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Sunday, December 2, 2012

“Paul Biya’s Balance Sheet is Overwhelmingly Impressive” - Atanga Nji Paul

You are a minister and at the same time Mezam I section president, what is your assessment of Biya’s 30 years in office?
On the whole, it’s an overwhelmingly impressive balance sheet and the figures speak for themselves. You cannot undermine critical achievements like peace, stability and national unity which has not only been preserved in 30 years but even reinforced. Major state equilibriums have been respected and the country is well governed. Freedom of expression and opinion are guaranteed. The democratic process is irreversible. Good governance is assured with the merciless fight by the Head of State against corruption and mismanagement.
Major structural projects are ongoing: Memve éle, Lom Pangar, Mekin, the Kribi deep sea water project without forgetting the emphasis on agriculture, education, and health for all by President Paul Biya. In short, the high points of the New Deal are eloquent and nobody of good faith can say the contrary.

Opposition parties rather talk of a mitigated or even negative balance sheet?
They have a right to their opinion even as it does not reflect reality. If today Cameroon is respected and listened to, it is because President Biya is a statesman of international standard, a visionary with a high sense of anticipation and nobody can deny it. The President governs for all and with all. He has allowed every Cameroonian to be the master of his destiny. Of course, in 1983, the Head of State clearly stated that the job of nation building was open to all Cameroonians. Nobody is excluded and nobody should be excluded. Thirty years after the New Deal doctrine of the Head of State is more and more a reality and we rather have to be satisfied.

This is all CPDM talk.
I talk as an objective and intellectually honest Cameroonian but still more, as a true CPDM militant who is happy with the overwhelmingly positive balance sheet of the 30 years of the New Deal.

You simply give the impression that all is well in Cameroon. It’s a strange curiosity.
You are the one that says so. I want to recall to you that it is the Head of State himself who is the first Cameroonian to recognize the shortcomings of his government. President Paul Biya reminds us each time that we should not lie on our laurels. It is the President who usually castigates inertia, administrative complications, corruption and chastises meetings, seminars and workshops that produce no results. So, President Paul Biya is an inspired and enlightened leader who knows when to stand back and make assessment of his government. You can see from his initiative of road maps and the six months assessment period. So, you see that the opposition has no reason to criticize government’s action since the Head of State does so every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month and every year. The Head of State is so attentive to the smooth running of state affairs and I am well placed to let you know. If not, he would not be arresting ministers at midnight, 2 o’clock or 5 o’clock in the morning just to have a grasp of the evolution of certain dossiers.

It was all celebration and feasting in Bamenda last November 6, what was the key message of the section president?
Have confidence in Paul Biya, a Head of State who says what he does and does not say what he cannot do. No political overtones in his manner of doing things, not even the mincing of words. The Head of State lives for Cameroon, works for Cameroon and is only preoccupied with the wellbeing of Cameroonians. Surely, those who do not know how a state functions and those who play with Cameroon say and promise anything.
Cameroon is not a thing to joke with. And like the Head of State himself said it, nobody should play with Cameroon. Anybody can be head of state anywhere but not just anybody can be head of state in Cameroon. You must be an exceptional and divinely inspired individual to govern Cameroon. Do not forget, Cameroon has 360 ethnic groups with varied and sometimes extremely opposed cultures. Governing Cameroon is an immense task, reason why it is “Africa-in-miniature”. All the merits come back to Paul Biya who has piloted the ship of state since 1982 with tact, method, bravery, inspiration and wisdom. He deserves the support of all Cameroonians both at home and abroad. The results of the last October 9, 2011 presidential elections are proof positive that the head of state enjoys the unconditional support of his citizens.
This is the message that I had for CPDM militants in Bamenda who in return requested that I transmit to the Head of State that the sky is the limit to their unconditional support and political engagement to President Paul Biya.

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