Cameroons Entrepreneurs and Initiatives

 H. E. Tawah Che Crecy, CEO AURORA Building Material Company, Bamenda

H. E. Tawah Che Crecy retired from Cameroon’s Diplomatic service as Minister Plenipotentiary after over 30 years of serving the country in its bilateral embassies in the Federal Republic of Germany, United Kingdom and United States of America. Multilaterally he represented the country in various organs notably UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation), IMO (International Maritime Organisation), AU (African Union), UNO (United Nations Organization), Commonwealth of Nations, etc. Internally he served the country in various capacities notably piloting its successful admission into the Commonwealth of Nations, presiding over the Ad Hoc Committee on the Socio-Economic Revitalisation of the Northwest Region, etc.

Aurora Building Materials (ABM) was jumpstarted as a local building materials company and now is consolidating its end drive by putting in the Cameroon real estate market place high end low cost houses that would remain valid as Cameroon rushes into emerging nation by 2035. Under his leadership the ABM created a number of local building materials that are Patent Right Protected at the level of the UN African Intellectual Property Protection Organization. No wonder ABM has won a number of awards, including the highly converted President of the Republic’s 1^st Prize on Enterprise Innovation (JERSI 2011) and the Commonwealth 1^st Price on Enterprise Promotion (2013).  

Though in 2013 he unsuccessfully ran for Parliament in the Bamenda/Bali Constituency under the CPDM ticket, he nevertheless obtained over 26,000 votes in this over 91,000 registered voters constituency. This is by far more than any candidate of that ruling party has obtained in there since multiparty politics was re-introduced in Cameroon. Overall he is socio-politically very active, is a Christian of Amazing PCC Azire and a proud son of Atuakom Mankon Bamenda.

Tawah Che Crecy has been profiled in a number of news organs, notably CRTV (Cameroon Radio and Television), BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18111002,) Doing business in Cameroon, http://www.businessincameroon.com/pdf/BC04.pdf etc. and of course a number of National Newspapers and on a number of Radio programmes.

The Initiative 

AURORA Building Material Company Limited

The Uniqueness of AURORA Building Material Company in Bamenda is its being almost the only initiative in Cameroon that relies completely on local materials to produce exceptionally top quality building materials that can stand their grounds and compete fairly with products on the Cameroonian and why not the African Market. Its Uniqueness is also seen in its ability to change the traditional market behavior of buyers of building materials and to equally educate them on the advantages of using Fire Clay products and other local material based products in their building projects. Bellow are excerpts of an interview with Crecy Tawah, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. He starts by explaining the way the initiative came into existence.

“This Company was conceived in 2009 and the name was given by my eldest daughter named after my late mother. The concept she and her brothers agreed upon was “the new dawn;” that very early morning ray of the sun that you will find at the North or the South Pole at three or four a.m. We worked on this concept by always trying to introduce something new and of high quality. We work using local raw materials and transforming them into high quality products. We are always trying to make people see that local materials do not mean sub standard. We have the standard products that you will find in any Fire Clay Producing Company that finds itself in the domain of building materials like Burn Bricks and Clay Tiles. We went beyond that by coming out with artistic and cultural products which have been protected at the level of African International Property Organisation.

What pushed you into creating an initiative in this domain?

First we have a large estate property of about 22 hectares of land. We approached MIPROMALO the National outfit that concerns itself with the promotion of the use of local materials and knowing that we will be building lots of houses; the question was how to have access to building materials. The question here was how to lower the cost of building materials. We contacted the Director of MIPROMALO Professor Uphie Melo now Chancellor of the University of Ngoundere and she insisted that we go into the production of Fire Clay Products. While I was travelling abroad at the government’s request visiting a couple of countries to tender invitations to them the professor visited here with some people and they carried out the first building research and that’s how we continued to create this company which does Fire Clay Products and Cement Products like Yard Pavements, Cement Blocks and a series of other things. We also have Compressed Earth Block Products; the interlocking ones using the South African concept; the Hydroform Concept. We also have the Mortar Concept in which we use a machine imported from India. We eventually got into the Quarry World because at the time there was no quarry in the North West Region of Cameroon. You can’t do large scale projects without quarry products. That’s how the concept came about and we are happy that it’s catching up.

If I come to you as a builder, what exactly am I going to get from you?

When you come to AURORA and if you buy into the Real Estate Package that we are providing then you will select a piece of land in the gated community. Our property is partly gated. The Modest Income Section is open and the High Income Section is gated and it is the kind of house you select that will permit us to know the category in which you fall. When you select your dream house, we then custom design it for you. We have architects with whom we collaborate and all you need to do is specify the number of rooms and parlours that you will need and the architect does the rest. However you can always modify the house with the architect. By the time the house is done, it can no longer be the design that we came out with. The exterior will be maintained but the interior would have been altered to meet up with the specific needs of the person concerned. What we do is that we give you options and you build the kind of house that your pocket can permit you build. The property is called Ntahtawah City located at Atuakom in Mankon Bamenda. When you look at it from Up Station it provides a great view and you will see that it’s a great piece of land. Immediately your piece of land is selected, our building arm takes control. We work with Engineers, Surveyors, Architects all professionals.

What exactly can those who need building materials get from you?

We are a Certified Local Building Material Center and the local building materials are of top quality. When you go to the Metropolitan Cathedral here in Bamenda and take a look at the Catechist’s house which is a three level building then you will see an example of what we do. It’s a three level building. It is a building done with our products and is one of the best buildings in the Cathedral Complex. Other projects we have realised include the building if the Ministry of Tourism directly opposite the Court of Appeal at Up Station in Bamenda, and the Catholic Women Association National Head Office is also built using our materials. There are a series of buildings in Bamenda, Yaounde and Douala that are built using our materials. When we sell or use our products we make sure they are of great quality. We did bring in Professor Wim Paastor from the Netherlands, an expert in the field who was in charge of Netherlands norms and he passed some time with us here. He certified our products and had a lot of praises for what we were doing.

 At the same time, MIPROMALO brought in a gentleman who manages a Clay Fire Industry in India. We look for knowledge and when ever any problem is noted with our products, we look at it and rectify it. We make sure that we continuously carry out research with an aim of improving the quality level of our products.

Can you shed light on the rock based products that your company produces?

We have a quarry and the rock that we use is one of the hardest in the North West Region of Cameroon. We received assurance in writing that the machines we got from China will give us products that meet up with standards in the United States of America. When you go into the Cement product area you will see that we introduced Yard Pavements and we had to bring people from Yaounde who were experienced in the field to spend some time with us. Where we do not know, we learn. I attended some of the classes in Fire Clay with MIPROMALO and I remember at times I was the oldest student in class. We are inviting our compatriots to believe in their own local skills. Because of high prices importers sometimes go for low quality low materials from other countries. They are happy but after a short while they run into problems. Sometimes you notice that you may buy tiles that look white and after a short while you may not recognise them anymore as white tiles. There is a difference between Ceramic Tiles that are meant for the interior and those meant for the exterior of the house. Those meant for the exterior have anti-solar rays embedded in them. Look at the structures that the Germans built. Some 150 years afterwards, they still look strong and solid but when you look at the cement buildings that we construct these days they depreciate after a short while. It doesn’t make sense when you spend more money and you don’t get the desired quality.

How do people get access to your products?

We have a web site for AURORA Building Material Company and you can visit the site and place a command for your products. That’s how we have been able to ship products to Fumban, Douala, Yaounde and other towns on the National territory. In other cases when it comes to Stabilised and Compressed Earth Blocks we take our machines to our clients and produce them on the spot as we did in Buea, in Mamfe and in other places. So depending on the distance, we move the material to you or get our machines to you and produce your material on the spot. 

With your development oriented background you certainly do not plan to stop here.

Ntahtawah City is an all inclusive package. It includes a Residential Quarter, a Business District Center, a Health Section with a Pharmacy, a Specialised Clinic, a Sports Center, a three to four star hotel, an International Conference Center and a Shopping Mall. When all of this is done, Bamenda will certainly be a wonderful place to live in. Everything has been lined up for construction to begin very soon. Once this takes off, we have an even bigger project lined up for Yaounde. The Yaounde project is about four times the project in Bamenda. Each layout will have its House Owners Association with things done in such a way as to maintain standards.  

Do you have any particular message that you will want to put across?

Irrespective of where you are whether retired or still active, love your country and come back home lets help develop this country. I was in the UK, in Germany and in the United States. I must have visited at least 50 countries but home is home so come let’s develop it. Do not admire other people’s homes and remain there. Bring the ideas you have picked from there and implant them back home. We should work hard and develop this country and leave something behind for our children when we move on. We should leave our inerasable imprint on the sands of time. Look at the Henry Fords, the Rockefellers, the Hondas and many more. 

Any activity is directly linked to the socio-political atmosphere in a country. What is your take on the crises situation in Cameroon? 

It is simple. When there is a problem, it must be attended to. The Anglophone problem in Cameroon is a reality. The earlier it is attended to, the better for the peace and stability of Cameroon. If we truly love this country then the problem should be solved from its roots and in a holistic manner. The parties involved in the crises are beginning to use hate language and this has a tendency of taking minds away from the real problem and putting the much cherished peace that we have at risk. The radicalism that we see comes out of frustration and if this is to be checked before it gets too far, then people in decision making positions should assume their responsibilities by doing what is supposed to be done.

See more online at

www.ntdestates.com

and at www.auroracoltd.com

EDEV Web News/ Email francoeko@gmail.com/ edevnewspaper@gmail.com/  Tel: +237678401408/ +237696906001 

Outgoing D.O. accused by Elites for fueling problems in Bafut.

Erstwhile Divisional Officer for Bafut and new D.O. for Kumba III, Ewane Jude Mbong has left behind a very unattractive legacy in his former post of duty Bafut in the Mezam Division. This was the grim reality presented by a cross section of elites that this reporter spoke to during the installation of the new Divisional Officer for Bafut Achu George Fru. Their dark picture of Ewane Jude Mbong was compounded by the lack of any sense of organisation during the installation of the new D.O. and also the lack of clarity on the handling of specifics which according to some of them amounted to lack of respect for the Bafut person.

D.O. Ewane Jude Mbong/ SDO Mezam Pierre Songa Rene/D.O. Bafut  Achu Fru George 

According to Ngwa Nfor Ivan Wanzie, the First Deputy Mayor for the Bafut Council, the installation ceremony which started off on a not too bad footing ended up poorly. He complained that despite contributions from Heads of Services and other quarters to see that there was a befitting handover ceremony, there was nothing to show for it. Hear him; “Even traditional dances that were invited were not motivated. Things that were supposed to be done were not done and the excuse was that the council did not give anything. Sitting for the Mayor who gave the speech we gave 300.000 FCFA for the occasion. He also took it upon himself to task heads of Services and some traditional dignitaries. All what was paid at the level of the Sub Municipal Treasurer was 400.000 FCFA. We went for his installation in Kumba and when we came back he did everything alone delegating no responsibilities for things to be better handled. Out of the 500.000FCFA that he applied for at the Council, we gave him 300.000FCFA taking into consideration that he had already said reception was going to take place at Saddle Hill Ranch. We could not again go and prepare for another reception. We were surprised that at the end there was not even a thousand francs for traditional dance groups that were invited. He told the Seniour Divisional Officer that the Bafut Council had done nothing and the SDO left very disappointed. When you work somewhere, don’t give people a bad impression about the place when leaving.”

A retired Sub Treasurer and Municipal Cashier Niba Cecilia Lum Chungong highlights what she refers to as financial impropriety. “The council and service heads among other dignitaries were asked to contribute and they did. But at the end of the day the occasion was the peak of disorganization itself with the most basic things that should grace an occasion being completely ignored.” This she intimated was a deliberate attempt to sabotage Bafut to the incoming Divisional Officer.

Susi Peter Ambesi, Councillor from Mambu Council Area in the Bafut Council and Secretary in charge of projects in Bafut Council cum Vice Chairperson of the Bafut Traditional Council said “the Fon of Bafut was embarrassed today. We had about five to seven dance groups that were invited today but to my surprise these groups were stopped by the outgoing Divisional Officer. Some problems that we have in the municipality are caused by him. We are happy that we now have a son to work with. He is from Mankon and Mankon and Bafut are one. We plan to work with him towards success.”

When this reporter contacted the outgoing Divisional Officer for comment, he declined stating that the only person who was in a position to comment on such an occasion was the SDO for Mezam. 

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Did Teacher’s Trade Union Leaders boycott Minister Bibehe’s Meeting in Bamenda?

By Wambo Emmanuel

The absence of the Teacher’s Trade Unions during a crucial Crisis Meeting with the Minister of Secondary Education, Jean-Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe, has raised a lot of questions and fears in the minds of Secondary Educational stakeholders of the North West Region. This meeting which took place at the Government Technical High School GTHS, Bamenda down town on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 brought together educational stakeholders from across the North West Region to woe parents to ensure effective school resumption for the 2017-2018 Academic year in the region.

Jean-Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe

The Minister however felt satisfied after he was assured from various speeches presented by educational stakeholders on their readiness to have schools reopen. Many people present however found the absence of Teachers Trade Unions intriguing, funny and embarrassing since the voices of these same teachers had been heard during back to school crusades.

 Minister Ngale Bibehe, was quick to notice the worries on the people’s faces which he knew was due to the absence of the Teacher’s Trade Unions in such a crucial meeting. There was as such nothing left than to inform stakeholders that Teacher’s Trade Union Leaders had had an earlier meeting with the Minister in Yaoundé. This attempt to explain why secondary educational stakeholders of the Region were absent did not gel. Accusations and counter accusations were raised. One of the leaders in attendance who wanted anonymity said even if there had been a previous meeting with the minister in Yaoundé, the union leaders were supposed to be present to make their stand on school resumption heard. Meanwhile others held that the failure of Unions leader to attend such a meeting could be interpreted as a boycott, while others felt that their hands were full considering that they had just decided to suspend the ongoing strike. At the time of publication attempts to meet leaders of the two main teachers trade unions, PIATTU and CATTU for them to confirm that they had vowed not to resume classes if their nine months salary areas were not paid failed.

 After listening carefully to Presidents of the Parents Teachers’ Associations, representatives of Proprietors of Lay Private Schools, the President of North West School Councils, the Spokes Person of North West Fons’ Union amongst others, Minister Jean-Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe, congratulated especially parents who used their time and money to guarantee security of the children while in schools considering that they were under threats and intimidations. He assured them that over 400 troops had been deployed to the North West Region to guarantee the security of children.

He further noted with satisfaction the fact that students of the region despite threats went ahead to take part in the FENASCO A games. He said the will of education should move on collectively and individually and called on the parents to take commitment in support of the security measure put in place by the government to ensure that no one attempts to disrupt resumption of schools. He said measures had also been taken to ensure that teachers organise catch up classes during the 2017—2018 academy year.  

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Presidential Amnesty perceived as poisoned gift in some Quarters.

 Comment By Francis Nzante

Francis Nzante

Presidential Amnesty leading to the release of some 55 Anglophone activists has been viewed as a poisoned gift in some quarters. Following the euphoria immediately after the release, many unanswered questions are beginning to surface.

The questions touch on a wide range of issues. Out of the 74 “terrorists” in detention only 55 have been released and a lot of eyebrows are being raised concerning what will eventually happen with those still in detention. The continuous detention of one of the most popular detainees, the Radio Presenter Mancho Bibixy is also being viewed with a pinch of salt in the North West Region where he comes from. The question is, if Cameroonian Authorities truly want things to return to normalcy then why not release all the detainees for the nation to move to the much needed dialogue that has been proposed by almost all interested parties as the only way forward.

The conclusion by many is that prisoners are being used by government authorities as baits for the achievement of specific purposes. The release of these detainees just before school resumption on Monday September 4 was according to many Cameroonian weekly and Daily newspapers a move towards showing good fate in order to enhance school resumption in the two English Speaking Regions; to prevent a repeat of what happened during the 2016-2017 Academic Year during which there was almost no school attendance. This view was buttressed by declarations made by the leaders of the outlawed Consortium after their release urging schools to resume.

Meantime Barrister Ntumfor Nico Halle a leading peace crusader and Cameroonian legal luminary has said he is “accomplished but disappointed” and vows to continue on bended knees for the release of the others and general amnesty for those on the run.

Considering the fact that amnesty for those on the run has never been considered and that the fate of those not yet released still hangs in the balance, the situation has hardly changed. The palpable tension that was felt when court hearings of the detainees were continuously adjourned is still there. Activists still remain unsure and on the run while unreleased detainees still stand the same risks that they stood before. Last but not the least, school resumption has been a almost a complete failure in the two English speaking Regions.

Many and varied solutions have been proposed as the best way forward in the present impasse in which Cameroon finds itself. Both sides of the coin however have to come to a compromise and agree on a middle playing ground if any concrete solution has to be arrived at. The message on the wall is clear. A completely centralized government like the one presently in place in Cameroon is completely unacceptable to a majority of English Speaking Cameroonians. On the other hand, the extremist secessionist stance taken by some activists in the Anglophone struggle is equally unacceptable to the regime in place in Yaounde. The population, especially those of the North West and South West have been held hostage by the extremist stance of the two parties. The children can’t go to school normally because of insecurity and the economic weight of sending children to schools in the French Speaking Regions is weighing enormously on generally small income Anglophone parents.

Meantime there is this tendency for the Cameroonian government to persistently throw a blind eye at calls for a release of all detainees and an all inclusive dialogue to get things sorted out. 

EDEV Web News/ Email: edevnewspaper@gmail.com/ francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel:+237696896001/+237678401408