SIMS® vision, according to the great mind, is for it to be the world’s largest learning platform designed to provide learners (students, business owners, etc.), educators and administrators with a single robust, secured and integrated system to create personalized learning environments.

It is an innovative education technology platform that helps to identify, create and connect all learners with the resources and tools needed to reach their full education, career & business potential with & without internet access.

Just like an Antivirus, the Cross platform application SIMS® works almost free of charge and without internet connectivity.

SIMS®, expected to be launched next month, is capable of helping actors learn, teach and take exams even from their bedroom simply with their smartphones or computers.

Speaking to The SUN recently, Teboh explained that he became inspired by the challenges he faced decades ago as well as the on-going crisis, which caused him to drop out of school to create a company that created an app which now makes others learn anywhere, anytime. “Education is the only tool to solving the puzzles of the Universe” TEBOH averred.

The app focuses on addressing problems such as:

• Lack of real time career orientation especially for university students in developing countries

• Inadequate rich-educational & customized learning resources in developing countries

• Lack of unique collaborative platform between learners of same educational institutions in or out of school for research & brainstorming

• Poor administration of schools by proprietors, administrators or managers.

Currently SIMS® is made up of the following:

SIMS® Learner-Learning app & tablet for students & teachers in developing countries especially in war or crisis areas like the NW/SW;

SIMS® Manager-School Information Management System for school professionals;

SIMS® Business- A learning App for Entrepreneurs, SME Owners & Professionals to learn the skills they need in businesses, their career and or jobs without leaving their respective environments and at their own pace;

SIMS® Lab: A Virtual Reality Eye Glass to be used by students or learners in developing countries to get real time experience in laboratory learning and so on. With this, students in Africa could diagnose animals, etc. in real time using Virtual Reality.

Two educational Institutions in Cameroon have been benefiting from SIMS Manager already for more than 2 years. “As a proprietor, even while I travel out of Douala/Cameroon, I am able to manage my school using SIMS Manager”, Frederic Tchouta-Proprietor, Groupe Bilingue Scholaire La Fierte Kotto says.

SIMS® is a community project and flagship product of VTC which recently won a 5000 USD seed funding from Tony Elumelu Foundation 2019.

VTC www.vtc.cm , it should be recalled is an innovation-centered company that designs, develops, and coordinates digital technology solutions that solve real societal, industrial & business problems.

Founded in Buea early 2012, operations later moved to Douala in 2015 where it was legally registered and has so far served close to 500 clients mostly SMEs within Cameroon and a few abroad VTC now prides herself as one of TOP IT companies attracting multinationals as clients and has recently been nominated for best Tech companies in the AB Afrikpreneur Awards 2019.

Its CEO, Francis Fon Teboh was in 2016 selected “Top 100 Hitech entrepreneurs by Israeli Embassy in Cameroon 2016”, and he is amongst one hundred and two Cameroonians selected to take part in the 5th cycle of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme to be organized in Abuja, Nigeria.

Concerning the SIMS® app, TEBOH says “For now, I need investment to complete it and to market it not only in Cameroon but all crisis areas or allover Africa”.

More Information about SIMS®;

Email:info@sims.cm/simstechnologysolution@gmail.com

Tel: +237 243 526 989( Office )

237 675 268 890 ( General Inquires/Call-Whatsapp)

Website: www.sims.cm

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The functions of the Federal Government in all other areas are mostly regulatory, as defined by law.
In a Federated system, most power belongs to the Federated entities. Internal Security, Education, Agriculture, Power, Water, Roads, Healthcare, Judiciary, Promotion of Culture, Technology, Business, Commerce, Transportation, exploitation of natural resources, etc., all will lie with the Federated Authorities
Another important tenet of Federalism is that Local Authorities are elected directly by the people living in the entity concerned. Therefore, power is accountable to the people directly and not to the Central Government. This point is very important to note because, unlike in the Centralized system that we currently have, where Local Authorities (Governors, Senior Divisional Officers, Divisional Officers, Government Delegates, etc.) are all appointed by the President of the Republic and are accountable to him only, in the case of Federalism, these Authorities are accountable to the people who elect them. This is genius, since, by its very nature, Federalism limits the powers of the Central government.
It is now easy to see why our Government is doing everything not to accept Federalism. It is constant that true power lies with the people. Any other type is usurpation.
In the pages that follow, we will endeavor to show how Federalism will improve our system of Government, using specific examples and illustrations from the current system.
CHAPTER TWO
The Current System of Government
While it should be recognized that most of the recent laws passed by Parliament manifest a clear disposition to make Cameroon a State of Law, the practice by the Judiciary and the State security services belie this noble intention.
There are several instances of the State violating its own laws. Some have not hesitated to call Cameroon an Authoritarian Dictatorship where everything is centered around one individual, the President. The legislative arm (The National Assembly and the Senate) function to perpetuate the dictatorship rather than cater for the welfare of the masses.
Most bills are hardly read in their entirety by Parliamentarians, before they come up for vote, and when they do, the bills are passed almost always intact for the President to enact.
The Judicial Power is no different
The President appoints all Judge and prosecutors. He determines their promotion and reassigns them at will. Under these conditions, no judge or prosecutor would dare rule against the President or the Government.
The truth is that, in Cameroon today, there is only one branch of Government. The Legislative and Judicial branches act as extensions of the Executive branch. Take the Speaker of the National Assembly, for example. Every time the House meets at the start of a new legislative year, he and the entire Bureau have to stand for re-election, and every single time, after the Speaker has been re-elected, he gives a speech; the same speech. In this speech, he always thanks the President first. It is true, the Speaker and the President both belong to the same political Party, but the Speaker is supposed to be head of a co-equal branch of Government that should serve as a check on Executive Authority. This balance of power that is present in any true democracy, has always been absent in Cameroon.
This reverence for the President is seen all over the Country at every administrative level. Ministers, Governors, Senior Divisional Officers, Divisional officers, Government Delegates, all, at every turn, try to outperform each other in singing the President’s praises.
In addition to the above, there is the issue of widespread corruption, mismanagement, graft, and favoritism at a level that is mind-boggling.
In all fairness, our President has tried to tackle the ill of corruption and we give him credit for effort. But the results have been mixed. While, it is true that a good number of ex-Government officials have been successfully prosecuted and found guilty, it is also true that these verdicts have hardly made any impact on governance.
We think this is because the President is treating the symptom, not the cause.
Corruption is only a manifestation of the bad system we have. It is not the problem, but a symptom of the problem. The system itself is the problem. Until this is addressed, throwing individuals in jail is only chasing after the wind.
While this picture of Cameroon is true, it is incomplete. The real system is as complex and complicated as it is inefficient. Though the President is the undisputable head of the system, the people carrying his orders are organized in what can be called cartels of power and these cartels are often in direct conflict, not only with the directives of the President, but with one another. The result is a confusing mix of power structures and interests that are in competition with the interests of the State to the disregard of those of the Nation. It is for this reason that some people have said that the President is a “good man” and it is the people around him who are “bad”.
Whatever the case may be, the truth is that if you are the head of a system that you created, you own that system and are, therefore, take responsibility for it, for better or for worse.
CHAPTER THREE
THE PROBLEMS
In this Chapter, we will identify the main problem areas of the current system that will be changed when Federalism is implemented.
Centralization of Power
In Cameroon, all things that are important must be handled by the President himself or by delegation to a small group of unelected and unaccountable officials that report directly to him. While this kind of system may work for a small company of a few thousand people, it may not do so, for a nation of twenty three million citizens. Take the current Anglophone crisis that has since spiraled into a full blown civil war, as a case in point. Everyone is looking up to the President for solutions. Not even the Senate or the National Assembly have taken up resolutions or passed laws to address these legitimate concerns. Every decision that has been taken to date; from the appointment of the Commission on Bilingualism and Multi-Culturalism to the Opening of Common Law Sections at the School of Administration and Magistracy, to the Opening a Common law section at the Supreme Court, to the opening of Common law degree programs at all State Universities, to the recruiting of one thousand bilingual teachers, to the creation of the Committee on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, have been signed by Presidential decrees. This highlights the restrictions inherent in a Centralized system. It is just hard for a single individual to solve such a complex problem by decree. The Legislative branch, representing the people should be involved in the solutions. In a democratic Federalist system, rigorous debate would have taken place, both in the Senate and in the National Assembly to modify existing laws or pass new ones to comprehensively deal with the problems. The President alone cannot solve this crisis.
B. Top-Down Bureaucracy
All efficient systems in the world work on a structure based on a bottom-up model. This means that ideas for resolution of problems should come from those at the bottom. The bottom people are those who feel the pains of society most. They understand the problems best since they live at the frontlines. It, therefore, makes sense, when someone is looking for solutions to problems, to first talk with the people who experience those problems most. This is a common sense practice that all successful businesses use worldwide, because, it is only by knowing the problems and their causes that appropriate solutions can be found.
Unfortunately, in Cameroon, the system is turned upside down. In 2016, when Teachers and Lawyers manifested their frustrations, a normal system would have rushed to listen to them to address their concerns promptly. Instead, the Cameroon Government, because of its top-down structure, saw that as defiance of established Authority and sent armed police officers to attack the unarmed protesters. This one small act of foolishness is why we have this huge tangled mess today.
In Federalism, the Police would be under the command of an elected State Governor who would be accountable to his electorate. It is very unlikely that such a Governor would send the Police to intimidate, beat and arrest unarmed and peaceful protesters. If this were to happen, Federalism would put in place mechanisms for the indictment, prosecution and possibly removal from office of such an official.
C The Absence of Rule of Law
In Cameroon, the law and rules only apply to the poor, the weak and those without “connections”. If you know someone in an office, a bank, for example, you don’t have to stand in line. You walk right through. If your friend or relative works in the immigration service, you can have your application for a new passport processed within a day. If your sister is a customs officer, you may only pay half the tariff or nothing at all for goods that you import.
If you are a police officer, or in the military, your car doesn’t need to have any identifying document. All you need is to show your military or police I.D. No system can survive these kinds of assaults on it. None!
Federalism will ensure the rule of law. This will mean no one will be above the law and everyone will be treated equally, no matter the age, race, gender, region of origin, tribe, social class, profession, position in society, religion, etc.
D. No Checks and Balances
In normal democratic societies, the Legislature acts as a check on the powers of the Executive branch. However, as discussed in the last chapter, the House of Assembly and the Senate in Cameroon are nothing but direct extensions of the Executive Branch. Most of their work consists of adopting bills tabled by the Government all of which they pass, without exception. If the President sends a bill today to Parliament asking them to self-dissolve, it is likely to be passed. That’s how subservient our Legislature is. It exists only to make it easy for the Government to masquerade as a semblance of democracy.
Federalism will ensure that there are three co-equal branches of Government: The Executive, The Legislative and the Judiciary, each acting to check the other, in the supreme interest of the people.
E. Unelected Local Officials
The President appoints all local officials, from a Divisional Officer (who in certain cases) has to travel through Nigeria to reach his workstation in Cameroonian territory, to the Governor of the most populous Region. These officials owe allegiance only to the President. Cases abound where a subordinate would deliberately ignore the directive of a superior because he is more connected to the President. Because these officials serve the President and are not accountable to the people they govern, they often act in ways contrary to the interests of the people.
In Federalism, all officials with Authority to govern will be elected directly by the people in the area they govern.
F. Disenfranchisement
The South Region of Cameroon with barely a little more than 300,000 inhabitants has 11 Parliamentarians in the National Assembly. This is nine more than they deserve given that there should be one parliamentarian per 126,000 inhabitants, based on our population of roughly 23 million. Compare this to the Littoral region that has only 19 MPs, 10 short of what they deserve. Our system is structured to favor the President’s Region of birth.
Federalism will level the playing field such that Parliamentarians will be apportioned proportionally.
G. Widespread Corruption.
The 2018 Corruption Perception Index, an annual ranking of least corrupt nations by Transparency International, places Cameroon at 152 out of 175 nations. For two successive years in the mid nineties, the Berlin-based anticorruption Non Governmental Organization ranked Cameroon as the most corrupt country in the world. Corruption is so endemic in Cameroon that it has become a way of life.
For example, Cameroon was given the hosting rights of the 2019 African Cup of Nations Football tournament. Thousand of Billions of public money allocated for infrastructural development to meet the hosting standards of the African Football Confederation have been wasted or outright stolen resulting in Cameroon’s inability to meet CAF’s hosting standards. This led to the withdrawal of the hosting rights of Africa’s biggest sporting event. To this date, no one has been prosecuted, indicted or jailed. This is only one example.
Since an independent Judiciary is the hallmark of Federalism, those who mismanage, waste or steal public resources will be swiftly held accountable.
H. Mediocrity
Cameroon has many so-called major professional Schools. These are institutions that train future high-level Government officials. They include the School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM by its French acronym), the Military Academy (EMIA), the Higher Police Academy, among others. Entrance into these grandes écoles is open to all Cameroonians, but the majority of those who get in are mostly connected to people in “high places”, mostly from one region.
There is the recent case of a candidate who died before he completed the first (written) part of the entrance examination into ENAM. Miraculously, when the results were published, the deceased candidate (who naturally could not have been present for the oral part of the examination which is reserved only for candidates who pass the written examination) was not only declared successful, but he was also first by order of merit.
In 1997, out of 135 military cadet officers who were admitted into the EMIA, 19 were from the Southwest, Northwest and West Regions combined, while 35 were from the South Region alone.
At one time, 5 of the nation’s 10 Regional Governors were from the President’s Bulu ethnic group.
Federalism will ensure that only the best are recruited into the Public Service, based on education, skills, certifications and experience. Governors will be elected. Magistrates will be appointed from the private sector or academia by Elected Governors and Presidents after approval by the Legislature.
I. The Anglophone Problem
Anglophones are never allowed close to real power. The closest they have gotten since 1992 is to the post of Prime Minister which elsewhere is a position of great political power, but which in Cameroon has been largely emptied of any real power. Consequently whereas in other countries the position of Prime Minister is first or second in the order of precedence of state protocol, in Cameroon the Prime Minister (a position occupied by Anglophones since 1992) is 5th in State Protocol after the Head of State, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Assembly, and the President of the Constitutional Council. Anglophones have never been in charge of the Police, Military, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Chief of Staff at the Presidency or Secretary General of the Presidency. In addition, 11 of the 13 Senior Divisional Officers in the Northwest and Southwest Regions are Francophones, who speak mostly French to their predominantly English-speaking populace.
This will change in Federalism, as the Federal Presidency will rotate between Anglophones and Francophones, such that when the President is an Anglophone, the Vice President with a constitutional right to succession shall be a Francophone, and vice versa.
In addition, Governors will be elected and the posts of Senior Divisional Officers and Divisional Officers shall be abolished.
J. Absence of Civil Liberties
The current system is intolerant of fundamental civil liberties, notably freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. In fact, freely expressing oneself in Cameroon is a sure way to get into trouble.
Peaceful demonstrations and Community gatherings require prior authorization from a Divisional officer, who is likely to deny the request to hold them, if the demonstration or the gathering is to express criticism of, or dissatisfaction with, Government policy or action. This way of governing prevents citizens from freely expressing ideas that may be beneficial to the development of the Nation.
Federalism will recognize, enforce, and protect Civil liberties, without exceptions.

K. Absence of a Credible Electoral system
The Ministry of Territorial Administration (the Government department that regulates the conduct of elections); all the members of the Electoral Board (the organ that conducts the elections); and all the members of the Constitutional Council (the organ that adjudicates electoral disputes and proclaims without appeal the results of the elections) have all been appointed by the current President. Therefore, there exists a serious conflict of interest, because if the same President or his party members are on the ballot, these appointees willingly or unwillingly show favorable bias toward them. For this reason alone, the electoral process in Cameroon cannot be fair, balanced and credible.
In Federalism, Elections shall be under Independent elected Elections Officers. The Federal Government will stay out of it completely.
L. Absence of Presidential Term limits
Currently, there is no term limit for the President. This is a serious situation. Term limits are the best way to curb excesses or to get rid of corrupt leaders, if the Justice system fails. Their absence invariably produces corrupt and power-drunk leaders. Is there any reason why one individual would want to stay in power for life? Yes, if there are skeletons in their closet for which they don’t want to be held accountable. In our opinion, this is the textbook definition of dictatorship.
In the Federalism we seek, all elected officials, including the Federal President will be limited to two terms in office.
M. Absence of Women and Youths in Leadership
Cameroon is a paradox. More than 80 % of the population is below 30 years of age, yet more than 80% of those who hold the reins of power are above 70. In fact, the average age of the first 6 Constitutional officers is 77, and none of them is a woman. This is troubling. No woman has ever been Governor or a cabinet member in charge of a Ministry of Sovereignty. The number of women in Parliament or Senate is less than 20 % whereas they constitute more than 50 % of the general population. We need to change these statistics.
Federalism will ensure that half of all Federal Cabinet members and Federal judges will be women. It will also put in place mechanisms to encourage women to run for elective offices around the nation. Special programs will be put in place to encourage youths to take interest in Public Service.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Solutions
After reviewing the main problem areas of the current system, we now present a list of suggested solutions that we of The Cameroon Federalists Movement will be taking to any dialogue table.
The Nature of the state shall be unitary, and Federalism shall be the form and system of Government.
The number of Federated States shall be determined by the people.
No State shall be created that combines territories from the former British Southern Cameroons with those from the former La République du Cameroun.
Every Cameroonian shall be free to move about and settle in any Federated State of their choice and eventually become a Resident of that State, without being labeled non-indigene.
The Federal Presidency shall be limited to two 5-year terms.
The Federal Presidency shall alternate between an Anglophone and a Francophone.
The Post of Federal Vice President shall be created.
The Federal Vice President shall be elected on the same ticket as the President.
The Federal Vice President shall be an Anglophone if the President is Francophone and Vice Versa.
The Federal Vice President shall be the Constitutional successor of the President in the event of a vacancy before end of term.
The Federal Cabinet shall not exceed 16 members and shall include at least 7 women.
All Governors shall be elected alongside their Deputies who shall be their successors, in case of vacancy of power.
Each Federated State shall have an elected independent Attorney General who will be the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the state.
All State elective posts shall follow the Federal model of term limits.
The posts of Senior Divisional officer, Divisional officer and Government Delegate shall be abolished and replaced with elected District officers and Mayors.
Each State shall have its own elected Legislative Assembly as determined by Law.
No State shall pass any Law that violates the Federal Constitution.
Each State shall be in charge of their own internal security (Police), Healthcare, Utilities, Infrastructure including intra-regional roads, Agriculture, Education, Commerce, Labor and any other domains regulating the daily lives of its citizens.
The Federal Government shall be in charge of Monetary Policy, National defense, External Relations, Immigration and Inter-State Coordination.
Appointed Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges shall include at least 40% women.
All Elections, including Federal elections, shall be handled by the Federated entities through their Independent Electoral Boards (IEB) without interference from the Federal Government.
Each State shall elect an independent Elections Officer (IEO) for a term determined by law.
There shall be uninhibited freedom of speech in idea, ideology, opinion, writing, belief, religion, art and activity.
There shall be uninhibited freedom of peaceful assembly.
There shall be freedom to practice or not to practice Religion.
All Federal and State cabinet appointments shall be subject to approval by the Federal Senate or the State Legislative Assembly, as the case may be.
The number of Federal Parliamentarians from each State shall depend strictly on the population of that State as determined by an independent Census Bureau.
The School of Administration and Magistracy shall be abolished. It serves no modern purpose. More modern and development-oriented institutions shall be designed to train Federal and State civil servants.
Federal Judges and Prosecutors shall be appointed by the Federal President from the private sector or from Academia and must be confirmed by the Federal Senate.
Federal Judges including Supreme Court Justices shall serve for life to guarantee their independence.

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Honourable Joshua Osih Nambangi has been elected as the candidate of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) for the upcoming Presidential Election.
He was elected Saturday, February 24, 2018 at an extraordinary convention to designate the party’s candidate for the upcoming Presidential polls.
He won 88.3 percent of the votes as against 11.61 percent for his lone challenger, Hon. Fobi Nchinda Simon.
Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam threw in the towel at the last minute but did not pledge his support openly to any of the two remaining candidates.
In his acceptance speech, Hon. Osih promised as from tomorrow to start visiting all the 360 sub-divisions of the country to canvas for support.
Saturday’s Extra Ordinary Convention was preceded by the presentation of the new members of the SDF National Executive Committee who were elected Friday night on day two of the 9th Ordinary Elective Convention of the Party at the Bamenda Congress Hall.
Ni John Fru Ndi who pulled out of the presidential race was maintained as Chairman of the party while Hon. Joshua Osih succeeded himself as the party’s 1st Vice National Chairman, flawing Prof. Ndiva Kofele Kale.

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Musango Beach Hotel has flung its doors open for the public to see and enjoy the latest jewel that has adorned the tourism landscape of the seaside resort city of Limbe. This was during the official opening ceremony on Friday, March 17, 2017 at Mokondange, SONARA road.

The opening ceremony began with an exhortation by Rev. Pastor Igelle Daniel of Presbyterian Church Mokundange who called on the hotel management to ensure that the hotel remains a place for genuine activities that glorify God and not a place for Sodom and Gomorous interactions. He urged them to make sure that Musango Beach Hotel becomes a pure and happy place for all its customers.
The ceremony brought together a cross section of the Limbe populace and with the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Zang III, and the General Manager of the Cameroon Oil Refining Company, SONARA, Ibrahim Talba Malla as main guests of honour. It also brought together the rank and file of the Limbe society including DOs, Mayors, Delegates, traditional and religious leaders as well as major economic leaders in the city.
While officially presenting the Musango Beach Hotel to the population, The General Manager of Musango Group of Companies, Madam Motanga Maja, thanked the vision bearer, Motanga Andrew Monjimba who is also Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council. She also heaped praises and thanks on the Buea Police Cooperative Credit Union for believing in their vision and accepting to sponsor the project.
Madam Motanga revealed that Musango Beach Hotel, located at Mokundage, Quarter 6 along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean is a charming ocean front resort with 25bvery cozy and serene rooms and suites, an elegantly furnished bar and a classy restaurant with local and traditional dishes, an exquisite conference hall, a fresh water pool, a sun deck with a private staircase to the sea shore, an adjoining guest house with three bedrooms for families. The structure bevels through a dark, soft sandy beach into the turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The structure as prides itself of 28 highly trained and professional staff, a state of the art electricity generator, a borehole and free wifi services in the advent of the return of internet connection to the region.
The presentation was followed by a guided tour of the hotel and a cocktail at the Musango Beach House.
It is worth noting that Musango Beach Hotel is a subsidiary of the Musango Group which also owns the travel company, Musango Bus Services.

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By DOH JAMES SONKEY IN YAOUND

E
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Joseph Mbah Ndam who is Member of Parliament for the leading opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF party has revealed that at least 10 persons die every day in the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaoundé. He made the shocking revelation last March 1, 2017 during an interview over the BBC World service for Africa and to Equinoxe Television channel.
Weeping over the fate of Anglophones who are arrested on daily basis and ferried to the already overcrowded prison in Yaoundé, Hon Joseph Mbah Ndam said “I visited the prison yesterday and returned from there very sadden when I talked to those who have been arrested and detained there. I discovered that most of them were sleeping on the ground. Some (Anglophones) who got wounded in the process of arrest are not being treated and the prison is overcrowded.”
He told the BBC and Equinoxe Tv that “In fact they told me there is an epidemic in the place and they are dying averagely 10 every week and when I tried to find out what the authorities are doing to amend the situation and after speaking with the prison superintendent, I discovered that he himself is helpless and is instead counting on goodwill gestures.”
The SDF MP and Barrister at law lamented that “it is quite unfortunate for us Cameroonians to have the kind of government we have today that takes decisions that are deplorable. I wonder why people are arrested in Anglophone Cameroon and transferred to Yaoundé where detention facilities are not even enough. We need to put party discipline aside and solve this situation for what is happening concerns all Cameroonians.”
In a counter reaction over the BBC, Government Spokesman, Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary of Communication vehemently refuted the allegation “It is a slanderous description of Cameroon and that has nothing to do with the Cameroon we are living in.”
While making reference to those arrested in Anglophone Cameroon, Minister Issa Tchiroma said, “their rights are being protected; they have a right to receive their Lawyers, they have the right to receive their families, this description does not concern Cameroon at all.”
The Minister stressed that there are no such weekly deaths as claimed by the SDF Member of Parliament.

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By DOH JAMES SONKEY AND ELAH GEOFFREY MBONGALE
The National Assembly and the Senate open their doors today, Monday March 13 for the first Ordinary Session in the 2017 legislative year described by many keen observers as a parliamentary session of high stakes given that the sociopolitical crisis in the two Anglophone regions of the North West and South West is yet to be over despite government’s efforts to end it.
The official opening ceremony of the March 2017 session will be chaired as usual by the eldest Member of the National Assembly, Hon Enow Tanjong and eldest Senator, Fon V.E Mukete who are coincidentally Anglophones flanked by two youngest members of both houses for a very brief period in prelude to the election of the permanent bureau as stipulated by the Standing Orders of the National Assembly and the Senate.
Speculations are therefore rife within keen observers of the political arena in the country that if an Anglophone is not elected to head one of both houses, government may introduce bills to tackle some of the grievances expressed by Anglophones who decry marginalization at many spheres of life in the country.
Political pundits say Biya might sacrifice either the Senate president, Marcel Niat Njifenji or the House Speaker at the National Assembly, Hon. Cavaye Djibril to appease Anglophones.
It is thus almost certain that the shadow of the Anglophone crisis will be shedding Cameroon’s Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament as it is alleged that the parliamentary immunity of SDF MP, Hon Wirba, one of the most outspoken MP on the Anglophone struggle will be lifted for him to be arrested like other leaders.
However, some reports have emerged that the Honourable Member of Parliament who made an impassioned speech at the National Assembly during their last session and whipped up sentiments of Anglophone marginalization has allegedly fled the country through Nigeria. This unconfirmed reports say he left through Bamenda to Nigeria where he was allegedly spotted at the US Embassy in Abuja.
If the reports are true, Hon. Wirba will be following the trail of other Anglophone leaders like Barrister Bobga Harmony, Barrister Eyambe and Tassang Wilfred who have all left the country for fear of being arrested like some of their peers who championed the what has been described as the Anglophone struggle including; The President of the outlawed Cameroon All Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CAASC, Barrister Nkongho Agbor Balla, his Secretary, Dr. Fontem Neba, Supreme Court Advocate, Hon. Justice Paul Ayah Abine, Leader of the ‘coffin’ revolution, Mancho Bibixy and a host of others.
Speculations are also rife that government might table a bill to amend the constitution to create the post of the Vice President of the Republic in order to appease the Anglophones. It is also rumoured that an amendment may be tabled to cut the Presidential mandate from seven to five years.
Such a bill will be hinged on the amendment of Article 54 of the September 17, 1992 law, laying down conditions for the election of the President of the Republic and the alternate.
Some critics say, the March 2017 session of Parliament will be used as a means to test government’s will in bringing lasting solutions to the sociopolitical crisis in the North West and South West regions that has exposed lapses in crisis management in Cameroon given that many people are still arguing that the current crisis could have been prevented if the government did not allow much time for the grievances to accumulate.
Also, like Hon. Wirba and other MPs did in the last session, Anglohone MPs from both sides of the political divide are also expected to make their voices heard loudly on the parliamentary rostrum considering that most of the resolutions and suggestions proposed and tabled to government have largely been ignored.

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-North West dominates again at Mt. Cameroon Race of Hope
-55-year-old Sarah Etonge runs for peace, national unity

By Elah Geoffrey Mbongale
Sports and football in particular has once again proven to be the opium of most Cameroonians as it has succeeded to do what politicians, administrators and traditional authorities have woefully failed to do during the crisis rocking the English speaking regions of the country.
The trophy tour by the Indomitable Lions and the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope succeeded to pull sports loving Cameroonians in huge crowds in cities across the national territory and particularly in towns in the North West and South West regions which where hitherto emblazoned in spates of unrest, demonstrations and ghost towns.
Cameroonians from all shades of the society lined up the streets in Bamenda, Tiko, Limbe and Buea on February 22 and 24 respectively to get a rare glimpse at the coveted trophy won by the Indomitable Lions at the just ended African Cup of Nations final that took place in Gabon.
The euphoria that characterized the tour in these Anglophone towns is in sharp contrast to the cloak of anger, paranoia and frustration that has generally blanketed towns of the North West and South West following strikes and demonstrations against what they term marginalization of Anglophone Cameroonians which has now morphed into what many have admitted as an Anglophone Problem.
Though many of the players were unavoidably absent and have returned to their various clubs, the delegation led by the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Ismael Bidoung Mpkatt and comprising of the President of the Cameroon Football Federation, Tombi a Roko Sidiki, the technical staff of the indomitable Lions’ team as well as Roving Ambassador and Cameroon soccer legend, Roger Albert Milla, used the trophy tour to preach peace and national unity. They called for Cameroonians to come together as one nation united in its diversity.
In Bamenda, the Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council while congratulating the Lions for the amazing performance at the AFCON 2017 finals used the opportunity to bring to government’s attention the state of the roads leading to the North West regional capital, Bamenda. He also decried the lack of sports infrastructure in the region.
Messages of congratulations greeted the Lions and their delegation in Tiko, Buea and Limbe where the Government Delegate, Motanga Andrew Monjimba, represented by the Secretary General to the Limbe City Council, Charles Arrey Nkongho thanked the team for recognizing Limbe as the springboard to the Indomitable Lions’ eventual success. He called for more matches by the Indomitable Lions to be played in Limbe which has proven to be a lucky ground for the National team.
North West athletes dominate at the Mt. Cameroon Race of Hope again
The sports frenzy was no different at the 22nd Edition of the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope that took place in the South West regional capital, Buea, last Saturday, February 25.
The Molyko stadium which just recently got a facelift was thronged to above capacity with sports enthusiast who came to witness the annual event. Some 600 athletes from across the national territory and a few international athletes competed to get to the summit of Mount Cameroon, also known as Mount Fako, and back.
The race which has always been dominated by athletes from the North West region did not disappoint this time around as they soared over their competitors from the other regions to remain superior.
In the male category, Fai Eric from the North West region upstaged last years’ winner, Godlove Gabsibuin, who came in second and also from the North West, to win the 38km distance race in 4 hours 27 minutes 13 seconds. Lyonga Esombe, son of the Queen of the Mountain and 7-time winner in the female category, Sarah Etonde, clenched the third spot.
In the female category, 2014 winner, Ngalim Lizette also edged last years’ winner Yvonne Ngwaya and Kpuufanla Wirngo to the 2nd and 3rd positions to win the race in 5hours 20minutes.
Cash prizes of FCFA10 million for 1st position, 5million for 2nd and FCFA 3million for the third place finish were handed to the athletes on the spot.
The star of the day was unarguably the Queen of the Mountain, 7-time winner, 55-year-old Sarah Liengu Etonge who after a few years of absence managed to come in at the 9th position.
Sarah, who was accompanied by some military men, was greeted with a standing ovation amidst thunderous applause from the crowd.
She revealed that her race was dedicated to peace and national unity considering the crisis in the two Anglophone regions of the country.
In the junior female race, Muh Faith, 16, from the North West emerged winner followed by Tata Bassiru and Tume Mac-crina, all North Westerners.
The junior male category also saw the North West sweep all three spots with Amadou Ibrahim, 18, Nuhu Saidou and Abdu Sale Giwa, emerging first, second and third respectively.
Nyame Rolland, Vishiti Paul and Muam Emmanuel, emerged victorious in the veteran category of the race as first, second and third respectively.
In the Female relay race, Senegal club, Littoral club and St Joseph team were declared winners. Nwa Athletic club, Noni Valley Club and FAP won the male category relay race.

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By Christian Penda Ekoka, Technical Advisor, Office of the President Republic of Cameroon
“A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…” (Jawaharlal Nehru, to the Indian Constituent Assembly, New Delhi, August 14, 1947)
The current crisis in our Anglophone regions of the Northwest and Southwest regions seem to give credence to the above statement by the Indian nationalist, Jawaharwal Nehru some 70 years ago. This paper however argues that the recent uprisings in Bamenda and Buea are more than an Anglophone problem, but the symptoms of a national malaise which need a more comprehensive and truthful dialogue that will cover the media, the economy and the state structures. It is therefore a defining moment in nation that should be taken at the floods.
Anglophone Problem or National Malaise
The issues raised by our compatriots from the Southwest and Northwest regions are not just Anglophone claims, they are also Francophone claims, and therefore our national claims for several reasons.
Firstly, when the knell tolls in Bamenda, Garoua, Maroua, Bertoua, Bafoussam or anywhere in Cameroon, “…never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee” as the American writer, Hemingway remarked about the death or suffering of a human being as part of mankind. This sense of common destiny should bind all Cameroonians together, as parts of the same nation.
Secondly, more than an Anglophone problem, recent uprisings in Bamenda and Buea are indicators of a more profound national malaise, resulting from the institutional leadership and governance architecture of our country that was flawed from its original design. In the light of its experiments for the past 50 years, our institutional framework for the management of public affairs appears as not meant to respond to the people’s needs and aspirations.
What is called the Anglophone problem is a specific aspect of a more fundamental national problem that could be defined as a genetic default of a public governance system that is not responsive to the Cameroonian people’s concerns and needs, Anglophones and Francophones as well.
It could be likened to the human body where an infection of the entire body, and its proper treatment would require to tackle the root cause of the disease, which has dragged on for so many years with obvious consequences. The persistence of the disease, not to say its aggravation, should have been a wake-up call for the authorities, but our state-system was not designed with such a preventive built-in control mechanism to timely alert its managers about its dysfunction and eventually its near collapse, making it almost irremediable. Thus the general awareness of the institutions or state-owned corporations’ illness at its terminal stage.
Otherwise, how can an effective public governance system not be alerted promptly about the hurdles of its citizens on the road between Douala and Bamenda, or Yaounde and Bamenda and act accordingly? How many lives should be lost on our roads – and especially on the main ones – before a system understands the emergency of the situation? How many lives should be lost in hospitals before the rehabilitation of the healthcare system? How many mothers and babies a country should lose before its consciousness wakes up to the crisis?
The governance malaise could therefore be seen in the poor access of the population to basic infrastructure services such as potable water and sanitation, electricity, transportation, healthcare, education, housing, ill performing state-owned corporations chronically sucking subsidies and never self-sustaining; moribund function of several public institutions and enterprises (e.g. Social and Economic Council, National Investment Corporation, National Hydrocarbons Corporation, Douala Stocks Exchange), etc.
To better understand the genetic or endogenous nature of the disease, one could observe that for the past 30 years, President Biya, Cameroon’s Head of State (HOS), has continuously and unsuccessfully denounced in the public service those vices and scandals that impede our development, including inter alia corruption, bureaucratic red tape, embezzlement of public funds, administration bottlenecks, unfriendly business environment deterring investments.
In fact, over the years, the spread of the vices has become viral, with an upsurge of discrimination, injustice and economic inequality. Despite the frequent presidential warnings and criticism of the civil service, the persistence of the same problems over the years and the government’s inability to address and tackle them has only made the malaise structural. It has become a DNA-like weaknesses of the system’s public governance design, a sort of built-in genetic default that prevents the body’s system to perform at its best; and a default that can only be corrected by modifying the public governance system’s DNA.
No Piecemeal but Comprehensive, Truthful Dialogue
Whatever its outcome, the current negotiations initiated by the government will only address some facets of the problem. With regard to the structural nature and scope of the malaise that involves all national stakeholders – political, civil, religious, etc. there is a need to adopt long-term, broad perspectives for sustainable and lasting solutions. This demands a comprehensive, constructive and holistic approach. Otherwise it will bounce back again. “Law and order” is not a substitute for effective responses to people’s claims and concerns that can only be attained through a responsible and constructive dialogue, underpinned by good faith and open mind of the parties involved, in search of consensually and mutually agreed – and not imposed -solutions.
In this context, it should be clearly acknowledged that the case of the Supreme Court Judge, Paul Ayah and others, will do disservice to the cause of our democracy. We should therefore stand up for a state that protects its citizens’ rights and freedoms of expression, and not a one that terrorizes them.
Any piecemeal, partial or non-inclusive approach will reduce the issue to a bureaucratic transaction, and once more to look patchy and cosmetic, sadly reminding most of us of the Foumban scenario in 1961, that goes down in history for many as a cunning, a zero-sum game, whereby for one party to win, the other has to lose, for one party to fatten, the other has to starve.
Any piecemeal approach means not doing so, and will result in omitting the most serious questions, such as: how best to organize a balanced distribution of political power for inclusive wealth? How best to design a system of transparent democratic governance that promotes development? How to organize a political system that ensures an efficient allocation of resources, whereby the Public Service officials or managers are accountable before the people? How to build a nation whose main goal is to ensure freedoms and rights of the citizens in their pursuit of happiness? How to design and organize a Public Service that is devoted to the service of the community and not become its predator?
Besides, one important observation deserves notice: the so-called Anglophone claims or complaints are no more coming from the Founding Fathers, but from their children and especially their grandchildren. This means the collective memory is now the fuel of anger and frustration. Looking at 50 years back, they had the impression that the Foumban Conference on reunification was a travesty, whereby one party was duped by the other. Thus again our call for a transparent, comprehensive and truthful healing process, heavily involving the young generations, who make up 80% of the population, as about 20 million Cameroonians are under age 30.
The Role of the Media
The media is an indispensable instrument that should remain free and independent for the effective accomplishment of its role in the society, and not become a tool of manipulation by or propaganda for any special interest group’s benefit, at the expense of the general interest. As the watchdog for an effective democratic and transparent society, its role should be to provide the citizens with facts and information to keep them politically vigilant and alert about any threat that may arise against their freedoms and rights. In so doing, the media should be aware of the various threats to which it is exposed, inter alia corruption and different negative pressure that would prevent it from effectively fulfilling its duty.
The media should avoid become propaganda agents for some special interest groups, which would force them to disinformation and intoxication, for instance indexing the Anglophone as a bundle of Vikings ready to massacre the Francophone, with the obvious consequences of nurturing inter-community hatred and tribalism.
The Case of the Economy…
At the outbreak of the Cameroonian economic crisis in the mid-1980s, various audits attributed its root cause to the nature of the welfare-state, that had distorted the efficient and competitive allocation of resources, resulting in the economic recession, banking sector’s crisis (huge volume of toxic assets and credit crunch), across the board collapse of state-owned and para-statal corporations. These events led to massive job losses and triggered an unprecedented impoverishment phenomenon across country. For almost 20 years Cameroon embarked on a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) under the auspices of the Bretton Woods’ institutions. It is only sad to notice that after so much sacrifice and sweat by the population, Cameroon is almost back to square zero, due to poor implementation of the structural reforms recommended by the SAP.
Over the period of more than 30 years, from 1984 to date, the annual growth rate of Cameroon has averaged circa 2 percent in real terms, as compared to a population growth rate of about 2.5 percent; the per capita GDP growth has hence remained stagnant if not shrunken. Adjusting the Boko Haram effect on growth and income distribution, the pattern of poverty curve has worsened over the last ten years, with worst incidence in the rural areas and Northern regions.
The perennial nature of these problems such as poor performance in development achievements, despite the partial public debt cancellation in the context of the Highly Indebted and Poor Countries Initiative (HIPIC), in 2006, has pushed many observers to conclude that the underlying causes of the “disease” are structural and endogenous, and stem from a root vice in the system’s public governance architecture.
Risky State structures …
The historical development of our state structure was underpinned by President Ahidjo’s grand design of a highly centralized state, almost akin to a totalitarian state, which explains many of its current poor performances on social, economic and political fronts. If a state is not designed to acknowledge and preserve the basic human rights of its citizens, how would it promote and protect the specific and historical rights of the Anglophone?
The whole process of state formation was flawed from the origin, with the clear design to emasculate people’s rights to emancipation. The event of Reunification was only a step within the grand design. It resulted into a vampire-like state wherein a small bunch of parasite citizens, suck the blood and sweat of the others; a system by which a small fraction of predators could accumulate large amount of wealth without strive and toil; that favors a welfare-state dependency instead of empowering individuals to forge the destiny of their choice. The main features of this formation process include:
-The political process underlying the dynamics from a multi-party system to one party regime;
-The change from a federal state to a unitary state, in fact a totalitarian state;
-A massive concentration of powers in the hands of one person, the Head of State, without check and balance mechanisms, namely as a result of expunging legislative and judiciary’s independent powers;
-A perpetuation of the colonial administration (Bureaucracy) that was not intended for development, but for the confinement and the containment of the people; enslaving citizens in a so-called “Law and Order” scheme;
-A highly centralized government system that is navel-centered and therefore unable to identify the environment’s threats and opportunities;
-A top-down decision making process, characterized by frequent bloating, lacking flexibility and reactivity to operate structural reforms, implement projects and address the global developmental challenges;
-A public service in which officials wield enormous powers without being accountable to the people;
The above dynamic associated risks include the isolation of the system’s center that becomes hostage of some special interest groups, nepotism and corruption, crony capitalism and market inefficiency, and lack of transparent decision-making process, mainly in the public contracts’ bidding process.
The adverse consequences for the society include sluggish and non-inclusive growth, public leadership distancing itself from people’s needs and expectations, collapse of public corporations, slowness in public reforms and projects’ implementation, (e.g. decentralization law enacted since 1996); high rate of public funds embezzlement and wastage, poor access to basic infrastructure services, high unemployment rate, poor private investment records, aggravation of impoverishment, uneven regional development, poverty aggravated, zombie and vassal citizens, loss of trust in the state by the youth culminating in loss of hope, self-pride and self-esteem, increase in tribalism, loss of solidarity and citizenry bindings, defeatism, fatalism and resignation among young generations.
In a compelling book “Why Nations Fail”, the authors, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, respectively professor of economics at MIT and of government at Harvard, delved into more than three centuries of development history to understand why certain nations grow rich and others remain poor. The outcome of this research shows a strong correlation between the political power distribution and the prosperity dynamics in societies. They argued that:
“Countries such as Great Britain and the United States became rich because their citizens overthrew the elites who controlled power and created a society where political rights were much broadly distributed, where government was accountable and responsive to citizens, where, and where the great mass of people could take advantage of economic opportunities…. People fought for and won more political rights and they used them to expand their economic opportunities. The result was a fundamental different political and economic trajectory, culminating in the Industrial Revolution”
On Federalism and Secession
In a highly decentralized or federal-like society, the likelihood is higher to find a more balanced distribution of power that empowers regions, local communities and individuals to gain control over their destiny.
Federalism does not mean Anglophone or secession. It is a form of state organization, and it is a way of public governance, which has proved its effectiveness as a development accelerator in several countries including USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and several other countries. Let us not confuse people’s mind, federalism does not challenge or question the founding fathers’ pledge of ‘Unity in diversity”, on the contrary the prevailing highly centralized government does, as attested by its dangerous resulting consequences. The often heard outcry “Le Cameroun est un et indivisible” can only be justified in case of secessionist claims.
Only highly decentralized or federal-like systems of governance are genuinely inclined to empower people and local communities to become the main agent of their development, to be the major stakeholders of their life.
Constitutions are not inscribed on stone; the only permanent thing in this world is constant global changes, which continuously challenge our pattern of life, and it may compel a country to adapt its organization for the betterment of its citizens. Over the last 30 years, our world has witnessed the cases of former Soviet Union, Germany, Sene-Gambia, Brexit…Many countries are currently under similar pressure including UK. Anticipation and pro-activeness is the best guide to avoid brutal and undesired consequences akin to these patterns of evolution.
The Defining Moment for our Destiny
In 1947, at the dawn of the independence of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of this great country, addressing the Indian Constituent Assembly, told his fellow countrymen that:
“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge….At the stroke of the midnight hour, while the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…”
This is our moment of utterance and reckoning. This is a defining moment for our country. Let us frankly face the issues, and not deny it, or procrastinate for lasting and sustainable response. We owe it to young and future generations. We should seize the recent events in Bamenda and Buea as a “blessing in disguise”, as an opportunity to re-assess our State’s performance, with the aim of building a time-proof effective institutional public affairs’ infrastructure. Such an institutional infrastructure will make our country free of violence and free of corruption. It will align the state’s structure with the vision of the Founding Fathers for “Unity in Diversity”.
With regard to our poor past and present performance in matters of economic and social progress, we should not be afraid to question our present pattern of public governance, or our way of leadership with the aim to improve them and make them much more responsive to the needs of the people. In light of the above, our State, in its prevailing form and structure, appears as more of a liability than an asset. Hence the need for a critical and true assessment of our public affairs, leadership, and governance.
With regard to the high and frequent level of corruption of certain officials, we should not be afraid to discuss ways and means to uphold the public high office-holders accountable before the people.
Let us undertake to build a nation that provides all of its children with equal opportunity to fulfill their dreams and aspirations, to realize their own talents; a nation that indiscriminately empowers its citizens, regions and local communities to fully participate in their development process; a nation that gives hope to its young members; that restores their confidence in the State as an impartial institution, guarantor of the people’s security and justice; that engenders audacious and self-confident entrepreneurs, fully empowered to participate in mankind’s venture of value creation, in every avenue of life, be it technology, entrepreneurship, energy, water, urbanization, agriculture, manufacturing, biotechnology, physics, information and environment, technology, arts, etc.
Last but not least, let us undertake to build an inclusive nation, based on principles of equality in rights and freedoms for all, for only free minds can develop. That will be our best legacy for future generations. By achieving it, the generations to come 50 years hence, will be proud of us.

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