(A Damndja Yolande)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je trouve le système éducatif très compliqué au Cameroun
Je vous le dis franchement
Ce n`est ni du bluff ni de l`iinvention
Je n`invente rien et je n`invente jamais
Moi, je regarde les choses en face
Je prends toujours le taureau par les cornes
Et je dis ma vérité, toute ma vérité
Et rien que la vérité
Afrique en miniature, je veux bien
Pays multiculturel et mulitilingue, je veux bien
Brassage, métissage, jumelage, hétérogéneité, je veux bien
Nation de rigueur et de moralisation, pourquoi pas?
Nation de démocratie avancée et apaisée, on est d`accord.
Mais, de grâce, on nous trompe comme si on était encore à Cancun
Sans exception nous vivons dans le firmament
Nous avons la même constitution et nous procédons par affiliation
Mais comment se fait-il que sur le plan éducational rené
Il y a tant d`insuffisances, tant de manquements et de stupidités crasses?
Pour une fois barrons la route aux bornes
Notre sustème éducatif manque de réalisme et d`assiduité
On mélange trop les serviettes et les torchons de l`antiquité
Et moi, scorpion que je suis, je déteste ce lien
Ne peut-on pas traiter l`enfant du voisin comme le sien?
Et en somme, de tout le monde dire du bien?
Sinon, comment devient-on ancien?
Nous ne sommes pas encore bilingues pourquoi?
La politique de l`autruche ou du `moi d`abord`?
Copyright 2010
jeudi 28 janvier 2010
UN VIDE A COMBLER
(A Njoya Bema Annie)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
La vie est pleine de surprises
Et non des moindres, je vous le jure
Des femmes sans soutien-gorge transformées en hommes
Métamorphose ou symbiose?
Des zigzags de plomb amorphes qui se prennent carrément
Pour de petites princesses du Palais Royal de Foumban
De vieux tableaux de Picasso enlevés et vendus aux enchères à Douala
Barrack Obama en personne à diner chez Paul Biya au Palais de l`Unité
Et l`Université de Buéa convertie en un campus
Oui, un campus de l`Etat d`Oklahoma.
Nous sommes tous aux prises
Aux prises avec la conjuncture et la pointure
Il ne s`agit pas du brilliant roman de Sherlock Holmes
Loin de la, c`est un vieux refrain du Catios
Pour s`en sortir une fois pour toutes et tout bonnement
Nous devons tous réclamer notre héritage ancestral de Foumban
Et rendre un hommage vibrant au Tout Puissant Allah
Il n`y à que lui, l`Alpha et l`Omega, qui puisse nous diriger vers l`éternité
Du reste, c`est un simple lapsus, ou si vous voulez, un hiatus
Alors, pour combler cette lacune, faîtes venir l`homme de Sangmelima.
Copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
La vie est pleine de surprises
Et non des moindres, je vous le jure
Des femmes sans soutien-gorge transformées en hommes
Métamorphose ou symbiose?
Des zigzags de plomb amorphes qui se prennent carrément
Pour de petites princesses du Palais Royal de Foumban
De vieux tableaux de Picasso enlevés et vendus aux enchères à Douala
Barrack Obama en personne à diner chez Paul Biya au Palais de l`Unité
Et l`Université de Buéa convertie en un campus
Oui, un campus de l`Etat d`Oklahoma.
Nous sommes tous aux prises
Aux prises avec la conjuncture et la pointure
Il ne s`agit pas du brilliant roman de Sherlock Holmes
Loin de la, c`est un vieux refrain du Catios
Pour s`en sortir une fois pour toutes et tout bonnement
Nous devons tous réclamer notre héritage ancestral de Foumban
Et rendre un hommage vibrant au Tout Puissant Allah
Il n`y à que lui, l`Alpha et l`Omega, qui puisse nous diriger vers l`éternité
Du reste, c`est un simple lapsus, ou si vous voulez, un hiatus
Alors, pour combler cette lacune, faîtes venir l`homme de Sangmelima.
Copyright 2010
mercredi 27 janvier 2010
LES BOURREAUX DE RENOIR
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Nous sommes tous des cancrelats
Voire, des pestiférés
Oui, avec les mains sales
Pourquoi préférons-nous voir les choses en rouge et noir
Comme le condamné qui attend son bourreau.
A moins d`être prélat
Sans devenir fonctionnaire dégénéré
On va devoir se rendre à Chatelet les Halles
Pour revoir de fond en comble le texte de Renoir
Voilà pourquoi nous sommes tous des bourreaux.
Copyright 2010
Nous sommes tous des cancrelats
Voire, des pestiférés
Oui, avec les mains sales
Pourquoi préférons-nous voir les choses en rouge et noir
Comme le condamné qui attend son bourreau.
A moins d`être prélat
Sans devenir fonctionnaire dégénéré
On va devoir se rendre à Chatelet les Halles
Pour revoir de fond en comble le texte de Renoir
Voilà pourquoi nous sommes tous des bourreaux.
Copyright 2010
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CAMEROON
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 19th of June 2003. This article was an impromptu reaction to the issue of governance in Cameroon. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaoundé, between 2002 and 2005.
________________________________________
The idea of conceiving and putting in place a National Governance Programme is in itself praiseworthy because if well organized and implemented, it could bring about far reaching changes in the way things are done in Cameroon.
The programme is intended to create an environment propitious for nation building, which implies an intensification of the fight against poverty and corruption, to name a few. Through good governance, capacity building of the civil society can be greatly enhanced, depending of course on the good will of those charged with implementation and those who fall in the category of public service users. Through good governance, fruitful and long-lasting partnerships can also be forged. On that point, the government of Cameroon has taken a step worth highlighting. It is that of setting up a mechanism by which economic measures are reinforced through the periodical meeting of the ad hoc inter-ministerial committee which has been wisely extended to include partners from the private sector. This second body is presided over by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, just as he presides over the National Governance Programme.
Interestingly, the programme`s priority areas are clearly defined. These include an improvement in the justice system, computerization of the electoral process, streamlining of administrative procedures, and moralization of the public service, as well as the institutionalization of public accountability. So far, some progress has been made in terms of sanitizing the business environment and making it attractive to investors. Measures have also been taken to reinforce capacity building of the civil society, computerization of the legal jurisdictions of the OHADA law with accompanying translations and publications in English, support for the Cameroon Female Jurors` Group, as well as the installation of some community radios in all of the country’s ten regions.
Obviously, the ideas are good. However, for them to work, a lot of work has to be done by both those implementing the measures and those using the services provided. Government must be seen seriously tackling corruption which has gripped the civil service to a very high degree. Civil service users must also be prepared to join the anti-corruption group and refuse to give bribes. They should all remember the saying: “If you are asked for bribe, don’t give; if you are given bribe, don’t` take.” Similarly, public contractors for example, must not be allowed to get away with poorly done jobs and policemen must desist from extorting money from public transport drivers. The Cameroonian worker must learn to be punctual for work and keep working until closing time. Use of public property such as telephones, furniture and vehicles must be stringently controlled.
Can we do it? The answer is, of course, “Yes”, for there are no two ways if we really aspire to lifting our country to heights that will make us all proud. Although the objective may look daunting , we must remember that the longest journey begins with the first step.
Copyright 2010
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 19th of June 2003. This article was an impromptu reaction to the issue of governance in Cameroon. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaoundé, between 2002 and 2005.
________________________________________
The idea of conceiving and putting in place a National Governance Programme is in itself praiseworthy because if well organized and implemented, it could bring about far reaching changes in the way things are done in Cameroon.
The programme is intended to create an environment propitious for nation building, which implies an intensification of the fight against poverty and corruption, to name a few. Through good governance, capacity building of the civil society can be greatly enhanced, depending of course on the good will of those charged with implementation and those who fall in the category of public service users. Through good governance, fruitful and long-lasting partnerships can also be forged. On that point, the government of Cameroon has taken a step worth highlighting. It is that of setting up a mechanism by which economic measures are reinforced through the periodical meeting of the ad hoc inter-ministerial committee which has been wisely extended to include partners from the private sector. This second body is presided over by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, just as he presides over the National Governance Programme.
Interestingly, the programme`s priority areas are clearly defined. These include an improvement in the justice system, computerization of the electoral process, streamlining of administrative procedures, and moralization of the public service, as well as the institutionalization of public accountability. So far, some progress has been made in terms of sanitizing the business environment and making it attractive to investors. Measures have also been taken to reinforce capacity building of the civil society, computerization of the legal jurisdictions of the OHADA law with accompanying translations and publications in English, support for the Cameroon Female Jurors` Group, as well as the installation of some community radios in all of the country’s ten regions.
Obviously, the ideas are good. However, for them to work, a lot of work has to be done by both those implementing the measures and those using the services provided. Government must be seen seriously tackling corruption which has gripped the civil service to a very high degree. Civil service users must also be prepared to join the anti-corruption group and refuse to give bribes. They should all remember the saying: “If you are asked for bribe, don’t give; if you are given bribe, don’t` take.” Similarly, public contractors for example, must not be allowed to get away with poorly done jobs and policemen must desist from extorting money from public transport drivers. The Cameroonian worker must learn to be punctual for work and keep working until closing time. Use of public property such as telephones, furniture and vehicles must be stringently controlled.
Can we do it? The answer is, of course, “Yes”, for there are no two ways if we really aspire to lifting our country to heights that will make us all proud. Although the objective may look daunting , we must remember that the longest journey begins with the first step.
Copyright 2010
LA BOUCLE D`OREILLE D`OR
(A Fabrice)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Fabrice est belle et souriante
L`As des As
Et la crème de la crème
C`est elle l`étoile filante de la Dolce Vita
Elle a nettement le vent en poupe
Pour qui conque veut encore dorer son blazon
C`est là la pure vérité.
L`or, sûrement; l`argent, rarement; mais surtout pas d`amiante
Notre Fabrice n`est pas la fille d`en face
Mais elle défie de loin tout ce qui est barème
Que ce soit à Douala ou en Europe
Mon seul espoir est que vivement elle se pointe à l`horizon
Car c`est là la véritable prevue de la durabilité
Ainsi, loin d`être amorphe, je dirai haut et fort mes quatre vérités.
copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Fabrice est belle et souriante
L`As des As
Et la crème de la crème
C`est elle l`étoile filante de la Dolce Vita
Elle a nettement le vent en poupe
Pour qui conque veut encore dorer son blazon
C`est là la pure vérité.
L`or, sûrement; l`argent, rarement; mais surtout pas d`amiante
Notre Fabrice n`est pas la fille d`en face
Mais elle défie de loin tout ce qui est barème
Que ce soit à Douala ou en Europe
Mon seul espoir est que vivement elle se pointe à l`horizon
Car c`est là la véritable prevue de la durabilité
Ainsi, loin d`être amorphe, je dirai haut et fort mes quatre vérités.
copyright 2010
CAMEROONIANS ABROAD: TRAPPED OR LIBERATED?
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 23rd of August 2002. This article was triggered off by the visit to Cameroon of the then Prime Minister of China, Zhu Rongji and his wife, Lao An. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.
________________________________________
Although the link between the visit and Cameroonians living abroad may not be obvious, it is nevertheless a glaring one. The visit in question is, of course, just an example. The point is that because of nostalgia, Cameroonians abroad are prepared to embrace any event that can give them information about home. So when they hear of such a call being made to their country by a foreigner, some of them wonder whether it was not time they too undertook such a voyage back home. For some, the thought is so much of a nagging yearning that they feel they should really return home for good, and thus have it over and done with living overseas. However, for many, that lofty dream ends up with them twiddling their thumbs and drawing solace from being left with no option than to recount their tale to whoever is willing to lend an ear.
There are some compatriots of ours for whom living abroad has become synonymous with enjoying the good life. That means fast cars, credit cards, and of course, the green card. For another group of Cameroonians out of the country, the reason for making the place their home from home is that abroad, there are excellent opportunities for child education and upbringing which are unthinkable in Cameroon. The health system in the West is also said to be much better run than that of Cameroon, with a wide range of attractive insurance policies designed to secure the patient.
Observers of the international political scene have remarked that the number of professional Cameroonians who live and work out of the country is significant. We find them among the ranks of lecturers, researchers, executive officers, etc, in prestigious institutions, notably in America and Europe. In these second homes from home our overseas Cameroonians pay taxes which go to swell the coffers of the host country, so that in the process, the native country Cameroon becomes the loser. In other words, our compatriots who work overseas are simply helping to prop the economies of their host countries by boosting development in the host country, while Cameroon their first country, the one that gave them life, nourished and fashioned them languishes and wallows in abject poverty and misery.
Some Cameroonians have lived away from home for so long that they have become cut off from the reality on the ground. Such fellow country men and women remind me of an Equato Guinean with whom I flew from Madrid to Malabo. The man was making his first trip home in thirty years spent in Spain, notably Madrid. When the plane started descending at Malabo airport, he became so overwhelmed with emotion that he burst into tears and had to be comforted by sympathetic passengers.
Prolonged and uninterrupted stays in a foreign country can greatly distort ones view of one’s own country, and even set one up against ones country. This is borne out by the fact that although Cameroon did so well at the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester (England), one Manchester-based Cameroonian who watched the encounter, far from cheering for his country, instead expressed surprise that the country had done so well in the games. He said he wished Cameroon had done poorly. This is not surprising because sometimes when Cameroon`s national football team is playing, there are some fellow citizens who pray the country should be thrashed by the opposing team.
In a way, making the bold decision to return home after a long stay abroad is a difficult one for Cameroonians living overseas, although to be fair to them, Cameroonians are not the only foreigners feeling out of place in the foreign community. Nationals from other countries have been known to feel the same way. Nevertheless, the scope of this paper is limited to Cameroon because for now and at least as far as the present paper is concerned, it is the Cameroonian community that is the targeted readership. The reason some compatriots give for not wanting to return to Cameroon is that they are not financially ready. For others, it is uncertainty about finding a job, one of the explanations being that they will be frustrated by those already employed in the country and who fear the newcomers may displace them.
Clearly, this is a matter in which government ought to intervene. Perhaps one of the first things that could be done is the setting up of a National Commission for the Return of Cameroonian Manpower Abroad. Such a structure would serve as a think tank, permanently in touch with compatriots willing to return home, by updating on job prospects, accommodation and possible schools for returning children, to name those.
Frankly, we must take urgent action to build a strong and permanent bridge linking our brothers and sisters outside of Cameroon on the one hand, and the rest of us who are back here at home, on the other hand.
Copyright 2010
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 23rd of August 2002. This article was triggered off by the visit to Cameroon of the then Prime Minister of China, Zhu Rongji and his wife, Lao An. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.
________________________________________
Although the link between the visit and Cameroonians living abroad may not be obvious, it is nevertheless a glaring one. The visit in question is, of course, just an example. The point is that because of nostalgia, Cameroonians abroad are prepared to embrace any event that can give them information about home. So when they hear of such a call being made to their country by a foreigner, some of them wonder whether it was not time they too undertook such a voyage back home. For some, the thought is so much of a nagging yearning that they feel they should really return home for good, and thus have it over and done with living overseas. However, for many, that lofty dream ends up with them twiddling their thumbs and drawing solace from being left with no option than to recount their tale to whoever is willing to lend an ear.
There are some compatriots of ours for whom living abroad has become synonymous with enjoying the good life. That means fast cars, credit cards, and of course, the green card. For another group of Cameroonians out of the country, the reason for making the place their home from home is that abroad, there are excellent opportunities for child education and upbringing which are unthinkable in Cameroon. The health system in the West is also said to be much better run than that of Cameroon, with a wide range of attractive insurance policies designed to secure the patient.
Observers of the international political scene have remarked that the number of professional Cameroonians who live and work out of the country is significant. We find them among the ranks of lecturers, researchers, executive officers, etc, in prestigious institutions, notably in America and Europe. In these second homes from home our overseas Cameroonians pay taxes which go to swell the coffers of the host country, so that in the process, the native country Cameroon becomes the loser. In other words, our compatriots who work overseas are simply helping to prop the economies of their host countries by boosting development in the host country, while Cameroon their first country, the one that gave them life, nourished and fashioned them languishes and wallows in abject poverty and misery.
Some Cameroonians have lived away from home for so long that they have become cut off from the reality on the ground. Such fellow country men and women remind me of an Equato Guinean with whom I flew from Madrid to Malabo. The man was making his first trip home in thirty years spent in Spain, notably Madrid. When the plane started descending at Malabo airport, he became so overwhelmed with emotion that he burst into tears and had to be comforted by sympathetic passengers.
Prolonged and uninterrupted stays in a foreign country can greatly distort ones view of one’s own country, and even set one up against ones country. This is borne out by the fact that although Cameroon did so well at the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester (England), one Manchester-based Cameroonian who watched the encounter, far from cheering for his country, instead expressed surprise that the country had done so well in the games. He said he wished Cameroon had done poorly. This is not surprising because sometimes when Cameroon`s national football team is playing, there are some fellow citizens who pray the country should be thrashed by the opposing team.
In a way, making the bold decision to return home after a long stay abroad is a difficult one for Cameroonians living overseas, although to be fair to them, Cameroonians are not the only foreigners feeling out of place in the foreign community. Nationals from other countries have been known to feel the same way. Nevertheless, the scope of this paper is limited to Cameroon because for now and at least as far as the present paper is concerned, it is the Cameroonian community that is the targeted readership. The reason some compatriots give for not wanting to return to Cameroon is that they are not financially ready. For others, it is uncertainty about finding a job, one of the explanations being that they will be frustrated by those already employed in the country and who fear the newcomers may displace them.
Clearly, this is a matter in which government ought to intervene. Perhaps one of the first things that could be done is the setting up of a National Commission for the Return of Cameroonian Manpower Abroad. Such a structure would serve as a think tank, permanently in touch with compatriots willing to return home, by updating on job prospects, accommodation and possible schools for returning children, to name those.
Frankly, we must take urgent action to build a strong and permanent bridge linking our brothers and sisters outside of Cameroon on the one hand, and the rest of us who are back here at home, on the other hand.
Copyright 2010
lundi 25 janvier 2010
THE TIE BREAK
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Two more draws, just two
And we`re out
Out for good
Trudging like lambs to the slaughter
Our fans, all our fans
Pulling aside the kitchen curtains
And peering through the keyholes
To see how heavy our heads are.
If you think that`s a joke, then you`re due
Unless you`re prepared for another bout
The fight of your life with nothing for food.
If your neighbour is a potter
And his wife a collector of empty cans
Then for your safety, mind the rains
For the governor`s sake, fill up the potholes
And remember God is never too far.
copyright 2010
Two more draws, just two
And we`re out
Out for good
Trudging like lambs to the slaughter
Our fans, all our fans
Pulling aside the kitchen curtains
And peering through the keyholes
To see how heavy our heads are.
If you think that`s a joke, then you`re due
Unless you`re prepared for another bout
The fight of your life with nothing for food.
If your neighbour is a potter
And his wife a collector of empty cans
Then for your safety, mind the rains
For the governor`s sake, fill up the potholes
And remember God is never too far.
copyright 2010
THE PRICE TO PAY
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I am not a shoe brush
Let alone shoe polish
I am the pastor`s ombudsman
And the man with the clover card.
If for me you have a crush
Acknowledge first that I`m not Polish
I`m a Cameroonian turned Scotswoman.
So, pinpoint the fault and pick up your reward.
copyright 2010
I am not a shoe brush
Let alone shoe polish
I am the pastor`s ombudsman
And the man with the clover card.
If for me you have a crush
Acknowledge first that I`m not Polish
I`m a Cameroonian turned Scotswoman.
So, pinpoint the fault and pick up your reward.
copyright 2010
ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT TOPIC
From Tikum Mbah Azonga
The good communicator should understand language, notably words and concepts. What is your view on this statement?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Deadline for submission of the assignment is Monday 2nd February.
Also take a look at the following page on my blog. It lists dissertation topics that may interest you.
Regards
TMA
The good communicator should understand language, notably words and concepts. What is your view on this statement?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Deadline for submission of the assignment is Monday 2nd February.
Also take a look at the following page on my blog. It lists dissertation topics that may interest you.
Regards
TMA
dimanche 24 janvier 2010
NEWS FROM CAMEROON No. 006
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Cameroon misses target
Cameroon has underachieved in terms of meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This verdict emerges from the 2008-2009 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Out of the eight goals set by the United Nations for attainment by the year 2015, , Cameroon has so far made progress in only three. They include edcation, with the scolarization rate rising from 76.3 per cent in the 1990s to 82.8 per cent in 2009. Progress has also been made in gender equility treatment. The low scoring sectors include child mortality, poverty reduction and health.
(Cameroon Tribune, 05-01-2010)
copyright 2010
----------------------------------------------------------
WATER SUPPLY
Four town to get potable water
Four Cameroonian towns are to benefited from potable water provision, thanks to an accord signed by the Cameroon government on the one hand and on the other hand, the European Investment Bank and the French Agency for Development.
The towns which are Yaounde,Bertoua, Ngaoundere and Edea,will receive a total of CFA65.6 bn to be used by CAMWATER to improve the quality of potable water in the four towns.
(Cameroon Tribune 22-01-2010)
copyright 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Bamenda III Council adopts budget
The Bamenda III Council which embodies the villages of Nkwen and Banjah has voted a budget of 173 500 000 for the 2010 fiscal year. That figure marks a slight drop from last year's budget.
According to Mayor Pius Ngwa Amando,the reduction is explained by the fact that the Bamenda City Council to which Bamenda I (Bamendakwe), Bamenda II (Mankon, Mbatu, Nsongwa and Chomba) and Bamenda III belong, has assumed some of the development projects that would have gone to the three Councils.
Mezam Senior Divisional Officer, Mache Njouonwet Jospeh Bertrand, praised the Council for its sense of realism.
(Cameroon Tribune, 21-01-2010)
copyright 2010
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Cameroon misses target
Cameroon has underachieved in terms of meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This verdict emerges from the 2008-2009 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Out of the eight goals set by the United Nations for attainment by the year 2015, , Cameroon has so far made progress in only three. They include edcation, with the scolarization rate rising from 76.3 per cent in the 1990s to 82.8 per cent in 2009. Progress has also been made in gender equility treatment. The low scoring sectors include child mortality, poverty reduction and health.
(Cameroon Tribune, 05-01-2010)
copyright 2010
----------------------------------------------------------
WATER SUPPLY
Four town to get potable water
Four Cameroonian towns are to benefited from potable water provision, thanks to an accord signed by the Cameroon government on the one hand and on the other hand, the European Investment Bank and the French Agency for Development.
The towns which are Yaounde,Bertoua, Ngaoundere and Edea,will receive a total of CFA65.6 bn to be used by CAMWATER to improve the quality of potable water in the four towns.
(Cameroon Tribune 22-01-2010)
copyright 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Bamenda III Council adopts budget
The Bamenda III Council which embodies the villages of Nkwen and Banjah has voted a budget of 173 500 000 for the 2010 fiscal year. That figure marks a slight drop from last year's budget.
According to Mayor Pius Ngwa Amando,the reduction is explained by the fact that the Bamenda City Council to which Bamenda I (Bamendakwe), Bamenda II (Mankon, Mbatu, Nsongwa and Chomba) and Bamenda III belong, has assumed some of the development projects that would have gone to the three Councils.
Mezam Senior Divisional Officer, Mache Njouonwet Jospeh Bertrand, praised the Council for its sense of realism.
(Cameroon Tribune, 21-01-2010)
copyright 2010
NEWS FROM CAMEROON NO. 005
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
_____________________________________________________
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Jailed minister faces new charges
Former Cabinet Minister, Titus Edzoa, who once held the prestigious post of Secretry General at the Presidency of the Republic and was the personal physician of President Paul Biya, may soon find that the current 15 year term he is serving for embezzlement of public funds is prolonged with a heavier sentence on the grounds fresh charges of embezzlement being brought against him.
(The Post, 22-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANKING AND FINANCE
Credit Union modernizes services
The Bamenda Police Credit Union (BAPCCUL) has taken steps to ease customers' money transactions. The Union has done this by introducing electronic cards in the banking system. In a related development,Musa Shey Nfor, the Union's President has been re-elected to that post. BAPCCUL which is one of the most productive Credit Unions in the country, currently has a membership of 16 784.
(The Post, 22-01-2010)
copyright 2010
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Amity Exco meets
AMITY BANK Plc holds it Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) on 30-01-2010 at 9am in the GICAM Conference Hall in Douala. On the agenda is the outcome of the Sielienou Christophe & Others Vs COBAC Decision case.
(The Post, 22-01-2010)
copyright 2010
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_____________________________________________________
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Jailed minister faces new charges
Former Cabinet Minister, Titus Edzoa, who once held the prestigious post of Secretry General at the Presidency of the Republic and was the personal physician of President Paul Biya, may soon find that the current 15 year term he is serving for embezzlement of public funds is prolonged with a heavier sentence on the grounds fresh charges of embezzlement being brought against him.
(The Post, 22-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANKING AND FINANCE
Credit Union modernizes services
The Bamenda Police Credit Union (BAPCCUL) has taken steps to ease customers' money transactions. The Union has done this by introducing electronic cards in the banking system. In a related development,Musa Shey Nfor, the Union's President has been re-elected to that post. BAPCCUL which is one of the most productive Credit Unions in the country, currently has a membership of 16 784.
(The Post, 22-01-2010)
copyright 2010
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Amity Exco meets
AMITY BANK Plc holds it Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) on 30-01-2010 at 9am in the GICAM Conference Hall in Douala. On the agenda is the outcome of the Sielienou Christophe & Others Vs COBAC Decision case.
(The Post, 22-01-2010)
copyright 2010
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samedi 23 janvier 2010
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CONFRONTS ITS FUTURE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 22nd of November 2004, on the occasion of the holding in Yaounde of the first National Assembly session following President Paul Biya's controversial re-election for another seven year term as President of the Republic of Cameroon. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaoundé, between 2002 and 2005.
----------------------------------------------
This third and last ordinary session of the National Assembly is a key one. It comes on the heels of the October 11 presidential election during which Paul Biya, candidate of the CPDM, was elected president of a second seven year term. The session, being devoted to the 2005 national budget will give parliamentarians the opportunity to quiz ministers on the previous budget as well as the new one.
Perhaps more then ever before, Cameroonians are watching their parliamentarians and the questions lingering in their minds as they do so include: will it be the beginning of the implementation of the promises president Paul Biya delivered at his swearing in on November 3? W hen this session comes to an end, will Cameroonians begin to see the state institutions provided for by the 1996 constitution being finally put in place? Will Cameroonian parliamentarians, for once be given the opportunity of thoroughly scrutinizing budgets and reject them for inconsistencies, or will the CPDM dominated parliament continue to shelter cabinet ministers and sweep their wanting accounts under the carpet? Will this be yet again just another, trite, humdrum and mundane budgetary session characterized by decisions being forced down parliamentarian’s throats and rubber stamping being made to prevail?
Prior to and during the opening of this third ordinary session, most parliamentarians stated that their constituency members were crying out for salvation, to quote the musician, Prince Yerima Afo Akom. They want enough classrooms built and PTA’s relieved of the burden of employing part time teachers, so that government can do its job right through. Over and above everything else, constituency members want roads, roads to disenclaved rural areas, roads for the evacuation of farm produce, roads to usher in development, because as the saying goes, where a road passes, development follows. In other words, will the goods be delivered? Or, what does this first year of the so-called Cameroon of Great Ambitions hold in store for Cameroonians?
Whatever is the case, parliamentary work does not end at the ordinary session Far from it, it goes on until the end of their mandate. And so, in whatever they do, they must remember the words of J.F Clarks who said: ‘’A politician thinks of the next election, whereas a statesman thinks of the next generation.’’
However, there is one area in which MPs need commendation. It is that of the unity, conviviality and spirit of togetherness that prevails that prevails among them, regardless of party affiliation. In fact, National Assembly Vice President Rose Abunaw Makia, a CPDM member, was proposed and supported for election to an international position by SDF Opposition baron, Joseph Mbah Ndam.
Perhaps that is a lesson that while parliamentarians strive to make Cameroon a country to be proud of inside the National Assembly, Cameroonians should do the same outside of it. Everyone would then be working towards the same goal in total synergy and perfect symmetry.
Copyright 2010
LES LIONS AU PIED DU MUR
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Reflexions au ledemain du match nul entre la sélection Camerounaise et son homologue tunisien
Ça y est
Les Lions ont gagné
Oui, quel ouf de soulagement, mais aussi quel accouchement difficile
Quel enfantement césarien
C’était une réussite pyrrhique
Un triomphe aux forceps
Un succès forcé
Un couronnement en dents de scie.
Ce n’est pas un conte de fée
Pourquoi nos Lions ont-ils miaulé sans dévorer ?
Nos Lions ont joué comme des indociles
Ils nous ont traités de vaux riens
Ils étaient loin d’être empiriques
Pourtant ils avaient la griffe de Sepp
Où était donc le point de mire ?
Copyright 2010
Reflexions au ledemain du match nul entre la sélection Camerounaise et son homologue tunisien
Ça y est
Les Lions ont gagné
Oui, quel ouf de soulagement, mais aussi quel accouchement difficile
Quel enfantement césarien
C’était une réussite pyrrhique
Un triomphe aux forceps
Un succès forcé
Un couronnement en dents de scie.
Ce n’est pas un conte de fée
Pourquoi nos Lions ont-ils miaulé sans dévorer ?
Nos Lions ont joué comme des indociles
Ils nous ont traités de vaux riens
Ils étaient loin d’être empiriques
Pourtant ils avaient la griffe de Sepp
Où était donc le point de mire ?
Copyright 2010
BAMENDA , LAND OF DREAMS
(Remembering a restaurant that leaves an indelible impression on you)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Welcome to Dreamland Restaurant
The land where catering and gastronomical dreams come true
Here, whatever you dream, we make it
But don’t take our word for it
Savour our dishes, you will like them
Taste our wines, even if you are not vetted
You’ll love them, we bet you.
By the time you leave, you won’t anymore rant
Our meals will turn you into a true Blue
Our drinks will hoist you to a new summit
More than ever and for ever, you’ll feel fit
Our girls will charm you; tell them
Here at Dreamland be sure of a smile you’ll never forget
Henceforth, never will the word, “restaurant” mean the same to you.
Copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Welcome to Dreamland Restaurant
The land where catering and gastronomical dreams come true
Here, whatever you dream, we make it
But don’t take our word for it
Savour our dishes, you will like them
Taste our wines, even if you are not vetted
You’ll love them, we bet you.
By the time you leave, you won’t anymore rant
Our meals will turn you into a true Blue
Our drinks will hoist you to a new summit
More than ever and for ever, you’ll feel fit
Our girls will charm you; tell them
Here at Dreamland be sure of a smile you’ll never forget
Henceforth, never will the word, “restaurant” mean the same to you.
Copyright 2010
LE DERNIER WALTZ
(Par Tikum Mbah Azonga)
Sous cette bouteille fortement capsulée
Gît un moine sans soutane ni couronne
Et la matrone à la main dorée
Dès le départ des derniers pharaons.
Lorsque le Préfet fera un tour dans la zone enclavée
Et que les pharaons seront partis à Carcassonne
Monsieur le Maire ne pourra plus aller chercher sa purée
Et la Première Dame rebaptisera son neveu, Léon.
Copyright 2010
Sous cette bouteille fortement capsulée
Gît un moine sans soutane ni couronne
Et la matrone à la main dorée
Dès le départ des derniers pharaons.
Lorsque le Préfet fera un tour dans la zone enclavée
Et que les pharaons seront partis à Carcassonne
Monsieur le Maire ne pourra plus aller chercher sa purée
Et la Première Dame rebaptisera son neveu, Léon.
Copyright 2010
COUP DE TETE
(Par Tikum Mbah Azonga)
Elle n’est pas bête
Mais elle est coquette
Sans cette foutue trompette
Elle serait renommée Odette.
Copyright 2010
Elle n’est pas bête
Mais elle est coquette
Sans cette foutue trompette
Elle serait renommée Odette.
Copyright 2010
MARCHE EPISCOPALE
(Par Tikum Mbah Azonga)
Je ne le pense pas
Du moins pas dans ce cas de figure
Toutes les basiliques sont les mêmes
Et les cardinaux, les vrais.
Si tu penses à Porte des Lilas
Sache qu’elle est loin d’être pure
Je préfère les chorales de la Carême
Par ce qu’elles marchent sans craie.
Copyright 2010
Je ne le pense pas
Du moins pas dans ce cas de figure
Toutes les basiliques sont les mêmes
Et les cardinaux, les vrais.
Si tu penses à Porte des Lilas
Sache qu’elle est loin d’être pure
Je préfère les chorales de la Carême
Par ce qu’elles marchent sans craie.
Copyright 2010
vendredi 22 janvier 2010
ECART DANS LE TEMPS
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
(A Madame Colette Morel, ma bailleresse au 30 Chemins des Torcols, 25000 Besançon, en France. Merci, Colette, pour les beaux jours passés à Besançon. Il faut me rappeler au bon souvenir de tes enfants : La Grande (a-t-elle toujours sa moto ?), Denis et son épouse, Marie ; la benjamine, Sylvie ; et son aînée la Scorpion dont j’oublie le nom. Et Ben qui aimait tellement t’appeler « Ma Belle », comment va-t-il ? Colette, le jour où je reviendrai à Besançon, je serai prêt pour notre « petite dictée à deux », exercice auquel tu m’avais invité. Et en français comme tu l’avais voulue, pour voir lequel de nous deux est plus fort en français. C’est un défi que je saurai lever en bonne et due forme, et comme il se doit. A très bientôt !)
____________________________________________
ECART DANS LE TEMPS
Je ne déconne pas
Non, je décampe
Et je le fais en connaissance de cause
Que veux-tu ?
Toi, tu es fils de papa
Tantôt avec, tantôt sans trempe
Coupable d’enrichissement sans cause
Voilà pourquoi moi je fus.
Copyright 2010
(A Madame Colette Morel, ma bailleresse au 30 Chemins des Torcols, 25000 Besançon, en France. Merci, Colette, pour les beaux jours passés à Besançon. Il faut me rappeler au bon souvenir de tes enfants : La Grande (a-t-elle toujours sa moto ?), Denis et son épouse, Marie ; la benjamine, Sylvie ; et son aînée la Scorpion dont j’oublie le nom. Et Ben qui aimait tellement t’appeler « Ma Belle », comment va-t-il ? Colette, le jour où je reviendrai à Besançon, je serai prêt pour notre « petite dictée à deux », exercice auquel tu m’avais invité. Et en français comme tu l’avais voulue, pour voir lequel de nous deux est plus fort en français. C’est un défi que je saurai lever en bonne et due forme, et comme il se doit. A très bientôt !)
____________________________________________
ECART DANS LE TEMPS
Je ne déconne pas
Non, je décampe
Et je le fais en connaissance de cause
Que veux-tu ?
Toi, tu es fils de papa
Tantôt avec, tantôt sans trempe
Coupable d’enrichissement sans cause
Voilà pourquoi moi je fus.
Copyright 2010
jeudi 21 janvier 2010
PEOPLE WITH THE WRONG FACES
(For Dericka Nfor)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I don't like ugly people
They drive me crazy
And make me feel like throwing up
Ugh...! The sight of them!
They look like scarecrows
And Father Christmas dressed up the wrong way.
Ugly people don't know they have an odd dimple
They are like employees laid off by Magzi
And dreaming the Presidency will call them up
I, Dericka will thrash them and even hang them
And never will they be able to drown their sorrows.
To turn the situation around, they must pay.
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I don't like ugly people
They drive me crazy
And make me feel like throwing up
Ugh...! The sight of them!
They look like scarecrows
And Father Christmas dressed up the wrong way.
Ugly people don't know they have an odd dimple
They are like employees laid off by Magzi
And dreaming the Presidency will call them up
I, Dericka will thrash them and even hang them
And never will they be able to drown their sorrows.
To turn the situation around, they must pay.
THE SENTENCE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
It will end up as it began
Under the overflowing bridge
Chained to the pillar
And jailed for life
With no right of appeal.
The heavens will open up their bowels
And pour down unprecedented showers
Even so, the Chief Judge
With or without his wig
Will swear all senior citizens are the same.
copyright 2010
It will end up as it began
Under the overflowing bridge
Chained to the pillar
And jailed for life
With no right of appeal.
The heavens will open up their bowels
And pour down unprecedented showers
Even so, the Chief Judge
With or without his wig
Will swear all senior citizens are the same.
copyright 2010
THE NATIONAL SHAME
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Shame on us
Shame on us all
And our country
We lay eggs
And then in a volte face
We turn around and break them with impunity
And suck them with avidity
All of them
And all by ourselves.
Shame on us
We who bear much desired children
We feed them
We clothe them
And then we turn round and auction them
To the highest bidder.
Shame on us
We carry our country’s name
And pay it homage
Or perhaps lip service
But at the same time
We plunder it
We rape it
We betray it
We sell it
To the highest bidder.
Copyright 2010
Shame on us
Shame on us all
And our country
We lay eggs
And then in a volte face
We turn around and break them with impunity
And suck them with avidity
All of them
And all by ourselves.
Shame on us
We who bear much desired children
We feed them
We clothe them
And then we turn round and auction them
To the highest bidder.
Shame on us
We carry our country’s name
And pay it homage
Or perhaps lip service
But at the same time
We plunder it
We rape it
We betray it
We sell it
To the highest bidder.
Copyright 2010
mardi 19 janvier 2010
LEFT TO ROT
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
And he stepped on the concrete tarmac
Feigning uprightness and sanctity
The only problem was the big Mac
It would remain there to infinity.
And was that fair?
And he stepped on the concrete tarmac
Feigning uprightness and sanctity
The only problem was the big Mac
It would remain there to infinity.
And was that fair?
THE SINGLE STROKE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
That was quite true
But I couldn't hum it
For fear of having to live to rue
So in it I dug my pit.
copyright 2010.
That was quite true
But I couldn't hum it
For fear of having to live to rue
So in it I dug my pit.
copyright 2010.
MANGLED FEELINGS
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I saw her die
Just as she had seen me lie
But since two wrongs don't make a right
What counts is the Almighty's sight.
copyright 2010
I saw her die
Just as she had seen me lie
But since two wrongs don't make a right
What counts is the Almighty's sight.
copyright 2010
A MISMATCH
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
He wore Lilliputian slippers
And Calabar trousers
He was clean shaven like a twentieth century monk
And his speech lacked coherence.
But inside of him he wore diapers
And daily he sold sour fertilizers
So all the talk about the stolen trunk
From him drew no reverence.
copyright 2010
He wore Lilliputian slippers
And Calabar trousers
He was clean shaven like a twentieth century monk
And his speech lacked coherence.
But inside of him he wore diapers
And daily he sold sour fertilizers
So all the talk about the stolen trunk
From him drew no reverence.
copyright 2010
CATCHLESS FRUIT
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
On the livid seeded olive branch
Lies an ailing mango no one wants
It displays a rusty latch
But lacks a worthy catch.
copyright 2010
On the livid seeded olive branch
Lies an ailing mango no one wants
It displays a rusty latch
But lacks a worthy catch.
copyright 2010
THE GAP BETWEEN
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
The monk and the suitor
Are one and the same thing
They put God before man
And line their pockets with bible verses.
If you fret and need a mentor
Try the monastry, but not a fling
If you like, go to Bambui like a leg of ham
But don't expect to be Paul of Tarsus.
copyright 2010
The monk and the suitor
Are one and the same thing
They put God before man
And line their pockets with bible verses.
If you fret and need a mentor
Try the monastry, but not a fling
If you like, go to Bambui like a leg of ham
But don't expect to be Paul of Tarsus.
copyright 2010
lundi 18 janvier 2010
KEEPING THE BRIDGE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I am the front door fence
The barricade of fodder and hay
Stood here until thy kingdom comes
Just to hold the bridge
Single single handed
I seek no assistance
And demand no apology
I will stay it out
Even if it means
The ultimate price
I will neither be the first nor the last
So, help me God.
Copyright 2010
I am the front door fence
The barricade of fodder and hay
Stood here until thy kingdom comes
Just to hold the bridge
Single single handed
I seek no assistance
And demand no apology
I will stay it out
Even if it means
The ultimate price
I will neither be the first nor the last
So, help me God.
Copyright 2010
YOUR ONE AND ONLY FORTRESS
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Don’t mind the angry winds
Think nothing of the fierce lion
Or the raging tempest
Or even the harassing nightmares.
Look not down at the hinds
Nor left at the mirage of a Zion
Nor right at the one who promises a morrow with no test
No, look up at the one and only gosameer.
copyright 2010
Don’t mind the angry winds
Think nothing of the fierce lion
Or the raging tempest
Or even the harassing nightmares.
Look not down at the hinds
Nor left at the mirage of a Zion
Nor right at the one who promises a morrow with no test
No, look up at the one and only gosameer.
copyright 2010
TOGETHER WE STAND
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
From the innermost depths of my heart
I stand here today before man
And loudly and strongly proclaim my faith
My deep and unshakable faith
In the one and only Almighty
The Alpha and the Omega
He who was
Who is
And who is to be.
And I stand by my words
Till death do me part.
Copyright 2010
From the innermost depths of my heart
I stand here today before man
And loudly and strongly proclaim my faith
My deep and unshakable faith
In the one and only Almighty
The Alpha and the Omega
He who was
Who is
And who is to be.
And I stand by my words
Till death do me part.
Copyright 2010
THE FALLEN GRAIN
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Look for it
Look for it by all means
And find it
Like the table in Pastor Fai`s church
Find it before the clock strikes twelve
It may not be Big Ben
Or St. Peter`s
But what does it matter?
When the altar candles are lit
And the congregation chants, "Beans! Beans! Beans!"
Don`t alter the temperature outfit
Lest the mass boys and girls, forward lurch
Let the parish chairman do anything but delve
We have nothing to offer, not even a hen
But for daily novenas we have our four Sisters
And to cap it all, the Holy Father.
copyright 2010
Look for it
Look for it by all means
And find it
Like the table in Pastor Fai`s church
Find it before the clock strikes twelve
It may not be Big Ben
Or St. Peter`s
But what does it matter?
When the altar candles are lit
And the congregation chants, "Beans! Beans! Beans!"
Don`t alter the temperature outfit
Lest the mass boys and girls, forward lurch
Let the parish chairman do anything but delve
We have nothing to offer, not even a hen
But for daily novenas we have our four Sisters
And to cap it all, the Holy Father.
copyright 2010
A LOSS TOO MANY
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Wasn’t it here?
It was here, right here
It was here that I left it.
Here, still fresh and unsheathed
Still blue and green and virgin
Pure
Unadulterated
Undefiled
Unsoiled
Immaculate
And spotless.
That was only a while ago
So, tell me
If man wasn’t vile
Sadistic
Macho
Chauvinistic
And greedy
Then why wouldn’t it still be here
Pure
Unadulterated
Undefiled
Unsoiled
Immaculate
And spotless?
But it’s not here now
Not here anymore
It’s gone
Gone for ever
Gone for good
What shall I then tell the queen?
That I lost it?
That someone stole it?
That I forgot it in the shop?
That I sent it to the newly married prince?
That it was confiscated by the Boar me?
I’m afraid that whatever I say
She won’t believe me
I know her
I know here only too well
It’s another nail
Yes, another one in the coffin of my already
Battered, beleaguered, decrepit, besieged
Relationship with her
I must now seriously
Brace myself for the worse
With her, anything can happen.
I know that.
Copyright 2010.
Wasn’t it here?
It was here, right here
It was here that I left it.
Here, still fresh and unsheathed
Still blue and green and virgin
Pure
Unadulterated
Undefiled
Unsoiled
Immaculate
And spotless.
That was only a while ago
So, tell me
If man wasn’t vile
Sadistic
Macho
Chauvinistic
And greedy
Then why wouldn’t it still be here
Pure
Unadulterated
Undefiled
Unsoiled
Immaculate
And spotless?
But it’s not here now
Not here anymore
It’s gone
Gone for ever
Gone for good
What shall I then tell the queen?
That I lost it?
That someone stole it?
That I forgot it in the shop?
That I sent it to the newly married prince?
That it was confiscated by the Boar me?
I’m afraid that whatever I say
She won’t believe me
I know her
I know here only too well
It’s another nail
Yes, another one in the coffin of my already
Battered, beleaguered, decrepit, besieged
Relationship with her
I must now seriously
Brace myself for the worse
With her, anything can happen.
I know that.
Copyright 2010.
QUESTION TO THE PAYMASTER
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I won’t ask
I won’t even look
If he thinks he’s crossed the bridge
Then let him sign the visitors` register.
If God were to take us to task
And every head put a crook
How would we then bridge the ridge?
And does he think he’d still be paymaster?
Copyright 2010
I won’t ask
I won’t even look
If he thinks he’s crossed the bridge
Then let him sign the visitors` register.
If God were to take us to task
And every head put a crook
How would we then bridge the ridge?
And does he think he’d still be paymaster?
Copyright 2010
samedi 16 janvier 2010
THE LIGHT OF LIFE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Alone
All alone
All, all alone
I stood before the
Large and heavy steel door
And fumbled for the key in my pocket
My hand fearful and hesitant
Then the sweat, cold sweat
And the pressing urine
I choked.
Suddenly
A loud and commanding voice
Broke the silence of the night
And for one second
It was as if the night darkness turned into day sunshine
Then the status quo quickly returned
A voice cried out
"No, son! Not that one!
That`s not the key you need!
What you need is the key to eternal life
That is the most important key.
Stop searching and come with me!"
Thereupon
A fatherly hand tapped my shoulder
And in the distance I saw a shadow
It glowed brightly and floated
And as if possessed by some invisible force
I followed it
I acquiesced
I gave in
I obeyed
I submitted
Powerless, but not like a lamb to the slaughterhouse
Far from it
I was happy
And secretly prayed this shouldn`t be a joke.
That`s how I got there.
copyright 2010
Alone
All alone
All, all alone
I stood before the
Large and heavy steel door
And fumbled for the key in my pocket
My hand fearful and hesitant
Then the sweat, cold sweat
And the pressing urine
I choked.
Suddenly
A loud and commanding voice
Broke the silence of the night
And for one second
It was as if the night darkness turned into day sunshine
Then the status quo quickly returned
A voice cried out
"No, son! Not that one!
That`s not the key you need!
What you need is the key to eternal life
That is the most important key.
Stop searching and come with me!"
Thereupon
A fatherly hand tapped my shoulder
And in the distance I saw a shadow
It glowed brightly and floated
And as if possessed by some invisible force
I followed it
I acquiesced
I gave in
I obeyed
I submitted
Powerless, but not like a lamb to the slaughterhouse
Far from it
I was happy
And secretly prayed this shouldn`t be a joke.
That`s how I got there.
copyright 2010
A ROOM OF YOUR OWN
(Your room in God`s palace)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
No, don’t quiver
Be still
And listen to the inner voice
The voice of reason
The voice of the most high.
He is wider than the sea
Deeper than man’s innermost thoughts
Fiercer than the lion
Bigger than the elephant
Hungrier than the wolf
Jealous like the lover.
Yet
In his bosom
There is room for all
The hungry and the satisfied
The big and the small
The rich and the poor
The strong and the rich.
His house is never too small
So search him
Reach him
Throw yourself at his feet
And claim him for yours
You have the right.
copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
No, don’t quiver
Be still
And listen to the inner voice
The voice of reason
The voice of the most high.
He is wider than the sea
Deeper than man’s innermost thoughts
Fiercer than the lion
Bigger than the elephant
Hungrier than the wolf
Jealous like the lover.
Yet
In his bosom
There is room for all
The hungry and the satisfied
The big and the small
The rich and the poor
The strong and the rich.
His house is never too small
So search him
Reach him
Throw yourself at his feet
And claim him for yours
You have the right.
copyright 2010
NEWS FROM CAMEROON No 004 16/01/2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
---------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Environmental impact assessment
The University of Buea is seeking a consultant to carry out environmental impact assessment for the building of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the university.
The deadline for submission of bids is 25-01-2010 by 11 am.
Contact: The PRO-ACTP Unit, Amphi 750, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea. Tel: (237) 3332 2134 or (237) 3332 2705 Fax: (237) 3332 2272. Email: proactp_ub@yahoo.com.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
---------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Elaboration of manual
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires a consultant to carry out elaboration of an inspector manual and exploitation of the AGA regulation.
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Elaboration of manual
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires a consultant to elaborate an inspector manual and exploitation of the ATS, SAR, CNS, MAP.MET, PANS-OPS, TRG/PEL regulation.
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 2 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde.Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Supply of airport air conditioners
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) invites bids for the acquisition and installation of air conditioning material in some of Cameroon`s airports. These include the Maroua Airport, the Ngaoundere Airport, the Bamenda Airport, the Bertoua Airport, and the Bafoussam Airport.
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde.Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Overhaul of airport generators
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires the services of a consultant to conduct a review of generators in the Maroua, Ngaoundere, Bamenda, Bafoussam and Bertoua airports, as well as rehabilitate the electrical circuit and raise the co sinus Phi of the Bamenda Airport. These include
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-----------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Rehabilitation of electrical circuit
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires a consultant for the rehabilitation of electrical circuits and assistance to air navigation equipment at the Maroua and Bertoua airports..
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Airport power supply
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires power supply with electrical energy and relaunching of the working order of VOR/DME of the Ngaoundere airport..
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde.Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
----------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Office renovation
The General Manager of the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC) seeks the services of a qualified professional for the renovation of the EDC Headquarters` Office in Yaounde.
The deadline for submission of bids is 18-01-2010 by 12 pm.
Contact: General Affairs Director, EDC, 2nd Floor, Stamatiades Building, P.O. Box 15111, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2223 1103 Fax: (237) 2223 1113. Email: info@edc-cameroon.com.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
---------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Supply of drugs
The General Manager of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), Henry
Njalla Quan, invites bids for the supply of drugs, paramedical and lab reagents for the medical and health services Department of the CDC.
Bids must reach the GM`s Office by 26-01-2010 01-2010 by 11 am.
Contact: The Pharmacist, CDC Tiko. Tel: (237) 3333 2251 and Fax: (237) 3343 1746.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
---------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Environmental impact assessment
The University of Buea is seeking a consultant to carry out environmental impact assessment for the building of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the university.
The deadline for submission of bids is 25-01-2010 by 11 am.
Contact: The PRO-ACTP Unit, Amphi 750, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea. Tel: (237) 3332 2134 or (237) 3332 2705 Fax: (237) 3332 2272. Email: proactp_ub@yahoo.com.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
---------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Elaboration of manual
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires a consultant to carry out elaboration of an inspector manual and exploitation of the AGA regulation.
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Elaboration of manual
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires a consultant to elaborate an inspector manual and exploitation of the ATS, SAR, CNS, MAP.MET, PANS-OPS, TRG/PEL regulation.
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 2 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde.Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Supply of airport air conditioners
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) invites bids for the acquisition and installation of air conditioning material in some of Cameroon`s airports. These include the Maroua Airport, the Ngaoundere Airport, the Bamenda Airport, the Bertoua Airport, and the Bafoussam Airport.
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde.Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Overhaul of airport generators
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires the services of a consultant to conduct a review of generators in the Maroua, Ngaoundere, Bamenda, Bafoussam and Bertoua airports, as well as rehabilitate the electrical circuit and raise the co sinus Phi of the Bamenda Airport. These include
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
-----------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Rehabilitation of electrical circuit
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires a consultant for the rehabilitation of electrical circuits and assistance to air navigation equipment at the Maroua and Bertoua airports..
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Airport power supply
The General Manager of the Cameroon Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) requires power supply with electrical energy and relaunching of the working order of VOR/DME of the Ngaoundere airport..
The deadline for submission of bids is 28-01-2010 by 1 pm.
Contact: Department of Administration and Finance, CCAA, P.O. Box 6998, Yaounde.Tel: (237) 2230 3090 or (237) 2230 4766. Fax: (237) 2230 3362. Email: contact@ccaa.aero. or enaphil@yahoo.fr.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
----------------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Office renovation
The General Manager of the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC) seeks the services of a qualified professional for the renovation of the EDC Headquarters` Office in Yaounde.
The deadline for submission of bids is 18-01-2010 by 12 pm.
Contact: General Affairs Director, EDC, 2nd Floor, Stamatiades Building, P.O. Box 15111, Yaounde. Tel: (237) 2223 1103 Fax: (237) 2223 1113. Email: info@edc-cameroon.com.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
---------------------------------------------------
JOB OFFER
Supply of drugs
The General Manager of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), Henry
Njalla Quan, invites bids for the supply of drugs, paramedical and lab reagents for the medical and health services Department of the CDC.
Bids must reach the GM`s Office by 26-01-2010 01-2010 by 11 am.
Contact: The Pharmacist, CDC Tiko. Tel: (237) 3333 2251 and Fax: (237) 3343 1746.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29-01-2010)
Copyright 2010
LESSONS FOR CAMEROON`S PUBLIC SERVICE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This article is an adaptation of an earlier one I broadcast on the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) National Radio Station on the 26th of June 2003. The paper was conceived as a reaction to an article published in READERS` DIGEST, analyzing the workings of the public service system in France. It is one of hundreds of articles I broadcast on the same channel between 2002 and 200, on the early morning prime time national and world news broadcast.
==============================================
The data collection mechanism used is the public opinion poll and the country in question, France. Both methodology and country are significant for Cameroon. This is because opinion polls have for long, stood the test of time in terms of serving as a fairly reliable yard stick for gauging public opinion and also because France is a longstanding partner of Cameroon. Furthermore, because of the historical ties between the two countries,the Cameroonian civil service is largely modeled on that of France.
The survey, conducted exclusively by CSA/CAPITAL before being reported in the Readers` Digest, asked respondents whether they were happy with the country’s public service. Sixty five per cent of those polled said, “Yes”. Of all the sixteen services on which the poll was conducted, the National Electricity Corporation (Electricité de France, EDF) was the one with which French people expressed the most satisfaction, scoring 14.7 out of 20. For Cameroonian observers, such a revelation must come as a puzzle and a paradox, especially as Cameroon’s own power supplier is such a big disappointment to the nation and might be somewhere at the bottom of the league table, if a survey was carried on it within the Cameroonian context.
The reasons for EDF`s high ratings from which Cameroon’s AES SONEL could learn some lessons include the fact that EDF runs a non-stop 24 hour-a-day telephone service for customers and that it’s technicians turn up in record time when there is an emergency. It is reported that in 1999 for example, when a storm blew out lights, the speed with which the corporation restored them was breath-taking. EDF does not disconnect the customer for non-payment of bills without first giving the consumer adequate warning time. For years now, EDF customers have an electricity consumption watchdog which does protect the interests of the consumer. The corporation goes the extra mile to educate the public on the risks of electricity-related domestic accidents. In a nutshell, EDF is present, transparent and caring to the French consumer.
According to the survey, the justice system of France is the worst rated of the sixteen services polled. One woman told the READER`S DIGEST: “I have personally never had anything to do with the law, but my general feeling is that the justice system functions poorly. One sees it in the media. The State makes decisions but the decrees are not applied or vaguely applied. The police arrests delinquents and the justice system releases them. Too often, no follow up is given to reported offences.”
After the Electricity Corporation at the top of the league table, in number two is Local Government services; followed by the Post Office, and hospitals in fourth position. Fifth is France Telecom; sixth is the Health Insurance Company, (CNAM) and in seventh place, the Family Allowance Corporation, CAF. The Police is number eight; Divisional Offices, number nine; National Education, number ten; the railway corporations, RAPT and SNCF, number eleven; taxation, twelve; the Unemployment Insurance Fund, thirteen.
Interviewees strongly felt that the State and not the private sector should be in charge of key services such as the maintenance of law and order, job protection, education, the mail service, public health, water and electricity. On the other hand, they felt the private sector should be in charge of areas such as transportation, culture and the media.
When asked what interviewees thought could be done to improve service, most said administrative procedures ought to be simplified. This view is hardly surprising, for one person remarked that trying to get served in France is like offering oneself as anything but a client, which is what one ought to be. Another user recounted her ordeal when she went to the mayor’s office to obtain a French passport for her child born abroad. After being asked to prove she was French, she duly produced her birth certificate and passport but was shocked to be told that she must show her National Identity Card, which was of course, the only document she did not have at the time.
Surely, if Cameroon needed a partner with which to compare notes on where to go from here with the public service, then here at last is a golden opportunity.
Copyright 2010
This article is an adaptation of an earlier one I broadcast on the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) National Radio Station on the 26th of June 2003. The paper was conceived as a reaction to an article published in READERS` DIGEST, analyzing the workings of the public service system in France. It is one of hundreds of articles I broadcast on the same channel between 2002 and 200, on the early morning prime time national and world news broadcast.
==============================================
The data collection mechanism used is the public opinion poll and the country in question, France. Both methodology and country are significant for Cameroon. This is because opinion polls have for long, stood the test of time in terms of serving as a fairly reliable yard stick for gauging public opinion and also because France is a longstanding partner of Cameroon. Furthermore, because of the historical ties between the two countries,the Cameroonian civil service is largely modeled on that of France.
The survey, conducted exclusively by CSA/CAPITAL before being reported in the Readers` Digest, asked respondents whether they were happy with the country’s public service. Sixty five per cent of those polled said, “Yes”. Of all the sixteen services on which the poll was conducted, the National Electricity Corporation (Electricité de France, EDF) was the one with which French people expressed the most satisfaction, scoring 14.7 out of 20. For Cameroonian observers, such a revelation must come as a puzzle and a paradox, especially as Cameroon’s own power supplier is such a big disappointment to the nation and might be somewhere at the bottom of the league table, if a survey was carried on it within the Cameroonian context.
The reasons for EDF`s high ratings from which Cameroon’s AES SONEL could learn some lessons include the fact that EDF runs a non-stop 24 hour-a-day telephone service for customers and that it’s technicians turn up in record time when there is an emergency. It is reported that in 1999 for example, when a storm blew out lights, the speed with which the corporation restored them was breath-taking. EDF does not disconnect the customer for non-payment of bills without first giving the consumer adequate warning time. For years now, EDF customers have an electricity consumption watchdog which does protect the interests of the consumer. The corporation goes the extra mile to educate the public on the risks of electricity-related domestic accidents. In a nutshell, EDF is present, transparent and caring to the French consumer.
According to the survey, the justice system of France is the worst rated of the sixteen services polled. One woman told the READER`S DIGEST: “I have personally never had anything to do with the law, but my general feeling is that the justice system functions poorly. One sees it in the media. The State makes decisions but the decrees are not applied or vaguely applied. The police arrests delinquents and the justice system releases them. Too often, no follow up is given to reported offences.”
After the Electricity Corporation at the top of the league table, in number two is Local Government services; followed by the Post Office, and hospitals in fourth position. Fifth is France Telecom; sixth is the Health Insurance Company, (CNAM) and in seventh place, the Family Allowance Corporation, CAF. The Police is number eight; Divisional Offices, number nine; National Education, number ten; the railway corporations, RAPT and SNCF, number eleven; taxation, twelve; the Unemployment Insurance Fund, thirteen.
Interviewees strongly felt that the State and not the private sector should be in charge of key services such as the maintenance of law and order, job protection, education, the mail service, public health, water and electricity. On the other hand, they felt the private sector should be in charge of areas such as transportation, culture and the media.
When asked what interviewees thought could be done to improve service, most said administrative procedures ought to be simplified. This view is hardly surprising, for one person remarked that trying to get served in France is like offering oneself as anything but a client, which is what one ought to be. Another user recounted her ordeal when she went to the mayor’s office to obtain a French passport for her child born abroad. After being asked to prove she was French, she duly produced her birth certificate and passport but was shocked to be told that she must show her National Identity Card, which was of course, the only document she did not have at the time.
Surely, if Cameroon needed a partner with which to compare notes on where to go from here with the public service, then here at last is a golden opportunity.
Copyright 2010
RAY OF SUNSHINE
(For Clementine, the blue girl)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Look at me and write it
I’m here, right here, right now
And here to stay
I won’t move an inch
I mean, until the chickens come home to roost
So go on
Go right ahead, and do it right
Paint me the portrait of the Aries lady.
Are you wondering whether I’m fit?
And whether although I smile, I can vow?
Yes, I can, but only in early May
If you don’t know, I can also pinch
I know my rights and what I need as a boost
Whether I am selling at Tim’s or humming for fun.
That’s why my days are always bright
And why I’ll never be part of your bevy.
Copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Look at me and write it
I’m here, right here, right now
And here to stay
I won’t move an inch
I mean, until the chickens come home to roost
So go on
Go right ahead, and do it right
Paint me the portrait of the Aries lady.
Are you wondering whether I’m fit?
And whether although I smile, I can vow?
Yes, I can, but only in early May
If you don’t know, I can also pinch
I know my rights and what I need as a boost
Whether I am selling at Tim’s or humming for fun.
That’s why my days are always bright
And why I’ll never be part of your bevy.
Copyright 2010
THE GREAT FALL
(For Emilia)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
He disappointed me
This man to whom I gave of myself
I gave him my heart
My love, my all
In the end he walked out on me
So many years of sacrifice, self sacrifice
We looked in the same direction
I, like a missionary, planted my heart on the fig tree
And stood guard like a Roman sentry
Until the chickens came home to roost.
Today, he comes back on bended knee
Telling me he has hung his boots on the shelf
He claims he is sorry about the great fall
He asks if I’ll accept him back for a fee
Those were the days we ate nothing but rice
Forget about my life in the Soa direction
So much water under the bridge of pedigree
But there’s no way I can make a second entry
Frankly, he must look for someone else for that boost.
Copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
He disappointed me
This man to whom I gave of myself
I gave him my heart
My love, my all
In the end he walked out on me
So many years of sacrifice, self sacrifice
We looked in the same direction
I, like a missionary, planted my heart on the fig tree
And stood guard like a Roman sentry
Until the chickens came home to roost.
Today, he comes back on bended knee
Telling me he has hung his boots on the shelf
He claims he is sorry about the great fall
He asks if I’ll accept him back for a fee
Those were the days we ate nothing but rice
Forget about my life in the Soa direction
So much water under the bridge of pedigree
But there’s no way I can make a second entry
Frankly, he must look for someone else for that boost.
Copyright 2010
A SCOPIC VIEW OF THINGS
(For Magdalene)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
I will still have to think
And think I will
For nothing is more paramount than thought
Especially when your place of work is called `Paramount`
Of course, thinking is nothing new
Or novel to the Cancerian manager
Whether what you have in mind is
Gastronomic, endoscopic, microscopic or just magdoscopic
The fact remains that the task at hand, I bet you
Is Herculean, mammoth and demanding.
Yet with God being my helper, I won`t blink
Everywhere and at all times, I`ll do his will
Because without him my paramount dream will be naught
My God is my fortress, my refuge and my fount
He will guide me towards upholding Paramount without due
Even if I have to lay all in a second manger
I know daily I must deliver the goods without miss
And the establishment must make profits quick
But I have no magic wand, even if I look blue
I know I’ll be ready on the day of reckoning.
Copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
I will still have to think
And think I will
For nothing is more paramount than thought
Especially when your place of work is called `Paramount`
Of course, thinking is nothing new
Or novel to the Cancerian manager
Whether what you have in mind is
Gastronomic, endoscopic, microscopic or just magdoscopic
The fact remains that the task at hand, I bet you
Is Herculean, mammoth and demanding.
Yet with God being my helper, I won`t blink
Everywhere and at all times, I`ll do his will
Because without him my paramount dream will be naught
My God is my fortress, my refuge and my fount
He will guide me towards upholding Paramount without due
Even if I have to lay all in a second manger
I know daily I must deliver the goods without miss
And the establishment must make profits quick
But I have no magic wand, even if I look blue
I know I’ll be ready on the day of reckoning.
Copyright 2010
DUPE, MOI?
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je ne suis pas dupe
Et jamais je ne le serai
Car à quoi bon compter les cygognes
Et laisser passer les cancrelats
Alors que le bas peuple souffre?
Ignore-t-on pour qui sonne le glas?
J`ai horreur des jupes
Surtout depuis que les mamelles sans frais
Défraient la chronique comme les ivrognes
Sauf si on est fils de prélat
Et qu`on veut à tout prix enterrer le gouffre.
Copyright 2010
Je ne suis pas dupe
Et jamais je ne le serai
Car à quoi bon compter les cygognes
Et laisser passer les cancrelats
Alors que le bas peuple souffre?
Ignore-t-on pour qui sonne le glas?
J`ai horreur des jupes
Surtout depuis que les mamelles sans frais
Défraient la chronique comme les ivrognes
Sauf si on est fils de prélat
Et qu`on veut à tout prix enterrer le gouffre.
Copyright 2010
MES PROMESES
(A Elodie)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je viendrai vous dire, immanquablement
Pas tout de suite car le bois brûle encore
Mais plus tard, afin de réfléchir mûrement
L`essential, souvenez-vous, est d`éclore.
Il est vrai que je ne suis ni reine, ni princesse
Mais je suis cette autre fille au pays des merveils
Qui mord sans souffler et qui chaque jour compte ses richesses
Et qui n`ouble jamais ce qu`elle a fait la veille.
Copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je viendrai vous dire, immanquablement
Pas tout de suite car le bois brûle encore
Mais plus tard, afin de réfléchir mûrement
L`essential, souvenez-vous, est d`éclore.
Il est vrai que je ne suis ni reine, ni princesse
Mais je suis cette autre fille au pays des merveils
Qui mord sans souffler et qui chaque jour compte ses richesses
Et qui n`ouble jamais ce qu`elle a fait la veille.
Copyright 2010
LA CONJONCTURE
(A Mbella Essengue)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
On fonctionne comme on peut
Avec le peu qu`on a
Même si on n`a rien
A la fin, que peut-on?
Copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
On fonctionne comme on peut
Avec le peu qu`on a
Même si on n`a rien
A la fin, que peut-on?
Copyright 2010
QU`ON SE MEFIE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
En toute franchise
Le Pasteur attend toujours sa part
Et les convertis assis sur leurs bibles
Manquent de quoi faire la fête.
Comment sera-t-elle donc belle ?
Je ne prétend nullement être actrice
Seulement, quoi qu`on fasse, qu`on ne soit pas en retard
Sinon le lion sortira de sa tanière
Et ce sera bonjour les dégats et les dettes.
Copyright 2010
En toute franchise
Le Pasteur attend toujours sa part
Et les convertis assis sur leurs bibles
Manquent de quoi faire la fête.
Comment sera-t-elle donc belle ?
Je ne prétend nullement être actrice
Seulement, quoi qu`on fasse, qu`on ne soit pas en retard
Sinon le lion sortira de sa tanière
Et ce sera bonjour les dégats et les dettes.
Copyright 2010
BATAILLE VAINE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je suis un baobab
Un baobab du dernier ordre
Né pour vicre
Et non pour être ivre.
Dans ce pays où on connait mal Hyderabad
Toute femme qui refuse de fondre
Se voit confier le rôle de champ de tir
Alors, pour trancher, que dit le grand livre?
Copyright 2010
Je suis un baobab
Un baobab du dernier ordre
Né pour vicre
Et non pour être ivre.
Dans ce pays où on connait mal Hyderabad
Toute femme qui refuse de fondre
Se voit confier le rôle de champ de tir
Alors, pour trancher, que dit le grand livre?
Copyright 2010
BATAILLE VAINE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je suis un baobab
Un baobab du dernier ordre
Né pour vicre
Et non pour être ivre.
Dans ce pays où on connait mal Hyderabad
Toute femme qui refuse de fondre
Se voit confier le rôle de champ de tir
Alors, pour trancher, que dit le grand livre?
Copyright 2010
Je suis un baobab
Un baobab du dernier ordre
Né pour vicre
Et non pour être ivre.
Dans ce pays où on connait mal Hyderabad
Toute femme qui refuse de fondre
Se voit confier le rôle de champ de tir
Alors, pour trancher, que dit le grand livre?
Copyright 2010
MA VERITE
(A Monsieur John Gaczol, mon enseignant à l`Ecole des Traducteurs-Intreprètes de Lille)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je ne suis pas fatigué
Non, loin de là
Si je l`étais, je serais autrement
Pour le moment je suis en Belgique
Seul, tout seul
Dans la paix du plus profound.
La vie n`a jamais été aisée
Sinon les directeurs seriaient marginalisés
Et les commissaries, de simples super rois
Il est vrai que je n`ai pas de boule de crystal
Je ne connais même pas Madame Soleil
Mais entre toi et moi
Je tiens bon et je suis serein.
Copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je ne suis pas fatigué
Non, loin de là
Si je l`étais, je serais autrement
Pour le moment je suis en Belgique
Seul, tout seul
Dans la paix du plus profound.
La vie n`a jamais été aisée
Sinon les directeurs seriaient marginalisés
Et les commissaries, de simples super rois
Il est vrai que je n`ai pas de boule de crystal
Je ne connais même pas Madame Soleil
Mais entre toi et moi
Je tiens bon et je suis serein.
Copyright 2010
UN SI GRAND BRUIT
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
A bas les jaloux
Et tant pis pour les condamnés
Une brindelle et rien qu`une brindelle
Et on fait tout ce boucan?
Fadil est-il impliqué?
Lorenzo est-il dans le coup?
Monseigneur est-il indexé?
Si ce monde n`était pas plein de soleil
Le soleil du Tout Puissant
Tout Bafoussam ne serait-il pas dehors?
Dehors, malgré le détritus
Ses ordures
Ses déchets
Et Monsieur le Maire, alors?
Détiendrait-il toujours
Le bout de manioc du dernier élu?
Copyright 2010
A bas les jaloux
Et tant pis pour les condamnés
Une brindelle et rien qu`une brindelle
Et on fait tout ce boucan?
Fadil est-il impliqué?
Lorenzo est-il dans le coup?
Monseigneur est-il indexé?
Si ce monde n`était pas plein de soleil
Le soleil du Tout Puissant
Tout Bafoussam ne serait-il pas dehors?
Dehors, malgré le détritus
Ses ordures
Ses déchets
Et Monsieur le Maire, alors?
Détiendrait-il toujours
Le bout de manioc du dernier élu?
Copyright 2010
DUEL A TROIS
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Très souvent, quand la pluie me défie
Moi, arbre sans branches ni épices
Je me transforme en dos d`âne
Et sans prévenir, je rouspète et je rouspète.
Très souvent, lorsqu`il n`y a rien qui correspond
Ni les mots comme les totems, ni les billes à caoutchouc
J`éclate de rire et même si je suis seul
Je me cache derrière mon ombre.
Copyright 2010
Très souvent, quand la pluie me défie
Moi, arbre sans branches ni épices
Je me transforme en dos d`âne
Et sans prévenir, je rouspète et je rouspète.
Très souvent, lorsqu`il n`y a rien qui correspond
Ni les mots comme les totems, ni les billes à caoutchouc
J`éclate de rire et même si je suis seul
Je me cache derrière mon ombre.
Copyright 2010
UN PEU DE TENUE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Il faut signaler cela
Il faut bien le signaler
Tu as raison
Les remboursements sont de rigueur
Même le bas peuple le sait
Alors ne confondons pas les choses
Appelons les choses par leur nom
Sachons faire la part des choses
Et ne mélageons pas les serviettes et les torchons.
Fais tout ce que tu voudras
Quitte à te livrer au chantage
Si tu veux, marche de long en large
Traite nos ancêtres de traîtres
Renvoie les cadeux de ta belle mère
Retour à l`envoyeur
Fais tout ce que tu voudras
Refais les tableaux de Picasso
Ramasse même les déchets laissés
Par la fête chez le député
Mais de grâce, laisse grandir l`enfant.
Copyright 2010
POINT DE REPERE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
C`est un éternal recommencement
Cette culture de la rectitude
Cette quête de l`excellence
Sans générique, ni sanction, ni mot d`ordre
Ce qu`il faut c`est le mot juste
Le mot qu`il faut à la place qu`il faut
Sans médecin véreux, sans infirmière aigrie
Ni toile de fond corrompu, ni tribune d`honneur déshonorée.
Ne l`oublie jamais
Le mot clé c`est le mot juste
Qu`il y ait message codé ou non
Quand les textes primés tomberont
Même à la onzième heure
Sans onzième point
Chacun aura sûrement ses raisons
Même le corbeau
Le curé y compris
Mais de grâce, épargons le nouveau évêque.
Copyright 2010
C`est un éternal recommencement
Cette culture de la rectitude
Cette quête de l`excellence
Sans générique, ni sanction, ni mot d`ordre
Ce qu`il faut c`est le mot juste
Le mot qu`il faut à la place qu`il faut
Sans médecin véreux, sans infirmière aigrie
Ni toile de fond corrompu, ni tribune d`honneur déshonorée.
Ne l`oublie jamais
Le mot clé c`est le mot juste
Qu`il y ait message codé ou non
Quand les textes primés tomberont
Même à la onzième heure
Sans onzième point
Chacun aura sûrement ses raisons
Même le corbeau
Le curé y compris
Mais de grâce, épargons le nouveau évêque.
Copyright 2010
MA PROMESSE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je ne manquerai pas de vous appeler
Chose promise, chose due
Et je tiendrai ma promesse
Vous pouvez compter sur moi.
Je vous appellerai sans faute ni nudité
Je ferai prévaloir les ayants droit crus
Et je ferai saigner les sapins blancs avec détresse
Mais je ne mettrai point la charrue avant les boeufs.
copyright 2010
Je ne manquerai pas de vous appeler
Chose promise, chose due
Et je tiendrai ma promesse
Vous pouvez compter sur moi.
Je vous appellerai sans faute ni nudité
Je ferai prévaloir les ayants droit crus
Et je ferai saigner les sapins blancs avec détresse
Mais je ne mettrai point la charrue avant les boeufs.
copyright 2010
vendredi 15 janvier 2010
NEWS FROM CAMEROON No 003 15/01/2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
---------------------------------------------------------
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
European Union boosts road project
The new Head of the European Union in Cameroon, Raul Mateus, has reaffirmed the Union’s resolve to continue to support Cameroon’s efforts in building its road infrastructure.
Speaking recently after meeting with Prime Minister Philemon Yang, the diplomat who has been in Cameroon for less than two months since he formally took over the running of the Yaounde Diplomatic Mission, told reporters that the EU is intent on boosting the disenfranchisement of Cameroon through continuous improvement of its road network. Last year, the EU opened up the Garoua-Figuil road in the North Region, followed by that of Muea-Kumba in the South West Region.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12/2009)
-------------------------------------------------------------
EDUCATION
Bamenda to get new school
Work is soon to start on the construction of a new primary school in Bamenda. The school which is being offered by First Lady Chantal Biya is part of the scheme the Chantal Biya Foundation runs for empowerment of the education sector in the country. The institution will be located in Ntenifor, Bamendankwe in Bamenda I Sub Division and will be built early enough so that it opens its doors in September 2010.
Taking off complete with all the six classes of the primary school, the school will be equipped with a Headmaster’s Office, a secretariat, a modern toilet, a multimedia centre with computers, and a playground including a football pitch, a handball pitch and a basketball pitch.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29/12/2009)
-----------------------------------------------------------
MARITIME TRANSPORT
Limbe deep seaport shapes up
Feasibility studies on the Limbe Deep Seaport have been formally handed over to the government of Cameroon. The document was submitted to Transport Secretary of State Mefiro Oumarou recently by the Chairman of the Limbe Port Development Authority, Korean Entrepreneur Yeon Seob. The project which will be situated in Ngeme village in the Limbe locality is expected to cost some 426bn CFA when finished.
Limbe II Mayor Molindo Duncan told the Secretary of State that he hoped the Deep Seaport would actually be built, unlike the Limbe Cement Factory which was promised the people but never given.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12/2009)
-------------------------------------------------------------
CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
Metta people stand up as one man
Metta sons and daughters nationwide have vowed to awaken the Metta Cultural and Development Association, and through it, give the Metta community a new lease of life. This would be done, regardless of problems face, with some of the first projects to be completed being the construction of a modern mortuary in Mbengwi, with the sum of 5 million FCFA already raised for that purpose. Also on the agenda is the introduction of a uniform for members of the Metta Cultural and Development Association (MECUDA).
The pronouncements were made during the 2009 Annual General Assembly of MECUDA held recently at the palace of Fon Njokem in Mbengwi.However, the President General of MECUDA, Louis Teboh, warned that these and other projects would not be realized unless Metta people sink their differences and work for the common good of the community.
The USA Branch was singled out for the exemplary step it took by providing 45 benches to GSS Bome and GTC Zang Tabi. That branch and the UK branch were both praised for making a valuable contribution towards the payment of salaries to staff at the Mbengwi District Hospital.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12.2009)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Kumba I unveils 2010 plan
Mayor Prince Ekale Mukete has promised the people of his municipality interesting times in the 2010 financial year. Projects earmarked for the year, according to the mayor include the setting up of a micro finance scheme and a youth programme, the later being specifically intended to empower young people of the Council area. Other measures envisaged include recruitment in the areas of the municipal police, hygiene and sanitation, archives and documentation, public relations and urban development. Also planned are the purchase of more vehicles for the council, the building of a food market and a Commercial Centre in Kake.
This would be funded by a budget of 797bn CFA which councilors have voted for the financial year.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12.2009)
---------------------------------------------------
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Buea Council increases annual budget.
Buea Council is working on a budget of 600m this new fiscal year of 2010. That figure marks an increase over last year’s budget. The Council’s Mayor, Mbella Moki Charles Sees the rise as a necessary means of successfully facing the challenges of 2010.
The budget is targeting needy areas such as HIV AIDS, education, housing as well as pursuing ongoing work which includes the installation and protection of street lights, construction of the Buea market, and later, construction of a modern Town Hall for the Council.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12.2009)
copyright 2010
---------------------------------------------------------
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
European Union boosts road project
The new Head of the European Union in Cameroon, Raul Mateus, has reaffirmed the Union’s resolve to continue to support Cameroon’s efforts in building its road infrastructure.
Speaking recently after meeting with Prime Minister Philemon Yang, the diplomat who has been in Cameroon for less than two months since he formally took over the running of the Yaounde Diplomatic Mission, told reporters that the EU is intent on boosting the disenfranchisement of Cameroon through continuous improvement of its road network. Last year, the EU opened up the Garoua-Figuil road in the North Region, followed by that of Muea-Kumba in the South West Region.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12/2009)
-------------------------------------------------------------
EDUCATION
Bamenda to get new school
Work is soon to start on the construction of a new primary school in Bamenda. The school which is being offered by First Lady Chantal Biya is part of the scheme the Chantal Biya Foundation runs for empowerment of the education sector in the country. The institution will be located in Ntenifor, Bamendankwe in Bamenda I Sub Division and will be built early enough so that it opens its doors in September 2010.
Taking off complete with all the six classes of the primary school, the school will be equipped with a Headmaster’s Office, a secretariat, a modern toilet, a multimedia centre with computers, and a playground including a football pitch, a handball pitch and a basketball pitch.
(Cameroon Tribune, 29/12/2009)
-----------------------------------------------------------
MARITIME TRANSPORT
Limbe deep seaport shapes up
Feasibility studies on the Limbe Deep Seaport have been formally handed over to the government of Cameroon. The document was submitted to Transport Secretary of State Mefiro Oumarou recently by the Chairman of the Limbe Port Development Authority, Korean Entrepreneur Yeon Seob. The project which will be situated in Ngeme village in the Limbe locality is expected to cost some 426bn CFA when finished.
Limbe II Mayor Molindo Duncan told the Secretary of State that he hoped the Deep Seaport would actually be built, unlike the Limbe Cement Factory which was promised the people but never given.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12/2009)
-------------------------------------------------------------
CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
Metta people stand up as one man
Metta sons and daughters nationwide have vowed to awaken the Metta Cultural and Development Association, and through it, give the Metta community a new lease of life. This would be done, regardless of problems face, with some of the first projects to be completed being the construction of a modern mortuary in Mbengwi, with the sum of 5 million FCFA already raised for that purpose. Also on the agenda is the introduction of a uniform for members of the Metta Cultural and Development Association (MECUDA).
The pronouncements were made during the 2009 Annual General Assembly of MECUDA held recently at the palace of Fon Njokem in Mbengwi.However, the President General of MECUDA, Louis Teboh, warned that these and other projects would not be realized unless Metta people sink their differences and work for the common good of the community.
The USA Branch was singled out for the exemplary step it took by providing 45 benches to GSS Bome and GTC Zang Tabi. That branch and the UK branch were both praised for making a valuable contribution towards the payment of salaries to staff at the Mbengwi District Hospital.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12.2009)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Kumba I unveils 2010 plan
Mayor Prince Ekale Mukete has promised the people of his municipality interesting times in the 2010 financial year. Projects earmarked for the year, according to the mayor include the setting up of a micro finance scheme and a youth programme, the later being specifically intended to empower young people of the Council area. Other measures envisaged include recruitment in the areas of the municipal police, hygiene and sanitation, archives and documentation, public relations and urban development. Also planned are the purchase of more vehicles for the council, the building of a food market and a Commercial Centre in Kake.
This would be funded by a budget of 797bn CFA which councilors have voted for the financial year.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12.2009)
---------------------------------------------------
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Buea Council increases annual budget.
Buea Council is working on a budget of 600m this new fiscal year of 2010. That figure marks an increase over last year’s budget. The Council’s Mayor, Mbella Moki Charles Sees the rise as a necessary means of successfully facing the challenges of 2010.
The budget is targeting needy areas such as HIV AIDS, education, housing as well as pursuing ongoing work which includes the installation and protection of street lights, construction of the Buea market, and later, construction of a modern Town Hall for the Council.
(Cameroon Tribune, 23/12.2009)
copyright 2010
mercredi 13 janvier 2010
CONDUIRE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
La conduite c`est autre chose
Ce n`est pas ce que tu penses
Ce sont les papillons fleuris et les visages engloutis
C`est aussi la jolie princesse qui s`exhibe.
copyright 2010
La conduite c`est autre chose
Ce n`est pas ce que tu penses
Ce sont les papillons fleuris et les visages engloutis
C`est aussi la jolie princesse qui s`exhibe.
copyright 2010
EMBARGO
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je ne peux pas le faire
Alors, n`insiste pas
Quand tu rentreras de Meyomessala
Ramène-moi seulement des produits sans paire.
copyright 2010
Je ne peux pas le faire
Alors, n`insiste pas
Quand tu rentreras de Meyomessala
Ramène-moi seulement des produits sans paire.
copyright 2010
IMPUISSANT
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Là ou je suis, ici à Limbe, précisément à la plage
J`ai grand-peur
Car je vois au loin
Les chutes avaler la petite madonne.
Seul et loin, je ne suis qu`un vieux adage
Et comme tu le sais bien, mauvais buteur
Alors, ne compte pas sur moi, homme dans le petit coin
Pour faire des prodiges pour la pauvre Madonne.
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Là ou je suis, ici à Limbe, précisément à la plage
J`ai grand-peur
Car je vois au loin
Les chutes avaler la petite madonne.
Seul et loin, je ne suis qu`un vieux adage
Et comme tu le sais bien, mauvais buteur
Alors, ne compte pas sur moi, homme dans le petit coin
Pour faire des prodiges pour la pauvre Madonne.
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
QUI SUIS-JE?
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je ne suis pas le revenant à la une
Non, loin de là
Je ne suis qu`un simple soldat de fortune
Sur les traces d`une mère au-delà.
copyright 2010
Je ne suis pas le revenant à la une
Non, loin de là
Je ne suis qu`un simple soldat de fortune
Sur les traces d`une mère au-delà.
copyright 2010
MAL CIBLE
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
C`est moi qui ai cassé la chaise
Alors, ne vous en prenez pas au petit
Il n`y est pour rien
Après tout
Un tapis n`est pas un billet
Laissez donc tomber la chicotte.
Vous n`êtes ni Napoléon, Ni le Général De gaulle
Dont je connais la concession a Lille
Alors, oubliez Biarritz et Waterloo
Ce ne sont quand même pas des chaises
De simples chaises
Qui vous feront peter les plombs
Comme un grand
Appelez le petit et présentez-lui des excuses.
copyright 2010
C`est moi qui ai cassé la chaise
Alors, ne vous en prenez pas au petit
Il n`y est pour rien
Après tout
Un tapis n`est pas un billet
Laissez donc tomber la chicotte.
Vous n`êtes ni Napoléon, Ni le Général De gaulle
Dont je connais la concession a Lille
Alors, oubliez Biarritz et Waterloo
Ce ne sont quand même pas des chaises
De simples chaises
Qui vous feront peter les plombs
Comme un grand
Appelez le petit et présentez-lui des excuses.
copyright 2010
INGRAT QUE TU ES
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je lui ai laisse un gâteau
Et un verre de vin
Mais apparemment ces truc-la
Ne suffisent [pas
Que devais-je donc laisser en plus?
Silence infernal
Alors, que faire?
Tout reprendre?
Tout redonner?
Tout détruire?
Tout oublier?
Tout renier?
Tout denouncer?
Et ne rien laisser en contre partie?
copyright 2010
Je lui ai laisse un gâteau
Et un verre de vin
Mais apparemment ces truc-la
Ne suffisent [pas
Que devais-je donc laisser en plus?
Silence infernal
Alors, que faire?
Tout reprendre?
Tout redonner?
Tout détruire?
Tout oublier?
Tout renier?
Tout denouncer?
Et ne rien laisser en contre partie?
copyright 2010
DROIT DE PASSAGE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
La lumière ne donne plus
Et les lampions se sont éteints
Même les vagues fortes ont débordé ce matin
Voilà pourquoi le curé est fâché
Mais il n`est nullement cocu.
Quand la bible sera lue
Et que les nombreux tableaux seront peints
Même ceux en route pour vendre les poussins de noël
Seront recensés, codés et configurés
Mais l`évêque ne laissera passer aucune épée tordue.
La lumière ne donne plus
Et les lampions se sont éteints
Même les vagues fortes ont débordé ce matin
Voilà pourquoi le curé est fâché
Mais il n`est nullement cocu.
Quand la bible sera lue
Et que les nombreux tableaux seront peints
Même ceux en route pour vendre les poussins de noël
Seront recensés, codés et configurés
Mais l`évêque ne laissera passer aucune épée tordue.
MY APOSTLE`S CREED
(For Yvonne)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I like petting
What I hate is penciling
As a crab I know what security means
That’s why I don’t live beyond my means.
copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I like petting
What I hate is penciling
As a crab I know what security means
That’s why I don’t live beyond my means.
copyright 2010
OFF WITH A BANG
(For Princess Diana)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I’m already on my way
Gliding, sliding, floating and surfing
It doesn’t matter one bit
If the lilies are hibernating
No, what matters, at least to me
Is the manner princess
So lowly, so chaste, so purely
Learn their daily bible verses.
copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I’m already on my way
Gliding, sliding, floating and surfing
It doesn’t matter one bit
If the lilies are hibernating
No, what matters, at least to me
Is the manner princess
So lowly, so chaste, so purely
Learn their daily bible verses.
copyright 2010
QUINTA`S GUIDED MISSILE
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
My name is Quinta
But I’m not bitter
I’m all lights and roses
Some call me electrical
But I’m no short circuit
I’m only a monocotyledonous petal
Looking for the right street.
Although you may think me a pitcher
I must say rose periwinkles are better
Just in case the door closes
But rest assured I won`t be hysterical
I just know I’m cute
I care little for precious metal
And to boost, I’m ever so discreet.
copyright 2010
My name is Quinta
But I’m not bitter
I’m all lights and roses
Some call me electrical
But I’m no short circuit
I’m only a monocotyledonous petal
Looking for the right street.
Although you may think me a pitcher
I must say rose periwinkles are better
Just in case the door closes
But rest assured I won`t be hysterical
I just know I’m cute
I care little for precious metal
And to boost, I’m ever so discreet.
copyright 2010
MY ULTIMATE GOAL
(For Mbuh Tomla Emile)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I want to be a successful man
Man who lives and works and does no evil
I want to be the face behind the mask
A force to be reckoned with
The only cock that crows
And the only man the Kremlin fears.
Even so, never will I be the odd man
I’m neither Chamberlain nor Neville
But simply a servant imbued with the gift of the garb
Here where I sit and serve, sometimes as the fifth
I count all the heads as the day grows
And if there’s one thing I can’t forget, it’s surely my peers.
copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I want to be a successful man
Man who lives and works and does no evil
I want to be the face behind the mask
A force to be reckoned with
The only cock that crows
And the only man the Kremlin fears.
Even so, never will I be the odd man
I’m neither Chamberlain nor Neville
But simply a servant imbued with the gift of the garb
Here where I sit and serve, sometimes as the fifth
I count all the heads as the day grows
And if there’s one thing I can’t forget, it’s surely my peers.
copyright 2010
THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
(For Ndansi Brian)
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I like her
And I mean it
I may not have known her
But the fact remains
That I like her.
Although you may think me too far
I reiterate rather than quit
For, because of love, that’s what men are
Say what you like, that will be my answer
Whether there’s thunder or rain
I like her.
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I like her
And I mean it
I may not have known her
But the fact remains
That I like her.
Although you may think me too far
I reiterate rather than quit
For, because of love, that’s what men are
Say what you like, that will be my answer
Whether there’s thunder or rain
I like her.
THE ANNOINTED ONE
Byb Tikum Mbah Azonga
(For Nkarimbi Moses)
Let me call my son
And I will do so right here, right now
I will do so, not for fun
No, but in all seriousness
Like the pepped up torch bearer
The sullen town crier
Who is, who was and who is to be.
I`m not Mbarga Anderson
But this right-hand man of mine is a real vow
He is in no way a man on the run
That`s why I hold him in all highness
He is my eyes, my ears, and my water bearer
When I shall have gone higher
He is the one and only, my man, who will be.
copyright 2010
(For Nkarimbi Moses)
Let me call my son
And I will do so right here, right now
I will do so, not for fun
No, but in all seriousness
Like the pepped up torch bearer
The sullen town crier
Who is, who was and who is to be.
I`m not Mbarga Anderson
But this right-hand man of mine is a real vow
He is in no way a man on the run
That`s why I hold him in all highness
He is my eyes, my ears, and my water bearer
When I shall have gone higher
He is the one and only, my man, who will be.
copyright 2010
MY FLYING SAUCER
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I’m not an air freshener
So don’t take me for one
You can call me a fly whisk
Or the steward’s serving spoon
But certainly not an air freshener.
I accept I’m a commoner
And that I’m as slim as the figure, One
But when it comes to business, I’m brisk
I can also turn into the monsoon
And kick around at will, the Lord Mayor’s beer opener.
copyright 2010
I’m not an air freshener
So don’t take me for one
You can call me a fly whisk
Or the steward’s serving spoon
But certainly not an air freshener.
I accept I’m a commoner
And that I’m as slim as the figure, One
But when it comes to business, I’m brisk
I can also turn into the monsoon
And kick around at will, the Lord Mayor’s beer opener.
copyright 2010
RICE AND BEANS
(For past students of Sacred Heart College, Mankon,who will remember that `rice and beans` was the most popular meal in the college,, but especially those of St.Thomas` House who loved rice and beans most to the extent of having us others nickname their House as "Saint Tom").
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I love rice and beans
Especially when it’s on Thursdays
And in the afternoon for lunch
It gives a sense of false security and a leitmotiv
But there’s one condition, though
The weevils must be legion in the rice
And the palm oil must sparkle
And colour and coat the rice.
I like the flatulence of beans
But when it’s with rice on the trays
It’s different, it becomes a crunch
Although rice and beans may not be a locomotive
I don’t mind the trough
So that when the prefects us rattle
I can boast I ate rice and beans and more rice.
copyright 2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
I love rice and beans
Especially when it’s on Thursdays
And in the afternoon for lunch
It gives a sense of false security and a leitmotiv
But there’s one condition, though
The weevils must be legion in the rice
And the palm oil must sparkle
And colour and coat the rice.
I like the flatulence of beans
But when it’s with rice on the trays
It’s different, it becomes a crunch
Although rice and beans may not be a locomotive
I don’t mind the trough
So that when the prefects us rattle
I can boast I ate rice and beans and more rice.
copyright 2010
mardi 12 janvier 2010
NEWS FROM CAMEROON No 002 of TUESDAY 12-01-2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
ROAD ACCIDENTS
GCE Board plunged in mourning
Three members of the Cameroon GCE Board have died in a road accident, with some others receiving treatment in hospital for injuries sustained during the accident. The three are Oliver Binda, Martin Njakoy and Mrs. Bridget Abianji. Among those hospitalized are Ebenezer Ngoudjou, Bernadette Masse, Simon Pierre Ngamini, Clovis Nguegso Tchatoheoua, Nguedjou Njinke, Nicole Florence Kouokou, Mathew Takwi, Peter Atemkeng, Cardine Njoumessap, Adeline Ndofor, Horace Lenya, Mrs. Mary Anchia, Diana Mbeh and Manaseh Sinju.
The Board members were returning to Buea from Bambili where they went to attend the wedding of the daughter of the GCE Board Chairman Dr Peter Alangeh Abety. They were traveling in a service coaster of the GCE Board when it collided with a passenger bus in the Mbanga area.
(The Post, Monday 11 January 2010)
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Cabinet minister and director picked up
Former Secondary Education Secretary of State Catherine Abena has been picked up by the Judicial Police in Yaounde on charges of embezzling public funds while serving as a cabinet member. Also arrested and being held at the Judicial Police Headquarters is Henri Engoulou, Former Minister Delegate in the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. A report broadcast during today’s national and world news by CRTV National Television Deputy Editor in Chief, Ashu Nyenti, stated that while the team of reporters was at the Judicial Police in the afternoon for further details, it spotted Mrs. Abena going from office to office and not willing to talk. She is said to have also gone on a hunger strike, but since she will not talk, the exact reason for the strike is not yet known.
Last week, other top officials were arrested. The most commented among them is the Former Basic Education Minister Mrs. Haman Adama, the reason being that she is the first official from the three regions of the Big North to have been arrested for alleged embezzlement. Since Paul Biya launched a war against corruption by arresting top public officials a couple of years ago, most arrests have come from the Beti tribal to which he belongs. In addition to Mrs. Haman Adama, the former General Manager of Aéroport du Cameroon, Ntongo Onguene, was also arrested.
Although on the whole, observers applaud this move by President Paul Biya, tongues are wagging, the reason being that when he makes arrests, he does not make those accused to return the money they are said to have stolen. Some pundits also wonder what criteria he is using to arrest suspects when , as one man put it: ‘there are other people walking free whom everyone knows do not have clean hands and should also have been arrested.”
(The Post, Monday 11 January 2010)
RELIGIOUS NEWS
Pope shuffles clergy
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed new bishops in Cameroon. Bishop Joseph Atanga of Bafoussam has been raised to archbishop of Bertoua where he replaces Mgr Roger Pirenne, while Rev Faustin Ambassa Ndjido who was until recently Superior of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary becomes bishop of Batouri, and Rev Sosthene Leopold Bayemi Majjei who prior to his own appointment was a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa, goes to Obala as the bishop of that diocese in replacement of Mgr Jerome Owona Mimboe.
Born in 1952 in Akok-Bekoe village in the Mefou and Akono Division of the Central Region, Mgr Joseph Atanga has spent a fairly long time as a clergy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Brazzaville, a Doctorate degree in the same subject from Fordham University. He was Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Yaounde up till 1999. He is currently a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa.
Mgr Faustin Ambassa who was prior to the present appointment, Chairman of the Council of Senior Superiors of Cameroon and Episcopal Vicar in charge of Consecrated Life of the Yaounde Archdiocese, was born Ekouda in Lekie Division of the Central Region in 1964. After his ordination in 1977 at the age of 33 he served as vicar at the Our Lady of Peace Parish in Dakar, Senegal. Later, he became curate of the St. Pius X Parish on Ngoa in the Diocese of Obala. Mgr Faustin has taught philosophy for years in Senegal and Cameroon. He once served as Superior of the CICM Province of Cameroon.
The new bishop of Obala was born in 1964 in Matomb in Nyong and Kelle Division of the Centre Province. He was ordained priest in the Eseka Cathedral in Nyong and Kelle Division in 1994. He served as vicar at the St. Simon of Kondi Parish in Douala, and later Curate of the St. Paul Parish in Ngog-Mapubi under the Eseka Diocese. In 2001 he was Vicar General of the Eseka Diocese and Curate of the Risen Christ Parish in Eseka. Prior to his appointment, he was a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa and attaché at the Apostolic Nunciature in Yaoundé.
(Cameroon Tribune, 04 December 2009, and Le Jour of 5 December 2009)
NATIONAL FINANCES
The 2010 budget
The national budget for the current year, 2010 went into effect on the 1st of January 2010 and will run until the 31st of December this year. The budget stands at a total of 2,270bn FCFA and represents an overall increase of 11.5 per cent on the 2009 budget of 2,301bn.
Priority areas pinpointed in the budget include power supply with a view to checking the sporadic power cuts that have characterized daily life in the country for some time now. Another key sector is that of the road network. Some new roads are envisaged in the course of the year, with existing ones being consolidated. Projected macroeconomic trends includes a 3.9 per cent growth rate in the GDP, a 3 per inflation rate, an oil price of $70 per barrel and an average exchange rate for the dollar of 446 CFA Frs. per dollar.
The budget is broken down as follows:
1. Presidency of the Republic – 57,342bn
2. Services attached to the Presidency of the Republic – 6.677bn
3. The National Assembly – 15350bn
4. The Prime Minister’s Office – 13bn
5. The Economic and Social Council – 2362bn
6. The Supreme Court – 5,082bn
7. The Supreme State Audit – 6,529
8. Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Territorial Management – 23,216bn
9. Ministry of Higher Education – 43,711bn
10. Ministry of Labour and Social Security – 4,322bn
11. Ministry of Defence – 175,355bn
12. Ministry of Basic Education – 167,728bn
13. Ministry of Energy and Power – 44,614bn
14. Ministry of Justice – 26,329bn
15. Ministry of Town Planning and Housing – 51bn
16. Ministry of Transport – 11,758bn
17. Ministry of Youth Affairs – 7,820bn
18. Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications – 12,641
19. Ministry of State Property and Land Tenure – 15,176bn
20. Ministry of Employment and Professional Training – 6bn
21. Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises – 7,222bn
22. Ministry of Tourism – 4,340
23. Ministry of the Environment – 1,200bn
24. Ministry of Trade – 5,405bn
26. Ministry of Industries and Mines – 6,801bn
27. Ministry of Public Works – 182,282bn
28. Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization – 35,992bn
29. Ministry of Communication – 7,376bn
30. Ministry of Sports and Physical Education – 17,923bn
31. Ministry of the Public Service – 12,660bn
32. Ministry of Finance – 55,371bn
33. General Delegation for National Security – 73,842bn
34. Ministry of Public Health – 123,701bn
35. Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation – 13,157bn
36. Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family – 5,728bn
37. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – 60,342bn
38. Ministry of Social Affairs – 7,589bn
39. Ministry of Animal Breading, Livestock and Animal Industries – 20,488bn
40. Ministry of Culture – 5,252bn
41. Ministry of External Relations – 28,784bn
42. Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife – 17,547bn.
(Cameroon Tribune, 28 December 2009)
ROAD ACCIDENTS
GCE Board plunged in mourning
Three members of the Cameroon GCE Board have died in a road accident, with some others receiving treatment in hospital for injuries sustained during the accident. The three are Oliver Binda, Martin Njakoy and Mrs. Bridget Abianji. Among those hospitalized are Ebenezer Ngoudjou, Bernadette Masse, Simon Pierre Ngamini, Clovis Nguegso Tchatoheoua, Nguedjou Njinke, Nicole Florence Kouokou, Mathew Takwi, Peter Atemkeng, Cardine Njoumessap, Adeline Ndofor, Horace Lenya, Mrs. Mary Anchia, Diana Mbeh and Manaseh Sinju.
The Board members were returning to Buea from Bambili where they went to attend the wedding of the daughter of the GCE Board Chairman Dr Peter Alangeh Abety. They were traveling in a service coaster of the GCE Board when it collided with a passenger bus in the Mbanga area.
(The Post, Monday 11 January 2010)
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Cabinet minister and director picked up
Former Secondary Education Secretary of State Catherine Abena has been picked up by the Judicial Police in Yaounde on charges of embezzling public funds while serving as a cabinet member. Also arrested and being held at the Judicial Police Headquarters is Henri Engoulou, Former Minister Delegate in the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. A report broadcast during today’s national and world news by CRTV National Television Deputy Editor in Chief, Ashu Nyenti, stated that while the team of reporters was at the Judicial Police in the afternoon for further details, it spotted Mrs. Abena going from office to office and not willing to talk. She is said to have also gone on a hunger strike, but since she will not talk, the exact reason for the strike is not yet known.
Last week, other top officials were arrested. The most commented among them is the Former Basic Education Minister Mrs. Haman Adama, the reason being that she is the first official from the three regions of the Big North to have been arrested for alleged embezzlement. Since Paul Biya launched a war against corruption by arresting top public officials a couple of years ago, most arrests have come from the Beti tribal to which he belongs. In addition to Mrs. Haman Adama, the former General Manager of Aéroport du Cameroon, Ntongo Onguene, was also arrested.
Although on the whole, observers applaud this move by President Paul Biya, tongues are wagging, the reason being that when he makes arrests, he does not make those accused to return the money they are said to have stolen. Some pundits also wonder what criteria he is using to arrest suspects when , as one man put it: ‘there are other people walking free whom everyone knows do not have clean hands and should also have been arrested.”
(The Post, Monday 11 January 2010)
RELIGIOUS NEWS
Pope shuffles clergy
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed new bishops in Cameroon. Bishop Joseph Atanga of Bafoussam has been raised to archbishop of Bertoua where he replaces Mgr Roger Pirenne, while Rev Faustin Ambassa Ndjido who was until recently Superior of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary becomes bishop of Batouri, and Rev Sosthene Leopold Bayemi Majjei who prior to his own appointment was a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa, goes to Obala as the bishop of that diocese in replacement of Mgr Jerome Owona Mimboe.
Born in 1952 in Akok-Bekoe village in the Mefou and Akono Division of the Central Region, Mgr Joseph Atanga has spent a fairly long time as a clergy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Brazzaville, a Doctorate degree in the same subject from Fordham University. He was Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Yaounde up till 1999. He is currently a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa.
Mgr Faustin Ambassa who was prior to the present appointment, Chairman of the Council of Senior Superiors of Cameroon and Episcopal Vicar in charge of Consecrated Life of the Yaounde Archdiocese, was born Ekouda in Lekie Division of the Central Region in 1964. After his ordination in 1977 at the age of 33 he served as vicar at the Our Lady of Peace Parish in Dakar, Senegal. Later, he became curate of the St. Pius X Parish on Ngoa in the Diocese of Obala. Mgr Faustin has taught philosophy for years in Senegal and Cameroon. He once served as Superior of the CICM Province of Cameroon.
The new bishop of Obala was born in 1964 in Matomb in Nyong and Kelle Division of the Centre Province. He was ordained priest in the Eseka Cathedral in Nyong and Kelle Division in 1994. He served as vicar at the St. Simon of Kondi Parish in Douala, and later Curate of the St. Paul Parish in Ngog-Mapubi under the Eseka Diocese. In 2001 he was Vicar General of the Eseka Diocese and Curate of the Risen Christ Parish in Eseka. Prior to his appointment, he was a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa and attaché at the Apostolic Nunciature in Yaoundé.
(Cameroon Tribune, 04 December 2009, and Le Jour of 5 December 2009)
NATIONAL FINANCES
The 2010 budget
The national budget for the current year, 2010 went into effect on the 1st of January 2010 and will run until the 31st of December this year. The budget stands at a total of 2,270bn FCFA and represents an overall increase of 11.5 per cent on the 2009 budget of 2,301bn.
Priority areas pinpointed in the budget include power supply with a view to checking the sporadic power cuts that have characterized daily life in the country for some time now. Another key sector is that of the road network. Some new roads are envisaged in the course of the year, with existing ones being consolidated. Projected macroeconomic trends includes a 3.9 per cent growth rate in the GDP, a 3 per inflation rate, an oil price of $70 per barrel and an average exchange rate for the dollar of 446 CFA Frs. per dollar.
The budget is broken down as follows:
1. Presidency of the Republic – 57,342bn
2. Services attached to the Presidency of the Republic – 6.677bn
3. The National Assembly – 15350bn
4. The Prime Minister’s Office – 13bn
5. The Economic and Social Council – 2362bn
6. The Supreme Court – 5,082bn
7. The Supreme State Audit – 6,529
8. Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Territorial Management – 23,216bn
9. Ministry of Higher Education – 43,711bn
10. Ministry of Labour and Social Security – 4,322bn
11. Ministry of Defence – 175,355bn
12. Ministry of Basic Education – 167,728bn
13. Ministry of Energy and Power – 44,614bn
14. Ministry of Justice – 26,329bn
15. Ministry of Town Planning and Housing – 51bn
16. Ministry of Transport – 11,758bn
17. Ministry of Youth Affairs – 7,820bn
18. Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications – 12,641
19. Ministry of State Property and Land Tenure – 15,176bn
20. Ministry of Employment and Professional Training – 6bn
21. Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises – 7,222bn
22. Ministry of Tourism – 4,340
23. Ministry of the Environment – 1,200bn
24. Ministry of Trade – 5,405bn
26. Ministry of Industries and Mines – 6,801bn
27. Ministry of Public Works – 182,282bn
28. Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization – 35,992bn
29. Ministry of Communication – 7,376bn
30. Ministry of Sports and Physical Education – 17,923bn
31. Ministry of the Public Service – 12,660bn
32. Ministry of Finance – 55,371bn
33. General Delegation for National Security – 73,842bn
34. Ministry of Public Health – 123,701bn
35. Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation – 13,157bn
36. Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family – 5,728bn
37. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – 60,342bn
38. Ministry of Social Affairs – 7,589bn
39. Ministry of Animal Breading, Livestock and Animal Industries – 20,488bn
40. Ministry of Culture – 5,252bn
41. Ministry of External Relations – 28,784bn
42. Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife – 17,547bn.
(Cameroon Tribune, 28 December 2009)
dimanche 10 janvier 2010
NEWS FROM CAMEROON No. 001 of SUNDAY 10-01-2010
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
CULTURE AND TRADITION
Oshie people showcase their heritage
The newly enthroned Fon of Oshie, HRH Ekanya Lawrence Anyangwe V has been presented to the Oshie population of Limbe in the South West Region. This took place in November 2009 at a ceremony warmed up by Oshie notable and business tycoon Awanga in his capacity as National President of the Oshie Cultural and Development Association (OCA).
During the ceremony, the sum of 20m FCFA was raised for the refurbishment of the Oshie palace and improvement of water supply in the village. The event was attended by over 2000 delegates and invitees, including the Government Delegate to the Limbe Urban Council, Andrew Motanga Monjimba who made a contribution of 150 000 FCFA. Ngamfon Awanga who is also Board Chairman of the National Financial Credit high street bank and CEO of the Samaritan Insurance Company, donated a million FRS CFA. He also used the occasion to launch a scholarship scheme for Oshie students with a view to enabling them accede to higher education, with emphasis on professional disciplines such as medicine, business studies, accountancy, engineering, as well as professional schools like ENAM, IRIC, ASMAC, ASTI, EMIA and the ENS. To farmers, he promised subventions for fertilizers and seedlings in order to boost crop production.
The presentation of the Fon coincided with the holding of the 2009 edition of the OCA Annual National Convention. The reason for holding the Convention out of Oshie was stated by the OCA National President as being a means of increasing participation and fundraising.
(Chronicle Nov 11-21, 2009)
POLITICS
Biya walks a tight rope
On the occasion of the 27th anniversary of President Paul Biya`s accession to power, in November 2009, Chronicle newspaper drew up a balance sheet of his work, published under the title, “Biya`s tempting moments within 27 years”. The analysis is contained in eleven points: the transformation of the erstwhile CNU party into the present day CPDM, the attempted coup in 1984 which the president survived, the wind of change that originated in Moscow and swept across Africa in the 1990s, the Ghost Town demonstrations that paralyzed the nation in those years, and the devaluation of the CFA Franc as a response to the biting economic crisis. Also mentioned are the fight against inertia and corruption, the Bakassi crisis, revision of the constitution to increase the president’s term in office, the power struggle at the helm of state affairs symbolized by the G11 syndrome and the February 2009 commodity riots.
(Chronicle Nov 11-21, 2009)
Former SDF baron joins new party
The Former SDF parliamentarian for the Tubah and Bafut Constituency, Akonteh Andrew, who quit his party has joined the Democratic Movement for a Modern Cameroon (DMMC), as that party’s National Vice President. The DMMC is headed by the politician Milla Assoute who is known for his acerbic criticism of Paul Biya, National President of the ruling CPDM party and current president of the Republic.
(The Post, November 23, 2009)
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Rumpi launches road project
The Rumpi Area Participatory Development Project is soon to begin construction and rehabilitation work on some 227 kilometers of rural roads in the six Divisions of the South West Region: Fako, Meme,Ndian, Kupe Manenguba, Meme and Lebialem. The revelation was made by Dr. Andrew Eneme Ngome, General Manager of the South West Development Authority (SOWEDA) which is the supervisory body of the Rumpi Project. Funding is being provided by the African Development Bank as part of its ongoing assistance to Rumpi projects. The improved road network is expected to boost access to farming areas in the hinterlands and ease evacuation of farm produce.
Responding to concerns that the work might be abandoned half way, Rumpi Project Coordinator Besong Ogork Ntui gave assurances that such an eventuality was impossible because the project would be closely supervised by an independent Control Mission from the Republic of South Africa.
(Eden, Wednesday 18- November 23 2009)
AIR TRANSPORT
Douala airport tightens security
Security has been reinforced at the Douala International Airport as a way of protecting persons and goods passing through the airport. Some of the measures introduced include refusal of access to persons seeing off passengers, the beefed up presence of policemen and women and security guards at the various entrances and exits of the airport, the banning of vehicles on the path leading to the VIP lounge and the interdiction of haphazard parking in front of the airport. Even airport staffs are no longer allowed to park at the entrance to the airport. Henceforth, they must use the car park allocated for that purpose. Ambulant salespersons and street beggars who used to freely enter and leave the airport have now been barred. People coming to receive parcels must first of all leave their identity cards with the appointed official before entering the building.
(Le Jour, jeudi 03 décembre 2009)
POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY
National Assembly President in China
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has returned from a working visit in China, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, the President of the Permanent Committee of the Chinese People`s National Assembly, Wu Bangguo.
While in China, Cavaye visited the capital, Beijing, Guiyang in the South East, and the industrial and commercial centre of Guangzhou in the South.
During talks held by the two men, the need to strengthen cooperation was stated, with specific mention made of domains such as infrastructure, equipment, capacity building of parliamentarians. The two leaders recognized that although business between the two countries was encouraging, it needed to be enhanced.
(Cameroon Tribune, December 31, 2009)
BILINGUALISM
Douala Linguistic Centre turns twenty
The Douala Linguistic Centre which is on of the centres opened in eight of the country’s ten regions for the teaching mainly but not exclusively of the two official languages, French and English, and through that, the promotion of the policy of bilingualism, celebrated its twentieth anniversary in November 2009. In the twenty years of its existence, the Douala Centre has trained some 4000 learners. However, there is still some considerable apathy on the part of the government employees for whom use of the Centre should have been a foregone conclusion.
The Center’s Director, Mbiwan Tanyi Ebob Ebenye, told Cameroon Tribune: “Our fees are extremely moderate. We offer almost free services to the public. The fees range between CFA 20, 000 and 30 000, depending on the learner’s schedule. We have six levels of learning, beginning with the foundation through elementary to the advanced level. Each module lasts three months and strictly respects individual schedules. Some students come in the morning, others choose to come in the afternoon or evening. We also adapt our lessons to the learner’s individual needs. We teach the language of business to businessmen, the language of diplomacy to diplomats, etc.”
(Cameroon Tribune, Monday 21 December 2009)
DIPLOMACY
Bakassi priority projects on track
The 2009 fiscal year has been a good one in terms of realization of the priority projects earmarked for the Bakassi County. According to Lekunze Ketuma Jacob, Chairman of the Coordination and Follow-Up Committee for the projects, up to 80 per cent of the projects were completed in the fiscal year. Lekunze was speaking after an evaluation tour in the area.
Lekunze said: “We had CFA one billion for priority projects in Bakassi in 2008 with an execution rate of more than 90 per cent, and now, we have an execution rate of 80 per cent for the 2009 projects budgeted at over eight billion.”
According to Cameroon Tribune, projects have been completed in all the five Sub Divisions that constitute the Bakassi peninsula. These are Bamusso, Idabato, Kombo Itindi, Isangele and Kombo Abedimo which the paper says “are currently being transformed into work sites with infrastructure springing up like mushrooms.”
Specific projects FOR Kombo Itindi include an Integrated Health Centre complete with staff quarters and a police post in Ngoso, as well as the Sub Divisional Delegation of Agriculture and Rural Development, complete with staff quarters. Bamusso has a new Sub Divisional Delegation of Animal Breeding, Fisheries and Animal Industries and a new Sub Division of Basic Education. Kombo Abedimo has been given a Sub Divisional Office, a Government Technical College, a Potable Water system using solar energy, a Women’s` Empowerment Centre, a Social Centre, and a Rural Artisan and Home Economics Centre (SAR/SM). Isangele Sub Division also has a Women’s Empowerment Centre and a Rural Artisan and Home Economics Centre (SAR/SM). In addition, the Sub Division has been equipped with a residence for the medical officer and a new building for the Sub Divisional Office as well as a Sub Divisional Delegation of Animal Breeding, Fisheries and Animal Industries.
(Cameroon Tribune, Monday 21 December 2009)
PUBLIC CONTRACT AWARDS
Information System Installation
The Douala Port Authority is inviting tenders for the putting in place of a Seaport Information System at the Douala Port.
Criteria for selection include qualification of staff, candidate’s references, technical capacity and presentation of the file.
Application files should be written in French or English must be in five copies, one of which is the original and the other four, copies, and deposited in Room 920 of the Douala Port Authority Office, situated in the IGH Building at Douala-Bonanjo by 12 pm on 20 January 2010 Cameroon time. Further details can be obtained from the Permanent Secretariat of the Seaport Information System at the Douala Port Authority. Tel: (237) 3342 0133.
(Cameroon Tribune, Monday 21 December 2009)
POWER SUPPLY
Wind generated electricity to take off in North West
A Spanish firm , Ecovalen Energetica S.L., is working towards setting up electricity production wind turbines in Fundong, headquarters of Boyo Division in the North West Region, which when completed, will supply enough power to the entire region for about twenty years. The project which is the initiative of the Cameroon government is expected to go operational in about a year’s time.
North West Regional Delegate for Power and Water Resources, Awa Celestine Anyam, explained the choice of Boyo to host the projects by the fact that experts had recommended it based on the Division having the highest wind velocity in the region. After Boyo, similar projects will be installed in Manyu for the South West and Mbouda for the West Regions respectively.
REGIONAL NEWS
West Region: New hospital equipment
Sons and daughters of Baham, headquarters of Upper Plateau Division have sent home drugs and medical equipment worth some 1bn FCFA. The items are to be distributed to some seven hospitals in the region.
The package which was handed over to the Prefect of Upper Plateau Division, Tangwa Joseph, for onward transmission, included 480 hospital beds and 16 operation beds, made possible through personal contributions from members of the Baham community in Germany as well as some German friendly NGOs.
(Cameroon Tribune, Tuesday 23 December 2009)
South Region: mosquito nets
The MTN Foundation has donated a total of 500 mosquito nets to expectant women and children aged 0-15 years in Lokoundje, Ocean Division, for use by the inhabitants of Lokoundje Council area. The gift was handed over to the mayor of the Council, Innocent Ondoua Nkou, by MTN Cameroon General Manager Philippe Vandebrouk, as MTN`s contribution towards the fight against malaria, a major killer in the country.
(Cameroon Tribune, Thursday 03 December 2009)
North Region: Garoua II Council votes 2010 Budget
Garoua II Council has adopted a budget of 136m FCFA for the 2010 financial year, which marks an increase of 12m over the 2008 budget. The new budget will prioritize the acquisition of a site for the construction of the Garoua II Town Hall, rehabilitation of the Takasko market and the extension of the electricity network in some quarters of Garoua II.
(Cameroon Tribune, Thursday 03 December 2009)
Littoral Region: European Union boost
The European Union has through the Rural Development Programme of the Mungo-Nkam Agricultural Basin (PDRBAN), donated a garri manufacturing machine to the Grouping of Girls and Women for the Aid and Development of Ngalmoa (REFENAD), located in Nkongsamba I Sub Division.
The machine is worth 2.3m FCA and is equipped with components such as cassava grinding machine, a processing machine and a cassava flour sieve. The machine has the capacity to grind up to ten tones of cassava per day, which means that the quantity of cassava needed to meet that demand is high but also challenging.
Cameroon Tribune, Thursday 03 December 2009
CULTURE AND TRADITION
Oshie people showcase their heritage
The newly enthroned Fon of Oshie, HRH Ekanya Lawrence Anyangwe V has been presented to the Oshie population of Limbe in the South West Region. This took place in November 2009 at a ceremony warmed up by Oshie notable and business tycoon
During the ceremony, the sum of 20m FCFA was raised for the refurbishment of the Oshie palace and improvement of water supply in the village. The event was attended by over 2000 delegates and invitees, including the Government Delegate to the Limbe Urban Council, Andrew Motanga Monjimba who made a contribution of 150 000 FCFA. Ngamfon Awanga who is also Board Chairman of the National Financial Credit high street bank and CEO of the Samaritan Insurance Company, donated a million FRS CFA. He also used the occasion to launch a scholarship scheme for Oshie students with a view to enabling them accede to higher education, with emphasis on professional disciplines such as medicine, business studies, accountancy, engineering, as well as professional schools like ENAM, IRIC, ASMAC, ASTI, EMIA and the ENS. To farmers, he promised subventions for fertilizers and seedlings in order to boost crop production.
The presentation of the Fon coincided with the holding of the 2009 edition of the OCA Annual National Convention. The reason for holding the Convention out of Oshie was stated by the OCA National President as being a means of increasing participation and fundraising.
(Chronicle Nov 11-21, 2009)
POLITICS
Biya walks a tight rope
On the occasion of the 27th anniversary of President Paul Biya`s accession to power, in November 2009, Chronicle newspaper drew up a balance sheet of his work, published under the title, “Biya`s tempting moments within 27 years”. The analysis is contained in eleven points: the transformation of the erstwhile CNU party into the present day CPDM, the attempted coup in 1984 which the president survived, the wind of change that originated in Moscow and swept across Africa in the 1990s, the Ghost Town demonstrations that paralyzed the nation in those years, and the devaluation of the CFA Franc as a response to the biting economic crisis. Also mentioned are the fight against inertia and corruption, the Bakassi crisis, revision of the constitution to increase the president’s term in office, the power struggle at the helm of state affairs symbolized by the G11 syndrome and the February 2009 commodity riots.
(Chronicle Nov 11-21, 2009)
Former SDF baron joins new party
The Former SDF parliamentarian for the Tubah and Bafut Constituency, Akonteh Andrew, who quit his party has joined the Democratic Movement for a Modern Cameroon (DMMC), as that party’s National Vice President. The DMMC is headed by the politician Milla Assoute who is known for his acerbic criticism of Paul Biya, National President of the ruling CPDM party and current president of the Republic.
(The Post, November 23, 2009)
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Rumpi launches road project
The Rumpi Area Participatory Development Project is soon to begin construction and rehabilitation work on some 227 kilometers of rural roads in the six Divisions of the South West Region: Fako, Meme,Ndian, Kupe Manenguba, Meme and Lebialem. The revelation was made by Dr. Andrew Eneme Ngome, General Manager of the South West Development Authority (SOWEDA) which is the supervisory body of the Rumpi Project. Funding is being provided by the African Development Bank as part of its ongoing assistance to Rumpi projects. The improved road network is expected to boost access to farming areas in the hinterlands and ease evacuation of farm produce.
Responding to concerns that the work might be abandoned half way, Rumpi Project Coordinator Besong Ogork Ntui gave assurances that such an eventuality was impossible because the project would be closely supervised by an independent Control Mission from the Republic of South Africa.
(Eden, Wednesday 18- November 23 2009)
AIR TRANSPORT
Douala airport tightens security
Security has been reinforced at the Douala International Airport as a way of protecting persons and goods passing through the airport. Some of the measures introduced include refusal of access to persons seeing off passengers, the beefed up presence of policemen and women and security guards at the various entrances and exits of the airport, the banning of vehicles on the path leading to the VIP lounge and the interdiction of haphazard parking in front of the airport. Even airport staffs are no longer allowed to park at the entrance to the airport. Henceforth, they must use the car park allocated for that purpose. Ambulant salespersons and street beggars who used to freely enter and leave the airport have now been barred. People coming to receive parcels must first of all leave their identity cards with the appointed official before entering the building.
(Le Jour, jeudi 03 décembre 2009)
POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY
National Assembly President in China
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has returned from a working visit in China, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, the President of the Permanent Committee of the Chinese People`s National Assembly, Wu Bangguo.
While in China, Cavaye visited the capital, Beijing, Guiyang in the South East, and the industrial and commercial centre of Guangzhou in the South.
During talks held by the two men, the need to strengthen cooperation was stated, with specific mention made of domains such as infrastructure, equipment, capacity building of parliamentarians. The two leaders recognized that although business between the two countries was encouraging, it needed to be enhanced.
(Cameroon Tribune, December 31, 2009)
BILINGUALISM
Douala Linguistic Centre turns twenty
The Douala Linguistic Centre which is on of the centres opened in eight of the country’s ten regions for the teaching mainly but not exclusively of the two official languages, French and English, and through that, the promotion of the policy of bilingualism, celebrated its twentieth anniversary in November 2009. In the twenty years of its existence, the Douala Centre has trained some 4000 learners. However, there is still some considerable apathy on the part of the government employees for whom use of the Centre should have been a foregone conclusion.
The Center’s Director, Mbiwan Tanyi Ebob Ebenye, told Cameroon Tribune: “Our fees are extremely moderate. We offer almost free services to the public. The fees range between CFA 20, 000 and 30 000, depending on the learner’s schedule. We have six levels of learning, beginning with the foundation through elementary to the advanced level. Each module lasts three months and strictly respects individual schedules. Some students come in the morning, others choose to come in the afternoon or evening. We also adapt our lessons to the learner’s individual needs. We teach the language of business to businessmen, the language of diplomacy to diplomats, etc.”
(Cameroon Tribune, Monday 21 December 2009)
DIPLOMACY
Bakassi priority projects on track
The 2009 fiscal year has been a good one in terms of realization of the priority projects earmarked for the Bakassi County. According to Lekunze Ketuma Jacob, Chairman of the Coordination and Follow-Up Committee for the projects, up to 80 per cent of the projects were completed in the fiscal year. Lekunze was speaking after an evaluation tour in the area.
Lekunze said: “We had CFA one billion for priority projects in Bakassi in 2008 with an execution rate of more than 90 per cent, and now, we have an execution rate of 80 per cent for the 2009 projects budgeted at over eight billion.”
According to Cameroon Tribune, projects have been completed in all the five Sub Divisions that constitute the Bakassi peninsula. These are Bamusso, Idabato, Kombo Itindi, Isangele and Kombo Abedimo which the paper says “are currently being transformed into work sites with infrastructure springing up like mushrooms.”
Specific projects FOR Kombo Itindi include an Integrated Health Centre complete with staff quarters and a police post in Ngoso, as well as the Sub Divisional Delegation of Agriculture and Rural Development, complete with staff quarters. Bamusso has a new Sub Divisional Delegation of Animal Breeding, Fisheries and Animal Industries and a new Sub Division of Basic Education. Kombo Abedimo has been given a Sub Divisional Office, a Government Technical College, a Potable Water system using solar energy, a Women’s` Empowerment Centre, a Social Centre, and a Rural Artisan and Home Economics Centre (SAR/SM). Isangele Sub Division also has a Women’s Empowerment Centre and a Rural Artisan and Home Economics Centre (SAR/SM). In addition, the Sub Division has been equipped with a residence for the medical officer and a new building for the Sub Divisional Office as well as a Sub Divisional Delegation of Animal Breeding, Fisheries and Animal Industries.
(Cameroon Tribune, Monday 21 December 2009)
PUBLIC CONTRACT AWARDS
Information System Installation
The Douala Port Authority is inviting tenders for the putting in place of a Seaport Information System at the Douala Port.
Criteria for selection include qualification of staff, candidate’s references, technical capacity and presentation of the file.
Application files should be written in French or English must be in five copies, one of which is the original and the other four, copies, and deposited in Room 920 of the Douala Port Authority Office, situated in the IGH Building at Douala-Bonanjo by 12 pm on 20 January 2010 Cameroon time. Further details can be obtained from the Permanent Secretariat of the Seaport Information System at the Douala Port Authority. Tel: (237) 3342 0133.
(Cameroon Tribune, Monday 21 December 2009)
POWER SUPPLY
Wind generated electricity to take off in North West
A Spanish firm , Ecovalen Energetica S.L., is working towards setting up electricity production wind turbines in Fundong, headquarters of Boyo Division in the North West Region, which when completed, will supply enough power to the entire region for about twenty years. The project which is the initiative of the Cameroon government is expected to go operational in about a year’s time.
North West Regional Delegate for Power and Water Resources, Awa Celestine Anyam, explained the choice of Boyo to host the projects by the fact that experts had recommended it based on the Division having the highest wind velocity in the region. After Boyo, similar projects will be installed in Manyu for the South West and Mbouda for the West Regions respectively.
REGIONAL NEWS
West Region: New hospital equipment
Sons and daughters of Baham, headquarters of Upper Plateau Division have sent home drugs and medical equipment worth some 1bn FCFA. The items are to be distributed to some seven hospitals in the region.
The package which was handed over to the Prefect of Upper Plateau Division, Tangwa Joseph, for onward transmission, included 480 hospital beds and 16 operation beds, made possible through personal contributions from members of the Baham community in Germany as well as some German friendly NGOs.
(Cameroon Tribune, Tuesday 23 December 2009)
South Region: mosquito nets
The MTN Foundation has donated a total of 500 mosquito nets to expectant women and children aged 0-15 years in Lokoundje, Ocean Division, for use by the inhabitants of Lokoundje Council area. The gift was handed over to the mayor of the Council, Innocent Ondoua Nkou, by MTN Cameroon General Manager Philippe Vandebrouk, as MTN`s contribution towards the fight against malaria, a major killer in the country.
(Cameroon Tribune, Thursday 03 December 2009)
North Region: Garoua II Council votes 2010 Budget
Garoua II Council has adopted a budget of 136m FCFA for the 2010 financial year, which marks an increase of 12m over the 2008 budget. The new budget will prioritize the acquisition of a site for the construction of the Garoua II Town Hall, rehabilitation of the Takasko market and the extension of the electricity network in some quarters of Garoua II.
(Cameroon Tribune, Thursday 03 December 2009)
Littoral Region: European Union boost
The European Union has through the Rural Development Programme of the Mungo-Nkam Agricultural Basin (PDRBAN), donated a garri manufacturing machine to the Grouping of Girls and Women for the Aid and Development of Ngalmoa (REFENAD), located in Nkongsamba I Sub Division.
The machine is worth 2.3m FCA and is equipped with components such as cassava grinding machine, a processing machine and a cassava flour sieve. The machine has the capacity to grind up to ten tones of cassava per day, which means that the quantity of cassava needed to meet that demand is high but also challenging.
Cameroon Tribune, Thursday 03 December 2009
samedi 9 janvier 2010
TOI, QUI?
(Franklin Lemana Tina, un frère dont je connais le franc parler légendaire. Je me souviens encore de nos quelques jours à Mutengene)
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je suis de loin ton aîné
Alors, ne me parle pas comme ça
Tu sais là où est enterré ton cordon ombilical
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quel jour le président a été réélu pour la troisième fois?
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quand notre oncle est mort?
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quel évêque a sanctionné l'Abbé Philémon?
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quand Atangana est parti à Paris
Parti pour de bon?
Moi je le sais
Alors, tu parles de quoi?
Tais-toi
Moi à ta place
Je ne parlerais plus
Je me tairerais
Je ne dirais plus un seul mot
Je resterais silencieux
Coît
Muet.
copyright 2010
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga
Je suis de loin ton aîné
Alors, ne me parle pas comme ça
Tu sais là où est enterré ton cordon ombilical
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quel jour le président a été réélu pour la troisième fois?
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quand notre oncle est mort?
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quel évêque a sanctionné l'Abbé Philémon?
Moi je le sais.
Tu sais quand Atangana est parti à Paris
Parti pour de bon?
Moi je le sais
Alors, tu parles de quoi?
Tais-toi
Moi à ta place
Je ne parlerais plus
Je me tairerais
Je ne dirais plus un seul mot
Je resterais silencieux
Coît
Muet.
copyright 2010
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