PRGoretti

First Lady of Cameroon, Chantal Biya has finally returned to Yaounde. After months of speculations and some of the most ridiculous rumours ever created about the Cameroonian presidency, Chantal Biya accompanied by her husband Paul Biya arrived Cameroon yesterday. Speculations about the First Lady’s disappearance began after her ‘No Show’ at the 20th May Celebrations, Cameroon’s National day. True to Paul Biya’s need for adulation, a throng of CPDM party members lined the streets of Nsimalen to welcome Cameroon’s First couple.

The First lady is looking visibly slimmer and younger, which makes me wonder about the truth to some of those rumours that were spread. Then again, na Cameroon.  Click on the links below to read up on a few of the rumours.

Chantal Biya portée disparue?

Is Chantal Biya pregnant?

Where is our First Lady?

Où est donc passée Chantal Biya ?

Hopefully, the First Lady will reveal the reason for her four-months long absence to her increasingly astute populace.

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

It’s Election day in Cameroon!!! MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT!

Don’t assume, VOTE!

MY TAKE

Can’t wait for the results. Biting my fingers.

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Before I go into the actual details of what happened, can I just say that I have my doubts… any thoughts that this could be a diversionary tactic from the Biya Gov’t? #I’mjustsaying#

Anyways this is what happened;

Yesterday morning, 10 uniformed gunmen carrying slogans which read “Paul Biya, the dictator must go at all costs”, opened fire on the Wouri bridge – which is the ONLYbridge that connects the South West Region of Cameroon with French Speaking part of Cameroon.

Click on the link below to Watch the video;

Cameroon-Info.Net VIDEO Des militaires terrorisent la polulation sur le Pont du Wouri

Some people claim this attack could be the result of the following communique below. Can someone please translate, thank you!!

DECLARATION

Creating Patriotic Armed Forces (FAP)

The people of Cameroon, like other peoples of the world yearns for freedom, democracy, social progress and welfare of the institutional, political, economic, ethical socialet.

With the coming to power of M-. Paul Biya November 6, 1982, Cameroonians were hoping to break with a dictatorial and draconian. Unfortunately the last three decades of unchallenged rule, Mr. Paul Biya refused to meet the legitimate expectations of our people, namely the rule of law and justice for all, economic security, social progress, stability of institutions and dignity National.

Defence Forces and security are a reflection of our nation. Only bad apples make them appear as an instrument of oppression in the hands of unpatriotic leaders. This means that we, as Patriots flags, also suffer from the throes of dictatorship and failures of governance, namely the navigation, the plundering of national resources, corruption, impunity, the rigging of elections, poverty generalized tribalism, shame diplomatic, lack of credibility of the state, the regime monarchisation by tampering of the Constitution in favor of a dictator and the hundreds of people killed by the forces of repression. Corruption and mismanagement also corrupting the bodies of the Defence Forces and Security. Everything is sold: positions, internships, assignments, promotions, etc..

Indeed, after 50 years of independence and reunification, the Patriots Defense Forces and Security believe the refusal of the dictatorial regime of Paul Biya and the CPDM to:

-1 / Achieve reconciliation and unity;
-2 / Organize free, transparent and democratic;
-3 / Secure property and persons;
-4 / Real struggle against corruption and impunity;
-5 / Nation-building and ensure the well being of Cameroonians;
-6 / Strengthen the role of Cameroon in Africa.

Therefore, we, Patriots Defense Forces and security, decided to create the Patriotic Armed Forces (FAP) in a spirit of unshakable national gathering of forces for the final release of Cameroon. Patriotic Armed Forces (FAP) are the result of the union of forces and the continued commitment of the Patriots weapons. The FAP is the armed wing of the fighting people and tasks:

-1 / The Liberation of Cameroon;
-2 / Restoring hope and dignity of the people of Cameroon
-3 / The establishment of a transition to a modern constitutional state, democracy, progress and justice for all.

Officers, noncommissioned officers, policemen, sailors, airmen, fire, men of rank, police, customs officers, prison guards, rangers, Let us mobilize for Cameroon.

Fatherland or death, We shall overcome!

Yaounde, September 29

Patriotic Armed Forces (FAP)

MY TAKE

Whatever the reason behind this, I pray they do not relent! We need freedom from this tyranny. Got a question for Paul Biya… Mr President, what do you expect to accomplish in 7 years that you have not been able to during the last 30 years? SMH!!

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

On September 16th President of Cameroon Paul Biya attempted to raise a man from the dead again. IThis time, in his capacity as chariman of CPDM (Ruling party since 1960), appointed the late John Tata Mforme as a Substantive member of the Party’s central committee.

Late Mr John Tata.

The late Mr John Tata who died many years ago hailed from Oku (Bui Division) in the North Western Region of Cameroon.

You will recall that a few months back, Paul Biya appointed another dead man as SDO. Read

Like seriously how are appointments made in Cameroon?

MY TAKE

This just goes to show what shambles our government is in and what a mockery to the citizens. Na senility or na craze? Either way if he thinks he can’t handle it anymore then he should quit and spare us the embarrassments. This is an 84-years old man who wants to rule for another 7 years. SMH

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

News reaching us from Cameroon this afternoon claims that Paul Biya, the Chairman of CPDM and president of the Republic of Cameroon since 6 November 1982 has declared his bid for presidency in the forthcoming October 2011 elections.

Paul Biya will stand as candidate for CPDM (Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Party-which should be changed to Cameroon Peoples’ Dictatorship and prison).

Other candidates who have declared their candidacy include;

Kah Walla of Cameroon People’s Party (CPP)

Ayah Paul Abine of the People’s Action Party (PAP)

Bernard Muna of the Alliance for Progressive Forces (APF).

Have a look at their websites, it is not too late to make a decision. We can save our beloved fatherland from dictatorship.

MY TAKE

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Apparently this news has completed demoralised most Cameroonians who have now decided not to register. Afterall given past elections, we know that fraud will be the order of the day and regardless Biya will still win. However what I do not understand is why we are ready to give up so easily? So what if he stands, let’s still go to the polls and vote him out and if he rigs the elections, which I am certain he will, at least we know we played our parts. Still this is so disgraceful. God help us all!

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Le chef de l’Etat, Paul Biya, a signé ce jour le décret portant convocation du corps électoral. Au terme de ce décret, les citoyens Camerounais iront aux urnes le 9 octobre 2011 pour choisir leur président de la République, pour les 7 prochaines années. Ce décret est en phase avec la loi électorale, notamment celle du 6 mai 2011 modifiant et complétant certaines dispositions de la loi du 17 septembre 1992 fixant les conditions d’élection et de suppléance à la présidence de la République. L’alinéa 2 de l’article 51 (nouveau) dispose en effet que « l’intervalle entre la publication du décret convoquant le corps électoral et la date fixée pour le scrutin est de 40 jours ».

L’alinéa 3 de l’article 1er (nouveau) dispose, quant à lui, que « l’élection a lieu au scrutin uninominal majoritaire à un tour, 20 jours au moins et 50 jours au plus avant l’expiration des pouvoirs du président de la République ». Ainsi, Paul Biya, dont le mandat s’achève le 3 novembre 2011 avait jusqu’au 4 septembre 2011 pour convoquer le corps électoral. Il l’a fait 5 jours avant la date-limite. A présent, les différents candidats à la magistrature suprême ont 5 jours pour déposer leurs déclarations de candidatures auprès d’Elections Cameroon.

                                                                                      TRANSLATION

The president of Cameroon, Paul Biya Bi Mvondo has signed a Decree declaring SUNDAY OCTOBER 9th 2011 as the day Cameroonians go to the ballot polls to choose a new president (hopefully).

Source: Le Quotidien

MY TAKE

Biya and his tactics. Now what we want to know is, Is Paul Biya standing as the presidential candidate for CPDM? God help deliver us all!

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

With the Cameroon November 2011 presidential elections ‘looming’ ahead and I chose that word carefully, typical unabashed headlines are beginning to make their way into Cameroonian media. Headlines like “PAUL BIYA TO TAR DSCHANG-FONTEM-BAKEBE ROAD” or “PAUL BIYA VA BITUMER LA ROUTE BAFANG-NKONDJOCK-YABASSI” and so on.

Before I continue, I will define the word LOOM, the Oxford Dictionary describes it as;

‘a looming  appearance, as of something seen indistinctly at a distance or through a fog: the loom of a moraine directly in their path.’

We are barely some two months away from the elections and we are still to hear of the actual election date. This is typical of the Cameroonian government or shall I say the Biya Regime. Paul Biya has been president for 29 years and counting and still cannot manage an election season? I’m not even going to waste my time trying to compare our election process with the West.

I can’t even say I blame just the Biya regime because apart from Kah Walla who has toured the globe trying to sensitize Cameroonians on her presidential bid, I do not even know who the other presidential candidates are. Where dem dey? Who dem dey? Anyways that’s a rant for another day.

Back to Biya’s scams and I dare anyone to say otherwise. I come from a region in the South Western Part of Cameroon called Fontem. A town surrounded by beautiful hills with one of the best weather conditions you would find in Africa. Fontem can be accessed through either Dschang in the West or Bakebe in the South West. The picture below gives you an example of the roads leading to Fontem from both Dschang and Bakebe;

Every election year, we read headlines like the ones stated earlier, giving us false hopes that our roads would be tarred. After the elections, we are left with our ‘roads.’ I mean there is a saying ‘Fool me once, fool you, fool me twice, fool me!” And we have been fooled once too many.

Who does this regime take us for? What irks me the most is the fact that our very own élite continue to play the same game with us. The so-called élite who are supposed to protect us are only concerned with saving their skin or keeping their jobs. How they sleep at night baffles me. Is there no honor left among men? What legacies are they leaving behind?

Paul Biya and your cronies, if you ever read this, please keep your ‘tar’ and let us be. We will someday raise the required billions of CFA needed to tar our own roads. And to our élite, please shut the f**k up! If you cannot protect and develop your own backyard, don’t expect me to have any respect for you! Enough is Enough!

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Recruitment Of 25,000 Youths Pushed To December

The Minister announced the shift in the deadline during a press conference organised in Yaounde on June 29, to inform the public about the progress of the recruitment. Mbonde said the date was extended by a Prime Ministerial text which Philemon Yang signed after a series of drawbacks were witnessed by the technical commission.

The drawbacks, he said, include the late arrival of documents from the various regions and embassies of the country, falsification of certificates, double identities, as well as fake dates of births. The Minister cited Cameroon’s Embassy in the US, which he said received 24 applications and are yet to send them to Cameroon.

He explained that though each candidate was supposed to be at most 40 years old and entitled to only one application file, 3,253 cases of violation of this rule have been recorded. He told the press that 280 fake academic certificates have been identified among the 35,759 certificates verified, so far. The number of candidates who altered their dates of birth and those who had double identities summed up to 7,408, he added.

Asked whether the presentation of these statistics is not a means that Government is using to buy time and keep the people patient, the Minister said Government was doing its best to employ those who are truly qualified. He said commissions will be sent to schools abroad to verify the equivalence and veracity of certificates that have been submitted by candidates who claim to have obtained them from foreign schools.

Journalists were also told that verification of certificates in private universities in the country is also difficult, because, some of these schools are not authorised to issue certificates.  Commenting on the issue of priority, he said there is some space reserved for those who “… have been suffering for a longer period” and emphasised that it does not mean that the younger candidates shall not be considered. He also remarked that the priority is to put the right people at the right places.

The Minister also commented on a number of competitive examinations that have been launched by Government under his supervision, which, he said, offers employment opportunities to about 13,000 youths. He added that the public can get more information on the competitive examinations from either the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms or its Regional Delegations.

Most youths have received the news with disdain. Most of them have intimated that their hopes of having a job and becoming responsible have been dashed. “It is a scam by Government; the usual fake promises made by the Head of State. This time around, he probably thought people were going to downplay the promise, but they rather welcomed it, and now is like a storm in CPDM tea cup,” Julius Nformi, a youth who was eagerly waiting to grab a job in May said, “even in the most developed economies, the President cannot create 25000 jobs in a mere speech.”

Meantime, others have observed that President Biya made the announcement only to calm the youths and avert uprising due to unemployment and akin to what is happening in the Arab world.

Source: SIXTUS MBOM

MY TAKE

God help Cameroonians. First of all, I can imaginehow much it costs to buy all the numerous fiscal stamps required to certify the numerous documents required, plus the cost of taxi fares and ‘chokos’ at the D.O’s office. In other words, Paul Biya has just raised money for his 2011 campaign bid from his impoverished citizens. Somebody tell me please… is Paul Biya Bi Mvondo a Cameroonian? How can a leader be so mean to his own people?

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Paul Biya. Time to go and rest now Popol.

According to the newspaper La Nouvelle Expression (Cameroon), on the 18th Jan 2011, president Paul Biya signed a decree appointing Senior Divisional Officers (SDO) for some 370 subdivisions in Cameroon. The appointments were however read on the 24th January and to the horror of some members of the public, the deceased Njutapmwoui Ousmanou was among those appointed. Reports show that the late Njutapmwoui Ousmanou who was 2nd Assistant at the Bagangte Mayor’s office passed away on the 11th of May 2010 and had since been buried in his native village of Massagam in the Western province. Yet our president went ahead to appoint him as SDO of Manjo sub-division in the Mungo.

For more on the story, click here

MY TAKE

This is beyond embarrassing. Paul Biya should please retire. Weh!

Imagine sitting at home after a sumptious New Year’s  meal, relaxing and possibly chatting with your friends and family when your phone alerts the receipt of a text message. You pick up your phone no doubt expecting a New year wish from your loved one and behold… the text message is from POPOL aka Paul Biya. The message read as follow;

“THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC AND MRS. CHANTAL BIYA EXTEND TO YOU THEIR WISHES OF GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR THE YEAR 2011.”

That’s exactly what happened to some ‘ordinary’ Cameroonians on the 1st of Jan 2011. The message first came through the Orange Network in English and was followed by another message through the MTN inetwork n French.

Politcal pundits are still wondering whether this is not another gimmick to blindfold Cameroonians that he (POPOL) is our good president. This is in the wake of his admission of administrative lapses by his government during his annual New Year Eve speech. He also said Cameroon will witness more than one election this year but did specify. Notwithstanding Fru Ndi,s cry over ELECAM, Mr. Biya assured the body of his unalloyed support, adding that his administration will ensure things move accordingly.

Source: Paul Foanyi

Hmm Paul Biya you cannot fool me. That message fills me with both surprise and consternation. 28 years is a very long time, please bow out gracefully.