Yang's Ups & Downs At The Star Building

Philemon Yang was appointed Prime Minister and Head of Government on June 30, 2009.  Thus he clocked 3 years at the Star Building on June 30, 2012. As Prime Minister and Head of Government, President Paul Biya renewed confidence in him on December 9, 2011 when he was maintained as PM in the cabinet shake-up. Being Prime Minister in Cameroon is not a given, as some Ministers of State and even ministers that claim to have personal relationship with the Head of State often undermine the powers of the PM. Equally, the task of Head of Government is arduous as one has to oversee the performances of other ministers that may not have the same working zeal or professional prowess like the PM. Consequently it can generate some friction and compromise the smooth functioning of the government. Philemon Yang has been in the Star Building for three years. It has not all been roses, but it has not equally been anything near chaotic. But what has been Philemon Yang’s billboard for the past three years as Prime Minister?

President Paul Biya who served in government at a very young age was appointed Prime Minister in 1975, a post he held until he was catapulted to the helm of the state as President of the Republic in 1982. This implies that Paul Biya understands the job of a PM and understands the trappings one has to posses before being appointed Prime Minister. Since taking reins of power in 1982, Paul Biya has ruled with 8 Prime Ministers. Some have had very short stays at the Star Building while some nearly elected permanent residence there. This is due to the fact that every government is a project and every appointed Prime Minister has a task to accomplish. Bello Bouba served as PM between 1982 and 1983 to douse the fire of transition between Paul Biya and Amadou Ahidjo, so too was Ayang Luc who stayed in the star Building for less than a year between 1983 and 1984. In 1984 President Paul Biya abolished the post of Prime Minister.

The post of PM was reinstated in 1991 at the wake of political agitations that accompanied the advent of multiparty politics in Cameroon. Sadou Hayatou was appointed Prime Minister with sole mission being to calm down the opposition and strike a political consensus for imminent elections. When he succeeded in his mission by shelving the much-talked-of Sovereign National Conference and held in its place the Tripartite talks that led to the 1992 elections, he was put aside and Simon Achidi Achu was appointed with political mission being to appease the nation. He was shown the exit door in 1996 after he had completed his own assignment as Prime Minister. Cameroon needed an economic reformation after the economic crises that hit the country in 1986 and Peter Mafany Musonge who was GM of CDC was called in as PM to salvage the economy of Cameroon. It took him close to 8 years to do that job and his brother Ephraim Inoni was appointed in 2004 to concretize the economic results of Peter Mafany Musonge.

Along the line, President Paul Biya discovered that bureaucratic practices and administrative red tape were blocking the economic performance of Cameroon. He decided to appoint a technocrat in the person of Philemon Yang on June 30, 2009 to the post of Prime Minister, Head of Government. Many people who knew Philemon Yang as a diplomat who had spent most of his time, close to 20 years out of Cameroon thought he was not going to be equal to the task, given that the political climate in Cameroon required somebody who had been on the field and mastered the ups and downs of the field. Those who had this erroneous thinking then have all revised their notes today because PM Philemon Yang has performed far above expectation. He has redeemed the lost glory of Cameroon in the international scene by his exemplary performance as a Prime Minister.

Yang’s Billboard At Star Building

When Philemon Yang took the reins of power as Prime Minister, workers at the Star Building were panic stricken, thinking that he was going to act as his predecessors by sacking those who working there to replace them with his kinsmen. This smacked of tribalism, something that is anathema to Philemon Yang. It did not come to pass because Philemon Yang is not only a believer in continuity in administration but a fervent believer in merit as the only prerequisite for appointment.  The first salvo fired by PM Yang was that of punctuality. He instituted punctuality in all the ministries where presence registers were instituted and gates locked up after 8 am. He embarked on surprise visits to most ministries and the laziness that had griped the public service was knocked out. In fact Prime Minister Philemon Yang combated inertia in government services and even in the treatment of files in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. Equally Philemon Yang initiated the issue of monthly ministerial conferences where ministers gave the balance sheet of their activities. This attitude has greatly improved on government performance since a sense of work ethic has been instituted by Yang who himself is a workaholic and follow such a work ethic. He decided to rely on the evaluation of periodic road maps of ministers and correcting where and when necessary. He equally mitigated the effects of long tender procedures in the construction of roads as he accepted mutual agreement in that domain. This was because roads were awarded through a cumbersome tender procedure and before the contractors started the work the rains will crop in and destroy the constructed road.

PM Philemon Yang has been the only PM noted for his sincerity and integrity in the defense of government economic programme in parliament and respond to questions put to him by the people’s representative with confidence and assurance. He has equally represented Cameroon and the Head of State in foreign missions with a lot of success. Doing business in Cameroon has improved due to the sincerity of the government under Philemon Yang that has worked very hard to eradicate the obstacles that hindered foreign investment. Today foreign investors are clamoring to invest in Cameroon thanks to the level grounds provided by Philemon Yang’s government.

The Bamenda Ring Road

The Bamenda ring road over the years became a political campaign slogan for most politicians. Subsequent Prime Ministers used it as a campaign tool and even PM Achidi Achu from the North West Region unwittingly said he was the ring road. Thus promises to tar the ring road became something politicians used in order to woo the North West electorate, yet nothing concrete was done about the road. PM Philemon Yang though campaign manager of President Paul Biya did not use the tarring of the ring road as a bait for voters.  He said the ring road was a priority project by government and was going to be tarred. What is important today is that the ring road is being tarred and it is being alleged that PM Philemon Yang has already secured funds for another stretch of the ring road to be constructed. Thus instead of shouting on roof tops about the ring road, PM Yang remains silent but makes sure it is being tarred. His tenure in the Star Building has been very beneficial to the North West Region as it is under his reign that the Head of State visited the North West Region to preside over the 50th anniversary of the Cameroon Armed Forces. There is no gainsaying that the North West benefited a lot from that visit as the announcement of the creation of the Bamenda University and the Bamenda Referral hospital were announced during that visit.

PM Yang And North West Politics

A new political impetus gripped the North West Region after PM Yang’s appointment. As Deputy Secretary General at the Presidency prior to his appointment as PM, Philemon Yang brought a new dynamism in North West politics which consisted in bringing together CPDM bigwigs to brainstorm and chart a way forward for political conquest.  This new approach yielded fruits for the CPDM as 9 parliamentary seats were won alongside 18 councils. This is simply because Philemon Yang believes in the politics of social inclusion and development. And the NW for the first time since the advent of multiparty politics gave President Paul Biya a comfortable score during the last Presidential election, thanks to the campaign funding mechanism initiated by Philemon Yang.