PM chairs strategic session in Buea today.

The session, which is the 5^th will take place in Buea, Fako Division of the South West Region. The Prime Minister arrived the South West Regional capital yesterday ahead of today’s meeting. 

He was received upon arrival by a jubilant crowd, comprised of administrators, municipal authorities, elite and a cross section of the population.

Today’s meeting will provide an opportunity to review the road covered in implementing recommendations of the Major National Dialogue that was staged in Yaounde, from September 29 to October 4, 2019. Today’s session is taking place after the 4^th session of August 4, 2022.

 Participants comprise members of government, representatives of the civil society, the private sector and religious authorities among others. The PM is expected among other things to review the level of economic revival of the trouble-plagued Anglophone Regions, the situation of Internally Displaced Persons, revival of communities, rehabilitation of basic social services, advancements made in disarming youngsters who took up arms against the state and government’s engagement with the Diaspora to de-escalate the crisis. 

The situation of refugees in the neighbouring Federal Republic of Nigeria, is also expected to be discussed. The Guardian Post also understands stakeholders at today’s meeting will brainstorm on government’s actions since the holding of the Major National Dialogue.

Another key issue to be discussed are actions taken to smoothen the decentralisation process, since President Biya promulgated the law on regional and local authorities on December 24, 2019. 

Given the specificities that were attributed to the North West and South  West Regions, within the context of the Special Status,  today’s meeting  will see stakeholders assessing what has worked and what is not working, four years after the holding of the Major National Dialogue .

When Dion Ngute chaired the 4^th session of the meeting last year in Yaounde, he said government would continue to make amendments while addressing the needs of the population of the two English-speaking Regions.

He had also taken delight in the road covered, citing the mark improvement in the social climate that has resulted in improved school attendance, the disarmament of more youth, who had been misguided to take up arms against the state. 

Last year, Dion Ngute was also happy about works on the Bamenda-Babadjou and the Kumba-Ekondo Titi roads, describing them as fruits of the implementation of dialogue recommendations.

Aside the gains which the PM had expressed delight in then, members had also called for a continuation of dialogue to pacify actors in the conflict to hasten the return of peace. 

Snippet of where we are

 Since the last meeting of the committee on August 4, 2022,  other gains  have been made, amid pockets of resistance from separatists. 

For instance, today, the disarmament centers in the two conflict-hit Regions count close to 800 youngsters who have renounced the separatist movement. More of the fighters have increasingly been surrendering in recent times.

 The Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions, PPRD-NW/SW, has made fresh strides. 

Just last week, the Islamic Development Bank, IsDB, completed an agreement with government to provide over 21 billion FCFA to the reconstruction of the two Regions. The Association of Banking Institutions of Cameroon, APECCAM, also recently offered 250 MFCFA for the same purpose.

The Plan has since received applause for carrying out several projects and building communities in the war-ravaged North West and South West Regions.

Community life across the two Regions has also witnessed improvements with social ventures gaining momentum. More IDPs have also returned home.

Major hiccups 

What government has remained silent about is the return of refugees in Nigeria. There has also been no breakthrough in engaging peace talks with separatist leaders, jailed for life. Nothing has also been heard of advancement in talks with the Cameroonian Diaspora, especially in relation to calls for the granting of Douala nationality and the creation of a ministry in charge of the diaspora as discussed during the dialogue. 

More schools remain shut in communities. The blockage of roads in most communities is still a problem facing government. The Regional Assemblies of the two Anglophone Regions are still grappling with limited resources among others.