Enhancing governance, building peace, social cohesion: SW Public Independent Conciliator concerts with CSO leaders in Buea.

The call was made during deliberations between the Public Independent Conciliator, PIC, for the South West Region, Telelen Dorothy Atabong epse Motaze, with leaders and representatives CSOs, in the region. 

The encounter was during a concertation meeting between the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator and CSOs, which took place on September 4. 

Addressing stakeholders during the meeting, Telelen Dorothy Atabong epse Motaze, said synergy between stakeholders should go beyond ordinary partnership to the fusion of strengths and recognition that no single actor can by itself address the multifaceted aspirations of society. 

She said collaboration between CSOs, elected leaders, the population and the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator would create a governance architecture that is both responsive and resilient.

Telelen said further building peace and trust requires adopting a culture of social justice, impartiality, and commitment to dialogue as a tool for dispute resolution.

This, she said, is by using synergy to rebuild trust between citizens and local collectivities, between communities themselves, and between the Regional and Local Authorities and civil society actors.

Social cohesion, she insisted, “cannot be packaged and delivered like a gift from a shop; it has to be cultivated with inclusive dialogue, sincerity and consistent acts of fairness with civil society able to play a vital role in facilitating such”.

Telelen said her office recognises CSOs as very important stakeholders of the community, because they work with the grassroots population and are in the field of peacebuilding in their various communities. 

“…our job also is to bring peace wherever it is lacking and I thought it was important to have this meeting to see how we can work in synergy. Peace is seriously needed in our Region, which requires synergy to ensure that things return to normalcy and ensure the population gets the impact of decentralisation,” she said.

Telelen added that her office has created a WhatsApp group together with civil society actors where inputs will be made, “so we can work together to improve the situation in the rural areas where the majority of the population of the region are based”.

On her part, the Executive Director of Reach Out Cameroon, Esther Omam, one of the presenters during the meeting, said the civil society is the bridge between the grassroots population and the public and private entities. 

“…we are here to build trust, stability, instil hope in our people and ensure they live a life of appeasement with their neighbours,” she said.

Enhancing collaboration between PIC & CSOs

The meeting focused on practical areas where the PIC and Civil Society Organisations can enhance collaboration, jointly identify governance gaps at the grassroots level and transform them into assisting Regional and Local Authorities in the implementation of good governance, while fostering peace and social cohesion in the Region.

This is the second meeting between the PIC and members of the CSOs in the region. The first focused on acquainting the CSO actors with the missions and duties of the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator to enable the framework for positive collaboration. 

The latest meeting builds on the success of the first to ensure the institution can achieve its goal of settling disputes between the citizens of local and regional authorities in the region. The PIC reminded participants that it was their civic social responsibility to initiate actions likely to contribute to local governance.

OPIC SW joins global network of Ombudsmen

The Public Independent Conciliator used the concertation meeting to reveal that the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator in the South West Region recently gained membership into the International Ombudsman Community, a recognition of the job done by the institution. 

The recognition, she said, “places upon the Office a moral and professional obligation to bring global best practices to the local context and to demonstrate that the principles of good governance, fairness, and accountability are not abstract ideas, but practical tools for transformation by endeavouring to address the preoccupations of citizens in a diligent manner”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3559 of Tuesday September 09, 2025