Briefs from NW as at April 20, 2017 with #WPFD2017



UNHRCD to stage World Press Freedom Day event in Limbe


The United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa in partnership with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO will on the 3rd of May, 2017 organise a round table conference in Limbe South West Region.
The event to assemble invited English Speaking Journalists in Limbe will take place with the theme: Freedom of information, the right to know.
Amongst the speakers will be Jean Roland Onana of UNESCO who is expected to present a paper on the theme of the 2017 World Press Freedom Day and the Situation of journalists around the world and Fonyuy Kiven T. Frankline on Freedom of information, the right to know.
A panel discussion on how to overcome challenges to media freedom will characterize the second half of the day with very meaning media professionals amongst them George Ngwane, Tarhyang Tabe, Epie Ngome Victor, Zachee Nzoh Ngandemou; Kwi Bangsi.
This year’s event comes at the time when journalists in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon have been forced to go without internet for over three months reason why in Bamenda, the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalist CAMASEJ NW chapter will lead an event dedicated to reflecting on journalism without the internet and collection of funds for journalists in detention across Cameroon. The Bamenda event according to Ngong Song Jean Marie CAMASEJ NW chapter Secretary General will start with an ecumenical service, fund raising for detained journalists and later paper presentations on the challenges facing journalism practice in Bamenda and the North West Region as a whole.
World Press Freedom Day is observed internationally every May 3, with the intention to bring to the fore the challenges facing journalists around the world in particular situations as relates to freedom and access to information.
The North West and South West regions will be observing this year’s World Press Freedom Day with fresh memories of the arrest of Tim Finnian Publisher- Editor of the Life Time Newspaper based in the North West, Tilarious Atia Buea CAMASEJ chapter President and reporter with the Sun, Amos Afung The Guardian Post Southwest and littoral bureau chief amongst others who have been caught in the “cross fire” as they discharge their duties.
The recent closure and re-opening of Radio Hot Cocoa Bamenda and the indefinite suspension of some staff from broadcasting just like the closure of Jakiri community radio and recent suspensions slammed on newspapers and journalists plus constant treats of bans and suspensions will also remain vivid in the minds of pressmen and women as they observe the day. 

2011 25000 recruitment of young graduates

Assistant Lecturers petition government for non-posting

Representatives of some candidates pre-selected to be posted into state universities across Cameroon within the 2011 recruitment of 25000 young unemployed graduates into the public service within the 2011 fiscal year have remained restless after what they describe as the delay and refusal to effect their posting after their recruitment by the Ministry of Higher Education.
The several written complains with some dating back to 2012 which the guardian post stumbled on copies addressed to different stakeholders amongst them The President of the Republic, The Prime Minister and Head of Government, The minister of Higher Education, The Secretary General in the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms, The Chairperson of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) and The Chairperson of the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms,  the disgruntled lecturers say their non-posting is “not only causing unemployment distress to deserving class of scholarly Cameroonian youths and their families, but also the deleterious effect of inefficiency and less productivity in our university in particular and economy in general.”
In the different complaints, the disappointed lecturers are even proposing to be posted to other ministries where their services could be useful if the Ministry of Higher Education where they were originally employed does not need their services.
The protesting lecturers have lamented over the ill treatment of “their complete files submitted at the inspection service of the Ministry of Higher Education within the stated time frame and had receipts of depositions of complete documents issued them.” In what looks like an accusation for government disrespect of constitutional provisions like justice and equity, the assistant lecturers note that “some candidates shortlisted in the various categories in the list of pre-selected assistant lecturers have already been poste to various state universities.” This in some way promotes “nepotism, favouritism and all other aspects of corruption and discrimination which the constitution condemns. 
The close to 25 signatories are also worried about the constant talk by various Vice Chancellors and Rectors of State universities of great need for university academic staff yet their case remain meaningless to everyone.
At near bended knees, the Assistant lecturers say they are still prepared to work relentlessly and selflessly once posted in assisting in the transformation of Cameroon into an Emerging Economy by the year 2035. 




Bafut diaspora to boast Council development efforts

Councilors of the Bafut Council have endorsed a proposal by the Mayor of the Council to receive a caterpillar within the Public Private Partnership PPP intended to boast the development efforts of the Municipality. The deliberation which came with six others was adopted during the 2016 management and administrative account session of the council Thursday April 20, 2017. Substantiating the move, Mayor Langsi Abel Ngwasoh explained that the caterpillar gift is from the Bafut community in the United States of America culturally known as Manjong has decided to offer the equipment within the PPP for the development of the municipality. According to the Mayor, proceeds from the equipment will be shared between the council and the Manjong USA and when the council is no longer in need it will be returned to the primary owner.
The councilors during the session also adopted the management accounts of the council which gave an income realization rate of 62%. According to the Municipal Treasurer of the Council Nche Fru Abongwa the low realization was due to the vacuum created by the run-away former treasurer of the council Taka Babilla who escaped with over FCFA 17M. This did not only cost the council some liquidity but also the inability to collect revenue due to the closure of the Council treasury for the moment. The banning of sand trucks from within the municipality also reduced revenue which came in as sand exploitation fees and finally the Municipal treasurer also noted that not for the recent and ongoing socio political crisis which prevented tax drive, revenue would have been better. Talking to The Guardian Post Mayor Langsi noted that he is considering 2016 poor because previous years have always gone beyond that recording well over 80% revenue collection. 
With over FCFA 15M being carried forward to 2017, the Mayor hopes to realize several projects amongst them payment of debts, continuation of work in the municipal stadium, construction of water points in Njimbee, Nforya, Mundum amongst others.
Taking turns, the Member of Parliament for Bafut-Tubah Hon Fusi Wilfred and the DO for Bafut Jude Ebong Ewane praised the councilors for their commitment in working for the development of the municipality. While the MP used the session to drive home his position on the current crisis facing Cameroon from the English speaking region. Like SDF, Hon Fusi maintained that take-off for a solution on the crisis is the reconnection of the internet, release of detained Anglophones and demilitarization of the English speaking regions. The DO on his part will insist on the return to school pupils who have been off since November last year. According to the local administrator, education remains a condition cine-quanun for the development of every community and Bafut cannot afford to be kept backward on development issues because of lack of education.


Basic Education inspector reduce school to once a week


The basic education inspector for Bafut sub division has announced the creation of study clusters in the Subdivision as a means to manage the current school boycott crisis ongoing across the English Speaking regions of Cameroon.
Speaking in Bafut recently, the Inspector told Councilors of the Bafut Council and the DO of Bafut that he has created close to ten clusters intended to coach pupils ahead of the Common Entrance and the First School Leaving Certificate exams expected in two months. The clusters the inspector explained group’s pupils within a particular area belonging to different schools for coaching every Saturday.
The inspector who claims to have visited all the clusters told the assembly on the DO’s request that teachers have been attending without pupils who he added are being threatened.
The declaration comes just a few days after a school was attacked on reopening day Monday April 17, 2017. Though there are disagreeing reports as to the number of youths who attacked the school with the Bafut DO’s Office talking of 20 and the community talking of two, the much we gathered was that, after the attack, the youths made away with the flag which later emerged at the palace of the chief who claims to have ordered that the flag be taken bag to school.
The DO Jude Mbong noted educational issues are very close to his heart and so no one should tamper with the education of future Cameroonians. He notes that while protesting it is important to look at the realities about the protest and its possible successes. According to the DO, the civil disobedience being witnessed has gone for too long and with the declarations of the Head of State people should know what is achievable and what is not. Consequently people should stop the boycott of schools and return to normalcy within the shortest possible time.  


Yaounde Connection stifles development in Bafut

Some individuals have been castigated believed to have connection with authorities in the nation’s capital for depriving poor and underprivileged people in Njibujang Bafut Sub Division from the electrification of their homes. According to what the Guardian Post gathered during the April 20, 2017 Administrative accounts, the electrification of Njibujang which is a council project has met with resistance from some persons in the said community. On the request of the Divisional Officer DO for Bafut Jude Mbong Ewane on clarifications on the matter as relates the supply of electric current on the installed lines, the Councilor for the area Neba Albert Kare detailed that the delay has been caused by some elites who claimed that they followed up the project in Yaounde. The councilor further detailed that some FCFA 3M was earlier contributed by the community intended to carry out the electrification of Njibujang and some people did not contribute. With the coming of the new project by the Bafut Council with no connection to the earlier collections, tongues are now wagging as to the where about of the said FCFA 3M as the collectors have challenged the choices made by the council as to who gets a free meter board which falls within the project.
But according to the Mayor of Bafut Langsi Abel Ngwasoh the project provided possibility for very poor homes in the community to be given meter boards. He regretted that after the councilor took off time to identify these far below average income earners, the said community members reportedly removed the meter demanding these homes pay their own levies. Mayor Langsi who will qualify the move as extortion, denounced the action calling on the situation to be immediately redressed adding that “there is nobody who can say that he had to follow up. I think that the state sent the credits to us in good fate and if people did whatever thing they did somewhere let them go and ask for their money there. It is not here (Bafut) that they have to come and trouble the local villagers to whom we gave meters free of charge to use their electricity and some people went around removing those meters. It is a very deplorable situation.” He regretted that “the project has been realized but the community is not yet using it because of the fact that the line has not been energized by ENEO. We have made frantic efforts to see that this is regularized but as of now the situation is still at a stalemate. We don’t know what to do for that particular line to be energized.”
The DO who acknowledged haven heard a lot of complains on the project requested the councilor to meet him for a better understanding of the situation. The councilor for the area who will also note that according to government services the non-supply of electricity to the area is delayed by minutes in the hands of a man not known him promised to meet the DO for a better appraisal of the situation.

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