CONAC and The Comedy Of Errors

A columnist or a writer is like a town crier. We are reminders and we have the advantage of looking back in time. When Mr. Biya appointed his twelve anti-corruption apostles, I wrote I made it clear that we should not expect much from them. One of them collapsed on the day they were slated to be installed and I said it sounded like an ill-omen.

By Ngalle Monono

Time has proven that the Anti-Corruption Commission with French acronym, CONAC, is just another incompetent non-performing organ set up by this government as a means of satisfying foreign donors that we mean business about fighting corruption. It operates only in Yaoundé the capital and does not have a national spread.

The commission not being an independent body with the powers of sanction or prosecution was bound to be another toothless bulldog, barking but clearly unable to bite. The content and composition of the commission was nothing to write home about. Its Achilles Heel is the fact that it can only recommend to the powers that be that such and such should be investigated for having committed a corrupt act. It is not an independent Ombudsman neither is it clothed with a legal personality to actually effect change and bring any corrupt officers directly to book.

Added to these built-in inadequacies, the commission itself is made up of a motley collection of gentlemen without any track record on investigation, interrogation or crime detection. The fight against corruption is not for simpletons and ignoramuses. This is supposed to be a fight against sly and slimy creeps who are bent on hemorrhaging this country and bleeding it to death. They are usually smart and their dealings intricate and their methods labyrinthine. The modus operandi of the corrupt are varied and complicated.

That is all the more reason why the anti-corruption squad should have been made up of Cameroonians of above average intelligence and not the run-off-the-mill gentlemen who now pretend to fight corruption.
The shortcomings of the anti-corruption crew came into sharp focus recently in what has now been termed the maize scandal in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The old man, Paul Tessa, and his eleven veterans descended on six regions and nineteen divisions to investigate what they claimed was a massive fraud in which FCFA 700 million worth of maize subsidies had been embezzled. They came out with a scathing report in which the Vice Prime Minister, Jean Nkuete, and 48 other Cameroonians were recommended for prosecution. This is where the whole exercise became a comedy of errors. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to facilitate the distribution of the maize subsidies, created what goes under the French acronym of CPSA or Commission Partenaire de Selection des Appuis or in English The Divisional Selection Commission.

This commission receives some money in the course of this exercise which money is meant for the civil society and extension workers.
CONAC imagined that these commissions were Common Initiative Groups which had embezzled maize money.
How come it that it did not strike our gallant anti-corruption warriors as odd that in all the six regions concerned all the Common Initiative Groups concerned had a common name; CPSA?. The truth is that most of those 48 Cameroonians fingered to be corrupt are Divisional Delegates in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development who did the grunt work by paying the operators on the ground.

In this case, CONAC was merely chasing the shadow and by- passing the real and substantial embezzlers. It is true that CONAC have made some recommendations which may be useful in future but they actually blew this maize affair by a wide margin. Is it this blunder that informed them to appeal to the press to be nationalistic in their pronouncements? Can you imagine how much it would cost the government to pay for twelve men running up and down the country for an exercise in futility?

Our CONAC is a far cry from our friends the Nigerians' Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which was run by a crack, fearless and highly competent policeman, Mallam Ribadu, who had crooks quaking in their boots and recently had the recommendation of Hillary Clinton.
We shall continue to falter until we learn to put square pegs in square holes.

ARROGANT CONTEMPT

The containment of bestiality in the man is apprehension of the consequences of wrongful conduct. That is what provoked and promoted the development of the reasoning faculty ending up with peaceful community life. The reverse would have been anarchy with “the survival of the fittest” as the unique crude law governing interactions.

By Hon. Ayah Paul Abine

Man has come a long way to discard such ferocious uncertainties of life. Over the ages, positive refinements have added up to consensual social contracts culminating in democracy.

Convinced that it is erroneous to take refuge behind such grotesque propaganda as “advanced democracy” to cut off additives preservative of that fountain of peace, I argued recently in all good faith that granting immunity that places a citizen above the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, could liberate the bestiality in the human being. That particular person could well be reasonable enough to impose self-restraint. But the case may not be true of his successor or even his entourage, especially where the person does not exercise strict oversight. That appears to be the situation with the Cameroonian society of today.

We never can overemphasize that justice is the ultimate guarantor of peace. That palpably explains why the Bible insists that justice will be the final act in the winnowing of mankind on Doomsday. One should not, therefore, hesitate to regret in absolute terms that Cameroonians, claiming to have the confidence of the President of the Republic, are trampling the law underfoot to the extent of showing arrogant contempt even for the decisions of the highest court of the land that the Supreme Court is.

The case in point is the Minister of Culture - Ama Tutu Muna. Her disregard for the Supreme Court’s judgment declaring illegal the “company” she wants to impose on Cameroonian musicians in replacement of the existing legal body is a mark of absolute lawlessness. And the silence of the President of the Republic over her arrogant contempt of court only does bolster her foolhardiness. One must wonder aloud what respect that Minister has even for her late father. If she takes cognizance that her late father was for years the head of the body that enacts laws in Cameroon, and yet she treats with contempt her late father’s works, then of course she is showing contempt even for her father. Nothing can be more dishonourable!

One may not be totally surprised, though. The modern trend on the African Continent is that those in power have placed themselves above the law. In the result, even where legal process has been followed and persons below them have worn elections, the pragmatic outcome has been power-sharing, whereby the winners have accepted positions on the lower rungs of the ladder of power, holding overturned hats for the collection of crumbs from the high tables. Even as “an island of peace”, our country has not been spared by the storm of contempt for the law this time around. Who argues to the contrary?

Is it not in line with the growing trend that Papillon has pleaded the case for the amalgamation of the minister’s “company” which the Supreme Court has declared illegal and the legally existing body? And is his stance not consistent with the Green Tree Agreement? If a judgment of a United Nations’ court can be set aside in favour of an agreement between the parties, and yet that has attracted overwhelming international approbation, how much less the judgment of a local court! And have the power-that-be in Cameroon not told the citizenry time without number that the truth and the good example come from above? Why waste time then arguing the case for the outlandish principle that court judgments are binding on all, and are therefore automatically enforceable?

So forward ever, Madam Minister! After all, Supreme Court c’est quoi?.. But wait a moment! Here is some food for thought for you: will all your children, if any you have, be as powerful as you are so as to dispense with the courts and the law, and yet live in peace? You may wish to accept that that is the guiding principle for parents who love their children, and posterity at large, Madam!

Of Expensive Holidays And Uncommon Men

The confusion generated by revelations about the holiday transactions of Paul Biya in France and the manner of response of regime insiders only highlighted the sins of hubris, and undermined the decency the sovereign people deserve from their leaders.

By Tazoacha Asonganyi

While he lived, Charles de Gaulle, whom many of our leaders admire and imitate, wrote and lectured about the public persona of a leader. He highlighted the public reality of life as a statesman and the private reality of life as a husband, father and grandfather. Unfortunately for his heirs, modern democratic politics cannot separate the private from the public life of leaders.
The people always want to know all about their leaders in order to gain inspiration from them and place them appropriately in history. The media would be doing a disservice to the people if they raised a curtain between the private lives and the public roles their leaders are called upon to play.

The confusion generated by revelations about the holiday transactions of Paul Biya in France and the manner of response of regime insiders only highlighted the sins of hubris, and undermined the decency the sovereign people deserve from their leaders.

Political communication is always about influencing citizen perceptions, persuading public opinion and desires in a manner conducive to the mission of a regime, and the satisfaction of the desires of the citizens. In a country like ours, the overwhelming desire of the citizen is involvement in the act of nation-building. Promotion of patriotism - love for country - is crucial in mobililising the people to action in the business of nation-building.

Such promotion of patriotism is always greatly helped by signals that are sent and received from the top about corruption, selflessness, use of public funds, management of equality of opportunity, of equity and much more; by the right examples that are set from the top. Fine speeches, pledges and admonitions of all kinds are of no use if these signals from the top are perceived as negative signals.

Nyerere's Case As Narrated By Achebe
Chinua Achebe tells of the patriotic pride Tanzanians felt when news went around Tanzania that their president, Julius Nyerere, after paying his children's school fees at the start of a new school year, proceeded to beg his bankers to give him a few months' grace on the repayment of the mortgage on his personal house.

This can be compared to the type of signal sent by a gigantic house being built near the American Embassy in Yaounde; or the news about the wastage of taxpayers' money in expensive hotels in France! Between Nyerere's Tanzania and Paul Biya's Cameroon that both end up "begging" for development funds, which would enjoy "national prestige"? Who of Nyerere's Tanzanian and Paul Biya's Cameroonian, receiving these contrasting signals from the top is bolstered by patriotic pride to work hard for nation-building?

Inspirational signals are usually greatly influenced by the communication ability of the top; indeed, effective communication is the secret of inspirational leadership. Leaders are supposed to regularly face the people themselves, rather than leave the management of news of their activities to self-seeking subordinates.

It is not for nothing that since Barack Obama got into the White House, he regularly uses town-hall meetings, prime-time press conferences, weekly addresses, media interviews, and online messages and opinions to clarify his policies and keep in touch with the people.
Before Paul Biya's surrogates rush to compare his holiday bills to those of Obama and Sarkozy, they should remember that they belong to completely different leagues, and think about the alienating effects of Paul Biya's deaf-and-dumb-cum-discreet approach to governance that his "biographers" like Boniface Nkobenah and François Mathei present as a source of his "strength"!

When a gossip Website nearly changed the course of history by blowing the top off a Clinton-Lewinsky relationship before investigative journalists finished their work, it became absolutely clear that the communication genie had since got out of the bottle! And it was the power of communication that forced public opinion to tilt in favour of Clinton by imprinting in the minds of Senators that it was a relationship between the president and a consenting adult; the Senators were forced to let go the accused!

This is just an illustration of the fact that communication is no longer about blaming people for what they say; it is about persuading public opinion by the quality of information served to the people: giving convincing information to the people. Paul Biya may be an "uncommon" man; he may be "royalty", hardworking, or have the right to take a rest: but convincing numbers and figures about his holiday in France must be given before we are told that they are "big" because he is an "uncommon" man.

Short of this, our "uncommon" communicators should do the people some good by shutting their traps and keeping their fingers off their keyboards!

Cameroon: Running After the Media Revolution

It used to be known as the press, then the news media, and now just the media. They all mean the same thing these days! The radio, television, newspapers or the web, are all inanimate things, but they can teach, illuminate and inspire to the extent to which the humans behind them are determined to use them to those ends.

By Tazoacha Asonganyi

Creative programmes like “ça va se savoir”, the Jerry Springer Show, Judge Judy, or Le Tribunal of Sky One Radio are all media programmes in what has become a vast-entertainment-arena-cum-media world. Some of the programmes are animated by those who have never taken a single course in journalism – on the internet, a journalist does not even need to be human; but this is no excuse to get at a programme for frivolous reasons...
New Oaths, New Pacts
With the communication revolution that has humbled even the most ardent dictators and control freaks, it is incredible how easily our new communication boss uses frivolous arguments from people who claim to want freedom from the press, to stifle freedom of the press! The man seems to be all over the place with outdated methods and approaches, urging the media to do only what he wants them to do!
When one considers the many pacts he signed, the many oaths he took and the many declarations he made in honour of freedom of the press while he was in the wilderness, and how easily he has become a turncoat and started signing new pacts, taking new oaths and making new declarations from his new station at “home”, it is difficult to believe anything he says and does!
The vehemence with which he spoke while in the wilderness is the same vehemence with which he speaks his new language so pleasing to his new soul mates!
The communication revolution is the possibility of creating new images through digital-era doctoring, live-from-everywhere satellite television, live-from-everywhere mobile telephone messages transmitted through satellite, the Web, internet and much more. The revolution can contribute to the fight against crime, but if not well managed, it could end in the futility of bad options and worse options. The bad options would be the refusal to do the right thing well, like mismanaging digital national identity cards for selfish ends of winning elections; the worse options, the wish to “control” the malleable mobile phone sector.
Indeed, with the set-up of our mobile phone market, and the extension of the Cameroon network to other countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and others, fighting crime by tracing the origin of calls can be as futile as fighting a translational disease only in one place or one country!
Govt Creating Insecurity for its Enemies?
However many colours the truth may bear, the function of journalists excludes keeping secrets; indeed, a journalist has no right to interpose a blockade between information legitimately acquired and the public they serve. For this, they usually get into trouble with power, and distinguish themselves by the courage and integrity with which they stand up to power. It would be remembered that journalists were on the “enemies” list of Nixon, unearthed during the Watergate hearings; the aim of the Nixon administration was to use government “machinery to screw our political enemies”. Since it is clear that like Nixon, the Cameroon government considers opponents, adversaries and rivals as “enemies”, the question that has not yet got an answer is whether there are appropriate measures – legislation, rules and regulations – to ensure that government does not misuse phone registers to create insecurity for its “enemies”.
Interestingly, the technology that governs mobile phone identification is the same technology that would govern identification of voters. If the government has become so caring about the security of citizens, one expects it to be equally caring about their sovereignty. This belated interest in the power of new technologies for information and communication should lead to a reawakening about the urgent need for a voters’ central database in Cameroon.
The Clock and Dagger Game
Web journalism and mobile phones have extraordinary power to conduct credible opinion polls about any type of issue, including the popularity of individual persons. The cloak-and-dagger game the CPDM is playing within its ranks with motions of support and proclamations of Paul Biya’s candidature for 2011 gives the sorry impression that they think Cameroonians do not believe that he is indeed the President of the CPDM. The macabre exercise seems to have turned into a conduit for those appointed into government to show their gratitude to the man; and for those out of government to announce their desperate presence to the man. In the process, the country’s time is wasted and the image of the country is tarnished more than they usually attribute to the opposition and those in the Diaspora.
People like our new communication boss who suddenly find themselves on the other side of the divide, usually get cynical and indulge in rhetoric based on their misunderstanding of the nature of politics and of man. Overnight, they transform themselves to high priests of their “domains”. This is why our new boss has suddenly forgotten that society – in which journalists are found – can never coincide with its political representation – the government. Journalism is the province of selfless servants of the truth. Government’s attempt to define patriotism as the singing of the praise of the government is foolhardy; so too is the attempt to seek the synthesis of the plural media landscape, that democracy makes impossible.
For journalism to thrive and play its role as the Fourth Estate, government must always remain a news subject, not a news partner! Otherwise, we may be manipulated into confusing freedom of talking with freedom of speech!

Contempt of court: Not a joking matter

Not even when you “yawn”

By Yemti Harry Ndienla

Courts have inherent power to control courtroom behavior and to enforce court orders. Contempt of court according to wise geek is a charge which can be laid against someone for interrupting the process of justice - when someone disobeys a court order, shows disrespect for the judge, or disrupts judicial proceedings in a court of law.

There are two types of contempt – civil and criminal contempt. On the other hand, contempt can be either direct (occurs in the judge's presence and disrupts court' proceedings) or indirect (occurs outside the immediate presence of the judge).

A charge of contempt, if proved, can result in fines and jail time. Though many people are familiar with the concept of contempt of court, since it tends to come up in courtroom dramas, many aren’t. And this is no defense.
Additionally, there are several different forms of contempt of court. In all cases, they are rooted in the idea that a courtroom and its officers demand respect, both out of common decency and because a court acts as a legal authority. Failure to respect the court can compromise the course of justice, potentially causing a mistrial or compromising the integrity of a trial. In order to prove a charge of contempt of court, it must be proved that the contemnor was aware of the court order or rule which was violated, that he or she was able to comply with the order, and that the contemnor failed to do so. If proved, the sentence for contempt varies, depending on the severity of the crime. Whatever the case, contempt is treated very seriously.

Civil contempt of court involves a failure to obey an order from a court. It can be purged by obeying the order. For example, someone may speak out of turn in a courtroom during trial proceedings, disrespecting the basic rules of the courtroom. The judge can indicate that he or she will find the speaker in contempt of court unless the speaker sits down and remains silent until it is appropriate to talk. Or a witness could fail to answer a question, in which case the judge will instruct him or her to answer or be held in contempt of court.

Meanwhile criminal contempt of court actually hinders the operations of the court to include a failure to produce evidence when subpoenaed, or threats to the judge, jury, or lawyers. Someone who yells at the judge, for example, could find him or herself accused of contempt of court.

Those of us who frequent court houses in one way or the other would certainly remember notorious judges who spare no effort in sanctioning people for contempt of court. Sometime last year, over a dozen spectators were jailed at the central prison in Buea for contempt of court – failing to identify a spectator who’s mobile phone rang during court proceedings. Typically spectators who scream or shout profanity during sentencing had been jailed at a far higher rate than others.

During the famous Esseme murder trial which took place at the Fako high court in Buea, a colleague narrowly escaped contempt of court for taking notes without informing court authority. So too was a man who claimed to be a pupil lawyer.
These may sound funny tempting people to believe such can only happen in Cameroon, where justice is bought and sold like a commodity. Wrong! Contempt of court is punishable all over the world, and its no joking matter. Not even in the US.

A Circuit Judge here, Daniel Rozak, recently jailed a 33 year old man for contempt of court. According to Chicago Tribune, the Judge jailed Clifton Williams, for yawning in the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, in the state of IIIinos, during court proceedings. Williams who was sentenced to Six months in jail - the maximum penalty for criminal contempt without a jury trial was in court to listen to his cousin Jason Mayfield, who was pleading guilty to drug possession. “As Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak handed down the cousin's sentence - 2 years' probation, Williams, 33, stretched and let out a very ill-timed yawn”, said the newspaper.
"I was flabbergasted because I didn't realize a judge could do that," Williams' father, Clifton Williams Sr, told the Chicago Tribune. Adding, "It seems to me like a yawn is an involuntary action."

Though court officials believe "it was not a simple yawn” but “a loud and boisterous attempt to disrupt the proceedings" Jason Mayfield, the cousin of Williams who was pleading guilty at the time, agued, “it was not an outrageous yawn." However, the case Rozak's order sentencing Williams to 6 months in jail found that he (Williams) "raised his hands while at the same time making a loud yawning sound that caused the judge to break from the proceedings?

Whatever the case Judges have broad discretion under the law, which defines contempt as acts that embarrass, hinder or obstruct the court in its administration of justice or lessen its authority or dignity. “As long as the sentence is not longer than 6 months, there is no review of the case - unless the offender appeals to the judge or a higher court”.

"We want judges to be able to manage the courtroom ... but we have some concern that when the contempt is personal, judges might react too harshly," University of Chicago law Professor Adam Samaha., told Chicago Tribune. The learned Professor believes “Contempt that happens right in the judge's face is likely to trigger an emotional reaction." Although critics accept as true that Judges like Rozak are running the type of strict courtroom that was common a few decades ago, others say they are just being "tough but fair".

Despite the fact that judges in other court areas might have been lenient by passing less severe sentences for seemingly more flagrant offenses contempt of court is no teasing matter. As a general rule, you will not be at risk of being charged with contempt of court if you behave courteously in a courtroom, complying with all orders from court officials. You need not be afraid of court officials, but it is a very good idea to be respectful, treating them as you would wish to be treated.

WHO FEARS JOURNALISTS IN CAMEROON?

During his first media outing Cameroon’s Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary invited journalists particularly those of the private press to be more responsible and patriotic. Reasoning along the lines "all roads lead to Johannesburg" the minister said the Cameroon government can help the private press to make money if such press becomes responsible and patriotic. And to show the seriousness of his argument the minister parted with tradition and made the press outing simultaneously on state and private television stations.

By SNOWSEL ANO-EBIE

This is not the first time that the press in Cameroon is classified as either loyal or rebel, patriotic or insurgent, well-fed or hungry, state owed or independent, responsible or sensational. The current president of CAMASEJ, the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, Madam Tricia Oben, says one of her objectives is to bridge the gap between journalists of the public and private press. I have been supervising Journalism students on internship since 2002 and I always try to find out what they intend to do after graduating from university. More than 70% of today’s Journalism students want to end up in the Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV and the remaining less than 30% want to get into things like Advertising, Public Relations, Private Television, or further their education and get into Audience Research or Teaching. Nobody wants to write for a Private Newspaper.

My objective here is not really to re-enforce or amplify the dichotomy between a group of journalists who are seen as trust worthy and another group that is expected to be worthy trusting. My real concern is whether anybody fears a journalist in Cameroon. If somebody were engaged in some wrong doing, or going astray in the presence of a journalist, will that person sit up? Do journalists in Cameroon constitute the Fourth Estate or Fourth Power at all? Is the power of being the master’s well-fed "ngong" dog or of being the toothless bull dog barking "en face" any power at all?

Those who initially described the Press as the fourth power, after the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary thought that in democratic checks and balances, the Press could check the excesses of the other actors. Political Scientists define Power as "the ability to impose one’s will on others" or in euphemistic terms as "the ability to influence others". The Press is thus seen as a power because of its ability to shape and influence public opinion, its ability to set the political agenda, its ability to highlight and comment on the performance of the other arms of government, and its ability to seek and report the "truth" thereby serving as the voice of the voiceless. Logically the Press has so much power and is thus supposed to be feared but who fears journalists in Cameroon?

When one studies the Sociology of Max Weber, Social Status, Social Stratification, and Social Mobility, it is clear that Power does not stand alone as a status conferrer. Social status is a function of three Ps, Power or the ability to impose one’s will on others, Prestige or respect from others, and Property or wealth. If one considers that the Cameroonian journalist is high in Power, high in Prestige, but low in Property or wealth, one will begin to understand why journalists are not feared in Cameroon.

Journalists are not feared in Cameroon because they can be bought. Every journalist has his/her price and any actor who can pay that price has the journalist in his pocket. A journalist’s loyalty is like a commodity in an auction market, ready to go to the highest bidder. Journalists are not feared in Cameroon because they report the "truth" in a way to favour the news actor that provides transportation, accommodation, and pays their out of station allowances. He who pays the piper determines the truth. Journalists are not feared in Cameroon because they have ceased to work for the common good but want to make the most for themselves from a Cameroon that is fast becoming "troubled waters".

Journalists of the private or hungry press are poorly paid and are forced to supplement their incomes by attending "press conferences" where 5000francs and 10000francs notes are shared as taxi money, or to conduct interviews with "generous" news actors who will give them "gombo". Newspaper publishers cannot allow their reporters to write critical or truthful stories about individuals and enterprises that "give" adverts to the newspaper. Even journalists of the official press are more pre-occupied with defending juicy duty posts and lucrative missions than reporting the truth. I have always said that many of the journalists in government employment are locked up in Patron-Client relationships with the Prime Minister or top gun that got them recruited so much so that they cannot practice the kind of Journalism that will embarrass their godfathers. It is not such lame duck output that can ruffle news actors in Cameroon.

At the end of the day, many but not all journalists are not feared in Cameroon because they themselves have made nonsense of the "Fourth Power" by getting too involved and too vulnerable to be independent.

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT PAUL BIYA ON ABORTION

Mr. President Sir,

ABORTION IS THE GREATEST HINDRANCE TO OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTAND PROGRESS

Mr. President, I want you to reflect on what a great loss it would have been to the CPDM and to Cameroon if your mother had aborted you. What a great loss to the Democrats and to America if Barak Obama had been aborted by his mother. The world would not have seen a black man in the white house. In fact if any of us had been aborted by our mothers, we would have missed all the good things of life.

To be is better than not to be. The world’s population as of now stands at 6.707 billion people on this planet. In 1945 after the Second World War the population of the world was about 2 billion. In 10,000 BC the population of the world was just about 1 million.

At the creation of man (which could have taken place between 10 million and 10,000 years ago) the population of the world was 2 people : ADAM and EVE. According to the Holy Bible, God blessed them, saying to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it”. “Thou shall not kill”. These two people Adam and Eve, man and woman, have been able to fill the earth and now their descendants are today about 6.707 billion people. In fact it is estimated that since man inherited the earth there have been about 110 billion people on the planet.

The human population can only increase through births. Individuals have sought to increase their families for economic reasons as during the agrarian age to enable them produce more food and become rich. Countries and governments have sought to increase their populations in the past by enacting laws and regulations which encouraged Births and discouraged Deaths. The motivations have varied. Governments have been influenced by economic arguments to bolster their working force, so ensuring that the working population was big enough to sustain dependents; they have been persuaded that national defense requires a larger pool from which to recruit troops; and they have been seduced by the notion that national greatness is linked to population.

In 1873 the U.S. Congress enacted the “Comstock Law”, which regulated public access to birth control devices, medicines, or information for the next 60 years. It was illegal to distribute any device, (condoms etc), medicine or information designed to prevent conception, this was applicable even to physicians. In Europe totalitarian regimes of far-left and far-right and fascists regimes, imposed taxes on unmarried adults. State loans were giving at weddings, only to be written off when a couple produced children. State childcare and subsidized goods for children were meant to further encourage reproduction. In France in the 1920s, laws were introduced to limit the sale of contraceptives and payments were allocated to women who stayed (giving birth) at home

All countries and governments encouraged their population growth, and treated abortion, manslaughter, euthanasia and murder as serious criminal offences, punishable in some cases with the death penalty.

The world population increased 4 times faster during the 20^th century. In 1945 the world population was about 2 billion, but within the last 64 years the world population is now 6.707 billion. This phenomenal growth of world population has been accompanied by immense wealth, economic development, technological progress and production of surplus food. From 1900 to 2000 world population has almost quadrupled, from 1.6 billion to 6.2 billion, while gross domestic product (GDP) increased 20 to 40 times, allowing the world not only to sustain the larger population, but also to do so at a vastly higher standard of living.

This of course disproved the fallacy of the Malthusian theory that utopia would be spoilt by fertility. That if everybody were happy, fed and peaceful, they would breed until there was not enough food to go round. According to this false hypothesis, this was mathematically inevitable because food supplies increase arithmetically (1,2,3,4…) and population increase geometrically (1,2,4,8…) Malthus was wrong when he said people would starve to death as a result of population growth running ahead of food production; so were the 1970s population-controllers who said massive famines would sweep the populous Third World and wipe out millions. This has been disproved by historical facts. The false Malthusian theory was grasped by the agents of death, and they started advocating “population control” (Contraception, Sterilization, the pill, condoms, abortion etc.)

Mr. President, the fact is that the world has developed so quickly and become so rich because the world population has exploded in the past 64 years, from 2 billion to 6.707 billion today. GDP has increase by nearly 40 times. The world is much more richer today than it was 64 years ago despite the great increase in population.

MAN is the center of development. Development is by people for people. Where there are no people there is no development. This is the basis of economic development. People produce technology and capital; they are discoverers of resources, the makers of communities, cities, the creators of wealth. As the population increases, it creates more needs and demands, forcing economic development and generating wealth. As the population increases, there is demand for more houses, more roads, more cars more schools, more markets, more hospitals etc. Increased population pressure and density provide the impetus for industrialization and development, which do not take place without pressure of expanding population. No population pressure, no development. A fast growing population makes it easier to acquire needed infrastructure like roads, electricity networks, accommodation etc. This is what happened to Europe during the industrial revolution, there was a population explosion in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. This is what is happening to China and India today.

Population density is directly linked to economic development and wealth.

Mr. President , Cameroon is under populated and poor. To develop and get out of poverty we require a dense population like that of our former colonial masters. Today, Germany has a density per square kilometer of 236 people and an income per capita of $46,350. The United Kingdom of Great Britain has a density per square kilometer of 250 people and an income per capita of $45,731. France has a density per square kilometer of 114 people and an income per capita of $32,700.

Cameroon has a density per square kilometer of 39 persons and an income per capita of $2,300. Compare the disparity of population and wealth between us and them. We have all the natural resources and we can acquire all the technology we want for development if only we can increase our population growth and control all the corruption, looting and stealing by functionaries.

Mr. President look at what is happening to all the developed countries including our former colonial master, all of them are trying to increase their populations and stop “population decline” by paying their women to have more children. But they are not succeeding because decades of false propaganda of “over population” have now taken effect and the “contraceptive and abortion mentality” are now part of their lives. They are afraid of the ageing problem, which has a great effect on their declining populations with disastrous economic and societal consequences. Japan is a typical example. The “Industrialize world or Civilize World” have legalized abortion, homosexuality, and other anti-life atrocities, and flouted the Natural Law and God’s Divine Positive Law. Today all the “civilized world” is regretting the consequences of ageing and declining population on their economies and wellbeing.

The Maputo Protocol is a veil attempt to stall our population growth, an attempt to slow our economic development. Looking at it closely, article 14 of that protocol is an attempt to destroy marriage, the family and all our moral values and respect for the dignity of life. Abortion is a crime punishable under section 337 of the Cameroon Penal Code. Abortion is against Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Every person has a right to life, liberty, and security”

The fact that more than 90 countries have abused this fundamental right of man and legalized abortion, does not make their action right. We cannot imitate all the evil, all the wrong things, all the stupid things that they do. The colonial days are over, we are masters of our own actions. Abortion is against Cameroon culture, Abortion is against Natural Law, Abortion is against Divine Positive Law, “Thou shall not kill”. Abortion is very much against our economic development it stalls our population growth, Abortion is against our Spiritual Interest.

Mr. President, if article 14 of the protocol is not removed, then you must take Cameroon out of the Maputo Protocol. Mr. President, The Cardinal Democratic Party, and all Cameroonians of goodwill, call on you to withdraw Cameroon from the Maputo Protocol. Cameroonians will never accept the legalization of Abortion, Homosexuality and other anti-life legislation.

Mr. President, we trust that you will pull Cameroon out of this obnoxious Protocol before you go, or the next president after you will do so immediately.

We remain,

Your Excellency, Chief A.S. Ngwana

Cameroon: Parliament in the News!

Cameroon’s poor score of 5% on the 2008 Open Budget Index shows that the financial activities of public institutions in Cameroon are usually shrouded in secrecy that encourages corrupt practices.

By Tazoacha Asonganyi

The June session of parliament came to a close some weeks ago. The closure coincided with the much news about what is today known as the UK parliamentary expenses scandal, even if it was drowned by the announcement of a "new" government in Cameroon. Judging by the stir the scandal caused in the UK, it is clear that lack of transparency in the financial management of such institutions invariably leads to the abuse of public money, preventing the institutions from adequately discharging their assigned duties. The scandal led to "diminishing parliamentary and public confidence", and the resignation of the speaker of the UK House of Commons, especially because of his role in the expenses scandal.

Cameroon’s poor score of 5% on the 2008 Open Budget Index shows that the financial activities of public institutions in Cameroon are usually shrouded in secrecy that encourages corrupt practices. The strong current of public opinion that discouraged what was then known as the "radical opposition" from taking up its seats in parliament following the 1997 parliamentary elections in Cameroon, was based on the fear that the secrecy in financial management in the Cameroon National Assembly would be used as a cover to silence MPs of all political leanings, especially those of the opposition. The state of the opposition today, especially of the parliamentary opposition seems to have vindicated this fear of the public.

There is no doubt that lack of transparency in financial management has serious consequences on the ability of parliament to exert its full weight in the governance checks and balances equation. This is confirmed by an opposition MP who once complained that although he submitted 31 amendments prior to the adoption of the now moribund decentralization laws, they were all voted down in the Constitutional Laws Committee (to which he belonged), and not discussed in plenary because the Speaker stated that he had "agreed with my Parliamentary Group Leader" to limit debate on the bills in plenary... The MP left no doubt that there had been shady deals!

Indeed, shady deals abound in the Cameroon National Assembly. Unfortunately, in Cameroon, we do not have a Freedom of Information Act, which in the UK, allows members of the public to request disclosure of information from public institutions; and which was the basis on which the public was able to get information on MPs’ expenses claims.

We have always said that when such disclosures about expenditures in parliament become possible in Cameroon, the public would be shocked by the much money that changes hands in parliament to buy off MPs on various issues, and more. There is great need for a Cameroon Freedom of Information Act, to accompany the present lackluster fight against corruption.

Another issue that was in the air when parliament was in session was related to by-elections to fill vacant positions in parliament. With the advent of Barack Obama, Ghana seems to have become Africa’s measuring rod. The Ghanaian constitution of 1992 has this to say about by-elections: "...Whenever a vacancy occurs in parliament, the clerk of parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days after becoming aware that the vacancy has occurred; and a by-election shall be held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred except that where the vacancy occurred through the death of a member, the by-election shall be held within sixty days after the occurrence of the vacancy..." This is time-bound and practicable. So what does our own 1996 constitution say about the matter? Nothing! And the electoral Law?

The electoral law states that: "...Where one or more seats become vacant either because of death, resignation of the substantive. .., by-elections shall be held within a period of twelve months following the occurrence of the vacancy...in the manner specified here..." Everybody knows that "in the manner specified here" means the list system! This is why we hear often from MPs of the New Deal that "we have a list system, so we cannot conduct a by-election for one person in a list"! Was this not known before the legal provision was written and adopted? Of course, it was known; but since a defining characteristic of the New Deal is the sabotage of the rule of law using sophistry to render some laws, rules and regulations inapplicable, the law was written and adopted this way to leave the field wide-open for the whims and caprices of one man to triumph! Indeed, the New Deal is involved in a game of self-deceit, to kill time so that the Prince can rule for
life...

Another parliamentary issue that has been in the news is the lifting of the immunities of certain MPs. It is well known in Cameroon that parliament is usually a hide-out for crooks because of the parliamentary immunity MPs enjoy. Last week, there was much noise about parliament’s blocking of the lifting of the immunities of some MPs to allow for the due process of the law to take its course. And the shouting headlines in Newspapers included one that the opposition "botched" the lifting of the immunities. At first sight, one would applaud "the opposition" for the lame effort to show that parliament is not under the beck and call of the executive, especially as the reality is that the Cameroon parliament is a typical example of a rubber-stamp- parliament that exists just because Cameroon is said to be a Republic.

Yet, looked at more closely, the act of the opposition is nothing short of unprincipled politics that led them to be carried away by the illusion that two wrongs can make a right. Indeed, the argument that government ministers are usually arrested only after they leave government is frivolous; so too is the one that other investigations usually take longer! If the opposition wants to show that they want parliament to be independent of the executive in fact, they should do so more honourably. What they have done all looks like a botched lobbying assignment! The signal they have sent to a people that is restless about corruption does not speak well of the leading party of the opposition!

Parliament in a republican government is supposed to be the eyes, ears and voice of the people. Since elections that select MPs are usually marred by many types of electoral fraud, parliament ends up being just a regulator of the affairs of those who fraud themselves to power, to the detriment of the people who remain just pawns in a political "power" game. As the French usually say, "there is nothing more permanent than the temporary". What is going on now in parliament may look permanent, but by all measure, it is a temporary transition to a period when MPs will actually carry the proxies of the people, and listen to what they are saying.

CAMEROON NEEDS A NEW PRESIDENT!

On the 12th of July 2007, I said that if those who were scheming to manipulate Cameroon’s constitution succeed in making President Paul Biya a presidential candidate again in 2011, I too will run for the office of President of the Republic. My fear then was that we could end up with the same political actors, and a déja vu scenario in 2011 or a replica of the 1997 and 2004 presidential elections.

<sup>By Snowsel Ano - Ebie

And since 1990, there has never been any doubt in my mind that a new head of state will manage this country differently and lead it towards progress and development. What we obtain so cheap, we esteem so lightly, and that is how some people found themselves in the Unity Palace.</sup>

^{The wrong impression that a country like Cameroon gifted with natural resources, minerals and a conducive environment for its citizens to realize their full potential, but has not been endowed with talented young women and young men who are capable of providing leadership at the level of the presidency, pained my heart very much. I refused then to agree with the fact that those who in 1982 tried to give the former president the impression that only he was qualified to lead this country, should today stay around till kingdom come because they are being given the same impression.}

^{Cemeteries are filled with many people who yesterday thought they were indispensable.}

^{The office of President of the Republic is the most influential thing in Cameroon. Besides the traditional functions of serving as administrative head of the nation, commander in chief of the defense forces, head of the magistracy, making treaties, and granting pardons, in Cameroon, the president is so powerful that he appoints a new Prime Minister and members of his government on the same day, at the same time. He appoints all top administrative and military officials, he appoints all ambassadors and consular officers to foreign countries, and receives the accreditation of foreign diplomats. He designates the speaker of the National Assembly, is the only one who can succeed to get a bill through the National Assembly, and has the prerogative to single handedly appoint 30% of the Senate.}

^{In Cameroon, it is the President of the Republic that appoints members of Board of Directors of all State Corporations, the president of the board, General Managers and his/her deputy. The president is a judge who appoints all other judges and decides which cases should be tried and which prisoners should be pardoned. His every act is portrayed as infinite wisdom even when he contradicts previous acts. In a nutshell, in Cameroon, the president is worshiped as a deity, venerated as a demi-god who decides the fate and destiny of the nation and its citizens, and "talented" journalists and "educated" intellectuals are forever singing his praises. Some people are even equating the office to one particular individual, not stopping for once to think that it could have been Ni John Fru Ndi in 1992, and it can be Snowsel Ano-Ebie in 2011.}

<sup>The negative impacts of the world financial crises are already starring at us in the face, but the challenges of the 19th century have not been solved. The Ring Road has not been constructed, the Kumba-Mamfe Road has not become a priority, all our divisional head quarters have not been linked with tarred roads, and we still do not have an express train running between Douala and Yoaunde. We are still running an educational system that produces citizens who are not bilingual, technical education has not been made the bed rock of our development endeavours. Our food self-sufficiency has been taken for granted and agricultural production has not been mechanized. The public service has been transformed into a bastion of corruption, while its management is inefficient.

Our government is too big and the functional budget too huge for a country struggling with indebtedness and economic down turns. Wasteful government spending, coupled with tribalism, unemployment, widespread poverty, and a bankruptcy in moral values can best be addressed from the presidency, and I know that only a new president will have the guts to heal this nation. Conventional wisdom tells us that if you are the problem, you cannot be part of the solution. Only the keys to the Unity Palace can bring this country out of the doldrums.</sup>

^{The major political parties may be preparing to give us the same actors in 2011 but Cameroon desperately needs a new president. We need a young, dynamic and patriotic leader. A bilingual Cameroonian, born after 1972, with a broad based university education, a mastery of state institutions and at least five years in the management of public affairs, self-discipline, and the willingness to succeed can lead this country in 2011. This country needs a new head of state that is knowledgeable, available, and responsible. Let us stop pretending and deceiving ourselves that there is a deficit in the number of people who are qualified and who can rule Cameroon, because I know many of us who can.}

Father: A great assert in the lives of children

Unfortunately, much of the societies are trying to play down the value of a good father in a child's life

By Yemti Harry Ndienla

Last Sunday was Father’s Day. I can't remember the last time I spent Father's Day with my dad. But I know he was such a wonderful person. Some of you didn't know my dad, but chances are you knew someone like him - an exceptional technician at the famous Administrative Garage Buea – Annex. Until he took up permanent residence in heaven a little above half a decade ago, the man loved his job. Yes, dad loved his job. But loved his family even more. Seriously, dad was a good husband and father.

My dad probably wouldn't admit this, if he was alive today but he was a feminist at heart. He grew up in a family of girls who jealously took great care of their children. Thus he assumed he would have children to share in his passion – making them happy. Yes, he did make not only us but all our friends happy. This, he was given several nicknames which I would spare you the trouble of going through.

He was always there for us. He took care of us like a woman and made it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

Though his memory partially failed him during the last few years of his life, my dad struggled to recall many things about our childhood life, especially those cemented in his head, like teaching us how to climb a tree, go to the farm, taking a short path (corny road) to school etc. Growing up in the “quarters”, we didn’t know places akin to Parks, and “Chucky Cheese”, unlike some of our friends at GRA, Old Government Station, Federal, and Clark’s, quarters. Whatever the case, I was pretty lucky for such a wonderful father. Lucky, indeed.

Last Sunday, I figured most dads and kids doing pretty much the same thing, but in a different environment and manner. I figured mola Mbella Ndoko, aka “Mola Daddy” a loving father in Chicago, playing with his little daughter as she picks her steeps around the lobby. I equally figured mola Mbome Fritz, another loving father from Schaumburg, Chicago, talking sports while watching TV with her breath catching beautiful daughter - Alexis Mojoko. Just like mola Dibussi Tande, playing “hide and seek”, with his son and best friend - Mokali. Besides, that’s typically what dads and their kids do when they are together.

If that sounds like your own dad, you're a very lucky person. Lucky like me.

Fathers really need to dedicate time; I mean quality time with their children. "The parents' bonds are protective against a myriad of problems," said Nadia Ansary, a professor at Rider University in New Jersey.

A recent survey found that children, daughters especially whose relationships with their dads were trusting and communicative had significantly better trust and communication with boyfriends than those who did not have such a strong bond with their fathers. "I think that's a valid theory in that she's seeing a male role model that's more balanced in a nontraditional sense," said Smithivas, a stay-at-home dad.

Unfortunately, much of the societies are trying to play down the value of a good father in a child's life. Not because in America for example about 85% of inmates and 80% of convicted rapists were raised by single parents. Or that about 75% of teen pregnancies come from fatherless homes.

Of course, a single parent can do it single-handedly when the father is deficient. But if we don't stop downplaying the importance of good fathers, then all of us will pay for it...one way or another.

Don’t be a runaway dad, please.