Former Minister and a group of MPs reveal plot to oust Biya

The backbench rumblings against Paul  Biya`s leadership grew in volume last week with the launch of a new right-wing Cameroon People Democratic Movement  faction.

 An internal plot to oust him has  been revealed after a highly regarded former minister confirmed he was asked to consider a " stalking horse" leadership challenge against the national chairman of the party.

Pr Joseph Owona ( pictured ) said he has been approached to consider a leadership to challenge against the President.

He claimed the idea was brought to him by a group of former colleagues and Members of the Parliament, mainly from the North and the Far-North region of Cameron (Muslim) before the return of the President from his private respite in Europe.

 At the moment there are conflicting information about the response they received from the former minister. This is a familiar conflict between Paul Biya and Muslim brotherhood in Cameroon and it has been for so long impossible for the President Biya to make an official decision and a choice. Biya has been in a state of indecision.

 Some said the former Minister told them to  " get lost " and to "mind their business" where they are, while another suggested that he might need time to consult his inner group of advisers before making up his mind.

 At this time the President is locked in a battle with backbenchers over a planned mass rebellion on the way the government is conducting the judicial procedure of the " Operation Epervier".

 People are still questioning the ethical code of the way judicial procedures in the punishment of the embezzlement by former public officials is being carried out.

Pr Joseph Owona who was one of those former presidential`s general secretary, and also former Education Minister under Paul Biya presidency might have said " it was a silly suggestion that i dismissed. I told them to get lost. I was not having anything to do with it". The former Education Minister refused to name the plotters and said he had not been told on whose behalf they were agitating.

 The plot emerged as former deputy Justice Minister Pr Maurice Kamto (pictured above) has offered his resignation from the government and now leading a newly created coalition of political parties. Pr Kamto`s insider said " the new group would work alongside the leadership, targeting such policy areas as tax, public services and political reform."

Discontent voices appear to have been borne out of frustration that working alongside the coalition government, Biya`s administration and the party values have become diluted somewhat and need to be reinvigorated ahead of the next General Election in 2013

Opposition in Cameroon could push for a raise of living wage

Hafis Ruefli, the head of a political movement that is calling for a radical change of power in Cameroon and political mediator, brandished the most potent weapon in his policy arsenal, unveiling an attractive economic plan yesterday by suggesting that an apposition Government in Cameroon could encourage the introduction of a living wage much higher than the national minimum wage as the country, he said has a lot of financial potential to fight against the state of low-wage economy.

The political mediator praised the growing grass-roots campaign for an CFA 312.50 an hour living wage in the political and economic capital cities, Yaounde and Douala and CFA 212.50 an hour outside the capital in order to reflect the real cost of living.

 The mediator is the first one to make such proposal to a group of opposition leaders determined to create a strong coalition against Biya`s administration.

In reality the figures proposed by Hafis are significantly higher than the legally-binding less than CFA 156 an hour minimum wage.

His comments could pave the way for the coalition`opposition manifesto at the 2013 general election and 2018 presidential election saying that private companies winning government contracts would be forced to pay the higher rate if the coalition of opposition won power.

Senior Social Democratic Front sources said yesterday that no decision had been taken for the moment to join the coalition and also stressed that the party`s decision would depend on the state of the economy in 2013 and 2018.

Business leaders will be worried about the imposition of higher wage costs, especially if the economy is flat. The living wage could form part of Hafis`s anti-poverty strategy and the aim would be to boost wage packets by improving education, skills training and urging companies to pay more.

Biya must stop the rot or...

The CPDM-led corrupt coalition government limps from one crisis to another, its credibility draining away, its coherence evaporating.

Poorly led, devoid of concrete achievement, it clings to office with neither purpose nor resolution, buffeted by events instead of shaping them.

Most ministers appear weak, unable to stick to their policies or challenge vested interests. Even on the central issue of tackling poverty, corruption and deficit, which are meant to be the coalition`s overriding priority, they have failed  dismally.

Something has to be done to reinvigorate the Government. If the CPDM are to have any hope of winning the 2013 council and legislative general election and the 2018 presidential election, the slide towards paralysis and breakdown has to be halted.

 So Paul Biya is about to embark on that time-honoured manoeuvre so often used him and not his Prime Minister consent or agreement to restore his popularity. The Government reshuffle.

Many Etoudi`s Palace insiders have a touching faith in the reshuffle, regarding it as a panacea for political ills, an elixir that will lead to a sudden rise in the polls.

Paul Biya is not so credulous. He knows reshuffles never have much impact on the public and believes that endlessly changing personnel instead of just leaving the office after nearly 30 years in power denies his colleagues a chance to get to grips with their portfolios. Throughout his poor leadership of the party he has always been reluctant to change his team.

 Several of his key ex-ministers are facing what it is called by campaigners extra-judicial and political procedures for alleged corruption and embezzlement. In Cameroon where people have been used to the Night of the Long Knives, Paul Biya sacked nearly a third of his Government.

 In today`s corrupt led coalition, some ministers are eager for a move, others have proved they are simply not up to the job. Yet the speculation about the changes has only succeeded in reinforcing the image of chronic enfeeblement at the heart of the Government.

In removing the dead wood Biya can make room for new ministers who  could bring a fresh impetus to the Government. He should be bold and consider abandoning his prejudice against the reformists of his party. Changing the Government has always be a new start but is not enough.

 The Government needs a new sense of direction, a focus on the country national interests and the young people and the abandonment of the progressive orthodoxies that have done so much damage. Sadly there is little sign of that happening under the current leadership.

After over 10 years spent in a wedlock, is Chantal Biya suffocating...?

Despite her presidential status, Chantal Biya is happiest when enjoying simple pleasures away from the spotlight...

It`s a little hard to imagine the First Lady popping down to the nearest supermarket to stock up on  groceries.

 Nor is it easy to picture her slaving over a hot stove preparing matched aubergines.for her husband, but that`s exactly what goes on when the Head of State  and the First Lady retreat into their own private world and most of the time in Geneva in Switzerland and in Mvomeka`a in Cameroon..

Behind closed doors far away from the media glare, Paul and Chantal are very much a low-key couple who love nothing more than home-cooked " ndomba and ntumba i goan", a special dish dearly appreciated by men from Biya`s native region and made of freshwater fish cooked in deep steam covered with banana`s leaves and natural ingredients,.and home cinema.

Chantal Biya has taken to the role of dutiful wife like a duck to water. After a long day at work dealing with the day to day internal affairs and other serious businesses, Paul Biya returns home ( private apartment in the Presidential Palace) to find a warm bath waiting and a dinner on the table.

They are actually surprisingly normal and down-to-earth when the cameras are off, says an insider. Chantal  has been a great influence on Paul Biya in that way. She introduced him to a simpler, easier way of life and he loves it. They like to watch movies, sleep in and have nice meals at home.

It`s the small pleasures in life that bring them the most happiness. Friends have revealed that the couple enjoy reading the papers together. It`s important to the pair that they`re able to do the everyday things we all take for granted, like attending a Sunday service in Church. They also love romantic dinners.

Amazingly Chantal recently in Paris has sneaked out of the palace grounds for secret evenings with another man.  She likes to enjoy impromptu nights out to attend friends`cat walk  and art exhibitions, passions not shared by Paul Biya.

 She has kept closed contact with her friend and star Paris Hilton and also may have been advised by some to try and have with her some of the spice girls who can help  her by funding her national campaign against Aids in Cameroon and in the rest of Africa. The first lady is working also to give back hope to young people and specially those from disadvantaged families.

Once upon a time she declared her love by jumping on a couch at the Presidential Palace. Now the passionate romance of Paul and Chantal Biya looks like it has been lost down the back of it. And things seem set to get very nasty indeed between the one-time lovebirds as Chantal seeks to get sole custody of their children according to an insider.

There are rumours that Chantal Biya who has made no secret of his dreams to become again a mother and step-grandmother is planning on taking a break from her presidential status.