When Parliament grills gov’t on unfulfilled promises.

The question and answer session, which began last Friday, offered an opportunity for the honourable members to prove that they are indeed the voices of their voiceless electorate; when the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Dr Chief Joseph Dion Ngute, took to the podium in a tense atmosphere.

The PM and the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, faced a barrage of questions on promises, often unfulfilled, delayed or badly executed contracts and harsh realities on the ground.

They had to defend government's position on crawling decentralisation in which tax collection has been stripped from councils, and handee to the Taxation Department, opaque management of public assets, a road nightmare and refuse in cities and towns.

In a setting, described by reporters on the beat as “an electrifying confrontation”, Hon Mathurin Germain Bindoua, CPDM MP from Sangmelima, who opened grilling, put his finger on the sore spot: the suffocating bureaucratic delays that paralyse the awarding of contracts within Decentralised Territorial Collectivities.

The Prime Minister's response visibly left some observers skeptical, as he simply reiterated the law, emphasising that household waste management falls under the jurisdiction of councils. He was right but on the ground, the gap remains immense between the legislation and the actual financial resources allocated to mayors.

While the Head of Government promised a “strengthening of support mechanisms”, those involved in urban sanitation are still waiting to have any sufficient funding.

Is passing the buck to councils, while maintaining the role of central State actors, not just to give the impression of wanting to decentralise responsibilities without transferring budgetary resources, or selling the goat and holding back the rope?

Even the budgetary 15 percent for councils is hardly given on time or in full, leaving some unable to pay salaries for months, while refuge suffocate their municipalities.

Another question whose answer was unsatisfactorily addressed, came from Hon Benilde Djeumeni, regarding the management and protection of State assets—often neglected or mismanaged.

The Prime Minister played his diplomatic trump card, naming the government as a “self-insurer”. 

He explained that only assets invested internationally are required to be insured with private companies. For the rest, he added, claims and damage are paid through "administrative and budgetary mechanisms". 

Insurance professionals note that such a system in reality “is very much like a blank cheque for negligence. Lacking strict insurance contracts, the State's vehicle and property continue to deteriorate amid general indifference”. 

It was during the turn of the Minister of Public Works, that the soft spot of government was exposed by Hon Aka Martin Tyoga, Manyu and Rolande Ngo Issi, Nyong-et-Kellé, who painted a bleak picture of the national road network.

He complained of economic enclaves, and tarred roads that crumble after three months, and the daily ordeal of road users.

Specifically, he focused on the mirage of the Mamfe-Akwaya Road, which he said is the plight of the Manyu people, compelling residents to go through Nigeria, before getting to their homes in Cameroon.

Minister Nganou Djoumessi sought to reassure the public, mentioning the progress of "technical and financial procedures" with international partners and touted "regular maintenance operations".

But users continue to trudge through mud every rainy season and inhale dust in the dry season, if they do not want to face the ordeal of traveling through Nigeria.

Taking the cue, Hon Ngo Issi of the Nyong and Kellé Constituency, pressed the minister hard on the quality of materials, used by road contracting companies. 

Minister Nganou Djoumessi's response, according to commentators, bordered on the surreal: “the blame. Lies, weather”.

The oral question session, which started last Friday, will continue, as the Conference of Presidents of the National Assembly had reviewed and accepted 20 oral questions submitted by 12 deputies on June 10 to be posed progressively to ministers.

As a sign of parliamentary oversight, the questioning is in a context of renewal for the National Assembly, under the leadership of Rt Hon Datouo, elected last March, and focused to reaffirm its authority in monitoring government action.

For the Members of Parliament, the exercise is an opportunity to bring the concerns of their constituents directly to the heart of the government.

While The Guardian Post welcomes the probing questions and answers, some of which might not have been satisfactory, they nonetheless illustrated the role of checks on power and an oversight that the new leadership of the lower house intends to play.

In a system of uncertainty, mounting debts and delayed reshuffle of government, the second realm must step up to the plate and compel the executive to perform, not just by merely posing questions that expose the Achilles heel.

They should be able to pass Private Member Bills, one of which, for example, should empower them to screen people before they are appointed Members of Parliament.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3819 of Tuesday June 16, 2026