Kah Walla Receives Award

"Dear Friends,

On the occasion of the   Fourteenth edition of Global Leadership Awards organized by the international organization Vital Voices on 16 June, I had the honor to receive the Vital Voices Vanguard Award in 2015 along with four other extraordinary women namely Yin Myo Su contractor Myanmar (Burma), anthropologist and Pakistani filmmaker Samar Minallah Khan, the Tunisian activist Amira Yahyaoui and the Guatemalan entrepreneur Karla Ruiz Cofiño.

We were all 5 rewarded for the work done every day and our efforts to drive sustainable change within our communities.

I had the extreme honor to receive my award from Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

This edition of Global Leadership Awards held Tuesday, June 16, 2015 was attended by several personalities including   former US President Bill Clinton, Susan Davis (president of the organization Vital Voices), Donna Langlen (Universal Picture CEO) the actress Sally Field, Bill Burns (President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), the Ambassador Melanne Verveer and designer Diane Von Furstenberg among others.

I would like for that purpose, to express once again my profound gratitude to the organization Vital Voices for bringing to light the world, the work we do every day in our communities.

And finally a special thank you to all of you who accompany me and support me every day. "

(E) Kah Walla

Watch the awards video here https://www.facebook.com/100843993327766/videos/882908498454641

More information on the Global Leadership Awards 2015:

http://www.vitalvoices.org/global-initiatives/global-leadership-awards

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/president-bill-clinton-vital-voices-global-partnership-celebrate-groundbreaking-women-from-around-the-world-300100902.html

http://www.cvent.com/events/2015-global-leadership-awards/custom-19-5e2676bdb33f45d28e231e71a1e4997d.aspx

  Kah Walla TV Interviews

Voice of America: Africa 54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1mL_s8_O9c&feature=youtu.be
NBC: Mitchell Reports http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/cameroon-activist-recognized-for-leadership-466136643958

New Council Hall for Limbe I in the offing

Mbua Ro-Danny, Lord Mayor, Limbe I Council

.The lord Mayor of the Limbe I Council Mbua Ro-Danny Mokako has declared that the project for the building of a new chambers for the council is in the offing. He was speaking recently on the occasion of the first ordinary session of the Limbe I Council for 2015 dedicated to the examination of the Administrative and Management Account and Store Keeper's Report of the 2014 Financial year.

The mayor said concerning the council chambers "we are first of all struggling to sort out the problem of land. After this we will talk to FEICOM and I think it will gladly give us some money to build a council hall. Though we've had the land, there are still some administrative bottle necks that we need ti iron out. The board of directors already gave us Half a hectare of land. But if you don't have ownership of the land, it is very difficult for FEICOM ttto give you funds." 

Quizzed on difficulties encountered during preparation of the accounts considering the fact that this was his first time the mayor said "I used to be a First Deputy Mayor and in that capacity I learnt quite a lot. So accomplishing this task was not an uphill task. I want to thank my councilors for the collaboration."

Hinting on the activities of  FEICOM, the mayor said the problems of councils with regards to this institution is peculiar to the Limbe I council. He said it was a general problem that touched on the whole country. Every council he said has this problem. "You never really know when they are paying and sometimes when you visit your accounts you notice that FEICOM had already paid without even notifying you. First quarter payments should be done latest on the fifteenth of April since the first quarter is from January to March. The first quarter was paid last week and we are already in June. I don't however think it is a big problem. We are just reminding them of what they are supposed to do."

On the financial commitments of the City Council, Mayor Mbua Ro-Danny said financially it had not only been difficult for the Limbe I Council, but that it had been difficult for the Limbe City Council and that if the city council could meet up with 95% of its commitments to the Limbe I Council, then  its  wonderful.

Concerning projects so far realised, the mayor said development was a continuous process. "If we had money then it would normally be better to tar a road than to grade it. When we run a council on 400.000.000 FCFA, you can't expect us to tar roads. So we keep moving forward and backward. When you grade this year and the rains eventually come, you will have to grade again next year. We just hope the city council can help us there. If you go to Mao now you will notice that we built two bridges.

On the council being over staffed and under exploiting its revenue avenues, Mayor Mbua Rodanny said " Our council is not over staffed.I am however aware of the fact that we should improve on our revenue collection which is the dream of any council. We will continue building stores. The 12 stores we built at Middle Farms have all been taken and this shows that there is improvement in revenue." 

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Kumba to host Maiden Southwest Cultural Festival

The City of Kumba has been given the privilege to host the maiden edition of the Southwest Cultural Festival. This revelation was made by Ngo Grace Ewang, the Regional Delegate of Culture for the Southwest Region during the Annual General Assembly of the Southwest Chiefs that took place recently in Kumba.

According to the Regional Delegate, the historic event will run from Saturday December 5 to Saturday December 12, 2015. The event which begins on Saturday the 5th with an opening ceremony, will have its formulaic closing on Saturday the 12th December. In between, there will be six days reserved for the six Divisions of the Region to showcase their cultures through traditional dances, traditional music, performances and cultural fashion parades among many other cultural activities.From these fashion parades will be selected the three best girls from whom a Miss Southwest will finally emerge.

Another highlight of the event will be touristic visits to cultural and historic sites in Meme with huge tourist potential. The Gala Night which will serve like the apotheoses of the event will be spiced by the giving of prizes to best participants in all categories as well as special prizes to some elites from the Region.

The Regional Delegate for Culture also used the occasion to propose a meaningful collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and Traditional Rulers of the Southwest Region. Efforts at cultural and infrastructural revival she said could only be realised if chiefs were taken as first priority partners. She called on all to cling to the traditional African way of relating to God and traditional way of bringing up young girls saying this was the only way for decency to return into the lives of our girls. She equally called on traditional rulers to build museums and Traditional Palaces in their palaces.

The President of the Southwest Chiefs Conference Nfon V. E. Mukete on his part said the reason for the assembly was to discuss the cultural, socio-economic and political issues as well as to consider a road map for the security situation in the country and the role to play in it.Harping on the important place occupied by traditional rulers he expressed the need for a practical way of introducing mechanised farming to farmers.He further stressed on the need to introduce traditional rulers in issues like the fight against malaria, environmental issues and maternal mortality issues related to delivery. He did not fail to highlight the need for a permanent solution to the endless chieftaincy problems in the Southwest Region.

Chief Tanyi Robinson, the Assistant Secretary General of Southwest Chiefs, the National President of Network for chiefs on Biodiversity and Conservation, the Secretary General of the Pan African Council of Monarchs and Kings of Africa summed the conference in the following words...."We've tried to recognise the problems of our communities and taking into focus the changing times. Cameroon is in a stage now that many things are being revisited. The forestry laws, land laws, the mining code and even the political landscape is being transformed so we want to take advantage of that and make our mark to be also at the forefront of the changes taking place. We should see that our people are not left behind and that we are on the negotiating table. Our communities should not just be a dump ground where investors go and make deals in Yaounde and then just come and impose it on us. We want it to be a tripartite arrangement between the state, the investor and the community where the investor is coming to operate. We are having this meeting against a backdrop of some sort of a power struggle with the frustrations of the lawyers wanting to make their voices heard on the political landscape. We thought we should take a position also on that because as chiefs we are the voices of the people and we feel the pinch where it is. We cannot be indifferent to the plights of our people. I think we came out strongly that the government should be able to look into the various demands that are coming up especially because they are rooted in law."

Also present were His Royal Highness Fon Tchafa of Bangolan in the Northwest Region of Cameroon in his capacity as the Secretary General of the National Council of Cameroon Traditional Rulers NCCTR representing the National President, Alim Garga Hatatou. The Secretary General at the Ministry of Culture was also present representing the Minister of Culture Ama Tutu Muna who supported the meeting with a million FCFA.

The almost hitch free event was coloured by a demonstration of the very rich tradition of the Region especially that of the Bakundus and the Bafaws considering the fact that they were the hosts.

Entrepreneuriat: "Grâce Madi International est parmi les entreprises qui ont décroché les contrats les plus sensibles au Cameroun" -Kamsu Geremi, Le PDG

 Vous pouvez  raconter comment cette initiative a démarre. Jeter la lumière sur l'histoire de la société.


Je l'ai toujours été motivé par ce désir de créer une entreprise et je finalement pris la ferme décision de mettre en place l'entreprise grâce Madi international en 2007 à Limbe , au Cameroun . Nous l'avons créé et nous mettons au travail. Depuis lors, nous sommes toujours en activité malgré les difficultés rencontrées . Nous sommes toujours concentrés sur notre idée de ce que devrait être une entreprise .

Dans quel type d'activités est impliqué Grâce Madi International ?

Grâce Madi International est impliqué dans des activités dans différents secteurs. Nous sommes impliqués dans les travaux publics et la construction d'édifices et de bâtiments. Nous sommes également impliqués dans le secteur agricole. En ce sens, nous avons l'intention de réaliser des projets de plantation. Nous nous faisons également dans l'importations et l'exportations. Nous avons la capacité d'importer et d'exporter et de mettre en synergie les opérateurs économiques des différents pays. Nous pouvons acheter en Europe et revendre au Cameroun. Dans un mode similaire, nous pouvons acheter au Cameroun et revendre en Europe. Nous nous occupons de différentes chaînes d'activités. Je peux résumer en disant que nous sommes diversifiés. Nos travaux de construction sont effectués avec l'Etat du Cameroun parce que nous sommes intéressés à satisfaire des besoins public. Nous réalisons également des projets au-delà des frontières camerounais et nous sommes impliqués dans la construction d'édifices et la construction de routes. Nous exportons nos produits tels que le cacao, le café et le bois. Nous voulons aussi faire de l'agriculture dans son ensemble parce que pour nous, c'est un secteur rentable.


Êtes-vous en partenariat avec des entreprises étrangères ?

Mon entreprise est une composante de l'Association européenne africain. Aujourd'hui , nous installons des bureaux en Europe parce qu'ils ont visité nos différents chantiers au Cameroun et ont compris que nous étions des partenaires de qualité .Grace à cela, ils ont compris que par la fusion avec Grace Madi International, nous allions faire beaucoup plus de choses. Comme l'un de nos musiciens locaux a chanté , je pense que la vraie magie c'est le travail. Lorsque vous travaillez et ça faire du résultats ,ça attire naturellement le monde . Ils sont arrivés; des Partenaires européens et ils ont découvert que avec Grace Madi international qu'ils pouvaient aventurer au Cameroun . Pour nous, ce partenariat ne pas un fruit du hasard . Il est le fruit de notre travail. Nous nous félicitons aujourd'hui pour être capable de travailler avec l'Europe.

Dans l'histoire de votre entreprise , il y avait certainement des moments de pointe.Les apothéoses.

Naturellement . Je suis fier d'avoir été parmi les entreprises qui ont décroché les contrats les plus sensibles . Certains de ces contrats comprennent la construction du pavillon de l'Hôpital régional de Limbe , un contrat très important qui a été évaluée à des centaines de millions de FCFA , la construction de la commune de Kribi II évalué à une centaine de millions de FCFA , la construction de la délégation régionale de domaines de la région du Centre à Etoudi evalué également à une centaine de millions de FCFA et les apothéoses c'est la construction du siège de la Commission nationale des droits de l'homme évalués à plus d'un milliard de FCFA . Malgré les difficultés , car à ce moment que je vous parle , il y a beaucoup de difficultés , nous restons sereins et confiants par apport à l'avenir.


Si vous êtes donné l'occasion de faire des suggestions aux instances du pouvoir au Cameroun . Que diriez-vous concernant la voie à suivre ?

En ma qualité de propriétaire d'une entreprise au Cameroun , mes suggestions concernant la voie à suivre c'est qu'il'y a honnêtement encore beaucoup à faire . Je pense que si l'occasion m'a été offerte de suggérer à l'hiérarchie , j'offrirai des suggestions honnêtes et concrètes. Nous ne disposons pas l'esprit de leadership au Cameroun . Les entrepreneurs souffrent encore de beaucoup de mauvais traitements . J'ai eu un marché mais tout simplement parce que nous avons commencé avec un peu de retard, parce que nous avons fourni un document un peu en retard il est devenu une situation de résiliation . Je l'avais déjà investi 10 millions de FCFA . Les situations de ce genre ne sont pas justes . Pour un contrat de 300 millions de CFCA un individu se présente devant vous disant que si vous ne lui donnez pas 20 millions FCFA , vous ne devrez pas le marché . Ce ne sont pas seulement dans un contrat, mais dans beaucoup d'autres . Il est en effet un sérieux problème.

Entrepreneuriat: "Grace Madi International is among the companies that has realised the most sensitive contracts in Cameroon" -Kamsu Geremi CEO

  How did this initiative start? Can you throw some light on the history of the company?

I have always been motivated by this desire to create an enterprise and I finally took the firm decision to put in place the enterprise  Grace Madi International in 2007 in Limbe, Cameroon. We created it and put ourselves to work. Since then we are still in business despite the difficulties encountered. We are still focused on our idea of what an enterprise should be.

What type of activities is Grace Madi International involved in?

Grace Madi International involves its self in activities in different sectors. We are involved in Public works and the construction edifices and huge buildings. We are equally involved in the agricultural sector. In this directuion, we plan to carry out plantation projects. We equally do imports and exports. We have the capacity to import and export and to put in synergy economic operators of different nations. We can buy in Europe and re-sell in Cameroon. In a simillar fashion, we can buy from Cameroon and re-sell in Europe. We deal in different chains of activities. I can summarise by saying that we are diversified. Our construction works are done with the State of Cameroon because we are interested in satisfaying public demands or needs. We also carry out simillar projects beyond the Cameroonian frontiers and we are involved in the construction of edifices and the construction of roads. We export our pruducts such as cocoa, coffee and timber. We equally want to do agriculture in its entirety because for us, it is a profitable sector. Like my late father always said; "the soil never lies."


Are you in partnership with any foreign enterprises?

My enterprise is a component of the african european association. Today, we are installing offices in Europe because they visited   our different work sites in Cameroon and understood that we were partners with quality. Thanks to this, they understood that by fusing with Grace Madi International we were going to do many more things.Like one of our local musicians sang, I think the real magic is work. When you work and it produces results, it naturally attracts people. They came; partners from Europe and they found out that with Grace Madi International they could adventure in Cameroon. For us this partnership did not just come accidentally. It is the fruit of our labour. We congratulate ourselves today for being capable of working with Europe.

In the history of your company there were certainly some high lights and peak moments.

Naturally. I am proud to have been among those companies that clinched the most sensitive contracts. Some of these include the construction of the pavillion of the Regional Hospital in Limbe, a very important contract that was evaluated at hundreds of millions FCFA, the construction of the council hall of the Kribi II Municipality evaluated at a hundred million FCFA, the construction of the Regional Delegation of Customes of the Center Region at Etoudi eavaluated equally at a hundred million FCFA and the apotheoses is the construction of the Head Office of  the National Commission for Human Rights evaluated at more than a billion FCFA. Despite the difficulties, because at this moment that I speak to you there are a lot of difficulties, we remain hopeful about the future.

If you are given an opportunity to give suggestions to the instances of power in Cameroon. What would you say concerning the way forward?

In my capacity as the owner of an enterprise in Cameroon, my suggestions regarding the way forward is that there is honestly yet much to be done. I think if an opportunity was offered me to suggest to the , I will offer honest and concrete suggestions to hirarchy.We don't have the spirit of leadership in Cameroon. Entrepreneurs still suffer from a lot of ill treatment. I have had contracts in which simply because we started slightly late because we provided a document slightly late it became a situation of resiliation. I had already invested  10 millions FCFA in this project. Situations like this are not fair. For a contract of 300 million CFCA an individual presents himsrlf infront of you saying that if you don't give him 20 millions FCFA you will not have the contract. This is not just in one contract but in many others. It is indeed a serious problem.


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Limbe: Mokunda Multi Purpose Common Initiative Group launches Tree Planting Exercise

 

The Common Initiative Group Mokunda Multi Prupose CIG in collaboration with the African Women Network for Community Management of Forests REFACOF on Wednesday June 10 ,2015 carried out a tree planting exercise at Mokunda village within the Limbe Municipality. This activity was in line with the objectives of the 2015 World Environment Day which took place on Friday June 5 under the theme "Seven billion dreams. One Planet. Consume with care."
In a correspondence to the chief of Mokunda from the office of the Regional Delegate of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development for the Southwest Region prior to the tree planting activity, it was explained that this activity was geared towards beautifying the village and reducing the effects of global warming. The planting activity  which took place in the nine quarters that make up Mokunda was carried out by the Meloke youths.

 In a written address presented by the Mokunda Traditional Council on behalf of their chief , the counselors and the entire population of  the village, the villagers expressed their appreciation to the Minister for choosing their village for the exercise. They equally promised to take proper care of the young plants which they said would add more beauty and render the environment healthier to live in. The exercise which involved the planting of ornamental and economic trees received the support of the villagers and saw them participating actively in it.
Ekwaingem Mercy, the Chief of Service for Information, Sensitisation and Documentation at the Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development said "we just celebrated the World Environment Day under the theme "Seven billion dreams. One Planet. Consume with care." As you can see from the theme,the population of the world is 7 billion and the planet remains the same while the population keeps increasing. This means that we have to consume our natural resources with care. We are planting trees in Mokunda village because each citizen is supposed to take part in environmental protection. So we want to involve the youths in environmental protection and tree planting  is the main issue in this activity." She called on Cameroonians to protect the environment for the children adding that the trees that we are enjoying today were not planted by us.

Launching of Tree Planting Exercise in Mokunda by officials from the Regional Delegation

Anastasia Mojoko Forteh, retired from theUnited Nations World Food Programme who presently works for REFACOF as well as the Ministry of Environment and of forestry explained that the Mokunda Multi Purpose common Initiative Group is dedicated to Economic Forestry and Forest Management and that it greatly makes use of the youths who are mostly orphans and widows.

Anastasia Mojoko Forteh planting ornamental trees.

"I try to inculcate in them the idea that it can also be comfortable to live in the village so as to stem the increasing urban exodus. That is why I chose this activity; agriculture and conservation. The main stakeholder of this event of today is the ministry. We have been working with the conservator of the Botanic Garden Botanic Garden,the Ministry of Forestry and Wild Life but the activity of today is part of the World Environment Week which is still going on..Other things that I have done here in Mokunda include the water extension project as well as our being selected to participate in this year's World Environment Day activities. That is why we have dedicated these trees today to the Meloke youths.They are the ones who will live long to see what we did today."

This event which also received some support from SONARA was rendered colourful by traditional dancing, choral singing, a short play focusing on the importance of trees among other things.


Meloke Youths seen here taking part in the launching of the tree planting exercise.

 


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Tiko Administrators called upon to fully exploit revenue making potentials of Mutengene Market

The Tiko Council and administrators have been called upon to fully exploit the revenue making avenues in the newly constructed Mutengene market. This call was made recently by Ebako Makia, an investor who
has collaborated with some councils in development initiatives using the Build Operate and Transfer BOT approach. He was speaking recently during a press chat that held in Limbe.

In an upfront manner the investor said "My only worry with the Tiko Council is that they do not seem to know what will benefit the council.The Council is not projecting the idea of  revenue making from that
market. They think that the market is a rural market but it isn't. They have not yet realised that the market is one of the main source of revenue for the council. Until they realise that markets are one of the biggest instrument for the generation of income, only then will they pay attention to the Mutengene Market. Kumba is growing today because of the Kumba Market, the Fiango market and markets of the peripheries."

Insisting that the Mutengene Market is an urban market, Ebako Makia further explained that he personally fought that they should make it a daily market. Reality on the ground is reflecting that the market is not
daily. Efforts to make the market a daily one have failed because Mutengene is not a commercial town but a farming town and most of its residents are people who have retired from CDC and Delmonte and
believe only in farming.

Secondly, the market would have grown if the administrative aspects were being well handled. He said the administration doesn't seem to see the risks involved in allowing traders to leave stores and sell near the high way. The history of the area shows that accidents constantly claim lives on road sides. The council he further said should take the responsibility of sending every body back into the market.

He called on the Divisional Officer of  Tiko not to sit on his laurels and wait until there is a ghastly motor accident before springing into action. People who had bought stores are leaving them and coming to the road side because they think that the people by the road side are selling more than those in the stores. "The Council administration should pay more attention to their markets and develop them. If they develop the market, they will be one of the richest councils. At the present pace I wonder if I will be capable of recovering the money I put in that project."
The sponsor explained that he had invested more than 200 millions FCFA in the market but that the best he was expecting was something in the neighbourhood of 100 million FCFA.
.

In a retrospective manner, he said personnel from the Tiko Council had visited his Build Operate and Transfer projects that he had realised in Kumba and had fallen in love with it. His main worry however is that the implementation in Tiko has not been as successful as in Kumba. The Tiko Council he explained reached him through the erstwhile Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council, Calvin Noko
Mbele. What had caught the attention of the Tiko Council were the projects that had been realised under Calvin Noko Mbele without the support of FEICOM.

 This fact finding mission from the Tiko Council resulted in his carrying out BOT Projects in Tiko by the construction of the Mutengene Market., Ebako Mutanga further intimated that he was eventually
invited to lecture the Tiko Council staff on Built Operate and Transfer, BOT. In this chain, he explained,it is the contractor who builds and the people who pay the contractor operate while the council now comes in as the guarantor ensuring that people's money will not be lost. These people who pay money to the contractor include stake holders who are prepared to take over stores. Transfer he explained involves the transfer of the project to the owner of the land which in this case is the Tiko Council. He explained
that in the case of the Mutengene Market, it was an agreement between the stakeholders, the council and even the contractor that a store is given at FCFA  2 million.  The stakeholder has to acquire his money
because he has built on council plot. For stakeholders to acquire their money, calculations have to be made to ascertain how much time it will take for the money to be collected. After all of this, the ownership goes
back to the landlord who happens to be the Tiko Council.

When this reporter caught up with the Mayor of the Tiko Council under whose jurisdiction the Tiko Market falls and who is also the landlord of same, he declared that the revenue creating avenues of the market in question were in no way under exploited."The normal 2000 FCFA collection that is taken from each trader has always been the norm and there is no good reason for that to change at the moment" he explained.
He further explained that Ebako Makia had on his part bridged some of the clauses guiding the agreement on which the Mutengene market was built and that when such a situation occurs, no one would expect things to move the way they would normally have done.

New Boss installed at Batoke Specialised Research Station, Limbe.

Dr. Ngegim Jules Romain has been installed as the Chief of Center at the Institute of Research for Agriculture and Development, IRAD Batoke, Limbe. This heavily attended installation which took place recently at the Batoke Center which is a Specialised Research Station for Fishery and Marine Science marks the starting point of a new beginning for IRAD Batoke if the words of Doctor Etchu Agbor Kingsley, the representative of the Director General of IRAD is any thing to go by.

Speaking at the installation ceremony in a keynote address, Dr. Etchu Agbor Kingsley said the Batoke (Limbe) Specialised Research Station for Fishery and Marine Science fell in the Aggrozoological Zone four and that the importance of the center was highlighted by the presence of the chief of stations for Njombe in the Littoral and Barombi Kang in Kumba as well as experts in the field who founded the Limbe Station at Batoke not leaving out the out going station boss, Chambeng Georges.

Harping on the rich educational background of the new boss Ngegim Jules Romain, Dr. Etchu Agbor Kingsley said he studied at the University of Dschang in Cameroon, the university of Brussels in Belgium, the Yaounde University I in Cameroon and later on in France. Dr. Jules Romain he said is a member of both the French and British Ecological Society  adding that he'd been working since 2002 till his appointment as chief of station for Limbe in 2015.

Touching on the problems to be addressed, he mentioned marine pollution and poverty eradication through the improvement of research activities. He called on the new boss to foster the spirit of assiduity and discipline at work adding that the importance of humility and loyalty to hierarchy could not be over emphasised. He further called on the new director to secure the land and property of the station and at the same time beseeched the Divisional Officer for Limbe II to collaborate with the new director in the task of securing the land of the station.

Approached for comment at the end of the installation ceremony, Dr. Jean Calvin Njock, founder of the center and proprietor of Etisah Services in Limbe said "all the structures you see here today were planned by me and my team. I equally sent some of my staff for further training from here. Most of the colleagues  that you see here today grew under my guidance. In 1980 I had a Master Degree but I was sent back to school to do my Doctorate degree(PhD) focused on fishery after which I was appointed here.From the year 2000 I moved on and worked with the United Nations in Benin Republic and in Rome. From there I retired and came back to Limbe where I am presently doing my consultative activities and also involved in fish farming."

The International consultant further explained that when the Limbe center was created there was no structure at the time focused on aquatic or marine issues. He said the importance of Limbe lies in the fact that it is the first structure in the country that took care of marine issues in general and fishing problems in particular. " At the time, research was focused on Oceanography and Marine life but I don't know the guidelines that have been given to the present team. I think Limbe is the center which takes care of the sea and of fishing in particular."

Dr. Etchu Agbor Kingsley on his part said "each of the research stations under my jurisdiction will always count on hierarchy  for collaboration and support. We do this by coming together, sharing our challenges and providing solutions and I think so far, for the fourth year that I am managing one of the biggest aggro-zoological zones in Cameroon, I think I have always had the support of hierarchy and Batoke will not be an exception. Fortunately, the outgoing boss already introduced fingerling production and I believe the incoming director will just intensify what his predecessor already started."

Talking on the importance of the Specialised Limbe Research Center, the new boss Dr. Jules Romain said his sole aim was to improve upon the quality and quantity of fish production through research work and the provision of Technical assistance to fish farmers. " This will reduce the national importation rate of fish and will go a long way to contribute towards poverty eradication. Though there is a drop in financing from Government when compared to the past, success will depend completely on the hard work of my personnel."

This colourful occasion was rendered more so by the presence of dance groups from the West Region and from the South West specifically from Manyu and Fako.