By
Arison Tamfu
Members of
Cameroon’s ruling party, Cameroon’s People Democratic Movement (CPDM) watched
with pride and a sense of fulfillment how President Paul Biya received in
audience Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group
(AfDB) to the State House on Monday July 17, 2017. Dr. Akinwumi was in Cameroon
to seal agreements worth billions of dollars with the Cameroonian government
that might significantly revamp the country’s economy. Some CPDM bigwigs said,
the gesture was a clear signal that “Paul Biya has fulfilled all the campaign
promises he made six years ago”.
In 2011, Paul Biya now 84 won a highly disputed
presidential poll by an “absolute majority”. In his inaugural speech before
Parliament, a visibly elated Biya promised Cameroonians that he was going to
transform Cameroon into “a vast construction site” and heal the already
declining economy. According to Cameroon’s electoral calendar, Presidential
election will take place next year 2018 and Paul Biya who has ruled Cameroon
for over 35years is expected to run for another seven-year-mandate.
It’s been
over six years now since he promised Cameroonians change but has he “fulfilled
all the campaign promises” as the CPDM claims? We fact-check some of the major
pledges he made in energy, health, political reforms, national unity and housing
domains during the inaugural speech.
POLITICAL
REFORMS
Promise: “The
National Assembly will soon be backed by a Senate.”
Verdict: Achieved
The Cameroonian Senate was born in 1996 after
the constitution was amended to create the upper chamber. However, power to
convene the Electoral College and call elections for the Senate remained solely
the prerogative of the President.
For 17 years President Paul Biya chose not to do
so. In 2013, two years after he was re-elected President, he decided to fulfill
his campaign promise and signed decree 2013/056 on 27 February 2013, which set
14 April as the date for the Senatorial elections. Elections to the Senate were
held for the first time on 14 April 2013 in Cameroon and Marcel Niat Njifenji
was elected as President of the Senate on 12 June 2013. The National Assembly
is now backed by a Senate as Paul Biya promised.
Promise: “The
decentralization process will be seen through with the full transfer of powers
and the establishment of the regional councils provided for by our
Constitution”
Verdict: Slow
progress
In January 1996, the Cameroon House of
Parliament voted to decentralize the state of Cameroon and created Regions and
councils. Law No. 96/06 of 18 January 1996 accorded decentralized local
entities of the Republic administrative and financial autonomy in the
management of local interests.
But the law was not applied until 2011 when Paul
Biya made a solemn promise to Cameroonians that the “decentralization process
will be seen through”. And indeed progress has been made in implementing the law
but it’s exceedingly slow.
Since 2011, the main bodies in charge of
monitoring the process have been set up and are operational, such as the
National Decentralization Council, the Inter-ministerial Committee on Local
Services, the National Finance Committee and the Inter-ministerial Commission
for Decentralized Cooperation. According to Communications minister, in five
years of decentralization, the State has repaid nearly CFAF 600 billion to
Regional and Local Authorities within the framework of transfer of powers.
“Much effort has been made so far. I would even
say that most of the path has already been covered. And this process will
continue and will be accelerated” said Issa Tchiroma, Cameroon’s minister of
communications.
But that represents a trivial fragment in the
decentralization process. In Cameroon, Central government still remains very
much in charge, appointing representatives to run the big cities and only
report to the President of the Republic, rendering town councils inoperative.
If a new attempt at decentralization is going to be acceptable and effective,
it must reduce the powers of administrators appointed by Yaoundé by creating
true self-governing regional councils.
“Most urgent are instruments of the law governing
conditions for the election of regional councilors and President of the
regional council. The signing, publication and application of these will mark
the effective birth of regions and decentralisation” said Cosmas Cheka,
political scientist, University of Yaoundé II.
Promise: “We will also have to
set up the Constitutional Council.”
Verdict: Not achieved
The Constitutional Council was one of the
institutions created by Law N° 96 /06 of 18th January 1996 on constitutional
revision of 2nd June 1972. The council rules on the constitutionality of laws
and regulates the functioning of the Executive, Legislative, Judicial and Local
authorities. The Constitutional Council watches over the regularity of
presidential and parliamentary elections as well as referendum
Operations and proclaims the results of the
various elections. The power to set up the council rests squarely on President
Paul Biya. But twenty years after the law was passed, he has not fulfilled his
promise of setting up the constitutional council. The Supreme Court now plays
the role of the Constitutional Council.
“The Constitutional Council exists only on
paper. It is now clear that his campaign promise to set up the council was a
scam on Cameroonians” said Dr. Malo Ebenezer, a political scientist.
“Paul Biya is not sure if the members of the
Constitutional Council will be as loyal to him as those of the Supreme Court
who worship him. He needs ultimate political power to continue to rule and the
establishment of the council might be an impediment” he added.
ENERGY
Promise: “The Lom Pangar,
Memve’ele and Mekin dams and their corresponding power plants will become
reality in the coming years”
Verdict: Mixed
Progress
In 2012, a year after he pledged to construct
dams, the Cameroonian government signed agreements worth bilions of dollars
with the World Bank, African Development Bank, Exim Bank, French Development
Agency and European Investment Bank to construct the Kribi thermal gas
plant and the Lom Pangar, Memve’ele and Mekin dams. But execution of the
projects has been on and off.
The Lom Pangar reservoir dam in the East region
of Cameroon is now ready to produce hydroelectric power and regulate water
flows along the Sanaga River. The embankment dam has the potential to increase
electricity production up to 10.000 megawatts by 2018.
The 30 megawatts mini hydro-electricity power
plant at the foot of the Lom Pangar Dam is yet to be completed.
“Memve’ele is on its way to delivery, Mekin is
getting there in spite of lapses, the government is definitely going safe with
its energy policy implementation which is one sure route to emergence”
reported Cameroonians With Paul Biya, a propaganda publication of the Head of state.
But it will be impossible for Memve’ele and
Mekin dams to be completed even after 2018. Construction works have been
stagnant for a while. Paul Biya himself has admitted that the works have
experienced multiple setbacks.
“We need to determine the cause of the setbacks
experienced. Blame must be apportioned between poorly managed projects and
failed commitments” said Paul Biya in a televised address to the nation
referring to the delay in the construction of the dams.
Promise: “The nightmare of
energy shortages will become a thing of the past”
Verdict: Not achieved
Frequent blackouts have been the order of the
day since Paul Biya promised to put an end to the “nightmare of energy
shortages”. In February 2016, while Paul Biya himself was addressing youths on
national television on the eve of National Youth Day, there was nationwide
blackout.
“We could not watch or listen to the speech
because there was no electricity. It was a shame to the country. Nobody
listened to that speech except those who could afford generators. The
nationwide blackout lasted the whole night” said Innocent Mbah, a youth who
waited in vain to listen to the speech.
Recurrent power failure has been a way of life
particularly in the economic capital Douala where neighbourhoods like Bonaberi,
Ngangue and Deido, went for four consecutive weeks without electricity, while
others have enjoyed steady power at most for two hours each day.
Last year, the Cameroonian Customs reported that
about 2,500 containers of goods- some destined for landlocked countries like
Central African Republic, Chad and Sudan-were stockpiled at the Douala seaport
for more than six weeks as a result of power failure.
Only 30 percent of the population is connected
to the electricity grid. Cameroon has an estimated 12,000 megawatts of
hydroelectric potential, but only a fraction of it has been developed.
HEALTH
Promise: “We will provide our
hospitals the technologically advanced equipment they often lack”
Verdict: Not achieved
According to Cameroon Health Analytical profile of
2016 published by the Ministry of Public Health, infrastructure and equipment
“are of insufficient quantity and unevenly distributed across the country”.
That assessment was made five years after Paul
Biya promised hospitals “technologically advanced equipment”. Cameroonian
hospitals lack up-to-date equipment. Paul Biya himself spends at least four
months annually out of the country for medical check-up. Ageing cabinet
ministers and senior state officials shuttle between Cameroon and Europe to
receive medical treatment.
In 2016 alone , prominent government officials
including the director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency, the minister of
labour and social security and the minister of communication flew out of the
country to receive medical treatment in Europe because Cameroonians hospital
“lack medical specialists and equipment”.
As recently as July 2017, there was
acute shortage of dialysis kits to treat people suffering from renal failure in
the country resulting in the untimely death of at least two patients. Paul Biya
has not kept his words to provide Cameroonian hospitals with “technologically
advanced equipment”.
Promise: “The establishment of
a health insurance scheme within the framework of our social security system”
Verdict: Not
achieved
To address the problem of financial access to
healthcare, Cameroon has tried several strategies, including the promotion of
mutuals, free care policies and insurance.
But the insurance policy is still
very deficient. According to the Ministry of Public health, in 2014, only 1% of
the population were covered by mutual health insurance and 2% by private health
insurance. As Paul Biya promised, the government has initiated a process to
establish a Universal Health Coverage System (UHC). A proposal for architecture
in three scenarios was elaborated in October 2016.
This process was inclusive with the involvement
of the representatives of the Prime Ministry, the Technical Ministries and the
social partners. It consists of the establishment of a local health insurance
fund in each municipality in the country.
But it ended just at the level of
proposal to this moment. Public Health minister has promised its full
implementation will begin very soon. Therefore the health insurance scheme Paul
Biya promised is yet to see the light of the day.
Promise: “As
much as possible, we will expand free treatment or, at least, reduce its cost,
for pandemics or childhood diseases”
Verdict: Achieved
Paul Biya has kept his word to “expand free
treatment or, at least, reduce its cost”. Cameroon has maintained a steady rise
in free care policy for certain diseases, services and care for pregnant women,
children under 5 years and economically and socially disadvantaged people. At
the start of 2017, patients enjoyed subsidized and/or free treatment in
Cameroon for the following ailments:
Diabetes
care subsidies
– Epilepsy management subsidies / free
management of Epilepsy
– Free Onchocerciasis Preventive Treatment
– Free adult and paediatric ARVs and
cotrimoxazole
– Free Tuberculosis Management
– Free Leprosy Management
– Free management of Intestinal Helminthiasis
– Free management of shistozomiasis
– Free management of Buruli Ulcer and its
complications
– Free management of Pian
– Free management of Treatment and Trachoma
Surgery
– Free treatment of Lymphatic Filariasis and
Hydrocele Surgery
– Subsidy for Cancer Management
– Subsidy for Hemodialysis
Control
of a Targeted Disease to a Portion of the Population
– Free management of simple malaria for children
0 to 5 years of age
– Subsidy for the management of simple malaria
in Children of more than 5 and adults
– Free intermittent preventive treatment for
pregnant women
– Subsidy of vitamin A in children under 5 and
women in post-partum
– Free long-lasting treated mosquito insecticide
nets
– Free chemoprophylaxis of seasonal malaria
(children under 5 years / 2 regions)
– Subsidy for the management of severe and
moderate acute malnutrition
– Free HIV testing for pregnant women, spouses
and children 0 to 5 years of age
– Free PMTCT (Mother and child diagnosis)
– Free diabetes management for 0-18 year old
– Health check subsidy (purchase order or
voucher) for pregnant women in 03 regions
– Subsidy for obstetric kits
Source:
WHO and Cameroon Ministry of Public Health
NATIONAL
UNITY
Promise: “Build a future of
peace and unity”
Verdict: Not achieved
Maintaining national unity and peace is one of
the promises Paul Biya has woefully failed to keep. Cameroon is now more than
ever before a deeply divided nation. In November 2016, Anglophone Cameroonians
tired of playing second-class-citizens in a country densely populated by
Francophones decided to go on strike to demand for a federal system of
government in which their rights and culture will be respected. Government
remained adamant to their complaints and instead shot dead and incarcerated
several of the protesters.
Enraged by Government’s ruthlessness in solving
a simple strike action, many Anglophones started demanding outright
independence and restoration of their own country that existed when Britain was
their colonial master. Having lived through three months with no internet, nine
months of general strikes and one school year lost, many Anglophones are now
demanding federalism or secession.
The strike action is still going on and the
threat of a second year of school closures hangs over the beginning of the next
academic year. Government has lost much authority in the Anglophone regions.
Anglophones now have a Governing Council and a TV Station broadcasting from
South Africa that is viewed fervently by millions of Anglophone Cameroonians
home and abroad. Paul Biya has not maintained unity and peace of the country as
he promised. International Crisis Group has warned that general elections next
year will likely not hold if the situation persists.
“Without firm, persistent and coordinated
pressure from its international partners, it is unlikely that the government
will seek lasting solutions to the crisis” assessed The International Crisis
Group.
Anglophones make up approximately 20% of
Cameroon’s 23 million population.
HOUSING
Promise: “The programme to
construct 10 000 social housing units will be reactivated”
Verdict: In progress
In 2014, three years after Biya pledged “to
construct social housing units”, the Cameroonian government signed a contract
with China Construction Company to construct 10,000 low-cost houses on a 100
kilometres square of land. In February 2017, the Minister of Housing and Urban
Development, Jean Claude Mbwencthou disclosed that the construction of the
first 1675 social housing units of the Government Programme has already reached
90% in the capital Yaounde and 67% in the economic capital, Douala.
The works of livability on the two sites are
rendered at a realization rate of 70% in Yaounde and 50% in Douala, the
minister said. On 25th April 2017 the minister made a pre-inaugural inspection
of some 33 buildings with each having 20 apartments in Yaoundé equipped with
solar street lamps and ready-for-use.
Minister Mbwentchou said the buildings
constituted the first fleet of 1500 low cost houses soon to be inaugurated in
six towns of the country. Construction is proceeding but will unlikely reach
the 10000 target before the presidential poll in 2018.
Courtesy: Cameroon Journal, Yaounde August 21, 2017
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