CAMAIRCO GM Fired; Its Board Chairman Survives!

By Musa Isa

Dutch born Boertien Matthys Johannes replaces Alex Van Elk as General Manager of the Cameroon Airlines Corporation, CAMAIRCO. President Paul Biya took cognizance of resolution No.001/12/2012 of an extraordinary session of the Board of Directors of CAMAIRCO last December 12, 2012. Surprisingly, unlike what happened to the Ports Authority, wherein the Board Chairman and the General Manager were fired mid last year, it was less so with CAMAIRCO.

Chronicle however learnt that the December 21, 2012 CAMAIRCO board meeting was staged in the absence of its Board Chairman, Prime Minister Philemon Yang. Many have been questioning why Yang too had not been axed, given that the outgone Van Hetz was recruited by him. It is even alleged that his monthly salary of over 22 million FCFA had become a scandal.

CAMAIRCO has been in crisis since its inception. It has been operating on a deficit. Allegations are rife that two new planes which the corporation announced to have acquired from the Chinese was just a hoax. Chronicle learnt that they had not even been put into use. Worse still, the corporation was just at the brink of collapse with almost all its operations unfunctional.

Quizzed in parliament about the downward trend of the activities of the corporation, PM Yang (its board chairman) gave a plausible progress of the corporation’s activities. Yang said CAMAIRCO be given time to function before it is evaluated.

Commentators hold that having just returned from a sick leave, Biya could not just aggravate Yang’s situation. Moreso, to have replaced him as Board Chairman would give him indications that his days at the Star Building were numbered.

Biya Snobs Yang At Unity Palace

By Yussuf Sariki

The presence of Prime Minister Philemon Yang at the Unity Palace last January 3, 2013, during the presentation of New Year wishes to Head of State was an indication. This placed a halt to speculations that the PM had absconded; that Yang was very sick and was awaiting to be declared incapacitated. However, Yang, looking frail and trimmed-down, walked majestically to shake hands with the president. Yet, this was not enough.

At occasions of the presentation of New Year wishes, it takes two formats: individual handshakes and group chats with the Head of State. Immediately Biya wrapped-up phase I handshakes, he scudded into having a chat with his key collaborators.

Biya hobnobbed with Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, the House Speaker, Generals, then avoided Yang, who stood expecting a chat with Biya. The move had since been seen as telling. Biya shared pleasantries with Peter Mafany Musonge (Ex PM and Grand Chancellor of the National Order), Ni John Fru Ndi, SDF National Chairman with Jean Jacques Ekindi before Alexis Dipanda Mouelle. Then he left the scene.

Why did Biya not concert with Yang at the Unity Palace? Was it not just prudent that after convalescing, he could have barely asked his PM how he now felt? Many questions have been raised.

A presidential insider however counseled Chronicle that Yang may not be in the good books of Biya again. Accordingly, Yang had been messed up in the CONAC report. Worse still, his management of CAMAIRCO had raised many doubts about he being qualified as “Mr. Clean”. Proof to this, Chronicle was told that on same day Biya shook hands with Yang, he fired Alex Van Elk as CAMAIRCO GM, though Yang survived as Board Chairman.

It is common knowledge that once Biya wants to replace a PM, he avoids any direct contact with him. When Chief Ephraim Inoni was to be fired, Biya introduced his wife, Chantal Biya to sit beside him during the May 20 parade in Yaounde. Inoni could not communicate directly with him.

Commentators hold that Yang’s days at the Star Building are numbered, following interpretations of last week’s new year wishes ceremony at the Unity Palace. North Westerners are awaiting Yang when he must have been flushed out, to tell them what he did to them while as PM. (Affaire a suivre…)

Did Biya Urge Fru Ndi To Become A Senator?

By Musa Isa

President Paul Biya and the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF leader, Ni John Fru Ndi have met for the 5^th time within 2 years. This was last January 3, 2013 at the Unity Palace. Fru Ndi, whom Chronicle learnt, hurriedly left Bamenda for Yaounde to present New Year wishes to Biya, carried with him an agenda. With the announced staging of senate elections early this year, speculations have been that the 74 years old SDF boss, may just want to become a senator. Could this have been one of the issues which President Biya shared with him, when they hobnobbed?

Worthy to note, that Biya assured North West fons that he would ensure that some of them become senators. This was while he received them in December 2010 in Bamenda. By law, the Head of State appoints 30 senators, 3 from each region, while 70 are elected.

Fru Ndi and Biya hobnobbed for nearly 7 minutes at the Unity Palace. Jean Jacques Ekindi of Mouvement Progressive commentators hold, merely exploited Fru Ndi’s presence to score points. Yet, the fulcrum of the New Year wishes presentation fell on Biya in a chat with Fru Ndi.

It is believed that having been recently cordial with the regime, Biya urged Fru Ndi to become a senator. This, to thwart complaints from the SDF Chairman that as leading opposition party leader, he is supposed to be granted a status. This has been Fru Ndi’s outcry, which the CPDM hold that the privileges which Fru Ndi would have had are instead reaped by the SDF parliamentary group leader.

A presidential source, hinted Chronicle that Biya had since expressed need for Fru Ndi to become senator. It is believed that Fru Ndi too has been pampering Biya so that the conditions to get into senate should not be stiff as is being indicated.

With senate elections therefore signaled to hold before the municipal and legislative, there has been a nuance. Shortly after chatting with Biya, CRTV’s George Ewane quizzed Fru Ndi to know what actually they were discussing.

 

Full Text of Biya-Fru Ndi Discussion

George Ewane: You are here at the Unity Palace. We saw you talk with the President of the Republic for long. Can you share with us Cameroonians what are some of the things you discussed with the Head of State?

Fru Ndi: I told the Head of State that I have not been very happy with the couple of things happening in the country. That he wants to come up with senatorial elections now, which to me will not be very fair for the Cameroonian people because he would be conducting the senate elections on the council that was elected under ONEL.

ONEL condemned those elections that there were not free and fair/transparent. It is because of that, that ELECAM came in.

ELECAM has conducted just one election: the presidential. They should now continue and not to jump back and take an election exercise that was conducted by ONEL to have senatorial elections. It would not be representative; it would not be fair.

 

New Year Wishes In NW! Will Gov. Lele Lafrique Follow Abakar Ahamat’s Footsteps?

By Tetuh Mbah

Adolph Lele Lafrique, governor of the North West region may receive his first baptism of fire this January. Many have been wondering whether, like his predecessor, he would avoid the presentation of New Year wishes to him. Abakar Ahamat had been criticized for belittling the Head of State who received New Year wishes from his peers. Until he left for Ngaoundere in same capacity, New Year wishes were not presented in North West.

Some of the bad habits of Governor Abakar a Moslem like the banning of prayers, had since been gnawed by Governor Lele Lafrique. Expectations are high, to see whether the month of January would expire, without New Year wishes presented to Governor Lele.

This is an occasion for stake-holders to showcase their prowess, hobnob with the Chief executive and share pleasantries with others. It began at the unity palace last January 3, 2013, extended to the national assembly. The Prime Minister is expected to relay; then his ministers, governor…

Presentation of New Year wishes create opportunities to many. It even ensures a leveler for the chief executive to meet his peers. Such occasions are rare; reason why most officials have handshakes with the Head of State just at such occasions.

Following Abakar’s embargo in NW, other services could not go ahead to present New Year wishes to their boss. North West region had thus been eclipsed by a social phenomenon, which even the presidency lays great emphasis to.

Abakar’s predecessor, Koumpa Isa had fun at one of such events. When he was introduced to the Short People Association, the then North West Governor laughed out for the type of persons he saw parading as members of the association.

Expectations are high that Lele Lafrique would not pulsate to the dictum that administration is continuous, to outlaw the presentation of New Year wishes to him.

Dr. Fru Introduces Holistic Medication This 2013

The Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the Dr. Fru Garden of Eden International Healing and Research Foundation, Wonyia Mavio Buea, Dr. Fru, will later this year, 2013, roll out a big surprise to Cameroonians and others beyond the country in the domain of modern medicine.

In an exclusive interview with Chronicle recently, Dr. Fru disclosed that this year 2013, he will release a holistic medicine for the population the world over. He said he will come out with more compound medications which will send more scientists back to school since they keep asking why a single drug treats several diseases.

According to Dr. Fru, his research foundation is working on a technology wherein a single drug would handle many illnesses similar to a drug like TRY-ME which has no limitation. “We have more than 200 medications that we have discovered. We are working towards reducing these to about 40 solid different medications that would serve diverse diseases for our patients. Then we make them cheaper and more affordable”. He disclosed that this month (January) and February 2013, there would be a promotion for the big cartoons of TRY-ME because the promotion will be for about 2 months to help the entire society. He encouraged the masses to gain access to the miraculous drug (TRY-ME) and hell their families with, ensuring that they have TRY-ME as a first aid at home.

In another vein, Dr. Fru is working towards coming up with products which don’t need a specialist like TRY-ME. According to him, it doesn’t care whether your disease is from bacteria, fungi, parasite, spiritual or witchcraft; such a product would not need an expert or the source of the disease. “It would just be like anointed water that you just have to work on faith and it does the miracle which baffles scientists. Already, there is a big call in Garoua. Patients call everyday to express their wish to see us. We have a lot and the work is so much that I don’t even have enough time for my research works”.

Harping on government and traditional medicine, Dr. Fru stressed that government and traditional medicine are going on well but for the fact that there are a lot of evil seeds in government who block traditional medicine from progressing because they are so attached to conventional medicine. “They derive a lot of benefits, the more they promote conventional medicine, pharmaceutical industries boost them up”. He said companies send percentages of what they derive to the people especially in the domain of HIV/AIDS, reason why they are ready to die to make sure traditional medicine doesn’t prosper in this domain.

However, Dr. Fru emphasized that traditional medicine cannot be completely blocked because it is a whole religion, dynamic practice full of power.

JB Ndeh Dissolves NW CPDM Coordination Unit

By Tetuh Mbah

At last, the protracted witch hunting, backstabbing and power struggle among the North West CPDM elite have led to the dissolving of the North West CPDM Coordination Unit of the section presidents.

The bombshell came when the founder cum the coordinator of the coordination unit, John Begheni Ndeh, after consultations with his executive and the council of the wise, dissolved the coordination unit.

News about the dissolving of the coordination unit was contained in a press release issued shortly after the Saturday, December 29, 2012 extraordinary meeting of the coordination unit at the Bamenda congress hall. According to the communiqué, John B. Ndeh stressed that dissolving the coordination unit of the North West section presidents was in keeping with the CPDM party new text guiding the party.

During the extraordinary meeting that ended in the dissolving of the coordination unit, the coordinator, John B Ndeh was frank to explain how the coordination unit helped to make the entire CPDM party vibrant in the region. He pointed out that before the formation of the unit, the entire North West region could only boast of one CPDM parliamentarian and a council both in Balikumbat. “Today, we pride ourselves with 19 parliamentarians and 18 councils”. He lauded the section presidents who worked hard using the strategies eked out by the coordination unit to deliver the goods.

 

Genesis of Crisis

The crisis in the coordination unit and the entire North West CPDM elite kick started in 2010. During the Head of State, President Paul Biya’s visit to Bamenda in December 2010, all the CPDM elite of the region fought among themselves fiercely to either present a speech or gift to the President on behalf of the North West CPDM.

In a bid to settle the imbroglio, several meetings held with the then North West Governor, Abakar Ahamat, intervening. In the end, John B Ndeh was chosen to present the gifts on behalf of the North West CPDM militants given that he was the coordinator of the North West CPDM coordination unit of the section presidents.

John B. Ndeh’s choice did not go well for most CPDM elite who wanted to make themselves known to the Head of State and possibly, to be elected into government given that cabinet reshuffle was expected after the 2011 presidential election.

One heated debate was that the then Mezam I-Bamenda CPDM section president, Atanga Nji Paul ought to have presented either a speech or a gift to the Head of State not John B. Ndeh, who also doubles as Mezam II-Santa CPDM section president and coordination unit president. Paul Atanga Nji’s supporters opined that as the Mezam I-Bamenda CPDM section president, he was ipso facto, the host of the occasion and so it was just fitting that he presented the speech to the president and no one else.

Since 2010, the North West CPDM elite continued to be in disarray with infighting, backstabbing and witch hunting being order of the day.

Chronicle gathered that a series of petitions were sent to the CPDM party hierarchy in Yaounde arguing that there’s no structure in the CPDM text as, “Coordination Unit of section presidents” and so the North West coordination unit of section presidents must be dissolved.

It was on this backdrop that the North West coordination unit of section presidents was dissolved last December 2012 for peace to reign among the CPDM elite.

Government Recommends Special Medal Award To Francis Njuakom

Some over 20.000 elderly persons drawn from 232 groups of the Community Development Volunteer for Technical Assistance, CDVTA, converged on Bamenda for the 3rd National Convention of older people on Wednesday, December 5, 2012.

At the groundbreaking convention chaired by the North West Governor, the trappings of Francis Njuakom< the CDVTA Director were acclaimed. Monono< Secretary General at the North West Governor’s office, representating  his Boss, Urged Njuakom to get in touch with the Protocol Service of his office to finalise moves for the award of a Secial Medal.

The Medal,expected to be bestowed on Francis Njuakom next May 20th, would be the first home award/medal to the CDVTA Director. He had however been bestowed with traditional awards, especially in the Palace of the Fon of Kedjom Ketinguh(Cheuh-Fon), including numerous Press awards, for his outstanding billings.

Francis Njuakom had nevertheless been received by Prime Minister Philemon Yang; Social Affairs Minister Catherine Bakang Mbock: these after he was received by Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister at the Number 10 Downing Street in London. There, Njuakom was handed the Sheila McKenin award in 2008.

During the first Elderly people's day staged by CDVTA in Belo in 2010, some 10.000 elderly persons answered present; last year was the second in Oku, with some 15.000 old people in attendance. Last December 5, 2012 was the third. At least 20.000 elderly people converged at  the North West Regional headquarters of Bamenda. They joined CDVTA to plead with the Head of State, President Paul Biya of Cameroon to look again into the burning issues affecting the lives of the elderly with compassion and not only upgrading the ageing department in the Ministry of Social Affairs into a full national government programme on ageing, but more importantly to enshrine into law a national policy on ageing in Cameroon.

They also pleaded with the government to create room for meaningful budget in the government programmes in support of ageing projects all over the country.

In his keynote address at the occasion, the founder cum Director of CDVTA, Francis Njuakom Nchii, observed that in his 17 years of committed actions in support of the older people in Cameroon’s most remote villages, he has often seen with sorrow the human face of poverty, signs of rejection, ostracism, frailness and poor health on the faces of many elderly people. “Some of them live in poorly constructed and poorly ventilated houses with levels of hygiene poor. The effects of HIV/AIDS have in recent years been devastating on the lives of young people whose children are usually left behind to be catered for by their grand-parents”. He said in spite of the elderly persons’ misery, they remain the most important supporting pillars in the society in terms of the traditions, cultures, beliefs, medicinal plants, health, security, peace, transformation and social cohesion.

The CDVTA Director stressed that the population must uphold and advance the norms and values of old age with dignity, ensure that older people live as long as God wants them to live and that they enjoy the basic fundamental services that are rendered to citizens by the government, the civil society and the international community.

Elderly People Statistics

Harping on elderly people’s statistics in Cameroon, the CDVTA Director counted that rough calculations show that out of close to 20 million Cameroonians, at least 1 million of them are elderly persons, “about 15% of them have received some form of education, can read and write and perhaps may have worked in the public or private sector and are enjoying some form of pension”. He said the rest of the 85% are likely to be illiterate without pensions, live in remote rural communities and possibly surviving at the mercy of chance.

From the statistics, Francis Njuakom opined that it could be imagined that a sub-department is not good enough at the Ministry of Social Affairs to handle old people’s problems.

Elderly People Testimonies

Some 3 elderly persons, who count CDVTA largesse to the elderly people in the North West Region, were all unanimous that the organization does not discriminate when reaching out to them irrespective of their sex, religion, tribe, political leaning, race or nationality. They disclosed that CDVTA has given them farm inputs ranging from seeds, farming tools, fertilizers and has equally trained them in bee-keeping, omo, savon and rubbing oil production among others.

Above all, they instanced the last presidential elections during which CDVTA helped over 6000 elderly persons financially, to procure their national identity cards which helped them to perform their civic responsibilities by voting in elections and enabling them to travel freely within the country.

The North West Regional Secretary of the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR), Ndi Nelson, who deputized for the National President of NCHR, Divine Banda, doffed his hat to CDVTA for assisting the elderly in many domains. He said old people need special protection and care from all and sundry but emphasized that respecting and caring for the old people should begin from the families. He ipso facto saluted CDVTA initiative of assisting the elderly persons.

CDVTA Recommended for Medal

Marveled over the whopping assistance to the elderly people in the country, the Secretary General at the North West Governor’s office who represented the Governor at the occasion said CDVTA has done so much for the elderly people that the North West Governor will recommend the Director, Francis Njuakom for a national medal. He said CDVTA activities of helping the elderly were in line with Cameroon government’s policy of assisting the elderly persons.

Above all the governor’s representative called on funders especially the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) in the UK etc, to continue the assistance to CDVTA because the NGO (CDVTA) has proven its seriousness and transparency in all his deals with the elderly persons.

20.000 Elderly March Before Dignitaries

One of the highlights of the occasion was the over one hour march-past by some 20000 elderly persons drawn from 232 elderly groups across the North West Region. The elderly persons marched in their respective group uniforms alongside some 210 CDVTA volunteers recently formed in all the 7 divisions of the North West Region.

Elderly Persons’ Exhibition

The occasion which held under the theme: “Realizing the rights of older persons, celebrating the strength and positive image of old age, complementing government efforts in the care of older persons, shaping the future and giving our grand parents the dignity and respect they deserve”, wrapped up at the Bamenda congress hall with the viewing of arts and craft exhibited by elderly persons, eating, music, dance, laughing, cultural dance and fashion parade competitions by the elderly persons from the various project areas. Some handsome prizes were eked out to competitors.

CDVTA Achievements

CDVTA was founded and legally recognized by government in May, 1998. It works in collaboration with the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It has special consultative status with Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of United Nations since 2010.

Through CDVTA, elderly people are made to feel more included and cared for by the community through active club membership, regular home-visits by volunteers, intergenerational learning and sharing with local school children etc.

For the idealistic monumental unreserved services to the elderly in Cameroon in the last 15 years and on the recommendation of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) in the UK, CDVTA was accorded on 22 July 2008 an international award in London by the then British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown at Number 10 Downing Street. And in a recent international conference by MRDF in Kampala Uganda, CDVTA was rated the MRDF’s success story.

Last month, November 2012, CDVTA was appointed Representative of Swiss International Body and Donor Nouvelle Planète.