After China-Africa summit: Biya clocks one month abroad!.

Biya and wife, Chantal, were last seen leaving Beijing, China, after a brilliant participation at the 4th Forum on Africa China Cooperation, FOCAC.

Beyond engagements with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and Chinese business leaders who showed interest in investing in Cameroon, Biya’s whereabouts since these outings are unknown.

The Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic that had been communicating on the President’s movements, has so far not also issued any statement.

The last time Cameroonians heard about Biya’s movements was on September 8. On this day, the Communication service of the Presidency of the Republic wrote on its X, formerly Twitter handle, indicating that Biya and wife had left Beijing, China.

The post did not specify their next direction. The Civil Cabinet of the Presidency also reposted the statement on the X platform.

“President Paul Biya and First Lady, Chantal Biya, left Beijing today (September 8, 2024).  Their departure marks the end of a brilliant stay in the Chinese capital, where the Head of State participated at the 4^th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, FOCAC2024,” the communication service of the Presidency had written.

Since the posting, Cameroonians have been left assuming and guessing about Biya’s location. Others have only been making reference to the last official declarations of the movements of the Presidential Couple.

Biya had left Yaounde on September 2, 2024, and arrived the Chinese capital two days later. The members of government with whom he travelled to China as mentioned in a release from the Minster Director of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, had long returned to the country.

Biya absent where expected

Despite the vacuum in communication, many had expected the Head of State to make a strong showing at the 79^th General Assembly of the United Nations, UNGA, in New York.  

Everyone was almost certain in their projections, given that the event came with an illustrious son of the nation, Philemon Yunji Yang, also one-time Prime Minster, Head of Government, serving as the President of the UNGA.

It was expected that President Biya, who put his diplomatic shrewdness to work, canvasing support for Yang to be elected to the coveted position, would do the icing of the cake, by appearing at the United Nations headquarters in New York, as a proud father to see his son, Yang, on a global stage.

For one thing, he had opened the year 2024 telling diplomats accredited to Yaounde about Yang’s candidature being part of Cameroon’s push to reform the UN to boost global peace and security. 

But surprising to many, Biya did not show up in New York. Even his speech to the United Nations General Assembly was presented by the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella.

There are reports that people, among them journalists of state-owned media; Cameron Tribune and the Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV, had been dispatched to New York, to cover the President’s participation. 

The Guardian Post gathered that when it turned out that the President had opted not to attend the event, the persons dispatched to the United States ahead of his abortive arrival were asked to return home.

After missing out on the UN General Assembly, many tended to hope that the Head of State was going to honour the invitation of French President, Emmanuel Macron, for this year’s summit of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, IOF. 

The summit went underway October 4, at the Cité Internationale de La Langue Française, in Villers-Cotterêts, France, without Biya in attendance. Minister Mbella Mbella attended the IOF on behalf of the Head of State. 

Yesterday, the Hamburg Sustainable Conference opened in Germany, also without President Biya in attendance. He rather assigned the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Dr Chief Joseph Dion Ngute, to represent him. The summit ends today.

So where is Biya?

With the President absent from home and other international fora, some curious citizens have been questioning where he could be. 

Though the development is akin to the President’s known discrete nature, some are arguing that Cameroonians deserve to know his whereabouts, even if he is on break or a private stay as it is always referred to in official statements.

Int’l engagements before China visit

Before leaving China to an unannounced destination, Biya and wife had made an impressive participation at the Paris Olympic Games and the 80^th anniversary of the Allied landings in Provence, France.

He had left Yaounde on July 24, 2024, at the invitation of French President, Emmanuel Marcon and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. 

While in France then, Cameroonians were informed that Biya held talks with President Macron. He had also granted audience to former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, on July 30.

After the Olympic Games opening ceremony, nothing was heard of Biya again until the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency communicated on August 14, 2024, that he and wife, Chantal Biya, had arrived Cannes, France. 

The next day, they were at the ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Provence. Biya delivered a speech on that occasion on behalf of African Heads of State.

Biya returned to Cameroon on August 23, 2024, and left for Beijing, China, to attend the 4th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which spanned September 4 to 6. 

He later granted audiences to several persons with interest in the country’s potentials. He left China on September 8; 30 days on today, Biya is not back to Cameroon and citizens have not been told his whereabouts, given he is their servant.

Delays in issuing circular on budget orientation

With the November Session of parliament dedicated to the adoption of the 2025 State budget, just weeks away, Biya has not fulfilled one of his key assignments in relation to that.

The onus is on him to issue a circular on budget orientation to outline priorities. In the last few years, records show the Head of State has never exceeded August 30 of every year without issuing the circular.

It is a document which key partners of the State, such as the International Monetary Fund, IMF, have an interest in. 

This is also vital when it comes to debt servicing and expanding the revenue base to meet the needs of the country in a new fiscal year.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3253 of Tuesday October 08, 2024