Editorial: Mixed grill of problems for governors.

MINAT boss, other officials & Governors immortalise opening of confab

As has been the tradition, on Wednesday, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, assembled all 10 regional governors in Yaounde; to instruct them to beef up security to ensure peaceful celebrations of the festive season.



It was a catalogue of recurring problems such as abandoned investment projects, land-grabbing, 2025 presidential election, chieftaincy disputes, monitoring associations and NGOs and kidnappings, especially in the North West and South West Regions; mired in a bloody conflict into the eighth year.

Opening the two-day conference under the theme: “Administrative Authorities: Security challenges and proper execution of development projects,” Minister Atanga Nji said the theme served as a platform for assessing current challenges and aligning strategies to resolve them.

He explained that administrative authorities play a pivotal role in ensuring that projects are executed in accordance with specifications but expressed regrets that reports of delays and abandonment of projects are numerous, due to poor adherence to guidelines.

He called on governors to implement strict measures to address excesses of administrative authorities under their command, ensuring the prevalence of law and order. The minister also urged administrative authorities to begin preparing for upcoming elections in 2025, in logistics and security arrangements.

The response from some of the governors, especially those of the North West, South West and West Regions, literally tasted like poisoned chalice.

For the South West governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai, “the situation, administratively and security speaking, is under control”. 

He said: “People are going back to their farms and they are collaborating to denounce those boys, those misguided children who are hanging around with some weapons. We are satisfied because all the technical services of the administration are functioning, and all the administrative units are functioning. That is why we say that there is enough hope for the future”.

He added that: “Life is back to normalcy in the South West Region, despite what you know. We say thank you to all the stakeholders, particularly the press because the media is there to accompany us".

Ironically, he added that the Region faces major problems of communication and bad road networks. It was, however, the minister who expressed concern about the kidnapping of the DO of Idabato, in Ndian Division of the South West Region. It should be recalled that he was abducted by suspected Nigerian militia, September 30, 2024. He gave the assurance that arrangements were being made to free him.

As for the North West Region, another hot bed of insecurity, Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique said security has been beefed up to ensure hitch-free celebration of end-of-year festivities in both urban and rural areas.

His focus was on the implementation of development projects. He cited the Ring Road and Babadjou-Babadjou roads being constructed, despite "security challenges".

There was evidence that the so-called "Anglophone conflict" continues to spread to the Francophone regions as Governor Awa Fonka Augustine, of the West Region, divulged that his area of command has been having challenges for the past six months, including attacks by separatist fighters who have been kidnapping persons in the Region for ransom.

Awa Fonka said despite the challenges, "we are satisfied that things are moving on well. Security wise, dispositions have been reviewed, reinforced and new strategies have been put in place moving closer to our borders with neighbouring North West and South West Regions, making sure we take care of the population as well as their properties”.

For The Guardian Post, protection of citizens and their properties is the fundamental duty of any government, and the minister must concede that some of the problems begging for solutions are caused by his administrators, either by commission or omission.

For example, why should it take more than five years to resolve a chieftaincy dispute? Have some of the administrators not been at the centre of land-grabbing? Do many of the administrators not behave as overzealous officials of the ruling party during elections? Have administrators not been accused of unjustifiably proscribing rallies of opposition parties in their jurisdictions, under the pretext of threat to public order?

Cameroonians need peace and tranquility as they carry out their daily activities, not just during festive seasons. It is easy to propagate that "the situation is under control," which in reality, is just a rough play to the gallery. 

We can say it without fear of being contradicted that Yaounde doesn’t have the political will for justice, equity and liberties to democratically change an unperforming government. 

 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3326 of Friday December 20, 2024

 

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