Intrigues, rivalry, egoism, violation of Presidential texts:

Biya’s intervention needed to save CPDM?

CPDM Chairman, Paul Biya: 

will he watch his party implode

The ongoing renewal of basic organs of the governing party is rocked by rivalry and intrigues amongst the party cadres, deep-seated suspicion between the latter and the grassroots militants, hoarding of party cards and, worse still, inadequate finances to foot the bills of some of the activities

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde

For over three weeks now, members of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) at home and abroad are engaged in the renewal of the basic organs of the party. Everything seems to be going on well at the surface level; however, reports from the field indicate that the exercise is bedeviled by rivalry and intrigues amongst the party cadres, deep suspicion between the latter and the grassroots militants and, worse still, insufficiency of the means to finance some of the activities.

                True it is that delegations of party elite have been deployed to different parts of the country and abroad to oversee the renewal exercise, with each delegation having a head. Nevertheless, The Median has learned, and reliably so, that all is not well with members of many of these delegations. There is a war of nerves and intrigues amongst them as each is trying to claim a totality of knowledge of the workings of the party over the other, or seek to reap whatever benefit may be available at the expense of the other. There is thus rivalry and bad blood that is tearing the elite asunder, contrary to the prescriptions of the party chairman, Paul Biya and even the Secretary-General of the Central Committee, Jean Kuete.

                Current is also reported not to be flowing normally between the said elite and the grassroots of the party. For one thing, the latter blame the former for not doing much at their level to ensure that party activities run smoothly. For another, they suspect the elite of keeping most of “the good things from Yaounde” for themselves while thriving in using words to hoodwink them.

In the upper Great Soppo sub-section, for instance, the militants have questioned why the sub-section has never held a conference since the last renewal of the basic organs of the party. “They have waited for all these years to come and deceive us again,” a visibly angry grassroots militant of this sub-section told The Median in Buea last week.

                For their part, the elite are accusing the grassroots supporters of not being “true members” of the party. They base their accusation on the fact that the latter have no membership cards as well as no authentic documents to show that they have been supporting the party for long. “What you see all over the place is fake documents. How would we allow them to vie for posts of responsibility in the CPDM? Who says they are not disguised members of the opposition?” a cadre of the party lamented.

                Another worrying issue about the grassroots supporters, The Median learned, is the fact that they have not been used to paying their contributions to the party. We were told that many of them have gone for decades without doing so and this was because the party has almost always been financed directly or indirectly from the state treasury.

                “Grassroots militants were hardly expected to pay any dues to the party or brandish party cards. What was expected of them was just to put on the party fabric and fuel the ranks during party events. The CPDM has almost always been entirely sponsored using state funds. Ministers, General Managers of State Corporations used to dip their hands into their official coffers to raise money for the party. But ever since the Inonis, the Ondo Ndongs, the Abah Abahs, the Olanguenas, the Fornjindams and co. did so and were sent to prison, such VIP members are now increasingly reticent to finance the party, even though most if not all of their names still feature among the list of Finance Committee members of the Central Committee. I hope the party would not grind to a halt when these money bags will stand firm and refuse to finance it from their official coffers,” a senior member of the party from the South West who asked not to be named said to The Median, noting that even business magnates like Fotso Victor and Kadji Deffosso who also financed the party are no longer enthusiastic to do so, after some of their sons were sent to jail for corruption and their businesses closed.

                And what is worse, the possession of party cards by militants which is supposed to be a sine qua non condition for eligibility to run for office and to vote has become a tricky issue in most sub sections and sections of the party. There are cries in many parts of the country that some party barons have confiscated the cards sent from the central committee and are waiting to distribute them at the last minute and only to militants who are loyal to them. Others have spent their personal money to acquire chunks of party cards to also share out to their followers in the eleventh hour to the elections. The reason for this is simple: just to block financially handicapped candidates from ever occupying any elective offices.

                With this litany of problems rocking the various sections and sub-sections of the CPDM especially at this time when there was supposed to be perfect peace, tranquility and harmony, many observers fear that Paul Biya’s party is headed slowly but surely for a violent collapse from within.