Sharing of National Cake:

Meme Division 27 Years without a Minister

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Meme’s last minister, Benjamin Itoe,
 left government 27 years ago

Many thought the anger and outrage expressed by sons and daughters of Meme Division after they were sidelined in the March 2, 2018 cabinet shakeup by the Head of State, Paul Biya would have been corrected in the next cabinet reshuffle especially following the risk that Meme politicians took to organize campaigns for the re-election of their party chairman in the just ended October 7 presidential polls.

Surprisingly, President Paul Biya in his 4 January 2019 cabinet shakeup completely forgot Meme Division in the cold leaving sons and daughters of the division licking their political wounds.

                The non-appointment of a Meme son or daughter in Biya’s new old government of great opportunities has further aggravated the anger and frustration of Meme elites. It has gone down the annals as the 27th year that Meme Division is without a Minister and/or a Secretary of State.

                Worth noting is the fact that the last Meme son to serve as a Minister was Benjamin Mutanga Itoe who was sacked in 1992. The recent cabinet shakeup therefore leaves only Meme Division in the whole of the Southwest Region without a Minister or a Secretary of State.

               

Political Infighting, SDF Dominance

                The continuous abandonment of Meme by Biya has been seen by many as a consequence of the political witch-hunting that has over the years characterized the political landscape in the Division. To these political watchers, until Meme politicians decide to unite as one and shun their self-seeking tendencies characterized by backbiting, witch-hunting etc nothing good will come to the Division from the Yaoundé regime. 

                Another school of thought believes that Meme Division is been punished by the Head of State following the dominance of the opposition SDF party in the last municipal and legislative elections. It should be recalled here that in 2013, the SDF party swept over the Kumba I, II and III councils and the parliamentary seat for Kumba Urban constituency from the CPDM. The SDF party also posed serious threats on the CPDM in Mbonge.

                It is with such political domination in Kumba Urban where all the three Sub-Divisional councils are run by the SDF that many believe nothing suitable can be given Meme for allowing such to happen.  This group of political spectators belief the CPDM militants will have to work harder and turn the tides of things in the upcoming legislative and municipal elections in order to once more belong to the good books of President Paul Biya.