Both members of parliament (MPs)
of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM and their opposition
colleagues, are at variance at the National Assembly. This, over the
composition of a commission of inquiry proposed by the Social Democratic Front.
According to Hon Joseph Banadzem, SDF Chief whip, his party has requested the
creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry following the outcome of
Marafa Hamidou Yaya’s fourth letter to Cameroonians. Marafa’s revelations hing
on some 32 billion FCFA allegedly siphoned by the then Minister of Transport.
In 1995, it was Issa Tchiroma
Bakari, the present Minister of Communication, who was Miniser of Transport. In
Marafa’s fourth letter, he infers how Issa Tchiroma, Joseph Belibi and Louis
Paul Motaze (present secretary general at the prime minister’s office),
connived with South Africans to pocket billions of the taxpayer’s money.
In his fourth letter, Marafa
faulted the crash B.737 (the Nyong) in Douala,
which resulted in the death of 71 persons on negligence on the part of some
officials. Marafa in his letter, further noted that on December 3, 1995, the
Boeing immatriculated 737-200 crashed and in 1997, another plane (MT Cameroon
747-200), developed mechanical problems in Paris. He said the insurance fee of $65
million earlier paid to SAA, was never reimbursed to CAMAIR. Marafa further
pinpoints that he refused to collaborate with Issa Tchiroma in respect of his
two friends, who died in the crash of December 2, 1995.
SDF has been interested in how
the 32 billion FCFA, destined to compensate the families of the 71 victims was
paid out. Marafa indicated that Tchiroma allegedly used only 100 million FCFA
of the 32 billion FCFA.
With the issue tabled before parliament, many are expecting
an outcome, akin to that of Mounchipou Seydou, former minister of Post and
Telecommunication. Mounchipou is presently at Kondengui, thanks to the outcome
of a parliamentary commission of inquiry.
When Chronicle phoned the CPDM MP for the
Widikum-Ngie-Njikwa constituency last Saturday, he answered at Kendem-Widikum.
He said being out of Yaounde,
he was not privy to commend on the issue.
Hon Emmanuel Banmi, CPDM MP for Balikumbat-Ngoketunjia told
Chronicle that he only learnt about the draft which he is yet to see. He said
as MPs, the law gives them rights to question cases of doubts. He said even if
the SDF MPs want a commission of inquiry to be created, it remains a process.
Hon Banmi said the bureau of the assembly is left to decide on such.
Hon Kwei Andrew CPDM MP for Oku, the prime minister’s
constituency told Chronicle that he only learnt about the SDF position which is
yet to be made official. He said it is only the chairman’s conference to
endorse what SDF has tabled, then transmitted
to the plenary, that it can
become attainable. He concluded that only the chairman’s conference an decide,
moreso as sometimes ago it also settled on a similar memo on the Mounchipou saga
(affair a suivre..).
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