In Reaction To Gifts from Senators to Councils: I think It is A Good Thing

By  Ignatius Nji
  

Alhadji Abdou Borno Kamfon(2013 CPDM list leader Municipal election Ndu)

 I Want to say that the  idea for  Senators  to  visit their various constituency is very good because it was the councilors that elected them. If they thought of coming back to explain things to the electorates of what is happening at the senate, I think it is a very good move which I encourage them to continue next time. They also brought along some gifts which to each council they gave a motorbike and to some people it is very small but to me it is a very significant because they are beginning. If we give them time next time they will do much. I am going back to Ndu and explain to my people what the Senate is all about which I did not know. I will also tell my people that they should expect micro-projects from Senators which before was only expected from Parliamentarians. What they have given to councils in the form of motorbikes is from the micro-project money. I will also tell my people to remain hopeful and that we can even approach the Senators with projects for funding.

Senators Preach Virtue, Practice vice-Mayor Batibo

By Ignatius Nji

                                            Mayor Fridirick Tanjoh Tetuh (Batibo Council)

To me it was inconsequential from organization to realization. The Senators were talking of not having any political barrier but only a blind would not have seen the CPDM colouring of the event and may be this was a CPDM meeting they wanted us councilors to swell the number. When they called up CPDM section Presidents there was no consideration of other political party heads in Momo and dance groups were all CPDM inclined.In spite the fact that SDF party militants were present with their District Chairpersons, the Senators did not as much thought of recognising no giving the meager transport as was the case for Section Presidents.

However I thank them for donating motor bikes to Councils and for the FCFA 10000 given to each council as transport but that amount could not transport those who came from far off areas such Ngi and Njikwa. When we got the invitations we thought that may be they want to say cage Councilors for something big but it has turned out that the caging in hotels in 2013 had only the purpose of election and nothing more.

I Am Disappointed With My Senators, We Expected Vehicles Not Motorbikes-Councilor Bang Bullet

By Ignatius Nji

             Councilor Kengong Johnson alias Bang Bullet(Nkambe Council)

The maiden visit of the Senators did not impress me at all maybe it did to other councilors. To me their visit was a disappointment first because they gave the meager FCFA 10000 only to Councilors who were present meaning those who were not is Nkambe are left out. Does it mean when another election would come they shall expect votes only from those who were present in Nkambe? If you want to cajole somebody to vote for you do not wait until the day of election to do that. You begin early with something convincing like FCFA 300.000 then at election you don’t need to give anything to be voted in to office. Secondly the FCFA 10.000 each meant nothing to us for example those councilors who left Nwa and came had to spend minimum FCFA 24000 on transport alone only to be given FCFA 10.000. The Senators were supposed to give the FCFA 10.000 to all the councilors present or not. To me if these Senator continue this way and in 2018 election they give me even FCFA 500.000 to vote for them I won’t vote even if my Mayor tells me to do so.  Thirdly the Senators are coming two years after to give each council a bike, is that what the people are expecting from them. What were they doing in Yaoundé all this while? To us in Donga Mantung Division our Senator of late, Prof Njikong Stephen alone donated a Million francs to each Council as Scholarship at the end of the first year at the Senate which to us was great comparatively to what eight Senators have jointly done. I, Councilor Kengong Johnson alias Bang Bullet spend more money  than that for my people in Njap and can equally buy a bike for my council. These bikes to Councils is an excuse not to lobby for roads in Donga Mantung Division and I think these bikes would make sense as gift to some individuals living in enclave areas not to us in Nkambe we need but vehicles. If they brought but vehicles for the councils it would have made some sense not motorbikes. One other aspect that angered us the councilors was the big joke these Senator boasted that they have voted a law reducing prices of Beer and one of the Senators even told us to our faces that we like drinking a lot so this law is very good timely. This was an outright insult to councilors and for a people who want to develop Cameroon beginning with Donga Mantung Division and they are rather propagating drunkenness. A bill on the reduction of fuel prices would have had a spill over on other commodities if at all they have concern for their people. Crude oil at the World market has dropped drastically yet prices of fuel in my country keep rising and the Senators are quiet because they have fuel bonds and can not feel the pinch of the common man.
Calls for Vigilance against boko Haram
Honorable Councilor Kengong called on the population of Nkambe and Donga Mantung to be more vigilant concerning these attacks by Boko Haram. He says Cameroonians should protect Cameroon before the Police and Gendarmes given that there is need for total collaboration in the fight against these evil forces. The youths should champion this vigilance and should report any suspicious movement in the communities. Any continuous silence on the part of anybody in the face of this circumstances might give room to more evil. Everybody should be involved and contribute in the fight first with vigilance. People should move around with their national Identity cards and stop late nights and avoid crowded environments. Any new person in the neighborhood should be questioned and ascertain his/her mission of visit.

“We need to Talk Anglophone Issues, not Shy Away”

By Ignatius Nji

                                     Mayor Bunyuy Emmanuel Nyugab (Ndu Council)

I think this gesture to my mind is a side stream to the main current. Side stream in the sense that the Senate is there because of Councils and it’s just normal for Senators after being elected to come back and show some appreciation. At the level of the bikes this is going a long way to help us particularly with our municipal police, the control unit to check traffic, to facilitate collection of revenue as well as improve on sanitation within the municipality. I want to appreciate the Senators for the bikes. On the question on salaries for mayors and councilors, I don’t think that is anything new. We have heard about the issue of salaries to some mayors in the last seven years. The last time we met with the Prime minister, he said the file was on the table of the highest authority of the land and today we are saying the same thing. We want to get things off the ground. There is already insinuation about Mayors going on sit down strike from the month of August because of the non salaries for councilors and mayors. It is immoral to run a country where mayors are unpaid and we have a situation where there is no information that has been kept in the fridge. The issue of marginalization of Anglophones is so glaring in this country and the Senators are quiet about it. Bilingualism is on paper not in practice and the Anglophone is largely marginalized. These are hard facts that we need to address. We need to talk about Anglophone issues and these are Anglophone Senators and should not shy away from it. There was a private members bill that came up and never passed through the chairmen’s’ conference relating to the protection of water catchment and was rejected which was a bill to protect water catchment. Water is a primordial issue not only in Donga Mantung but the whole of Cameroon.  And that parliament waved it with the hand is unimaginable. The Senate is also supposed to be talking about the decentralization fund. We can not decentralize competences without the means. We are not going to emerge by 2035 and emergence is not going to be by a decree rather it can only be by an enabling environment. If money were made available to the councils with clear cut

projects within the next five years we should be saying how far have gone. We can not put 2035 and when are we going to do evaluation which is both informative as well as formative. These are the challenges we are talking about and the Senate should not just be a rubber stamp just like the lower house. We should be able to address the things that make this country click and should not be the laughing stock of Africa. This is our concern and I want to appreciate the Senators for the bikes. We talked on our tender’s board and we had met the minister of public contracts who gave us assurances two months ago and we are now in July and we hope they get out of the fridge. On the separation of the Nkambe/ Ndu single constituency is like leaving the leg of an elephant for that of a fly and there are more serious issues to address than that.

North Westerners Disappointed With Own Senators Over Micro-grants Management

By Ignatius Nji

Senator Simon Achidi Achu

Senators of the North West Region led by Senator Simon Achidi Achu former Prime Minister,  have undertaken a week marathon visiting all the seven Divisional Headquarters distributing motor bikes to Councils as a form of appreciation to the councilors for voting them in to office since 2013. This gesture coming two years after is seen as an insult to the electorates whose expectations were very high as per the promise made by these elected Senators. Councilors saw this gesture as a form of preparing for 2018 election which they say the Senators have fallen short of expectation and should not expect anything much from them.

Donga Mantung Councilors that turn up in Nkambe for this maiden visit of the Senators had high hopes of at least taking home FCFA 200.000 each as promised in 2013 only to be given FCFA 10.000 each as transport. Those from Nwa rejected the money saying they cannot travel from far away Nwa just be insulted with meager FCFA10000 which is not half of their fare from Nwa and back. The Mayor of Nwa Council Ngomfe David Loma who had collected the money and himself very bitter opted to make up for this money from his pocket just to appease his Councilors and safe the face of these Senators. Some Fons of the Division that turn up on invitation were given FCFA 2000 each as transport with some coming as far as Akwaja in Ako with a fare of FCFA 10.000 to Nkambe.  During question and answer session a councilor from Nwa asked what has become of the micro-project money of late Senator Jikong Stephen and the respond by Senator Fon Teche was so unconvincing stating that the standing orders of the Senate has not made provision on how late Senators’ micro-grants are collected and managed. Many questioned whether the lower House which makes available such sums to the nearest Parliamentarian to manage is different from the upper house. The head of the team Senator Simon Achidi Achu had complained to the councilors that all has not been rosy and that they are lucky that up to now their properties have not been seized by creditors who gave out huge loans for their campaigns in to the Senate. In Wum councilors and Chiefs protested against their Senator, Wallang David Akwo questioning what he has done with two years micro-grants. The Fons rejected the meager 2000 given as transport.