameroonians. Little does it matter whether you are of the CPDM, SDF, UDP or UPC? Any improvement you bring is for everybody. In that process, all of us have to put our hands on the plough and push it forward. The North West is very strong in the Micro Finance Sector. We are also a net exporter of money. Let us start using the money that we are saving. Let us not only be in the Saving Industry. Let us be in the Investment Industry. When you save and the money is taken out and put in the Central Bank, others borrow that money and invest; they make more money out of your sweat and only pay you a tiny little bit. Let our financial institutions review their interest rates. Why don’t the Banks reduce their interest rates on the money that Credit Unions deposit there and the Credit Unions in turn do the same to clients who save money with them?

Take our people in the Diaspora; they send a lot of money here. Previous studies especially one led by former Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni showed that from four financial institutions more than 45 million dollars was sent to Cameroon. At the time it was more than 25 billion FCFA. That’s only from Four Finance Institutions. That tells you that when you are looking at the sum total from all the financial institutions it will be enormous. If this money when it comes is sent more into investment rather than consumption the results will be inestimable. Instead of my children sending money for me to buy bread, let them have me draw a business plan and then they push money into that business plan. We should simply review our mentalities. Some of the burn bricks we produce are used in Limbe, Douala, in the North and in Yaounde which means that they are good so others should get in let us do more. 

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