Musonge Commission needs more powers to make impact.

30/01/2023

Fondly referred to as the Musonge Commission, the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, NCPBM, has had its budget for this year swelled to three billion, one hundred and eighty million FCFA (3,180,000,000) as voted last Thursday January 26.

The President of the NCPBM, former Prime Minister, Peter Mafany Musonge, who chaired the session said, the commission has stepped up its investment component of the budget to 500 million FCFA which is an increase of 300 million FCFA compared to that of 2022 while the balance of two billion six hundred and eighty million FCFA (2,680,000,000) will be used to run the institution.

He said more money at this time of austerity is in line with the institution’s vision to step up work on the field nationwide. Mafany Musonge reiterated that, to get palpable impact on the field, they must rise to the occasion to defend the course of the NCPBM.

The social vices Biya cited in his December 31, 2022, message, the former prime minister maintained, is another call from the highest personality of the nation for the Bilingualism Commission to work to bring them to the barest minimum.

In the coming months, Mafany Musonge said, there will be no time to waste to enhance the crusade to see that services offered to citizens nationwide especially official documents are published in French and English.

When President Biya created the commission at the apex of the conflict that has devastated the North West and South West regions and adversely impacted on the economy of the entire regions, he said it was "an extra mile" initiative to bring peace to the two regions.

Admittedly, the perceived attempt to annihilate the used of English language in schools and public establishments was one of the grievances but it was just the very thin veneer of the root causes of the conflict.

Even after more than five years since the commission was established, it emerged at the session last week that the CPDM government is still to make all official documents simultaneously in both official languages.

For all those long years, the commission has remained glued in Yaounde and its impact is not felt especially in the North West and South West regions where French language is still dominant in government offices while teachers with scant knowledge of English language still teach in Anglo-Saxon establishments in the French language.

In the judicial domain where lawyers were more concerned, suspects are still being required to make statements in French in some security investigation in the two regions.

Of course, it is not the commission that appoints officials to the two regions, but what impact does it have to ensure each citizen is served in the language of his choice in all government and judicial services?

In that helplessness, it has resulted to its peripheral function in the words of Hon Musonge “to those using social media for criminal and malicious purposes. Through their actions, particularly disinformation, defamation, and spreading hate speech, they cause distress to numerous families and often ruin lives. Clearly, they jeopardize social cohesion”.

The fact that the vast majority of members of the Commission including its secretary general are Anglophones is indicative that the commission was formed to redress the problem facing the two regions.

But in terms of hate speech and misinformation on the social media, it goes without saying that by their dominant majority, Francophones should be more suspects than their "brothers and sisters" west of the Mungo River.

They are those who have mocked Anglophones as "two cubes of sugar", "enemies in the house" and even known to have chased political parties other than that in power from their constituencies.

Hate speech is explained by the European Council to "cover many forms of expressions which advocate, incite, promote or justify hatred, violence and discrimination against a person or group of persons for a variety of reasons. It poses grave dangers for the cohesion of a democratic society, the protection of human rights and the rule of law. If left unaddressed."

Hate speech is also synonymous with tribalism and xenophobia that can lead to acts of violence and conflict especially during elections and contributes to hate crime.

Does the commission have the power to prosecute perpetrators of hate speech, tribalism and xenophobic activities which are obstacles to "living together"?

Hon Mafany Musonge at the annual session last week said his commission intends to open up regional antennas to further take its mission closer to the population.

The Guardian Post wishes it good luck but as it is without the power to persecute defaulters of hate speech and use of the two official languages in government communication, it remains a toothless bulldog like other commissions before it that report to the Head of State.