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.

Shunned by rich donors, Cameroon opposition may soon regret....

A good rule for determining who is likely to win the next legislative, council and presidential elections has always been " follow the money". Applying the rule now it will be a brave punter who bet on the opposition.

Alhadji Abbo, Mohamadou Danpullo, Hayatou, Fadil, Kadji, Fotso, James Onobiono, Siaka, Hafis Ruefli, Yerima Dawa and many more unknown Cameroon multi millionaires fear the opposition can`t win the next election and therefore don`t wish to throw away their money.

 It is presumably also because they find so little in the party`s policies to inspire them to give generously or to give at all.....".I don`t think the opposition is representing core opposition voters or values...." said Yerima Dawa , who used to be a strong supporter to Bello Bouba Maigari`s political party. Other plutocrats are being similarly careful with their wallets.

 While some like Protais A, acting president of E-Cam, a leading employers`organisation have drastically cut their donations, others are giving nothing and it is possible some will never give again.

The problem for the Cameroon opposition is that they have come to rely on huge donations from small number of people to remain solvent. So when those people stop giving, revenue plummets, along with the means to conduct election campaigns.

Cameroon opposition prefer the big-hitter approach to the old method of raising much of their money from activists in constituency parties and from the State,

How irritating for party leaders to see these grassroots members who pay subscriptions and buy raffle tickets and who like to think they are participating in a form of democracy, and then expect to be given a say on important political matters. The former Head of State pictured above, Ahmadou Ahidjo during his 25 years in power has crushed the opposition and the freedom of expression and association. In hiding many Human Rights`activists spent time criticising the policies Mr Ahidjo was following.

The truth is that some of the opposition leaders owe their position to those same rank-and file members because they voted for them handsomely,

However, i know from talking to several of them that they have grave doubts about other important policies and have stopped donations because they hold out little hope of the President, Paul Biya changing course and doing what they regard is sensible.

Opposition in Cameroon want two things above all. The first is a change of direction in the electoral procedure and mechanism, specially along the lines of the International community suggestions and recommendation on ways of improving the country electoral system.

 The second one will be on the direction of the economic and measure of boosting that in creating growth along the lines of  employers leading organisation, Gicam, Mecam, E-Cam, Gfac and many more..And when the opposition can`t secure the support of  businesses, it is in serious trouble.

Why Cameroon opposition is divided over how to handle the after-Biya question

Against a background of increasingly strident rhetoric, Cameroonian politicians and activists have been lining up to establish their credentials as hawks or doves as the government considers its option on the vexed question of an alternation or political transition after Paul Biya, national chairman of the Cameroon People Democratic Movement  (CPDM) and the acting Head of State.

Tradition holds that the president of the Cameroon Republic matters about as much as an anonymous leader of a strong opposition party. Modern commentators and journalists are no less scornful.

With a belligerent Head Of State in power for nearly 30 years most of the attention has been centred on the unknown successor who has let it be known that unless France, Great Britain, China, Russia and the United States toughen its stance against Biya`s decision to nominate his successor;

Next month, Paul Biya will travel to New York for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.

 According to Cameroon diplomats, Paris, Washington and London offices are working to arrange a meeting between Barack Obama, Francois Hollande and David Cameron in order to seek three commitments, namely a promise that the US, France and the UK will increase the level of their financial support to the country after his departure from the power.

( In the picture Ahidjo shaking hands with Paul Biya...)

From Switzerland,where Biya and his entourage are on holidays break,  Hafis Ruefli,.leader of a political movement calling for a national citizens advice  in Cameroon would like the introduction of a tight deadline for negotiations with leaders of the largest world economic and industrialised countries.and that if these don`t work, some members of the opposition in Cameroon will join forces in a decisive action to force Biya to stand down. Ruefis is not alone in cranking up the pressure.

 John Fru Ndi leader of the Social Democratif Front (SDF), Adamu Ndam Njoya of the (CDU), Lady kah Walla, former SDF member,  Albert Ndzongang of the Dynamic,   and a coalition of small political parties named G7  have already announced that while a decision had not been taken by Biya to publicly declare who could possibly become his successor, the detailed plans to act had already been drawn up and were simply awaiting implementation.

The mutual dislike felt by both sides, government and the strong opposition means that Paul Biya will never sit by and allow the opposition to produce a workable plan that could bring peace and prosperity in Cameroon. However, this time around the talk between the government and the opposition is not confined to the possibility of war. 

The bottom line is that very few Cameroonians mainly outside the country, ( France, Belgium, US, UK,Germany,Chad...etc..)  want to ignite a war which would cause chaos in Cameroon, plunge the Central Africa region into a new economic downturn and cause huge numbers of unnecessary deaths.

 By the same token every Cameroonian wants to live in peace without the threat of uprising or a revolution at the hands of a group of political organisations whose leaders are pronounced undecided and unctuous.

Anger as Biya refuses to reveal secret dossier on risks of an alternation of power...

CPDM Ministers are refusing to make public a secret dossier drawn up to identify the risks to Cameroon after Paul Biya`s presidency.

The decision to block release of the internal risk situation on the 2013 poll means voters will not be able to find out the potential hazards flagged up by Cameroon government civil servants.

The refusal to publish, which the SDF has put down to the CPDM`s secrecy obsession will now be investigated by a coalition of opposition parties represented in the National Assembly and organisations from the civil society in accordance with the Parliament`s regulation.

Risk situations which are compiled by the government bodies to outline the dangers of policies, shot up the political agenda last year during the debate over Cameroon Coalition government`s controversial corruption and embezzlement's trial of former members of the government and former Chief Executive Officers of state owned companies  within the so called " Operation Epervier" or the systematic cleaning of likely challengers to the presidency.

Activists and freedom of expression campaigners think that there is a huge considerable public interest in disclosure and therefore the government should release the information. Alex Gustave Ahttp://www.facebook.com/alex.gustave  a human rights activist said " there is nothing the public hates more than hypocrisy".

Although the Government confirmed holding the documents, the request was turned down on the grounds that Ministers required time for seeking individually private advice. The coalition government has no real intention of publishing the risk situations before the 2013 poll is held.

Joseph M. Ndam, leader of the SDF parliamentary group at the National Assembly said that the decision to block release of the risk dossier comes amid fears Paul Biya is taking an unduly conservative attitude towards the freedom of expression and information from the constitution.

An internal review of the decision also backed secrecy with officials noting that the situation was an assessment based on what might hypothetically happen rather than fact. 

The review, conducted by a group of officials in the government`s department of strategic and policy forecast, concluded that it was in the public interest for Ministers to receive advice which includes a comprehensive assessment of all risk.

Poverty gap teaching appeal in Cameroon

Fresh calls have been made to provide more financial incentives to attract the most talented teachers in Cameroon to schools serving deprived or controlled opposition municipalities.

The demand came after it emerged more than 250 municipalities over 350 have come bottom of a new national league table that records the gap between reading and the writing skills of the cleverest pupils from both affluent and deprived areas.

Research by the leading teachers`union based in Yaounde revealed the difference in achievement between all the public schools  in the country. The worst areas are those in the opposition controlled municipalities. It comes after one of the opposition leader and prominent challenger to the acting Cameroon Head of State by the help of some internal reports from the leading teachers national union revealed inspections are failed by almost one in three primary and secondary schools in deprived areas.

Jean Marc Bikoko, one of the most influential civil servant union activist said  he " was sympathetic to the idea of encouraging staff and head teachers with a proven track record to kick-start schools failing to achieve acceptable levels in provinces and not just wanting to stay in the capital close to the administration.." and also suggested " the attainment gap could be closed by getting the best leaders and teachers into the areas where they were needed the most..." before describing the actual regime as the " enemy of the education, growth and prosperity.."

Ruefli Hafi said " providing a financial incentive would be a positive step forward even the latest figures on reading and writing are appalling and after more than 29 years of Biya`s administration and the failure of their national education policy, it is something we should all be concerned about.."

There is a real and urgent need for the country benefit as a whole to " put a lot more funding into early years education to ensure this gap is eradicated because we know intervention does work if it is done early enough....

 Enough public monies have been diverted for unnecessary expenditure and it is time to change direction and vision and think about giving financial incentives to actively recruit the most gifted and effective teachers and leaders. We know our education system at the moment has failed and we have to address this and increase the gap as children get older and public funding has to go into narrowing the gap at an early stage and sustaining that gain through the life of the young person.." he said.

He then concluded by saying that  " policy-makers must turn their attention to reducing inequalities in educational achievement among the brightest children in society, to ensure those from disadvantaged families in controlled opposition municipalities around the country are not left behind.."

London2012: Mpah welcomes Cameroon`s Olympians in Aberdeen

Councillor Willie Young of Aberdeen City Council in Scotland and Patrice Mpah, the acting president of the Cameroon association in Aberdeen have welcomed the first half of the Cameroon Olympic Team in the UK ahead of the Olympic Games.

On Sunday 15 July in Aberdeen, the Cameroon women`s Olympic football team will face Scotland women`s squad at the Aberdeen Sports Village.

 After the Olympic torch fewer it will be an opportunity for football fans to see and appreciate an Olympian team in action.

There are athletes, coaches, managers, physiotherapists and officials. Mr Essama, the head of the Cameroon Olympic team delegation arrived at Aberdeen Airport with a team of around 60 Cameroonians eager to make history at the London Olympic Games.

After their arrival in Scotland, the Cameroon Olympic team members were greeted by the piper and were taken straight to the Aberdeen Sports Village, where the delegation will spend some time before heading down South the Borders for the games. The Aberdeen Sports Village  is the premier sports facility in the North East of Scotland hosting an array of first class sporting facilities. 

This venture is the realisation of a vision first discussed in 2003 by funding partners, the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Council and sportscotland.

 The mission is to deliver high quality sport services and it will be a huge opportunity for the athletes to build up their strength, technique and qualities before the games.

 Patrice Mpah a father of two and an oil engineer working at one of the Aberdeen oil company has managed with his friends to welcome the delegation and to show some around the City.

 Athletes have been accommodated at the Linksfield Road. They are happy with the standard of the facility and can also move around to visit the area and talk to people. Cameroon should be grateful to Aberdeen City Council as they have managed to create a join venture with their partners in order to offer a great opportunity to the Olympians and provide them with a tailored  training programmes designed to prepare them for the build up leading to the Olympic campaign.

 The false start of the Olympic campaign in UK is the absence of M. Nkwelle Ekaney, the Cameroon High Commissioner or any official from the London`office at the welcoming reception of the delegation in Aberdeen Airport. 

It will be very interesting to know if at the London`s office something has been put in place in order to welcome the Olympic delegation.

 The official communication around the arrival of the Cameroon Olympic team has failed where citizens`journalism and social media have took over the control of the communication. For more updated infos about the Cameroon`s Olympians, just follow the link here .http://www.okabol.com/

 Patrice Mpah ( in pic wearing a blue shirt  with friends)  who is the acting president of the Cameroon association in Aberdeen has played a huge and important role since the arrival of the Olympic delegation in Aberdeen. People are calling for Patrice Mpah to receive an honour for what he has done since the arrival of the delegation. People in Aberdeen now are showing their deep interest on Cameroon and also on the  Cameroon`s culture. 

Without any public funding the group has put the strong delegation team members at ease by facilitating their stay while officials in London haven`t managed to travel to Aberdeen.