All Burnt Villages & Schools will be Rebuilt
– Says Issa Tchiroma
 |
| Issa Tchiroma |
As you are all aware, on June 20, 2018, the Prime
Minister, Head of Government personally launched the Emergency Humanitarian
Assistance Plan decided by the Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA, in
favour of the civilian population of the North-West and South-West Regions,
victims of violence and other abuses perpetrated by terrorist gangs claiming to
belong to secessionist movements in these two Regions.
I have
therefore invited you to this press conference to recall the objectives of this
important decision and to provide details on the areas of intervention and the
conditions of implementation of this assistance plan.
I have
the honour and the pleasure to be accompanied by His Excellency the Minister of
Territorial Administration, who has been appointed by the Head of State to
chair the Ad Hoc Committee tasked with coordinating the humanitarian response
to the situation in the North West and South West regions.
Excellency
Mr Minister, I wish you a warm welcome to the Ministry of Communication, on
this occasion.
Before
getting into the crux of the matter, I would like to recall that actions had
already been taken as part of national solidarity and the activities carried
out by the territorially competent administrative authorities.
With
regard to national solidarity, many displaced populations have been hosted by
family members settled in more stable cities such as Yaoundé, Douala, Bamenda,
Buea, Limbe or Bafoussam.
Other
displaced populations have also benefited from the administrative measures in
terms of reception, resettlement, feeding and distribution of essential items.
In the area of education, integration initiatives for
students initially based in crisis areas continued and were escalated in the
Littoral, West and Centre Regions throughout the 2017-2018 school year.
The
Defense and Security Forces have also carried out civil-military actions for
the benefit of the affected populations, such as the construction of drinking
water points, the administration of basic health care, the supply of school
equipment and the distribution of essential items among others.
It is
worth noting that the emergency humanitarian assistance plan decided by the
Head of State, of a higher dimension and scale, is a concrete translation of
Government’s resolve to provide adequate solutions to the actual needs of the
people affected by the violence and other abuses perpetrated by the terrorist
gangs.
As a
matter of fact, the strategic objectives of this plan are the following: to
restore a living environment conducive to the development of the communities
concerned, to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to populations in distress,
to ensure the socio-economic reintegration of individuals and communities who
are victims of violence and forced to move, to rehabilitate infrastructures
destroyed as a result of such violence, and in general to promote social
cohesion and living together.
This
emergency humanitarian assistance plan targets both internally displaced and
refugee populations, with the understanding that under humanitarian law,
displaced populations are those who, faced with a particular crisis situation,
are obliged to abandon their usual places of residence to settle elsewhere
within the national territory; whereas the refugee populations are those who,
faced with the same crisis situations, also quit their original places of
residence to rather settle outside the national territory.
The
emergency humanitarian assistance plan covers a number of areas, including
housing, agriculture, livestock, food, education, health, civil status and, in
general terms, administrative documents.
In the
area of health, the destroyed, abandoned or closed health facilities will be
rehabilitated, and awareness raising campaigns on hygiene and sanitation
measures to be observed by the populations will be conducted, in order to
reduce the risks of diseases or epidemics.
With
regard to education, the deserted schools or those that have been burned by the
terrorist bands will be rehabilitated and secured in view of a smooth start of
the 2018-2019 academic year.
As far as housing is concerned, a dual action will be
implemented for the establishment of emergency shelters for internally
displaced populations and the reconstruction of dwellings burned and ransacked
by terrorists.
As to agro-pastoral assistance, significant support will
be provided to the populations such as the provision of agricultural inputs and
the re-stoking of herds that were looted by terrorists during their raids and
other hostages.
To
ensure the protection of vulnerable groups, awareness campaigns against
gender-based violence, early and forced marriages, early pregnancies, the
enrolment of youths in armed groups and their training in crime and the
trivialization of death and drug consumption will be carried out.
Psycho-social
assistance will also be systematically provided to victims.
As part
of this plan, some senior officials will pay assistance and comfort visits to
populations who found refuge in Nigeria.
The
budget of the implementation of the emergency humanitarian assistance plan
decided by the Head of State is estimated at CFAF 12 716 500 000 (twelve
billion seven hundred and sixteen million five hundred thousand).
All
these activities will be preceded by field trips to the populations directly
concerned and community leaders, to enable them to understand both the content
and the merits of this assistance program and take ownership of it.
The
implementation of activities under the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Plan
will be carried out through a mixed team of national institutional
stakeholders, civil society organizations and bilateral and multilateral
partners.
We
should already be happy with the favorable response of the populations and
national social groups to this initiative of the President of the Republic, His
Excellency Paul BIYA, who demonstrates, if that were still necessary, how his
heart goes out to his compatriots who are enduring torments and sufferings
because of the extremism and obscurantism of some misguided people, though
marginal.
The Head
of State is thus giving a strong indication of his determination to bring the
situation back to normal, to ensure the well-being of his fellow citizens and
to promote the ideals of solidarity, peace and social cohesion that are the
cardinal values of our nation.
On
behalf of the Government, I would also like to acknowledge the enthusiasm shown
by our bilateral and multilateral partners through their multifaceted support
for the effective implementation of this emergency humanitarian assistance plan
in the North West and South Regions.
To you,
Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished Journalists, I urge you to accompany this
vast movement in the sense of a civic commitment and solidarity with our
compatriots, whoever and wherever they may be, when it comes to protecting and
upholding the fundamental values of the Nation.
Thank
you for your kind attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment