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The Government Special Status, a Recipe For Peace?

Reflections By The Special Status Working Group

On 15th December 2019 the National Assembly began meeting in extra ordinary session to deliberate on the bill tabled by Government to institute the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities, widely referred to as the Decentralisation Bill. The bill once adopted by Parliament and enacted into law by the Head of State shall give content to the much-anticipated Special Status designation for the North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon. After four days of deliberations the National Assembly on Thursday 19th December 2019 passed the bill which has now been forwarded to the House of Senate for a similar review and adoption.

                A few months ago, a group of Cameroonians living in the country and in the diaspora came together as a Special Status Think Tank and proposed for adoption, salient pointers for a content to the Special Status bill that would bring about long-lasting solutions to the current crisis, in the North West and South West Regions. The Think Tank is pleased to see some of these suggestions reflected in the current bill tabled by Government before the legislature. The return of peace to the North-West and South-West Regions being at all times our collective pursuit, we still firmly believe, the Quebec Style system of Special Status, contemplated by the Grand National Dialogue remains to this day, the most viable compromise. While it must be acknowledged that there can never be an absolute autonomy for any one Region, place, or persons in a meaningful union for peace and stability to reign, it is not superfluous to remind various stakeholders about the urgent need for peace now; as the devastation exhibited in the mounting loss of lives, lack of shelter inaccessibility to education and healthcare, hunger and destitution continue to bare their ugly fangs on innocent women and children in the conflict-affected Regions.. Thus, if peace is to return, the true meaning of the Special designation contemplated in this bill to resolve this crisis must be able to withstand the test of time now and in the future.

                Consequently, as we collectively contemplate the term Special Status for the North-West and South-West regions, we must note that the strive towards some degree of autonomy for the people of these Regions to self-manage their interests is not prompted by an entrenched need to exist in isolation from the rest of the country, but rather by a desire to preserve and enrich the diversity of Cameroon with that which makes us unique as clearly expressed in Section 3(3) of the bill. Thus, we are very encouraged by the attempt of the framers of this bill to codify some of our long-cherished beliefs and value systems in Sections 3, 6.1, 9, 12,17 and ultimately in Section 328. These in our opinion are constructive steps in the right direction. However, as we experience this remarkable change in policy towards devolving more power to the Cameroonian people, we remain steadfast and optimistic that if appropriately managed, with a Quebec Style System in mind, the adaptation of which we tabled for consideration, this transformative event could appease all factions involved in the current crisis and usher prosperity to Cameroonians as well.

                We acknowledge the enormity of the task at hand taking into consideration the scale and the scope, the duration and the ramifications of this crisis. These emphasizes why Special Status as a solution must truly capture the essence of the promised autonomy.

                In Canada, the Quebecers did not ask for a country within a country. So too are Anglophones only asking for a Special Status where nothing is done for them without them. This is the spirit with which we examine this bill, nothing more, nothing less, to ensure at all times, that the Anglophone Regions and their people are given a seat at the table when matters affecting their lives and their wellbeing, are discussed.

                .In this vein, we recognize the efforts by the Government to guarantee these expectations captured in Section 3 and Section 328 of the bill. However, our examination of other relevant sections of the bill leaves us worrying that the objective, spirit, and meaning of what has been considered as “Special Status,” is still elusive. This conclusion was reached not by a desire to undermine the entire process, but by the weight of the thousands of lives including civilian and military which have been lost, houses burnt or destroyed, and above all, the displacement and starvation of hundreds of thousands of our fellow compatriots, who have eagerly awaited the application of the Special Status to return home. Thus, we put forth the following comments and suggestions in view of enriching the process while highlighting some of the concerns many Anglophones have.

                In Section 9, we hold the view that it will be more helpful for the State to clearly delineate the parameters of what constitute local assets, the extent to which procurement is possible, and the percentage of the same. This should also cater for key issues such as to ownership interest in taxation revenue, percentage of local revenue, rather than deferring to subsequent regulatory instruments or decrees.

                In Section 12, the term allocation invokes a sour taste in the mouth of most Anglophones who have in the past complained and rightly so, about receiving disproportionately less investment funds than their contribution to the national bread basket. Furthermore, without the codification of this content, a boulevard is open for the current and future leadership to decide at their leisure what percentage allocation they ‘personally’ deem necessary to be forwarded to the Anglophone Regions.

                Thus, at a bare minimum, the law should clearly define within permitted limits what consideration will go into deciding what is appropriate for the Special Status Regions. It is the best safeguard against any future arbitrary inclinations of officials driven by considerations of career advancement or political expediency.

Obnoxious Law on Bilingualism:

Revisiting Mbella Moki’s Stunning Outing At the Senate

Senators Mbella Moki of the CPDM and Henry Kemende of the SDF, recently took turns at the Senate, to condemn the bill on the Promotion of official languages.

               

Senators Mbella Moki and Henry Kemende stunned the senate

with their objective and critical views about the bill on bilingualism practice

To them the said bill amounted to provocation of the Anglophone community in Cameroon.

                Addressing his colleagues in Senate, Senator Mbella Moki said: “I plead with this house, a dignified house to have a feeling for those of us who are complaining…. If you take their complaints seriously, Mr President, you should know that what they are doing is the right thing. If this house, and those who drafted this law imagined that doing what is right is wrong, then what is right in this country?” He asked.

                Appealing to his Francophone colleagues, Senator Mbella Moki asked them to imagine if the situation was reversed, and their communities faced with a situation where a Magistrate has to deliver judgment in English, a language they do not understand, but the Magistrate prefers to use it for his convenience.

                He stated that the said bill is considered by the average Anglophone, as obnoxious, and as such, the bill “truly betrays the very intentions to deny the people of the Northwest and Southwest Regions the right to have English as an official working language, and the right to practice the Common Law in their courts”. He said, pointing out that such decisions sent lawyers to the streets in 2016, and led to the security situation Cameroon is grappling with today. “I was in Buea, I saw what happened.”

                “We should all be frank to say that we are tired of seeing the blood of innocent Cameroonians flow on our streets. It is that same denial of the use of English as the language of instruction and practice of the English System of Education in schools, in the Northwest and Southwest Regions that sent teachers on strike in 2016. Many in our English speaking Regions see this bill as a slap on our faces, which will go a long way in enriching the separatists’ argument” he said.

                Noting that the bill was ill drafted and comes at a bad time, the Senator opined that English should be the working language in Anglophone Regions, while French should be the working language in the other Regions, even as the country strives to promote bilingualism.

                He proposed that the bill on Special Status should have come first, from where other bills such as that on bilingualism will draw inspiration. “I will not vote for this bill, I cannot. It will be at the expense of my life,” he said.

Public Intellectual Discourse & Debate:

Anglophone Intellectuals Lost In the Crowd

If done regularly, public intellectual discourse and debates could stimulate development and help the country move forward. Of course, they can only be made by the highly educated people in our country. But for long years now those of them who are English-speaking have refused to play this edifying role. They are rather interested in helping to advance an iniquitous system whose only mission is to impoverish the innocent masses and subject them to a life of perpetual servitude

By Douglas A. Achingale*

Have you ever pondered over the intelligentsia in Cameroon? If your response is in the affirmative, then you must have realized that our country has them in torrential abundance, Anglophones and Francophones alike. They are everywhere: in academia, in government, in the civil society… And most of them who have terminal degrees and other superior qualifications are exhilarated to be distinguished by the somewhat intimidating titles of ‘Doctors’ and ‘Professors’ that are attached to their names. But those paper qualifications and titles seem to be all what they have to show as highly educated people. When they are called upon to ruminate about issues of national well-being, make right judgment and educate the public so as to help move the country forward, they glide uncannily into torpor.

                Regrettably, this phenomenon is more noticeable amongst Anglophone intellectuals. In the early 1990s when the wind of change coming from Eastern Europe was blowing across Africa, the Cameroonian public had a feel of the ‘intellectualness’ of some of them. If they were not in the audio-visual media – even if against the wishes of the powers that be – to raise public awareness on important state issues and make incredible recommendations on the way forward for our nascent democracy, they came out forcefully in the print media to do the same edifying job.

                And so we enjoyed either listening to the thought-provoking arguments or reading the incisive write-ups of fearless nation-builders such as Tata Mentan, Sam Nuvalla Fonkem, Bate Besong, Rotcod Gobata, Ntemfac Ofege, Boniface Forbin, George Ngwane, Akwanka Joe Ndifor, Christmas Atem Ebini, Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, Larry Eyong Echaw, Julius Wamey, Tande Dibussi Jabea, Jing Thomas Ayeh, Taadom Sultan, Victor Julius Ngoh, Boh Herbert, etc. For those of them who were journalists of the state-run Cameroon Radio Television Corporation (CRTV), their contributions came mostly through the analyses they made on the TV program ‘Minute By Minute’ and radio program ‘Cameroon Calling’ which today has unfortunately been reduced more or less to a panorama of government activities.

Chantal Biya’s Outings In Yaounnde:

A Serious Public Nuisance 

Roads in the Capital city Yaounde are blocked whenever Chantal Biya moves

out of the Unity Palace. This causes serious traffic jams on the streets.

The need to protect the President’s wife is understandable, but it must be balanced against the overall public interest. That Cameroonians should be treated with such disdain and nonchalance is clearly beyond commonsense.

I hate to be the one to say this! But the visit last Friday of the First Lady, Mrs Chantal Pulcherie Vigouroux Biya, to the Yaounde Centre for Endoscopic Surgery, will be remembered more for all the wrong reasons. The visit occasioned so much social dislocation as to rekindle public disdain for abuse of perks by public officials, a derision that becomes heightened when such abuse comes at the instance of the President of the Republic!

Given the terrible scenario playing out in the country, manifested in the mass poverty, high corruption in government, gross official recklessness and near zero governance, it is no surprise that presidential outings have become a nuisance and source of public anger.

                Granted, Mrs Chantal Biya went to commune with and encourage the users and staff of the very important health facility. But the visit caused a monumental traffic chaos that paralyzed social and commercial activities for almost the whole day in the sprawling metropolis of Yaounde, which looked like a city under siege. Thousands of commuters were stranded; road rage was everywhere with Cameroonians cursing and increasing their high blood pressure. Even so, such was the intensity of the traffic jams that motorcycles were even held up by it.

                Roads around the Omnisports and Ngousso quarters were blocked by police very early in the morning and reopened only in the evening– all this on a working day!  

                This is sheer nonsense! Surely nothing like this happens in any country worthy of respect. If nothing, but for compassionate and humanitarian reasons, those charged with the responsibility of protecting the President and his wife should show more sensitivity to the people who elected the President. Presidential outings should not be a public nuisance and punishment inflicted on the citizens.

                Blocking roads and inflicting hardship on innocent Cameroonians is an insult on the people who are ultimately the source of all power in a democracy. Seriously, what have Cameroonians done wrong to merit this kind of punishment? The contempt with which the President’s security operatives treat their fellow compatriots translates into the senseless and mindless torture inflicted on Cameroonians whenever Biya travels.

                The President must scrupulously guard against conveying the impression that he does not care about what the people feel or think.

                It has become a pastime for public office holders to intimidate the public with their retinue of siren-blaring and gun-trotting goon squads hurtling at breakneck speeds across our dilapidated roads. Leaders are expected to be role models through exemplary behavior, but such leaders are few in this country.

Adjusting to New Status:

HPSF Management Spoils Staff with New Appointments

-Workers hail Okie Johnson Ndoh for ‘fatherly’ gesture   

By Mercy Neba in Yaounde

Workers of HPSF have hailed their GM for his ‘fatherly gesture’

An atmosphere of euphoria and uncontrolled excitement has enveloped the air around the  Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund, HPSF, since Tuesday last week following the release of decisions by the board of directors giving new appointments to workers in the different departments of the state-owned petroleum outfit.

                The Median learned that workers jumped for joy in their offices, with many running upstairs to the office of the General Manager, situated on the fourth floor of the sumptuous building that houses the headquarters of HPSF, to thank the DG for being so kind as to propose their names for the appointments by the board.

                The excitement was the more because the board also approved an increase in number and amounts paid as bonuses to workers as was also proposed to it by the management.

                We learned that the new appointments and bonuses touched all categories of workers, from the lowest category up to the directors.

                The newly appointed workers would be installed by the DG of HPSF, at a ceremony to take place at the esplanade of the company, on Monday 23 December.

                We learned also that during the same extraordinary board session, board members also approved a new organizational chart for the company, as drawn up by the management.

                It should be noted that the HPSF was only recently, raised from a Directorate to a full-fledged General Directorate, by the President of the Republic.

                Its new status as General Directorate not only warranted the new organizational chart, it also informed the increase in advantages to workers.

Wache Francis Forever:

‘The Post’ Publisher Dies Suddenly In Buea

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Wache Francis, publisher of The Post Newspaper is no more

The death has been announced of the Mayor of the SDF-run Nkor Council in Noni, Bui Division of the Northwest Region. Francis Wache who doubles as Publisher of Cameroon’s authoritative biweekly newspaper, The Post, died Friday 20 December 2019 at the Buea Regional Hospital Annex where he was being attended to by medics shortly after suffering a malaise.

                He was head of the SDF list ahead of the February 9, 2020 Municipal elections. The former lecturer at the Local Government Training Centre, CEFAM, is said to have been in good shape last week as he actively took part in the production of the newspaper at their Buea Head Office.

Kumba, Meme Division:

Amba General Stoned to Death, others Surrender

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Meme SDO talks to former Ambazonia combattants

At least 20 ex-separatist combatants operating in Kumba, Chief Town of Meme Division have surrendered to the Meme administration. The ex-fighters dropped their weapons and peaceful handed themselves to the administration Tuesday 17 December 2019.

                The ex-combatants were received by the SDO, Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, who saluted them for gladly accepting President Paul Biya’s olive branch to give peace a chance for the return to normalcy as especially as government is bent on implementing the recommendations of the Major National Dialogue that was convened to seek lasting solutions to the over three year crisis.  

                The fighters confessed revealed they were from camps located at Mile One, Kosala and Three Corners. They were immediately ferried to the Southwest regional Centre for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, DDR. 

Ekona, SW Region:

Gunmen Attack ‘Supermont’ Vehicle, Kill Three Workers

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

At least three workers of Source du Pays Company located at Mile 29 along the Kumba-Buea highway have died and about six others injured following an attack on the personnel transport vehicle by suspected Ambazonia fighters. The incident occurred Thursday 19 December 2019 in Ekona, a locality near Muyuka.

                Separatist fighters are said to have opened fire on the vehicle transporting some personnel of the company while on their way to work. The personnel vehicle was attacked despite being guarded by a military van. Bullets fired by the gunmen destroyed the glasses of the van.

Mothers Hail Chantal BIYA at CHRACERH’s 2019 Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

First Lady Chantal Biya in communion with mothers and their miraclenew-born at the Centre for Endoscopic Surgery in Y'de

A group of women who delivered their babies at the Applied Research, Endoscopic Surgery and Human Reproduction Hospital Centre (CHRACERH) paid tribute to First Lady Chantal BIYA on 21 December 2019. This was during the traditional tree lighting ceremony at the premises of the institution that became fully operational in 2015.

                Their spokesperson, Mrs Kana Y – who put to birth for the first time at the age of 53 – thanked Mrs Chantal BIYA and her spouse – President Paul BIYA for the realisation of CHRACERH and their continuous support for its proper functioning. She acknowledged the technical expertise of the staff and their significant contribution to innovative healthcare in Cameroon.

Anglophone Crisis:

CBC, UNFPA Open One-stop-Shop for GBV Victims

CBCHS Staffs and stakeholders pose for a family picture in frontof newly inaugurated centre

The Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, CBCHS, in partnership with the United Nation’s Population Fund, UNFPA, have opened a One-stop-Shop to provide holistic needs to victims of Gender-Based Violence, GBV, at the Baptist Hospital in Mutengene.

                The Centre, created within the context of the ongoing crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, was inaugurated on December 14, in a ceremony attended by CBCHS and government officials, who all pledged to collaborate, in order to deliver help to those in crucial need of it.

                As explained by Josephine Nsono, Gender\Child Protection Expert at the CBCHS, the centre will act as a One-stop Shop for victims of Gender-Based Violence. There, the survivors will be given all the necessary help they need, including medical care, counseling, legal counsel, spiritual support, and any other need that will help them to deal with their trauma. 

                She revealed that, among the services offered, will be quality basic emergency obstetric and newborn care, known as BeMONC, comprising of mobile ANC clinics in hard-to-reach areas. Such centres will support pregnant women and girls. The centres will also refer those almost at term, to hospital-based services. The centre, equally has equipped maternity waiting rooms where pregnant women and girls who are survivors can stay, for about two months in anticipation of their babies’ CeMONC services. The centre will also carry out activities like providing emergency contraceptives for rape victims, to prevent them from having unwanted pregnancies and, probably, trauma.

                The centre, which was presented to the press, is equally equipped with skilled social workers, who will provide psycho-social and psychological support. Mental health nurses at the centre will equally be there to help and assist victims of rape who end up with fistulas and may have to undergo surgery. The nurses will help the survivors to handle depression, comfort those who may be suicidal, so as to assist them regain control of their lives.

CONAC Publishes 2018 Corruption Report

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Rev. Dieudonne Massi Gams presiding CONAC session

The National Anti-corruption Commission, CONAC, has published a damning report on the situation of corruption in the country for the year 2018 which indicates the state has lost FCFA 40 billion.

                The revelation was made public 19 December 2019 in Yaounde by CONAC’s chairman, Rev. Dr. Dieudonne Massi Gams in a ceremony organized to present the corruption report of the commission on the situation of Corruption in year 2018 at the Yaounde Conference Centre.  

                The summary of the in-depth report as presented by the Chairman indicated that the state lost close to FCFA 40 billion in 2018 as a result of funds been diverted from their initial objectives. Massi Gams said despite the huge lost, they commission remains optimistic as their actions led to the recovery of FCFA 4 billion across the different jurisdictions.

                The report also indicates that in 2018, the commission registered some 24,000 cases of denunciations compared to 3,000 in 2017 with more than 4,000 of the denunciations transmitted via email and other electronic means while more than 18,000 were registered on the Commission's toll-free number.

                CONAC in the recent report accused the Limbe City Council, LCC, of anomalies that have caused the state an overall financial loss estimated at over FCFA 9 billion. Of the amount, CONAC reports that CFA 9 billion 240 million 829 thousand 996 francs was lost at the Limbe City Council as uncovered by an investigative mission that visited the institution while FCFA 180 million was lost at the Nkometou Tollgate Post, 14 million 849 thousand 850 francs at the Bafia District Hospital and FCFA 3 million at the Parent Teachers Association of Government High School Obala.

Fostering Bilingualism, Living Together:

Bilingualism Commission Opens Branches In Regions

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

RT Hon Mafany Musonge presiding over ord. session of NCPBM

The chairman of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, NCPBM, has revealed that the first regional branches of the institution will effectively go operational in 2020.

                Peter Mafany Musonge made the revelation in Yaounde Tuesday 17 December 2019 at the institutions head office. This was during the second ordinary session of the commission which focused among other things on reviewing the road covered by the Commission in 2019 and adopting the 2020 action plan of the body.

                Commission members agreed to step up the momentum in enhancing the practice of bilingualism and living together across national triangle because the institution has a vital role to play in the second phase of Cameroon’s 2035 emergence vision.

                The regional branches will focus on reviving the ‘listen to the people’ missions in the remaining eight regions, step up follow-up missions on the sound implementation of the constitutional provisions on the practice of bilingualism in public entities among other things, Chairman Musonge said.

                He reiterated the central role the commission is called upon to play in the implementation phase of the governance component and especially in the social and cultural policy sector based on challenges facing the country’s bilingualism.

2020 Municipal Election:

Amba Scare Forces Batibo Mayor To Withdraw Candidature

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

The Mayor of SDF run Batibo Council has said he is not part of a team heading an appeal for consideration of the party’s list rejected by Elections Cameroon, ELECAM during the publication of list of political parties and candidates for the upcoming Municipal and legislative elections. Tanjoh Fridrick Tetuh in a letter he issued 16 December 2019 says his decision to resign from his position as Mayor comes after “profound reflection”.

                “After a profound reflection on my vision as a leader and considering what human life is, I have decided to resign my position in the list of the SDF for the February 2020 Municipal elections and declare that I am not part of any appeal for the reinsertion of the SDF list by the Administrative Court/ELECAM” Tanjoh’’s letter read in part.

Over 4bn Adopted for APME’s TRANSFAGRI Program

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

APME Officials examining draft TRANSFAGRI program budget

The Integrated Programme for the valorisation and transformation of agriculture products and agric-food industries (TRANSFARI) under the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency (APME) has adopted its 2020 budget that stands at close to FCFA 4.4 billion. The budget which has witnessed an increase of over 50% as compared to that of 2019 was made known during the steering committee meeting that brought together stakeholders involved in the first non-financial component of the Programme in Yaounde Friday 20 December 2019. The meeting was chaired by the President who doubles as the Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft, Achille Bassilekin III.

                Minister Bassilekin IIII said out of the close to FCFA 4.4 billion budgeted for 2020, FCFA 3.1 billion will be used for investment to assist producer groups in the six production basins of Littoral, Centre, West, Northwest, Adamawa, and North Regions as well as finance agric-food industries to assist in wealth and job creation. He commended management for the close to 95% execution of the 2019 budget which stood at over FCFA 1.4 billion.

                As presented by the TRASFAGRI Focal Point Technical Adviser, Tchana Joseph, some 314 food processing enterprises were funded through microfinance institutions which are partners of the programme. He said the programme also gathered, synthesized and disseminated technical and economic data on 11 value chains and their regulatory environment to beneficiaries, partners and other users through relevant physical or virtual media, trained more than 550 companies on checks services, supported over 100 SMEs in promotional actions organized throughout the national territory and trained and accredited 119 consultants to carry out SME advisory activities among many other activities.

Anglophone Crisis:

CHRDA Reviews Report on Rights Abuses

By Boris Esono in Buea

Barristers Agbor Balla, Michelle Ndoki, Enow Benjamin and others at the

re-launching of the CHRDA report on rights abuses in NOSO

The Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA has re-launched its report detailing the rights abuses and violations committed during the ongoing Anglophone conflict in Cameroon. This was during activities marking the 2019 edition of the International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

                The report published with support from the Open Society Initiative West Africa (OSIWA), in partnership with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, is titled ‘Cameroon’s Unfolding Catastrophe: Evidence of Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity’.

                The report which focuses on events from October 2016 to May 2019 was first launched in Canada.

                The lunching was witnessed among others by Barrister Michelle Ndoki, President of the Women wing of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) party, Barrister Enow Benjamin, President of the Fako Lawyers’ Association, FAKLA; Rights activists, leaders of CSOs and journalists.

                The report provides an evidence-based characterization of the conflict and the rights abuses committed by both government forces and the separatist fighters.

CHRDA Inaugurates Empowerment Centre

By Boris Esono in Buea

CHRDA’s Barrister Agbor Balla and dignitaries at the launching of CHRDA’s Empowerment Centre in Buea

The ongoing crisis in the North West and South West Region has caused thousands of people to be displaced either internally or as refugees in neighboring Nigeria and in other countries. Many have lost their source of livelihoods as their homes have been burnt, with breadwinners of families killed and other atrocities committed.

                To support Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, to regain their source of livelihood, the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA and its partners last week launched an Empowerment Center in Buea.

                The Center will as from January 2020 train IDPs on tailoring with the vision to extend training to other skills like computer designing, farming, and handicraft.

                Violet Fokum, Executive Director of CHRDA noted that Internally Displaced Persons need support as most of them have been displaced from their homes.

                “This center has been put in place to assist women and girls build their capacity,” She said.

                “Putting economic resources in girl’s hands increases economic reduces poverty in the society. The center will help in reducing poverty and other Development goals putting in place by the United Nations,” She added

                Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla, President of CHRDA noted that the Center will pay the transportation of the IDPs during the first year of the training which begins in January.

                “The crisis has divided us more than bringing us together. We have to open a workshop for them (IDPs) to help boost their Morales, and thought how to live together.”

                He added that the training will not only involve tailoring and computer maintenance but the displaced persons will equally be trained on peace building and peacekeeping.

                “This is not just a Centre but a school to teach the IDPs which will help them be able to contribute to society. These IDPs are coming from the South West and North West Regions, and we will ensure that all the Divisions are represented in the Center… After the training we hope to retain some women at the Center to train others, and to ensure that those who have left here we will ensure that we monitor them for at least a year. I am very optimistic that the Center will grow and why not have other Centers in Bamenda, Limbe, and Kumba so, it should not just be Buea….”

2020 Twin Elections:

Amba Fighters Launch War on SDF Candidates

-Homes of two Mayors, MP burnt, councilors kidnapped

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam

Gunmen suspected to be Amba fighters have been accused of setting ablaze the residence of SDF Member of Parliament, Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam, in Batibo in Momo Division of the Northwest Region. The incident occurred on the night of Sunday breaking Monday.

                The incident on the residence of Vice President of the National Assembly comes after the publication of the list of candidates for the twin elections. The list indicated that the lawmaker was seeking another mandate as MP of the SDF. The attack on his home has received widespread condemned by a good number of English speaking Cameroonians.

                To recall is the fact that an angry mob stormed his Batibo residence in 2017 and mounted pressure on him to resign from Parliament and join the ongoing crisis, a decision he reluctantly took in front of the mob but never tabled his resignation too Parliament.

                Reports say gunmen had threatened the MP to step down from Parliament and not run for next year's election. The incident at the MP’s residence comes after the kidnap of an SDF Mayor in Bamenda and some councilors by suspected armed separatists for daring into the list of next year's election.

Budgetary Session:

Limbe Gov’t Delegate Unveils Ambitious Dev’t Plan Amid Challenges

By Ticha Melanis in Limbe

Limbe Gov’t Delegate, Andrew Motanga, presenting his state-of-the-city address during the budget session

The Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council has said that despite the drop in the proposed budget for the 2020 financial year, their action plan is still very ambitious. Motanga Andrew Monjimba explained that their 2020 action plan was the more ambitious because some items in the 2019 action plan have been carry forward to 2020.

                He cited notably the Construction of an ultra-modern market for the Limbe municipality, with the first phase to cost FCFA 1.2 billion and the completion phase to cost FCFA 2.2 billon. The project is planned to be completed in two years.

                Andrew Motanga was speaking Thursday 19 December, during the second ordinary session of the city council dedicated to the examination and adoption of the draft 2020 budget for the council, holding at the city hall.

                He explained that many items from the 2019 action plan were pushed forward to 2020 because financial recoveries in 2019 were not enough as permit for their execution.

                Motanga however noted the positive balance-sheet of the city council, citing some commendable realizations in 2019, though admitting that efforts must be redoubled in 2020 as much still needs be done in terms of projects realization.

                The GD presented the draft 2020 budget as balanced in revenue and expenditure at the sum of FCFA 7.5 billion (seven billion five hundred million francs CFA), down from FCFA 9.75 billion (nine billion seven hundred and fifty million francs CFA) in 2019 (23% drop).

Humanitarian Gesture:

K-Towners in Atlanta USA Donate to Kumba District Hospital

They sent a 40-foot container bearing Medical Equipment and other supplies to the hospital that was recently burned by yet unknown persons.

By Ekoko Willies in Kumba

K’ba District Hospital Management receives medical equipment sent by K-Towners in Atlanta USA

The Director of the Kumba District Hospital, Dr Ngang Paul Enongene, made the announcement during a ceremony to unveil the package, on Friday 20 December, at the esplanade of the hospital.

 Dr. Enongene said the donation packaged in a 40-foot container, is the fruit of a partnership between K-Towners Association, Atlanta, U.S.A, and the NGO, Medshare International.

                The items sent include a modern ultrasound kit for echography, an X-Ray apparatus, radiant warmer, electro-surgical generator, assorted surgical forceps, sterilized surgical gowns, aprons, Biohazards, beds, forearm, crutches, electrocardiograph, microscopes, suction pump and others.

                Dr. Enongene thanked the donors for the timely intervention, which comes barely months after parts of the hospital were set ablaze on 11 February 2019 by yet unknown persons.

                He said the gesture comes at a time when the government has allocated the sum of FCFA 650 million for the reconstruction and upgrading of the hospital.

                He revealed that a survey done by the delegation of state property, surveys and land tenure valued the destroyed portion of the hospital at the sum of FCFA over 175 million.

                The Hospital prior to the fire incident had 15 Medical Doctors amongst which were 2 Obstetrician/Gynecologists, 1 General Surgeon and 12 General Practitioners. Today it counts barely 4 Medical Doctors and a few devoted nurses and Laboratory Technicians. The majority of the doctors and nurses haven abandoned their duty posts either due to the ongoing Anglophone conflict or to pursue further studies.

Front page

Cameroon – IDB Cooperation:

Four New Giant Projects Launched
-SOWEDA’s AIVDP to Create 10.000 jobs
By Mercy Neba in Yaounde
The government of Cameroon has launched four new projects sponsored by the Islamic Development Bank, IDB.
  
    The projects were launched as part of a one week workshop to build the capacities of project actors and stakeholders on IDB procurement and disbursement procedures.
    The Minister Delegate to the MINEPAT, Paul Tasong, sitting in for the Governor of the IDB, and the Representative of the IDB Regional Office, Mamadou Alpha Bah, co-chaired the launching ceremony, at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, on Thursday, 12 December.
    According to the regional representative of the IDB, the objective of the launching workshop was to ensure that all actors and players in the projects chain master the procurement procedures and above all the disbursement procedure of the IDB this, with the aim to ensuring that there are no delays in execution, as well as to ensure that the funds mobilized are used strictly for the purpose for which they were intended.
    Financed to the tune of 82 billion FCFA, the four projects bring to 20 the number of IDB sponsored projects in Cameroon, with an active portfolio of 514 billion FCFA, with overall goal to improve the living conditions of the rural populations in Cameroon.
Specifically, the PD-COBIE aims to contribute to improving food security through the modernization of animal husbandry, the marketing of livestock, and the construction of zoo-health infrastructures in the Adamawa, North and Far North regions.

Special Session of Parliament:

The Last Hope to Save Cameroon!
By Dieudonné ESSOMBA
A special session of Parliament opened on Friday 13 December and we are told that it would dwell on the content of decentralization and, in particular, the special status of the English-speaking regions.
    To a certain extent, this instance was expected.  Indeed, the Biya regime has been the subject of intense diplomatic pressure to postpone the elections, and give itself time to ease tensions in the NW and SW by implementing the special status recommended during the Grand National Dialogue.
    Since the Government, which does not like to back off, cannot postpone the elections it wants to please the International Community by adopting laws relating to this special status, so as to alleviate the pressure.
    But the essential question remains: even if such laws are adopted, will they lead to the end of the Secession or at least reduce its virulence? The answer is clearly no; quite the contrary!
    The special status amounts to official recognition that there is an Anglophone problem, and a stinging disavowal of those extremists who had openly denied it.
    But far from appeasing the Secessionists, this concession comforted them in the feeling that only force could create the spaces of freedom from the regime in place.  Such tremendous and unexpected success, against a regime that showed cadaveric rigor in its approaches, has rather revealed serious weakness of the regime and hardened the position of the secessionists.
    The Secessionists now know that the regime will still give in, give in and give in again. And they will maintain their military pressure, relayed by diplomatic pressure from the great powers that count in today's world.
    There is no need to wait for any lull in these areas.  Admittedly, in the best of cases, the English-speaking Secession is there for the next 40 years, the average lifespan of a secessionist movement. But the problem today is no longer to extinguish it definitively, but to reduce its nuisance and attractiveness.
    However, for this to be possible, it is imperative to disarm the historical arguments of the Secession which, it must be recognized, are extremely solid: under the control of the United Nations, Southern Cameroon had the choice between Nigeria and Cameroon.  She chose Cameroon on the basis of a federal state.  On the same basis, Northern Cameroon chose Nigeria.
    Before any objective tribunal, you cannot convince the judges that the Government of Cameroon was right in suppressing the Federation.  And we can see that no country in the world has given reason to the Government; the best she has had have been recommendations to solve the problem amicably.

Response to Separatist Struggle:

Special Status Legislation Grants Greater Autonomy to NW-SW Regions
By Kum Innocent in Yaounde
The crisis, spurred by what is popularly known as the Anglophone problem, has marked a sour point in the lives of Anglophones in the last three years and has had debilitating effects on the nation as a whole. The core premise of the crisis, initiated by demands from English-speaking teachers and common law lawyers, is for greater autonomy and control of pristine Anglophone institutions, viz, the common law system, Anglo-Saxon system of education and the House of Chiefs.
    On the heels of the Major National Dialogue, there had been spirited ongoing national debates about the content of what a proposed special status for English speaking Cameroon would look like; if it would adequately address the alleged discontent and echoed demands of Anglophones. 
    On Friday December 15, the Cameroon national assembly, in an extraordinary session, debated and voted into law, a bill granting special status for Anglophone Cameroon and laid down the operational framework, legal, administrative and structural provisions, to guide the functioning and implementation of a Special Status. The legislation, by all intents and purposes, provides stunning dramatic victories for Anglophones; a hard-fought, long-drawn victory.

Bill on Decentralization:

All About the Content of Special Status
Book 4 of the Bill on the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities grants the North-West and South-West Regions a special status based on their language specificity and their historical heritage. This status comes across, in terms of decentralization, in the specificities of the organization and functioning of these two regions, as well as in respect for the peculiarities of the English-speaking education system and those of the Anglo-Saxon judicial system based on Common Law.
    Pursuant to Article 62 of the Constitution, these regions benefit from special rules of organization and functioning largely inspired by the institutions in force in Anglo-Saxon countries and experienced under the British mandate and trusteeship or during the period directly following independence.

A bicameral deliberative body 
    Unlike the other eight regions, the proposed deliberative body, called the Regional Assembly, in the North-West and South-West Regions has two houses: the House of Divisional Representatives and the House of Chiefs. The House of Chiefs hinges on that provided for in Article 9 of Law No. 61-LW_1 of 26 October 1961 in the Constitution of the Federated West Cameroon State.

A collegial executive body: the Executive Council
    The executive body does not boil down to the President of the Regional Council alone, as happens in the other eight regions. It reflects the model of the executives in force in countries that follow the British parliamentary tradition. It is a true executive council comprising:
1 (one) President;
1 (one) Vice-President;
1 (one) Commissioner in charge of economic development;
1 (one) Commissioner in charge of health and social development;
1 (one) Commissioner in charge of educational, sports and cultural development;
2 (two) Secretaries; and
1 (one) Questor.
    The collegial executive is under the control of the deliberative body which is, in particular, endowed with the impeachment procedure.

Three specialized commissioners
    While the regional administration, under the leadership of the President of the Regional Council, is responsible for the daily monitoring of matters on the powers devolved in the other eight regions, there are three political extraction committees, and not mere administrative ones, responsible for doing so in the special status regions.

Far North & North Regions:

New Army, Gendarmerie Regional Commanders Installed
Commissioning the military chiefs on Friday (Maroua) and Saturday (Garoua), the Minister of Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo, charged them to intensify the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency, trans-border crime and highway robbery
By Doh Bertrand Nua on assignment to Maroua & Garoua
The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of Defense, Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, has charged newly appointed Commanders of the 3rd & 4th combined military and Gendarmerie Regions to step up the momentum in the fight against the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, highway robbery, circulation of small weapons, kidnapping for ransom, trans-border crimes, rural/urban banditry among others.
   
    While installing the Commanders of the 4th combined Military and Gendarmerie region, Major General Saly Mohamadou and Brigadier General ESSOH Jules Cesar respectively, in Maroua, on Friday 13 December, Minister Beti Assomo reiterated President Paul Biya’s determination to completely eradicate Boko Haram within Cameroon’s territorial boundaries.
    He instructed the new Army and Gendarme Commanders to conceive new tactics in wiping out activities of Boko Haram which is gradually resurfacing with new strategies in some border localities in the region.
    Apart of combating Boko Haram, the MINDEF urged the two officials to use their wealth of experience to step up the fight against highway robbery, arms trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, rural and urban banditry and ensure adequate security before, during and after the 2020 twin elections.

Two Years Already!

Okie Johnson Ndoh: A Silent Achiever at CSPH
-Workers of CSPH hail their GM as a forward-looking, open-minded listener and team-manager, whose leadership style affords an accommodating working environment and makes their work easy and interesting.
By Ayukogem Steven Ojong in Yaounde

Add caption

How time flies! It is two years already since Okie Jonson Ndoh was appointed as General Manager, GM, of the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund, abbreviated in French as CSPH. The State Inspector and Super-Scale Civil Administrator, was appointed to the helm of the state-owned petroleum company, on 11 December 2017 and was installed into his functions on 15 December 2017.
    Two years down the road, many informed observers have scored Okie Johnson in blue, crediting him with a well-suited management style, and for the remarkable achievements of CSPH in just two years of his stewardship.
    For their part, workers of CSPH hailed Okie Ndoh for what they described as his forward-looking and open-minded management approach.
    “I must say I am having a wonderful experience working under Mr. Okie as my GM… He is such a team player who gives a listening ear to all his collaborators… He is open to new ideas; he accepts suggestions from just everybody. He tells us on a daily basis that the future of CSPH depends on us and that the suggestions we make count a lot for the decisions that he takes,” said a worker at CSPH, who asked not to be named in this report.
    Another worker responded: “Our GM is such an exemplary leader who is so open-minded as to put the staff at the helm of all major managerial decisions. The important place he gives the staff in decision making has instilled a general atmosphere of confidence, loyalty and commitment among the workers. In fact, it accounts for the positive things you see happening at the company since Mr. Okie was put at the helm.”
    For a GM who in barely months of taking office, saved Cameroon an embarrassment from the IMF, and under whose stewardship the government finally saw the need to upgrade CSPH from the Directorate that it was, to the full General Directorate that it now is, Okie’s achievements so far at CSPH can only be described as largely positive.
    It should be recalled that Okie’s bold and life-saving decision that spared Cameroon an embarrassment from the IMF, just one year after taking office, merited for him the Oscar Award for Excellence in December 2018. The Award was offered by the Paris-based International Council of African Managers, CIMA, whose President, Sidi Abd Allah Sy, travelled to Yaounde in January 2019 just to hand Okie Ndoh the prestigious Award.
    While handing the Award, Sidi Abd Allah described Okie Ndoh as an “exceptional and astute manager”, who has shown “exemplary patriotism, high-level performance and an exceptional commitment to nation building, apart from making a huge contribution towards the emergence of Cameroon.”
    He exhorted Okie Ndoh to remain assiduous and committed to his duties, reminding him that the Cameroonian people, and President Paul Biya, are watching him.
For many observers, Okie Ndoh’s remarkable achievements at CSPH come as no surprise. They are the result of his penchant for team work and results-oriented management, factors which are helped by his modest and God-fearing persona.

Capacity Building Workshop:

APME Staff Schooled On Internal Rules, Career Evaluation
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde
Personnel of the decentralised services of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency, APME, from three regions have been schooled on some key internal rules and regulations that guide their duty of promoting small enterprises in the regions. 
   
    As explained by Feke Christopher, Sub-Director in charge of Human Resources at the APME, the workshop among other things focused on strengthening personnel capacity on career evolution, rights and obligations and but create awareness among them on professional performance evaluation systems as adopted by the agency in conformity with what obtains in other public service structures.
    Feke said the workshop will permit uncurious personnel to become conscious of certain rights and obligations and other rules which concern them but are still to be implemented by the agency as provided for in the statutes of the agency. He added that the training will also enable the personnel to have a mastery of the organigram of the agency.
    He disclosed that before the Yaounde training, a similar training was held in Douala for the services in Littoral and the Southwest regions with plans to move to Bafoussam for the personnel in West and Northwest Regions and then to Garoua for personnel North, Adamawa and Far North regions.

Matters Arising:

Fako CPDM, Wives Abandon Mayor Ekema at Death?
-Observers said for the staunch militant and grassroots mobilizer that Ekema was for the CPDM in Fako, it is intriguing that no organized appearance of party militants was witnessed throughout his funeral. The absence of his two wives at the funeral also provided mourners with a good theme for discussion and debate.
By Ndeli Albert Moliki in Buea

CPDM militants were hard to find at any instance of Ekema’s funeral

Patrick Esunge Ekema, the emblematic mayor of Buea, who died suddenly on Saturday, 27 October, has on Saturday 14 December, buried in Buea with neither the CPDM party nor the Mayors two wives making their presence at any instance of the funeral.
    Observers were quick to note that for a man whose militancy in the ruling CPDM party could not be questioned, and whose mobilization prowess was almost always relied on for the stampeding presence of party militants during major national events like the Reunification (National) Day on 20th May and Youth Day on 11th February, it was intriguing that no organized presence of party militants was seen all throughout the two days of Mayor Ekema’s funeral.
    Commentators said their surprise was the more because the National President of the CPDM, who doubles as President of the Republic, Paul Biya, was understood to take exceptional interest in Ekema’s funeral and even granted an official funeral for him.
    Fako chiefs for instance expressed unreserved disappointment that a brave fighter for the CPDM should die and be buried without party militans attending in uniform.
    “If for a ceremony like this we cannot see even one CPDM militant in uniform, then what would be the scenario when less important militants die... If Mayor Ekema cannot be celebrated by the party then what will happen to some of us? It is a shame, and we cannot hide our disappointment and annoyance with the CPDM hierarchy,” said the president of Fako Chiefs Conference, Chief Ndike Kombe
    But the question that was on every lip during and after the funeral was why the conspicuous boycott of Mayor Ekema’s funeral by CPDM militants?
    When The Median went finding out, it emerged that the CPDM party hierarchy in Yaounde had actually instructed the local leaders of the party in Fako to mobilize the militants to come out in their numbers to grace the funeral. But evidently, the instruction from Biya and Jean Kuete was ignored by the Fako CPDM bigwigs, a few of whom reluctantly attended the funeral, though not under the banner of the CPDM.
    The Median was reliably informed that Many  Fako CPDM kingpins opted to stay out of both the organization and the staging of Ekema’s funeral. They evoked the sour relationship they had with Mayor Ekema when he was alive.

Special Honours to a Brave Patriot:

Biya Grants Mayor Patrick Ekema State Burial

-The President of the Republic was represented at the hugely-attended funeral in Buea by the Minat, Paul Atanga Nji.
-The Paramount Chief of Buea, Robert Esuka Endeley, delivered a soul-searching eulogy for his departed childhood friend.
-Mayor Ekema elevated posthumously to the dignity of Commander of Cameroon Order of Valour.
By Boris Esono in Buea

Minister Paul Atanga Nji pays last respect to late Ekema Patrick Esunge

Patrick Esunge Ekema, the 43-year-old Mayor of Buea, who died suddenly on 27 October in Douala, has been buried in his private residence, in his native town of Buea in the South West region.
    Mayor Ekema was buried after an official funeral ceremony at the Independence Square (Bongo Square), at Clarks’ Quarters Buea.
    The president of the republic, Paul Biya, was personally represented at the official funeral ceremonies by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, who delivered the president’s special condolence message at the instance and also presented the wreath from the presidential couple.
    Also conspicuously present at the grandstand was the Minister, Assistant SG of the Presidency, Paul Elung Che; the Grand Chancellor of National Orders and Chairman of the National Bilingualism Commission, Peter Mafany Musonge; the Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga Egbe, the Governor of the SW, Okalia Bilai, the SDO for Fako, the Gov’t Delegates of Limbe and Kumba, Mayors, MPs, traditional chiefs and  a cross section of the who is who of the SW region.
    Speaking at the funeral ceremony, Minister Atanga Nji described the fallen hero as an exemplary patriot, who defended his country with unreserved loyalty, commitment and bravery. He said he and Mayor Ekema had many things in common - courage, determination, fighting spirit, respect for state institutions, and above all unflinching support for President Biya.
    “A devout servant of his community, Ekema was hardly found in his office; he was always on the streets fighting to put order. He made sure the streets of Buea were permanently clean. He put order in the bike riding sector etc”
    Atanga Nji exhorted other young Cameroonians to emulate Mayor Ekema’s courage and his tireless defense of the unity of Cameroon.

The Patrick Ekema I Knew Before Politics

Robert Esuka Endeley

-Being a eulogy delivered by the Paramount Chief-designate of Buea, Robert Esuka Endeley, at the funeral of Mayor Patrick Ekema
The sky is crying, and the city of Buea is mourning. It is a sad, sad day. But it's all yours Patrick. I will miss your forceful and purposeful steps, stomping through the streets of Buea, pacing up and down the Buea Council stairs. You were not an ordinary child Patrick, no, you were not. You did not come with a regular nine-month pregnancy. You were born like an African Bush Elephant; 22 months of gestation. That is two full-terms plus 4 months for humans. When you walked on the streets, people stopped to watch you. Your presence drew attention. Your regular walks shook the ground, and when you fell on October 27, the forest shook too. You were the mythical Elephant that the Bakweris call Ekpek'a Njoku.
     I knew you Patrick for as long as you lived. You and I wrestled on Sundays at the wrestling field in Buea Town as young men. You were a self-made man. I watched you beat the odds in life to arrive at the position you held before your demise. You fought your way through primary and secondary schools in Buea by digging and selling sand from the basaltic volcanic rocky pits around Buea. After obtaining your GCE Ordinary Levels, you landed a job at the University of Buea where you worked tirelessly not to only gain vertical professional mobility but academic mobility as well. By the time you left your position at the University as Faculty officer to become the mayor, you had served more Vice-Chancellors than the total number of children King Louis XVI of France had. I was privileged to be part of the delegation that went down to Bonjongo about 20 years ago to get you married to one of Bonjongo's gems, your beautiful wife, Catherine Ekema. I personally drove you in my old Volvo car that you termed "the community car" to your traditional marriage. Some of your children were born in my own hands. Even in all the turbulence in your political life and the disagreements we sometimes had, I could no more disown you than I could disown my own family members; my morality does not allow me to desert my friends. As imperfect as you may have been, you have been like family to me.

Adieu Patrick! You Have Done Your Time

CEO of ACMAR Group, Boni Dashaco, shared thesame vision with Ekema

-A eulogy presented by Boni Dashaco, a bosom friend of Patrick Ekema
I will be very brief and would not like to take much of your time. I will do straight talk and not write literature to read here for you to listen.
    I stand here today with a heavy heart seeing a brother and friend who stood for and fought for what he believed.
    Patrick Ekema passed on to the Lord with a high head and at a time when the dance was really hot, he left the scene with his head high.
    Patrick sacrificed all he ever had fighting for a just cause that he and I believed in; a one and indivisible Cameroon, and a better Buea for the future of us all.
    Patrick always and very often complained about some of the elites who do not want to see him and who wanted him dead and will miss no opportunity to put him down, and I shared in his pain.
    Patrick, today I see some of those same elites who wanted to kill you seated here with us in their beautiful black suits, trying to even mourn and crying the loudest, even more than some of us who stood by you and shared your pain,

Mayor Patrick Ekema Esunge:

Patrick Ekema

Biography of a ‘Fallen Warrior’
The mortal remains of the deceased mayor of Buea Patrick Ekema Esunge have been laid today in his home town after an official funeral ceremony.
    Since Friday, Buea remained at a standstill as residents trooped in at the Buea council esplanade to pay their last respects to the ‘Nyamoto Kpwatolo’ (Great Warrior, who died on 27 October in Douala.
    But who was Patrick Ekema Esunge, the man who laid his life to fight against separatist activities in Buea? Below is a full biography of the man.

BIRTH
    Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge was born on the 26th of September, 1976 to Esunge John Matute (of blessed memory) from Small Soppo Woteke and Julie Mojoko Wotany of Vasingi-Buea Town.

EDUCATION
    Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge attended Government Primary School Buea Town where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) and would later move to Bilingual Grammar School Molyko- Buea and obtained the GCE Ordinary Level and Advanced Level Certificates respectively.
    He then gained admission in the University of Buea, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in History, a Master’s Degree in Political Science and at the time of his death, he was a PhD student in the University of Yaounde 1.

PROFESSIONAL (WORK) LIFE
    Mayor Ekema was a self-made person. He started his journey by supplying sand and firewood. Later, he gained employment in the University of Buea and would later climb the ladder of success, by occupying the position of Faculty Officer in the Faculty of Education, a position he occupied till his brilliant election as Mayor of Buea in 2013. He was Board Chairman of the Buea Regional Hospital Regional Management Committee, Board Member of CAMWATER, and member of the National Decentralization Council, amongst others.

TRADITIONAL HONOURS
    The streams of awards conferred on Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge nationwide after taking over the command baton of the Buea Council in 2013, were enormous.     Traditional authorities of the South Region of Cameroon recognized the Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge on July 27th 2019, not only as a son of the land, but a notable of high honor of the South Chiefs Conference, which earned him the title “Nyamoto Kpwatolo”, translated as “The Great Warrior”.
    Before then, on October 11th, 2016, the Manyu Youth Cultural and Development Association led by its National President, Ako Julius Ndip, gave the young and dynamic Mayor the title: “The Light, the Honour of Manyu Youth.” The award according to the cultural group was motivated by the far-reaching development strides and empathy Mayor Ekema Patrick exhibited towards humanity.
    The development-driven Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge, again sometime in 2015 during the Guardian Post Newspaper awards in Azam Hotel Bamenda, alongside wife Catherine Mosoke epse Ekema, was admitted into the Northwest notables.     The Northwest Fons performed scary rituals to admit Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge into the class of notables of the North West region, cladding him and his wife in the famous regalia of the region.
    Charity they say begins at home, reasons why in his home village, Wonjoku, in Buea Subdivision, Mayor Ekema Patrick was awarded the title “Janea”, meaning “one who brings good things for his people” , for his best leadership skills and the goodies he brought to his kindred and environs.
   
AWARDS
    Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge, in the course of his leadership, received groundbreaking awards in recognition of his hard work and contribution towards the development and stability of Cameroon. Mayor Ekema emerged as best Southwest Mayor for 2018 during the maiden edition of the “Afrik Inform Awards” show on Saturday June 29th, 2019, at MONT Febe Hotel, Yaoundé.
    He was equally awarded a Special award named “Architect of Peace and Social Stability in Cameroon”.
    The award, according to the jury panel, was in recognition of his development strides in the Buea Municipality; providing assistance to educational, health, social and economic plights of the population.
    His role in pushing for a solution in the ongoing sociopolitical crisis in the Northwest and southwest regions in general and Buea in particular, catapulted the Mayor to bag home the award of “Architect of Peace and Social Stability in Cameroon”.
    In addition, on the 18th of April 2019, during the “New Year Wishes” ceremony organized by Buea Council’s staff, the Hercules Of Our Time, Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge, was significantly awarded as The Guardian Post Newspaper 2018 Man of the Year, for single-handedly staging a fearless fight against Non State Armed Groups in the Southwest Regional Capital Buea.
    The ceremony which brought together Council staff, clergy, members of the administration, Honorable Councilors, security officials, Transporters’ syndicates, economic operators, stake holders and friends of the Council, also witnessed the Award of Excellence to Mayor Ekema Patrick by staff representatives.
    The late emblematic Mayor of Buea through his hard work in ensuring peace and stability reigns in Cameroon and Buea in particular, continued to attract recognition from local, national as well as international organizations.
    Mayor Ekema Patrick was on July 17th, 2019 on the occasion of the 2018 Administrative, Management and Stores Management Account Session of the Buea Council, handed an Honorary Award (Fleche Press Award) by the Pan-African Press with headquarters in Brazzaville, Congo.
    The award as explained by Mr. Harve’ Villaro Kibong, is as a result of the mayor’s persistent fight in alleviating poverty and unemployment not leaving out his unmatched spirit of patriotism.
    For the remarkable service he rendered to reduce human suffering in various domains, Mayor Ekema Patrick amongst other personalities was awarded by the President of the Cameroon Red Cross, William Eteki Mboma in kumba.
    The late Mayor was also laureate of the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award for the Most Performant Mayor.
    Other awards including The Guardian Post Newspaper Best Mayor of the Year 2014 award, The Scoop Newspaper Best Mayor Award, the Mosaiques International award in Yaoundé, the Most Persecuted Politician of the Year Award 2015 by the Guardian Post Newspaper.