By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) on the 7.30 prime time national radio news programme of the 12th of April 2002. This paper was one of hundreds of political chronicles I delivered on the news programme from 2002 to 2005. The article was a spontaneous reaction to the national political snapshot of Cameroon on the day the commentary was delivered. The trigger was the move taken by the ruling political party of the country, the Cameroon People`s Democratic Movement (CPDM), given substance through the reorganization of the basic organs of the party.
___________________________________________
A certain dictionary defines the word, “character” as a distinctive mark, a peculiar trait that is something which marks out or distinguishes one thing or person from another.
Although the above definition is limited, the question may arise, whether a country or nation can also have a character. Americans for instance, have a very strongly marked nationalist character, which makes them love their country, right or wrong, as dearly as one loves a spouse. For the American man or woman, love of the fatherland is a strong, innermost feeling which he or she would not trade or betray, even for a kingdom. As one loves a spouse, therefore, one is equally prepared to go to any lengths to defend his or her interests.
What then is the national character of our nation, Cameroon? Well, compared with other countries, the Cameroonian loves peace, his neighbour, education, beer and football. But then, there are moments when some of us question the national character. And that is why some Cameroonians have lamented being born Cameroonians. Such regret is, to say the least, is as pointless as it is counter productive. It is like saying one regrets being born to one’s parent. The fact is that at birth one cannot choose nationality, just as one cannot choose one’s parents. It is a reality into which one is born and over which one really has no choice and even strictly speaking, no right of reply.
Besides, even if one is not happy being a Cameroonian as such, can one pack one’s bags and move into another country and at once adopt that country and be accepted by it? Of cause not! There is therefore no place like home, which is not to say home is a bed of roses.
The point is that every Cameroonian has a right to live in the great national triangle. There is room in it for us all. No son or daughter has any greater right to that national space than anyone else. No one should therefore allow themselves to be out maneuvered or to chicken out.
Our national newspapers ought to be champions of the national character, like those of other countries such as Nigeria, are. But one finds that generally that is not always the case, for, some papers tend to mix up national interests with the interests of those who govern us. There is no doubt that our leaders, as public figures, ought to be x-rayed journalistically speaking, but the nation as such, is untouchable, unassailable and inviolable. As the late statesman S.T. Muna put it: “people come and go but, the nation remains”. So, let us, by all means, focus on the many similarities that unite us, than on the few differences that divides us.
Copyright 2011
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est TIKUM MBAH AZONGA POLITICAL COMMENTARIES. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est TIKUM MBAH AZONGA POLITICAL COMMENTARIES. Afficher tous les articles
vendredi 4 février 2011
samedi 15 janvier 2011
WHEN RETIREMENT IS FUN
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 11th of April 2003 with a view to provoking reflection on the dreaded question of retirement and consequently prepare for it. 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.
___________________________________________________
For every employee, retirement ought to be viewed as something inevitable and therefore planned ahead of time. This is because people grow ordinarily as well as in their jobs. In one's life time there is an indisputable peak period or some crescendo, so to speak, during which one is at one's best performance. Thereafter, there is a decline which inevitably leads to retirement. Even so, the exact point at which one actually goes on retirement - that is, the cut off point, can be flexible in the sense that the employee can either take early retirement or ask for an extension of time when retirement is due so that he or she works for a few more years before signing off.
Under normal circumstances a retired employee is supposed to be resting. After all, retirement is that one period when after years of toiling to earn a living and taking responsibility for family and other commitments the retiree is supposed to put up his or her feet and have a good time. The retired person or "Senior Citizen" as they are commonly referred to in Cameroon can at this juncture proudly enjoy his or her pension, although according to pension rules it is usually only a fraction of the salary that was earned in active service. Another point that really must be raised here is that which concerns the annoyingly slow process involved in processing the files of retirees in Yaounde so that their pension can start flowing. Even so, one can draw comfort from the adage that half a loaf is better than none, for, the truth is that if a retiree can not reap the dividends of years of hard work at such a point, then when else can he or she do it? If the employee fails in this, he or she should be selling themselves short and shooting themselves in the foot.
However it is a fact that some retirees have been known to put their retirement years into good use especially as the professional ones notably, when they retire, are at the apex of their careers in terms of mastery of their jobs. Some dynamic ones have been known to land lucrative jobs in other countries as they embark on this second life of theirs. A good number of those who stay in Cameroon have also been known to re-engage themselves in other activities that give them an income and keep them busy and away from bad health. Some of such activities include farming in the large sense of the word, opening and running a school, a secretariat/documentation office or engaging other activity.
One compelling reason for the need to go on retirement is that when senior employees leave their jobs, this enables younger staff members to also rise within the ranks. If this did not happen, the young would have no real chance of putting into practice the skills which they have acquired. They would also be denied the enjoyment of the aphorism which requires: "The young must grow".
The truth is that retirement can, if well planned, be turned into a pleasant new lease of life. Unfortunately, many people do not prepare for it so that when the time comes, they are caught between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes. Out of frustration, victims of such circumstances then get hooked on alcohol, a factor which creates other problems like where to get the money to sustain the life of an alcoholic. Such people then spend their time complaining about everything and everyone. Their discourse becomes loaded with anti-Biya and anti-government daily diatribe. They stop and complain to anyone who is willing to listen and in a sense, re-enact the ancient mariner in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
The best way of enjoying retirement is to prepare for it long before it is due. An example is that in addition to the pension scheme, a prospective retiree could invest in some venture, either as an individual if he or she has the means or collectively as a group with other similar minded people. Even when already on retirement, the retired person can still sustain the momentum by keeping themselves busy. This can be done either through joining a social group like a charity, a choir or enrolling on a course, taking up writing or even just reading books and newspapers.
Many Cameroonian professionals are bilingual in terms of mastery of English and French. These include the military, accountants, magistrates, doctors, engineers and secretaries, to name those. They could therefore use bilingualism as an asset in their international job search for there are many a country that would whole-heartedly welcome them, considering that being officially monolingual, they need to open up to the world by having contact with another international language.
So whatever the senior citizen does, he or she would do well to remember that retirement is a golden opportunity to fulfill those thousand and one dreams they had nursed previously. It is therefore not doom and gloom. In fact, retirement is a second birth, a rebirth, a renaissance, a second life, a new lease of life
Copyright 2011
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 11th of April 2003 with a view to provoking reflection on the dreaded question of retirement and consequently prepare for it. 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.
___________________________________________________
For every employee, retirement ought to be viewed as something inevitable and therefore planned ahead of time. This is because people grow ordinarily as well as in their jobs. In one's life time there is an indisputable peak period or some crescendo, so to speak, during which one is at one's best performance. Thereafter, there is a decline which inevitably leads to retirement. Even so, the exact point at which one actually goes on retirement - that is, the cut off point, can be flexible in the sense that the employee can either take early retirement or ask for an extension of time when retirement is due so that he or she works for a few more years before signing off.
Under normal circumstances a retired employee is supposed to be resting. After all, retirement is that one period when after years of toiling to earn a living and taking responsibility for family and other commitments the retiree is supposed to put up his or her feet and have a good time. The retired person or "Senior Citizen" as they are commonly referred to in Cameroon can at this juncture proudly enjoy his or her pension, although according to pension rules it is usually only a fraction of the salary that was earned in active service. Another point that really must be raised here is that which concerns the annoyingly slow process involved in processing the files of retirees in Yaounde so that their pension can start flowing. Even so, one can draw comfort from the adage that half a loaf is better than none, for, the truth is that if a retiree can not reap the dividends of years of hard work at such a point, then when else can he or she do it? If the employee fails in this, he or she should be selling themselves short and shooting themselves in the foot.
However it is a fact that some retirees have been known to put their retirement years into good use especially as the professional ones notably, when they retire, are at the apex of their careers in terms of mastery of their jobs. Some dynamic ones have been known to land lucrative jobs in other countries as they embark on this second life of theirs. A good number of those who stay in Cameroon have also been known to re-engage themselves in other activities that give them an income and keep them busy and away from bad health. Some of such activities include farming in the large sense of the word, opening and running a school, a secretariat/documentation office or engaging other activity.
One compelling reason for the need to go on retirement is that when senior employees leave their jobs, this enables younger staff members to also rise within the ranks. If this did not happen, the young would have no real chance of putting into practice the skills which they have acquired. They would also be denied the enjoyment of the aphorism which requires: "The young must grow".
The truth is that retirement can, if well planned, be turned into a pleasant new lease of life. Unfortunately, many people do not prepare for it so that when the time comes, they are caught between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes. Out of frustration, victims of such circumstances then get hooked on alcohol, a factor which creates other problems like where to get the money to sustain the life of an alcoholic. Such people then spend their time complaining about everything and everyone. Their discourse becomes loaded with anti-Biya and anti-government daily diatribe. They stop and complain to anyone who is willing to listen and in a sense, re-enact the ancient mariner in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
The best way of enjoying retirement is to prepare for it long before it is due. An example is that in addition to the pension scheme, a prospective retiree could invest in some venture, either as an individual if he or she has the means or collectively as a group with other similar minded people. Even when already on retirement, the retired person can still sustain the momentum by keeping themselves busy. This can be done either through joining a social group like a charity, a choir or enrolling on a course, taking up writing or even just reading books and newspapers.
Many Cameroonian professionals are bilingual in terms of mastery of English and French. These include the military, accountants, magistrates, doctors, engineers and secretaries, to name those. They could therefore use bilingualism as an asset in their international job search for there are many a country that would whole-heartedly welcome them, considering that being officially monolingual, they need to open up to the world by having contact with another international language.
So whatever the senior citizen does, he or she would do well to remember that retirement is a golden opportunity to fulfill those thousand and one dreams they had nursed previously. It is therefore not doom and gloom. In fact, retirement is a second birth, a rebirth, a renaissance, a second life, a new lease of life
Copyright 2011
samedi 1 janvier 2011
THE IMF VISITS CAMEROON
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 27th of November 2002, in reaction to a visit to Cameroon by officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF and the World Bank. 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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are two United Nations financial institutions which are well known the world over. Basically their job is to help prop world ailing economies by working in close collaboration with national governments in terms of assistance in diagnosis, strategic planning, funding and continuous guidance.
When the organizations work with a country, they do so in a carefully planned manner that involves work being paced out according to clear cut phases and a definite time table and so from time to time, and in conformity with the time table they make trips to the country in question and hand-in-hand with the country’s authorities, they assess progress made, point or weaknesses and agree on what has to be done next. It is within such a context that the just ended mission to Cameroon led by the now only too familiar Edward Maciejewski should be placed.
During the two-day visit, the officials met with Cameroon`s Prime Minister Head of Government, the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, the Minister of Finance and the Budget, as well as the Minister of Economic Affairs, Programming and Regional Development. As usual, the visitors received the active participation of the Cameroon Country Office of their organizations, as well as the other related organs of the United Nations based here in Cameroon.
Discussions centered around progress being made on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Document which covers a wider sphere than the Facility for the Reduction of Poverty and Growth. It emerged that the government must work harder towards integrating the new fiscal year that now runs from January to December, instead of the former one that ran from July to June, while ensuring that the first year of the Poverty Reduction Strategy corresponds to the last year of the Facility for Poverty Reduction one.
The head of the visiting delegation felt that at the macroeconomic level, the Cameroonian economy was moving in the right direction, nut thought some catching up needed to be done at the level of structural reforms. He noted that although considerable effort had been made in terms of governance, the gains needed to be consolidated and a lot more ground covered. There was concern that attainment of the Finishing Point for the HIPC would experience some delay.
The IMF and World Bank are institutions that should be taken seriously and their recommendations implemented. Implementation, of course, calls for enormous, perhaps incredible, self sacrifice on the part of the people in the countries concerned. Even so, the conditions are so tedious that some countries have found their draconian nature too heavy to bear and so have called off the whole deal and backed out of policy implementation. Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda did just that by pulling his country out of the donor institutions on the grounds that no country in the world had been taken to court for not paying debts.
Right now though, our country Cameroon is in the good books of both institutions and is regarded as a model pupil within its circles. For our national economy to stage a full recovery, Cameroonians must continue to tough it out. But perhaps the government should do more to sensitize Cameroonians about the role of the donor organizations and the implications of implementing lending conditionality on their daily lives. It is a question of give and take.
Copyright 2011
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 27th of November 2002, in reaction to a visit to Cameroon by officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF and the World Bank. 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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are two United Nations financial institutions which are well known the world over. Basically their job is to help prop world ailing economies by working in close collaboration with national governments in terms of assistance in diagnosis, strategic planning, funding and continuous guidance.
When the organizations work with a country, they do so in a carefully planned manner that involves work being paced out according to clear cut phases and a definite time table and so from time to time, and in conformity with the time table they make trips to the country in question and hand-in-hand with the country’s authorities, they assess progress made, point or weaknesses and agree on what has to be done next. It is within such a context that the just ended mission to Cameroon led by the now only too familiar Edward Maciejewski should be placed.
During the two-day visit, the officials met with Cameroon`s Prime Minister Head of Government, the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, the Minister of Finance and the Budget, as well as the Minister of Economic Affairs, Programming and Regional Development. As usual, the visitors received the active participation of the Cameroon Country Office of their organizations, as well as the other related organs of the United Nations based here in Cameroon.
Discussions centered around progress being made on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Document which covers a wider sphere than the Facility for the Reduction of Poverty and Growth. It emerged that the government must work harder towards integrating the new fiscal year that now runs from January to December, instead of the former one that ran from July to June, while ensuring that the first year of the Poverty Reduction Strategy corresponds to the last year of the Facility for Poverty Reduction one.
The head of the visiting delegation felt that at the macroeconomic level, the Cameroonian economy was moving in the right direction, nut thought some catching up needed to be done at the level of structural reforms. He noted that although considerable effort had been made in terms of governance, the gains needed to be consolidated and a lot more ground covered. There was concern that attainment of the Finishing Point for the HIPC would experience some delay.
The IMF and World Bank are institutions that should be taken seriously and their recommendations implemented. Implementation, of course, calls for enormous, perhaps incredible, self sacrifice on the part of the people in the countries concerned. Even so, the conditions are so tedious that some countries have found their draconian nature too heavy to bear and so have called off the whole deal and backed out of policy implementation. Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda did just that by pulling his country out of the donor institutions on the grounds that no country in the world had been taken to court for not paying debts.
Right now though, our country Cameroon is in the good books of both institutions and is regarded as a model pupil within its circles. For our national economy to stage a full recovery, Cameroonians must continue to tough it out. But perhaps the government should do more to sensitize Cameroonians about the role of the donor organizations and the implications of implementing lending conditionality on their daily lives. It is a question of give and take.
Copyright 2011
jeudi 30 décembre 2010
THE POLITICS OF VISA FEES
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This was one of the hundreds of political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 prime time news of the CRTV National Radio Station in Yaounde between 2000 and 2005. This particular one was occasioned by an increase in visa application fees by the USA embassy in Yaounde. It was broadcast of 24 October 2002.
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The fee increase by any standards is steep because by going up from CFA 45 5000 to 70 000, it registers a hefty jump of 53.84 per cent. In concrete terms, the policy means that visa applicants must henceforth find the extra outlay of CFA24 500 to add to the CFA45 500 they were charged before, for there to be any hope of obtaining a visa for Uncle Sam`s land of opportunities.
As if to rub it in, the text states that the fee must be paid in advance, whether or not the visa is granted. The small print so to speak, adds that a small fee is charged if the visa is granted. So, the few candidates who survive the first stage of payment are made to pay a second fee.
The reason given for the fee increase is the need to bring the fee in line with the actual cost of administering the non-immigrant visas in the post September 11 environment, an obvious reference to the terrorist bombings that saw the blowing up of the World Trade Centre twin buildings in New York. To put the new visa requirement in another way, each non-immigrant visa applicant for the United States is being indirectly asked to pay for the fight against Ben Laden, the rich Saudi religious fanatic whom the US holds responsible for the serious dent to American national pride and invincibility.
That in itself is not a bad idea since it is right for all possible measures to be taken to deal international terrorism a deadly blow. Nonetheless, the sharp rise in visa fees once more raises the question of the manner in which visa applicants are treated. This, of course, applies not only to those traveling to the US but really also those traveling to any of the other world great powers. Some of those favourite destinations are France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Russia, to name those, since all of those countries seem to apply a similar policy characterized by a disposition geared more towards rejecting a visa application than accepting it, even if the applicant meets all the stipulated conditions.
Although Cameroonians not directly involved in the visa application process may not know it, approaching the embassies of theses countries with a view to travelling to the latter is nothing short of a nightmare. In many cases, once a visa fee is paid, it becomes non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of the application. As we can see, in this domain, there is no “money-back guarantee”, which means that for once, the customer is not king. Yet, a new application entails a new payment of the visa fee. Some embassies even go as far as proclaiming that provision of all the required documents and even success at the interview and subsequent granting of the visa are no guarantees that the applicant will necessarily be granted entry into the country they are traveling.
Visa officials are clearly a law unto themselves because not only do embassies systematically reject the majority of visa applications, some of the reasons for which these rejections are made are simply ridiculous. These include the pretext that an applicant is unlikely to return to his or her country after visiting or studying in the foreign country. Other reasons are that the candidate is traveling abroad to study a course that is offered in his or her own country, as though the freedom to travel and visit and study had been withdrawn. Sometimes, embassies reject an application without giving a reason, which makes it difficult for the applicant to tell what went wrong with the process, or why so much invested time finally became a mere waste.
Although one can understand that these countries need to control the number of foreigners entering their national territories, it must also be said that unorthodox refusal methods can only encourage illegality on the part of applicants determined to beat the embassies at their own game.
Frankly, embassies would do well to be more civil with applicants by treating them as worthy customers for whom they are where they are and without whom they would be nowhere. Immigration officials should be more humane, diplomatic and transparent. It would also help if our own authorities take a more supervisory look at what is going on in foreign embassies, rather than just issue a blank cheque by assuming that all is well, when in fact, it is not.
Copyright 2010
This was one of the hundreds of political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 prime time news of the CRTV National Radio Station in Yaounde between 2000 and 2005. This particular one was occasioned by an increase in visa application fees by the USA embassy in Yaounde. It was broadcast of 24 October 2002.
__________________________________
The fee increase by any standards is steep because by going up from CFA 45 5000 to 70 000, it registers a hefty jump of 53.84 per cent. In concrete terms, the policy means that visa applicants must henceforth find the extra outlay of CFA24 500 to add to the CFA45 500 they were charged before, for there to be any hope of obtaining a visa for Uncle Sam`s land of opportunities.
As if to rub it in, the text states that the fee must be paid in advance, whether or not the visa is granted. The small print so to speak, adds that a small fee is charged if the visa is granted. So, the few candidates who survive the first stage of payment are made to pay a second fee.
The reason given for the fee increase is the need to bring the fee in line with the actual cost of administering the non-immigrant visas in the post September 11 environment, an obvious reference to the terrorist bombings that saw the blowing up of the World Trade Centre twin buildings in New York. To put the new visa requirement in another way, each non-immigrant visa applicant for the United States is being indirectly asked to pay for the fight against Ben Laden, the rich Saudi religious fanatic whom the US holds responsible for the serious dent to American national pride and invincibility.
That in itself is not a bad idea since it is right for all possible measures to be taken to deal international terrorism a deadly blow. Nonetheless, the sharp rise in visa fees once more raises the question of the manner in which visa applicants are treated. This, of course, applies not only to those traveling to the US but really also those traveling to any of the other world great powers. Some of those favourite destinations are France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Russia, to name those, since all of those countries seem to apply a similar policy characterized by a disposition geared more towards rejecting a visa application than accepting it, even if the applicant meets all the stipulated conditions.
Although Cameroonians not directly involved in the visa application process may not know it, approaching the embassies of theses countries with a view to travelling to the latter is nothing short of a nightmare. In many cases, once a visa fee is paid, it becomes non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of the application. As we can see, in this domain, there is no “money-back guarantee”, which means that for once, the customer is not king. Yet, a new application entails a new payment of the visa fee. Some embassies even go as far as proclaiming that provision of all the required documents and even success at the interview and subsequent granting of the visa are no guarantees that the applicant will necessarily be granted entry into the country they are traveling.
Visa officials are clearly a law unto themselves because not only do embassies systematically reject the majority of visa applications, some of the reasons for which these rejections are made are simply ridiculous. These include the pretext that an applicant is unlikely to return to his or her country after visiting or studying in the foreign country. Other reasons are that the candidate is traveling abroad to study a course that is offered in his or her own country, as though the freedom to travel and visit and study had been withdrawn. Sometimes, embassies reject an application without giving a reason, which makes it difficult for the applicant to tell what went wrong with the process, or why so much invested time finally became a mere waste.
Although one can understand that these countries need to control the number of foreigners entering their national territories, it must also be said that unorthodox refusal methods can only encourage illegality on the part of applicants determined to beat the embassies at their own game.
Frankly, embassies would do well to be more civil with applicants by treating them as worthy customers for whom they are where they are and without whom they would be nowhere. Immigration officials should be more humane, diplomatic and transparent. It would also help if our own authorities take a more supervisory look at what is going on in foreign embassies, rather than just issue a blank cheque by assuming that all is well, when in fact, it is not.
Copyright 2010
TWENTY YEARS OF PAUL BIYA
By Tikum Mbah Azonga
This was one of the hundreds of political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 prime time news of the CRTV National Radio Station in Yaounde between 2000 and 2005. This particular paper was a preview of celebrations marking President Paul Biya`s twenty years at the helm of Cameroon on 6 November 2002. The paper was broadcast on 30 October 2002.
___________________________________________________
Whatever way one looks at it, twenty years is a long time and in a multiparty state like Cameroon, it deserves commendation, for being a veritable demonstration of staying power, despite all the odds.
As we have pointed out, twenty years is a thankfully long time and contrary to what some opposition members may want us to believe when they intimate that nothing, not even a single thing, has been achieved in that period, the point must be made that such an assessment is subjective, unrealistic and demonstrates that its proponents are simply being economical with the truth. As a matter of fact, if the opposition does not go about things with objectivity, history is likely to prove them wrong. Worse still, when they in turn eventually get to power and are paid back in their own coins, they will feel the pinch. That is why the game of politics becomes more meaningful and purposeful when it is rid of unbridled emotionalism, personal interest and the rush to attack persons and individual instead of focusing the debate on issues and policies.
A look at Paul Biya`s twenty years in power leads to some inevitable conclusions in terms of achievements. During the epoch our country has enjoyed unbroken and enviable peace, to the extent of being perceived as “an island of peace in a sea of turbulence”. This is in contrast to neighbouring countries which have staggered from one crisis to another and in some cases, sunk into fits of trauma. Since peace engenders many subsidiary attributes, Cameroon has been consequently able to boost and nurture other areas such as agriculture, public health, the environment, rural development, the armed forces, foreign affairs, women and youth matters. The educational sector has been expanded, notably with the breaking up of the erstwhile Ministry of National Education into three separate ministries: the Ministry of Basic Education, the ministry of Secondary Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, etc. In fact, within the last ten years or so, our country has seen an unprecedented number of international events being hosted in Yaounde and some of the other cities. The latter point means that the international community recognizes that we deserve and enjoy certain leadership roles.
But then again, no one is suggesting that it has all been a bed of roses for us Cameroonians. Far from it! There are still many areas in which more work is needed. These include the poverty reduction and under development, health, unemployment, corrpuption and bad governance.
For democracy to have any real meaning in our country, opposition politicians whose role is indispensable must be flexible enough to look at both sides of the coin. That does not mean they are supporting Paul Biya. It simply means they are calling a spade a spade. That is why they should have joined the world in commending Paul Biya for his role in the peaceful resolution of the Bakassi dispute that for years pitted Nigeria against Cameroon. It may sound paradoxical, but the truth is that Cameroon can only have one president at a time.
Copyright 2010
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