Dion Ngute instilling discipline in inert gov’t.

The office of Prime Minister, Head of Government, which in the Biya regime has remained a preserve for the people of the North West and South West regions, is often ridiculed as being "without powers" and just for "window dressing".

According to laid down texts, the Head of Government is supposed to make "recommendations" to the Head of State before ministers are appointed. But most often the ministers are appointed with the Head of Government on the same day, raising questions as to when the recommendations were made and scrutinised before the announcements were made.

Several political analysts of mettle have argued that the Prime Minister, Head of Government does not make such recommendations, which may explain why some of the ministers are constantly reported to bypass the Head of Government and communicate directly to the presidency where the buck ends.

There have, over the years, from Achidi Achu to Ephraim Inoni to Peter Mafany Musonge, been tales of inherent inertia, insubordination and indiscipline in government.

When Inoni, in his impromptu visits to ministries to ensure civil servants were on seat by 7.30 a.m., zoomed into the Ministry of Transport and asked the then Minister, Daiko Daissala, how many staff reported to work on time, the answer was embarrassing.

The minister is reported to have told the Prime Minister, Head of Government that he didn't even know how many people worked in his service, so he couldn't say how many were recalcitrant latecomers or absentees.

In the days of Achidi Achu, there were reports that he gave a note to someone to take to a director in the Ministry of Finance. When the director heard the note was from the Head of Government, he tore it and shot the bearer with it.

There was also the widely reported overt altercation between Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemon Yang, and the then Minister of Arts and Culture, Ama Tutu Muna, over the creation of a new authors’ rights structure.

The diatribe exploded when on May 22, 2015 Yang signed a public communique giving Ama Muna 48 hours to dissolve the newly created structure, SOCACIM. The Prime Minister's decision also rendered null and void the license issued by the arts and culture minister, Ama Tutu Muna, who was accused of violating the dispositions of Article 75 of Law No 2000/11 of December 2000 on authors’ and neigbours’ rights as well as Article 20 of Decree No 2001/956/PM of November 1, 2001.

Minister Ama was also said to have disrespected the dispositions on general instructions as well as Code No 002 of October 2002, on the organisation of government work.   

She also went ahead to announce over CRTV national station that SOCACIM was granted the license to operate  even when the PM had ordered that she should wait for the report of the Commission created to resolve the  contentious issues in the music group.

When Chief Dr Joseh Dion Ngute was appointed, President Paul Biya, in a Council of Ministers meeting, which he convenes once in a blue moon, had given his "government" a plan of action anchored "on the effective implementation of policies designed for the Mandate of Great Opportunities”.

The Head of State diligently dwelt at length on priority areas such as the attainment of economic emergence, youth empowerment, decentralisation, peace, security, unity and rule of law.

Prime Minister Dion Ngute, in a brief statement to reporters after the meeting, had highlighted that the Head of State emphasised on the respect of hierarchy, a spirit of collegiality, and hard work.

Despite Dion Ngute's success story so far in a challenging environment, thanks to his experience and academic grooming, the media is agog with headlines claiming a standoff with  the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Célestine Ketcha Courtes.

Minister Courtes appointed some officials within the central services of her ministry early in June and last Thursday, June 29, but the Prime Minister cancelled the appointments in a note that has gone viral on social media.

The reasons as given by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, are that first, the format was defective and secondly it was in "violation of the rules of competence in matters of appointment to positions of responsibility in the State civil service".

The Prime Minister has demonstrated that at least he can exert authority over his ministers to ensure that members of government remain discipline, operate within the ambit of the law so as to meet the aspirations of President Biya as he enunciated to them at the Council of Ministers meeting of January 2019.

The Guardian Post, however, hopes Minister Ketcha Courtes, former Mayor of Bangante, influential WCDM guru and business magnate, would not flex muscles with the Prime Minister, Head of Government, but rescind her appointments without any pangs.