If CPDM doesn't play a good game, they will never see the light again in Kumba

EBAKO ABEL, Mayor of Kumba I

You have been Mayor now for a reasonable length of time. What problems did you inherit and how far have you gone in solving these problems?

 Actually the kind of house I met wasn't  appetizing because I inherited debts worth about 97 million FCFA. Besides that, the structure under which the council was placed was on rent at about 400.000 FCFA a month. So when I came, I realised that the council would not be able to run as envisaged and that workers will always have problems with their salaries and other related things. As such I had to go back down to the archives of the City Council to know when the City Council and the Sub Divisional Councils were created and how property was distributed to the Sub Councils including the City Council. I discovered that presently where I am is the Kumba I Council and that this building was then occupied by the Divisional Delegate of Town Planning and Housing. I wrote to the Seniour Divisional Officer for Meme informing him that I needed my house and that I didn't want to pay rents again. He accepted and informed the Delegate as such. That's why I am here and as I speak now, everything is set for me to start my own building. I am just doing the last paper work and by next month, things will go on.


What do you think are the major problems plaguing Kumba I that you head?

Actually, the major problem I have is that of road infrastructure. Our networks are very good but the roads are bad. The roads are earth roads and are in a very bad state with a lot of pot holes and standing water. This Sub Division which was created just about eight years ago hasn't got machines. The City Council is supposed to help, back and prepare us  to work our streets but they too don't have machines. We have struggled to get to Matgenie; a government institution in order to get machines from them but presently we cannot do it because the climate situation of the world is changing. This is November and we still have very heavy rains as if we were in August and so we cannot go to the road to work. When the rains stop then we will start something. 



How can you explain the fact that there is persistent light failure in Kumba and the quasi absence of good drinking water?

Light failures I believe is not a problem peculiar to Kumba. The Government is trying to build up dams probably to increase the strength of electricity in the country. This I believe will help to push the country forward. We also had a problem with water but now we have portable water and the council is trying to build some catchment areas to make sure that those who don't have pipe borne water should be able to have good drinking water. 


At this point in time in your political career, you certainly have a message for your electorate; those who voted you into office...

 Yes I promised my people so many things and some of those things are already coming to fruition. I promise that I will give them a market at Kake II. That one is already in the pipeline. We've gone to site where the market will be located and funds are already available. I promise to build a befitting Council Chambers. May be by December or January. I promised my people that I was going to give them portable water which we have done and by February or March, the public taps will be flowing. Those are the things we promised our people and we know that we will be able to give them before the end of our mandate.




How is the nature of the relationship between the City Council and the three other Councils that make up the Kumba City Council area?

 Actually the collaboration is very cordial but when it comes to revenue collection, it is different. You know money is something that you cannot joke with. Money can bring problems just like it can make peace. However, we are very OK with the City Council and all the Mayors are okay with themselves and that's why you see Kumba progressing. 


Many people think that with the present reorganization of the basic organs of the ruling CPDM party, a major offset is going to be noticed on the Kumba political landscape...

If CPDM doesn't play a good game, then they will never see the light again in Kumba. We of the SDF in Kumba have come to stay. We didn't come to play for a mandate and leave. We will stay here until we are tired. 

It has been noticed that the degree of patriotism and civic awareness of the average Cameroonian has been dropping. What do you think should be done about this?

 Actually this is true and many people have been giving advise from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Secondary and Basic Education in that line. I think the environment plays a great role in our lives. The environment in which we live will dictate the kind of character that you have. The next thing is the parents on whom much depends and the elderly people. We will be able to do our own part but the major part of it must be done at home or the immediate environment of the individual. .      

      

"The SDF in Tiko needs to be reborn and a new manifesto put in place"

-Joseph Bah Anib: Aspiring Chairperson of the Tiko Electoral District of the Social Democratic Front.

 Joseph Bah Anib

What do you propose as the way forward for the Tiko Electoral District?

 I am doing my own contribution to the social building process and to the Democratic transformation of our country.  What ever be the case, I have a dream for a born again SDF for the Tiko Electoral District. I expect this to spread nationwide. The SDF in Tiko needs to be reborn and  a fresh Manifesto with proposed ten points put in place. This is to let the audience know what we are talking about. One, we need a Party Secretariat for Tiko. This will be a party Monument that will represent the party and let people know that it is very strong. People can as such get to the party through the Secretariat. For more than two years now we don't have a Secretariat and I am going to embark on that. Through these years there has been a drop in party activities in Tiko when it comes to the number of members of the party. We are going to go door to door to canvas for party activities.

We are going to go to people who have been in this party but for one reason or the other dropped out. Twenty Five years after, we plan to embark on Electoral reconciliation to ensure that everybody comes back on board. This will make the party stronger than ever before. We are also going to embark on financial accountability and transparency. The truth is that all this while this has not been the case in the managing of financial affairs of the SDF in the Tiko Electoral District. Party members now don't have any idea on how finances are managed and if the party is in a deficit or surplus and how we can use this money for the betterment of the SDF.
 If today we are talking of changing Cameroon then we are talking of embezzlement and accountability and I think that we should be pace setters. We shouldn't be saying one thing and then doing the other.  We also have to think of bringing women and youth in party activities. This to ensure that party activities get stronger. This will permit the party to become vibrant again.

Why do you think the internal elections of the party got postponed? 

The incumbent is making things very difficult for the party. The first thing is that the decision for the electoral process was supposed to have been reached at through consensus.. A central place could have been chosen for us to assemble for the purpose. Its unfortunate that the incumbent had to carry the event to Misselele; a place which is neither accessible nor accommodating. He put some few canopies in an open field and brought in 41 ballot boxes. I saw that this was not the spirit of Democracy since peopled were ferried in from else where. With all these irregularities, we saw that the field was not level. It was therefore deemed necessary that things be put straight before the elections are retaken. Delegates should be known and a comfortable place has to be selected and then we should pursue with the elections and who ever wins will be accepted; that's democracy. While we move to the party hierarchy to look for a new date for the elections, I will like to say that on the ground, we are ready. We only need the field to be level for democracy to prevail.

Do you think Democracy has prevailed so far within the SDF and the Tiko Electoral District?


The SDF preaches the Division of power as against the accumulation of functions. The incumbent District Chairman is also Mayor and people are saying that he should relinquish the position of Chairman of the Electoral District. From every indication he wants to accumulate everything and I don't think that's the true spirit of a democrat.

What do you think will guarantee the future stability of the SDF within the Tiko Electoral District?

The future of SDF in the Tiko Electoral District lies in our being together. The party should also be aware that things are no longer like in the nineties. Things have changed. So I think if we can accept these changes within the ranks of the party, we will tackle the political challenges before us. If we don't realise and implement this, then the party will remain at a stand still. In SDF we should look at the future of the party and not at personal interests. No matter the challenges I am passing through I am going to stand firm for the party.       


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“I am in Nigeria not to compete but to complement what Traditional practitioners are already doing” -Dr. Dewah

How is research carried out in Modern Traditional Medicinal Practice?

Traditional Medicine is a practice handed down from generation to generation. It is as old as humanity but ran into neglect with the advent of Civilization. Research in Traditional medicinal practice doesn’t just entail venturing into the plant world but rather a practice handed down from generation to generation like I earlier mentioned. Various African communities have certain peculiar common health problems that affect them on a regular base. This makes them to see as a community their common problem and seek to know how to go about them. This is normally a contrary situation in other communities that do not have the same common problems like them. So when researchers like us get to these communities, we study their problems and familiarize ourselves with the way they handle them. In the process, we get to know the kind of common medicines they used in these common health problems and develop same for a common good. That is we develop these medicines so that it can be useful to people in other areas suffering from these same problems though not as much as they. 

When we come to the field of Modern Traditional Medicine we discover that some traditional aspects of the practice are no more there. What accounts for that?

As you have heard before, African Traditional medicine lost its credibility to western civilisation due to some of these aspects. Take for an example the case of somebody who has taken ill and goes for treatment and instead of treating him, the Traditional Practitioner begins to look for causes of the illness elsewhere. In the end the origin of the illness is attributed to a member of the family of the sick person. When the same doctor fails to cure the sick one and he finally gets to a hospital where he gets well, what do you will think will be the impression of this person? The impression of course will be that Traditional medicine is not worth its salt. These factors contributed greatly to nail Traditional Medicine and facilitated the implantation of modern medicine.

Your practice has greatly evolved but your research work remains intense and you work round the clock moving from one country to the other. Why this intense and continuous activity?

If you plough a small piece of land and have enough yields, I believe you will not labour yourself, but when the land seems to be unfertile you will have to plough vast hectares of land in order to have enough yield. That is what exactly is happening with Traditional Medicine and its evolution. After the fall of Traditional medicine, many people need to be convinced to know that Traditional medicine lost its credibility just because of the factors which I have mentioned. And so if you remain in the same environment, this message of GOOD HOPE about traditional medicine will not spread. This is the reason why I have to work round the clock moving from country to country to preach this message.

Now you are here in Abuja where we think that Traditional medicine is better organised than in your country Cameroon. How do you think your services will be regarded in Nigeria?

No hero has ever been recognized at home. Knowing full well what is happening with Traditional Medicine, I am aware of the fact that

some of my Nigerian counter parts may do better than me. I am not coming to compete with them but to compliment the work of Modern Traditional Medicine so as to permit us offer better services to the people. People want good services in all domains of life. Dr. DEWAH AND BROS MODERN TRADITIONAL CLINIC INTERNATIONAL is only coming to add to the good work other Traditional health practitioners are doing to our people. I will want to use this opportunity to encourage all my Nigerian colleagues who are practicing in Cameroon and Nigeria to continue with the good work.  Which can you say are the stubborn diseases that the Nigerian population can expect you to handle?    I am not saying that we are the best but that medicine will only cure when a doctor knows what his or her patient is suffering from. As concern our specialties, you have cases of venereal and viral infections which are compound words for venereal and viral diseases. Amongst these are Syphilis, Chlamydia, Staphylococci, Gonococci, Yeast cells, Cancroids among other venereal diseases. You also have HIV, Hepatitis, Herpes Zoster and other Viral diseases. We also treat malaria, typhoid, Jaundice, Rheumatic fever, Hypertension, Diabetes, Internal or External Pile, skin related infections, Epilepsy, dental troubles among other diseases within our specialties which the population can rely on us for good solutions.  May we have your last word?  I thank you for taking off time to come to me for this health discussion. My last words are that if you are a patient, don’t be discouraged because you have lived too long with the disease disturbing you. Continue to search for treatment and one day you will come across the right medicine for your disease. When that happens, the disease must leave you.

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Brewing storm enshrouds possible enthronement of John Manga Williams as paramount Chief of Victoria

In the wake of the choosing of Prince John Manga Williams by the Manga Williams family as family representative to take over the throne of the Victoria Paramount Chiefdom that has been left vacant for ten years following the demise of the late Paramount Chief, discordant voices have taken centre stage.

Prince John Manga Williams

  The prevalence of discordant voices however can only hold sway if the disclaimer by Prince Jerry Manga Williams recently mentioned in an article published on EDEV Web News and the uncomfortable relationship between him and his brother Prince John Manga Williams are considered important enough to destabilise the situation. 

Prince Jerry Manga Williams

According to the disclaimer, he announces the withdrawal of his support for Prince John Manga Williams as the choice of the family to become the next Paramount ruler of Limbe erstwhile Victoria. In an article on page 5 of The Horizon Newspaper of Monday, November 9^th edition of Vol. 170, the disclaimer among other things makes mention of criminal court cases between the two princes and Prince John Manga Williams’ continuous refusal to attend family meetings that are geared towards solving boiling family issues.
Prince John Manga Williams when contacted by this reporter declined commenting on the issue but referred this reporter to Muema Moembo, a senior citizen of Limbe whom he said could speak on his behalf.
The quintessence of Mr. Muema Meombo’s reaction to the imbroglio was simply that Prince Jerry’s complains and publication of a disclaimer could not hold ground against the decision of a whole family that had decided to chose one of their’s to represent a family. The complaint of one prince from his view point is insignificant and cannot influence the choice of a family.

Prince Jerry Manga William when contacted by this reporter explained that he was a victim of machination and false accusations with regards to the several court cases against him by his brother and in complicity with an external party. Questioned on efforts made by him to foster peace between him and his brother, he said he had requested Prince John Manga Williams to exonerate him by withdrawing the cases and to act as a friend of the court to inform same that the charges were false.
According to him, his brother has taken him to the criminal court three times and early this month Prince John dragged him again to the Gendarmerie with yet another malicious complaint whereby he WAS put under duress and has suffered great financial loss and health predication. He added that he believes such vindictiveness should not reflect the persona of someone who may be put in a position to address conflicts impartially.
When asked on the telephone to react to Meombo’s comments, he simply said it was incumbent and mature not to comment on the personal thoughts of Mr Muemba Meombo.
At press time, while pending issues related to the process and methods used in the choosing of Bakweri chiefs still had to be probed, this reporter already had some related facts. That according to the Commission Report on Paramount Chieftaincy of Victoria, the new Chief should be chosen only by Kingmakers of the Town and the decisions should take into consideration the Manga Williams, the Carrs and the Mokebas. Customarily also, of the Bakweri tradition generally, the son of the late chief succeeds his father. These among many issues begging for answers will certainly be visited in subsequent publications.

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Fako IV CPDM Re-organisation of Basic Organs held hostage by intrigues

-       Petitions threatened!

The re-organisation exercise of the basic organs of the ruling CPDM Party in the Fako IV Section in Tiko has been held hostage by intrigues and shady deals. This state of things has been enhanced by the stalemate that has kept the re-organisation exercise trapped between a consensus on the one hand and candidates vying in divided ranks on the other hand. As a result, elections which were supposed to take place on Sunday November 15 have been pushed forward to a future date. Considering the fact that there is speculation on some of the aspirants being disqualified, the possibility of petition writing and other nasty twists have not been left out.

According to one of the aspirants, Chief Kombi Richard Ndike, even the colours of their card were not yet known two days to the elections that were programmed for Sunday November, 15.  “Now we don’t even know the colours of our cards but there are teams boasting that their cards are white. How did they get to know the colour of their cards? These elections were supposed to be done on Sunday November 15, and we are two days to that day and we don’t even know the colour of our cards and others are boasting that they know theirs. What do you think it is leading us into?”

He explains that the problems which the militants are complaining about begins with the lack of cards. The way cards are being distributed he said does not follow the instructions given by the CPDM Central Committee. “There is equally the problem of stickers. The party militants are equally prepared to exercise their rights but the materials to enable them exercise their rights are not there. Who are we to blame? Is it the militants who are anxious to exercise their civic rights or the authorities who should provide them with the necessary materials to do so?”

He said members of the commission who are people from Tiko and who know the true story should tell it. People like Mr Enow Baye popularly known Steel Cam who constitutes part of the commission he said know the story of Tiko and those who live there. “He knows those who have been working for the party and those who haven’t. We simply need to see how we can put in place a formidable team that can take things forward. There are some who are ceremonial militants and only come in when it is time to go to parliament or run for the council but you will never see them here. But those who are there working with the militants should I think be given an opportunity to handle the issues of the party. We hear that instructions from hierarchy have said this or that. If we are not careful, it will cause the same problem that happened during the twin elections that is parliamentary and municipal elections.”

Considering his political aspirations, Chief Kombe Richard Ndike said “I am an aspirant heading a list and I am not stepping down for anybody. I have a list made up of very competent people all of them capable of doing the job. I told the commission to put four or five lists on the table look into the lists and using the criteria of competence to pick people from these lists. In this way we will get those who can brave the challenges facing the party. It’s not my duty but that’s what I am suggesting. It is better than to have a situation where people use considerations such as “he has always been my best friend, or he is my brother among many other funny considerations.” If the best and most appreciated people do not represent the party, then the commission would not have done its job. Following our last experience during the twin elections we have to be very careful so that there is no repeat experience.” Chief Kombi Richard Ndike he was strong and that the party needs those who are strong both financially and otherwise. He said he’d grown up within the party occupying key positions and has acted as resource person on many occasions.

 Other members of the list headed by Chief Ndike such as Doctor Chana Robert, Esua Marinus Fotabong, Emmanuel Frechop Fosimondi, Epee Akuli amongst others are all of the opinion that people use the party today for self interests. “Through the party many want to become parliamentarians without having the party at heart. We have to work to bring back the stamina into the party in Fako IX. The stability of the party here is one of the weakest.”

According to them, there is the possibility of petitions becoming the order of the day if something is not done. “How can you account for the fact that some people know the colours of their cards while others don’t? If they don’t want to accept a consensus, let them leave everybody take part in the elections rather than trying to disqualify this or that person. If there is no consensus then let everybody run. Nobody should be disqualified.”

 They explained that the whole process had been held up because campaigns can’t even take place since they don’t even know the colour of their cards. Chief Kombi Richard Ndike said “Two days to the elections, campaigns were supposed to have ended but they haven’t even taken place. How do I start gathering people to inform them on new developments? People should take their time because the Head of State takes his time before doing anything about the party.”

  

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