By DOH JAMES SONKEY IN YAOUNDE
The Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Rene Emmanuel Sadi has disclosed that Cameroon is poised to complete its boundary demarcation with its neighbours by 2022 in order to attain the objective of the African Union, AU Border Programme.
Speaking last June 7, 2017 at the Yaoundé Hilton Hotel on the occasion of the 7th edition of the African Border Day, Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi explained that “We are celebrating in respect of a decision jointly taken in 2010 by African Heads of State to valorize borders which have been and continue to be sources of conflicts between states in our continent.
Cameroon had negotiated borders with some of its neighbours for instance Nigeria concerning the Bakassi Peninsula. Cameroon and the rest of African countries need precise borders and that is why the African Union, AU decided that all its member countries should implement a programme consisting in delineating and demarcating all land and sea borders of our continent so that by 2022 Africa should have precise, delineated and demarcated borders in order to prevent conflicts and tensions.”
The Minister added that “But beyond that, the purpose is also to encourage African countries to promote common values of integration within precise borders and that will help us to consolidate peace and to promote harmony between African countries. Cameroon is delighted to join the other brotherly countries all over the continent to celebrate the African Border Day.”
The celebrated started with the reading of the special message of the African Union Commission Chairperson by the Resident Representative of the African Union in Cameroon, Jean Gérard Mezui m’Ella that focused on giving meaning to borders between the respective countries and peoples of Africa.
The celebration that was crowned by a visit of exhibition stands of border management stakeholders such as Cameroon Customs, Ministry of External Relations, Ministry of Trade etc started on June 6, 2017 with a capacity building workshop for stakeholders and a roundtable conference organized respectively at the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization and at the National School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM on the theme of the celebration “the Border, an Integrated Area for Development.”