By Kini Nsom
House Speaker, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, has signed a decision awarding himself an annual allowance of FCFA 18 million upon retirement. This means that he will be entitled to FCFA 1.5 million a month.
Cavaye, packing a retirement bonanza
This was one of the decisions the National Assembly Bureau adopted recently.In addition to that juicy retirement package, any former Speaker of the National Assembly will have a monthly water allowance of FCFA 150.000, an electricity allowance of FCFA 250.000 and a telephone allowance of FCFA 250.000. The retired Speaker will also have 1000 litres of petrol a month.
Any retired Speaker of the National Assembly, according to the decision of the Bureau, will be provided with an official residence of high standing in Yaounde, including durable furniture.In the event that the retired Speaker does not take up this residence, he or she will be compensated with an amount of money to be determined by the Bureau of the National Assembly.
The National Assembly is also responsible for providing every former Speaker with a brand new Mercedes 300 or any other car of that quality. All expenses incurred in the repair of the car, however, will be borne by the retired Speaker himself. Nonetheless, the National Assembly has the duty to change the vehicle once every ten years until the retired President dies. When he dies, the car becomes the property of his or her family.
By dint of Article 4 B of the Bureau decision, the former Speaker is supposed to have the following aides: a body guard, a driver, a cook, gardener, two watchmen and a Private Secretary with the rank of a Chief of Service in the Central Administration. The Private Secretary is responsible for ensuring the good comportment of the entire personnel and managing the retired Speaker's affairs.
According to Article 8 of the decision, the National Assembly is charged with the picking of the medical bills of the retired Speaker, his family and his young children. It is also stated that, in the case of death, the widows and orphans of the former President have a right to some allowances from the fund reserved for retired MPs.
If, after retiring from the National Assembly, the former Speaker gets another job in the Public Service, he would chose between staying with the remuneration accruing from that new job or receiving the retirement benefits from the National Assembly.On the contrary, if he quits the position as President and remains as an ordinary Parliamentarian, he would have to choose between earning the retirement benefits or the remuneration for his position as MP.
It will be recalled that the present decision was initiated in January 2005. The move came after the two former Speakers of the National Assembly - Hon. S.T. Muna and Hon. Lawrence Fonka Shang - had long died. It is clear that the first person to enjoy this allowance will be the incumbent Speaker, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril.
In a related story, the Ghanaian Parliament has also voted a bill awarding huge allowances and juicy retirement conditions to the former Presidents of that country.Observers say such juicy retirement conditions could cause people holding high office to leave without being afraid of running into misery.
All these benefits are unnecessary and are just a deliberate attempt to continue robbing the Cameroonian people. A benefit of 200,000 frs a month is even too much for a retiree. A retiree who's embezzled millions of francs.
All those who've been directly or indirectly involved in all these kinds of white-collar criminality will VERY SOON pay very dearly for all these. The change that Cameroonians need may come quicker than they anticipate.
The clock is ticking ....
The SON
Posted by: Akoson | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 09:23 AM
It is sickening reading this news item. People go on retirement and earn millions while the rest are suffering?????????????? Those who deliberated on this an accepted will all account for their actions. They are "on the wrong side of history"
God should help Cameroon
Shalom
Posted by: Klemenceau | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 09:46 AM
Letter to The Editor,
Dear Sir,
As an avid reader of your commendable newspaper, I have some misgivings about the way most of the news items are narrated to the readers. A case in point is this one entitled "Retirement Bonanza at the National Assembly:Speaker awards self CFAF 18M..." What this piece of information is intended to do is hard to understand. Is it aimed at stirring outrage by trading on sensationalism? Is it aimed at informing the reader very intimately about the intricacies that surrounded such a decision and the politics of its enactment by "the Speaker?"
I would think that excellent journalism of the type we all want the post to attain in the years ahead calls for a piece such as this to carry greater analytical weight than what we just read above. The news of the National Assembly of Cameroon embarking on pork projects while many countries are striving for fiscal responsibility even as the majority of Cameroonians languish in poverty for two decades now, is no small issue at all. Consequently, a concerned reader is interested in knowing whose ideas shaped this, who were present in voting to support this, whether at all it was debated in plenary before a small committee, bureau or whatever mafia it is, went ahead to make it a reality.
As this article currently stands, there is little evidence of any investigative journalism or analysis in it. At this moment one could claim, safely, that every Cameroonian knows the role of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Cavaye Djiibril, in corrupt machinations in which Biya's regime is immersed. What this article does is merely reminding us about this, and that in itself is no news for the average Cameroonian. What will be news for us is to know or understand how responsibility for this blatant looting of the public wealth, in this instance of officially sanctioned benefits beyond proportions, is apportioned. What I mean by a sense of proportion is this: parliamentarians are public servants and like all public servants their benefits should be or are regulated by their levels of education and longevity in service to the state, among other criteria.
This article does not shed light on whether these criteria were broached at all when setting this "huge". Also, a sense of proportion in apportioning blame is required. For instance, are all parliamentarians guilty, are some without knowledge of it or the power to change anything about this. Do you know if any parliamentarian opposed this act or not?
These questions indicate a measure of responsible journalism, the type that will lead our country in the path of enlightened criticism and constructive debate, and the type our newspapers should strive to achieve and maintain. For now what this article has done is missing an opportunity for an otherwise important topic by trivialising it with sensationalism. Let us rise to our collective responsibilities, please.
We hope that our cherished newspaper, The Post, can help to give importance to this important issue and open more debate on it, by shedding greater light on its making.Thank you for this forum and please do accept our regards and sincere appreciation for the wonderful work that you have done in other instances.
Rogers Tabe Orock
Posted by: Danny | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 12:32 PM
Letter to The Editor,
Dear Sir,
As an avid reader of your commendable newspaper, I have some misgivings about the way most of the news items are narrated to the readers. A case in point is this one entitled "Retirement Bonanza at the National Assembly:Speaker awards self CFAF 18M..." What this piece of information is intended to do is hard to understand. Is it aimed at stirring outrage by trading on sensationalism? Is it aimed at informing the reader very intimately about the intricacies that surrounded such a decision and the politics of its enactment by "the Speaker?"
I would think that excellent journalism of the type we all want the post to attain in the years ahead calls for a piece such as this to carry greater analytical weight than what we just read above. The news of the National Assembly of Cameroon embarking on pork projects while many countries are striving for fiscal responsibility even as the majority of Cameroonians languish in poverty for two decades now, is no small issue at all. Consequently, a concerned reader is interested in knowing whose ideas shaped this, who were present in voting to support this, whether at all it was debated in plenary before a small committee, bureau or whatever mafia it is, went ahead to make it a reality.
As this article currently stands, there is little evidence of any investigative journalism or analysis in it. At this moment one could claim, safely, that every Cameroonian knows the role of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Cavaye Djiibril, in corrupt machinations in which Biya's regime is immersed. What this article does is merely reminding us about this, and that in itself is no news for the average Cameroonian. What will be news for us is to know or understand how responsibility for this blatant looting of the public wealth, in this instance of officially sanctioned benefits beyond proportions, is apportioned. What I mean by a sense of proportion is this: parliamentarians are public servants and like all public servants their benefits should be or are regulated by their levels of education and longevity in service to the state, among other criteria.
This article does not shed light on whether these criteria were broached at all when setting this "huge". Also, a sense of proportion in apportioning blame is required. For instance, are all parliamentarians guilty, are some without knowledge of it or the power to change anything about this. Do you know if any parliamentarian opposed this act or not?
These questions indicate a measure of responsible journalism, the type that will lead our country in the path of enlightened criticism and constructive debate, and the type our newspapers should strive to achieve and maintain. For now what this article has done is missing an opportunity for an otherwise important topic by trivialising it with sensationalism. Let us rise to our collective responsibilities, please.
We hope that our cherished newspaper, The Post, can help to give importance to this important issue and open more debate on it, by shedding greater light on its making.Thank you for this forum and please do accept our regards and sincere appreciation for the wonderful work that you have done in other instances.
Rogers Tabe Orock
Posted by: Danny | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 12:36 PM
The article is an abuse to the leniency of Cameroonians. The Gods are still alive. The consequences of these "State Organized Crime" will crop up very soon. I mean Very Very Soon.
May God pity Cameroonians
Posted by: Bob Bristol | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 01:19 PM
In advanced societies where high profile employees like house speakers earn what they deserve and do not embezzle and are not involved in corruption practices, a good retirement benefit does not raise eyebrows because these high profile workers pay the most tax. We are frowning at Cavaye's retirement package because He embezzles at least 100 times his monthly allowance every month. What is the rationale behind a Mercedes car and a state house for the speaker after retirement? How would the government progress if this has to be provided to other highly placed civil servants after retirement? I mean if you have been in government for about 30 years, a house and a car should be the least of your worries. I can understand health care. What else can we say "Le Cameroun c'est le Cameroun", nothing strange happens there....
Posted by: Jacques Ita | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 01:51 PM
YES SIR
CAUSFUSION
I BLEED TO READ WHAT CAMEROONIANS WRITE HERE. THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN SET IN A WAY THAT EPOLPE ADDRESS ISSUES FROM A SIMPLE POINT OF VIEW. ADULTS ARE READING. I KNOW THEY WILL MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND. IF THEY ARE GIVEN THE FACTS.
10 WAYS TO KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF CAMEROON BODY POLITY.
1 ANGLOPHONE /FRANCOPHONE DIVIDE , WORKS FOR THE GOVERNMENT,S ADVANTAGE. THAT IS WHY MR PRESIDENT ASKED FOR SPACE FOR FRENCYH IN FRANCE. WATCH OUT FOR THIS.
2 FAILURE OF ALL POLITICAL PARTIES/POLITICAL PROCESS.
MISTRUST, HATRED, ETHNICITY, TRIBALISM, INTRIGUE, SELFISHNESS, INTIGUES, MANIPULATIONS. SOON BILLIONS WILL BE DISHED OUT FOR , PARTIES IN PARLIAMENT, TO GO CAMPAIGHN FOA AN ELECTION THAT , THE WINNER IS ALREADY KNOWN, OR ARE WE STILL DREAMING.
3 CHURCHES AND SPIRITUAL INSTUTUTIONS
COMPLACENT, POWERLESSNESS. THE CHURCH HAS BECOME WORLDLY AND THE WORLD CHURCHY.
4 MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION.
NOT PURPOSEFUL. DRIVEN BY SURVIVAL INSTINCTS, AND THEREFORE REPORT/COMMENT IN A WAY THAT BENEFITS MANAGEMENT, AND NOT SOCIETY.
THIS HELPS STATUS QUO.
5 CIVIL SOCIETY AND ASSOCIATIONS .
TRIBALISED/POLARIZED, NOT PROACTIVE. CARRIED ABOUT BY WIND OF SOCIETY. HUMAND RESOURCES IS PUT IN UNPLANNED AND BADLY MANAGED PROTESTS, PRECEDENTS FOR FAILURE OF FUTURE ACTIONS.
6 PEOPLE AND PLAYERS
TERRORISED AND FRIGHTENED.MISTRUST, AND APARTY. ME, FOR MY SELF. SO WHY NOT PREPARE FOR THE UNKNOWN.GREED.
7 FORCES OF LAW AND ORDER.
COMPLETELY LOYAL TO THE EXECUTIVE.
WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE WAY OF CIVILIAN PROTESTS.
8 LEADERSHIP VACUM
POSSIBLE LEADERS WITH STRONG CVS, ARE CREATURES OF THE EXISTING SYSYTEM. LACK OF AMBITION, CORRUPT, UNRIGHTEOUS FOUNDATION, WITH SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARDS, THAT ARE USED TO CONTROL AND SILENCE THEM, E,G THOSE IN PRISON OR THOSE INVESTIGATED RIGHT NOW.
9 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
PUT IN CHECK BY SUBLTE TERRORISM.
PROMISE OF POSTS/EMPLOYMENT.
USED FOR THE DIRTY JOBS OF CERTAIN
POLITICIANS, LOVE FOR IMMEDIATE
GRATIFIACTION, [GO TO THE PRISONS].
IDEOLOGICAL CONFUSION. LACK OF
PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE. FALLING
FOR ANYTHING.MORAL DECADENCE.
10 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. HAS SO MUCH BUSINESS INTERETS , THAT
REQUIRES STATUS QUO TO MAKE A PROFIT.
CHANGE IS UNCERTAIN IN AFRICAN
COUNTRIES. COLONIAL MASTER CAN VETO,
ANYGOOD INTENTIONS FROM OTHER NATIONS.
DO NOT AASK THE POST WHY?
WHEN EVER , I READ OR HEAR FROM OUR MESSIAHS, THESE 10 CONSIDERAQTIONS , QUIDE ME TO SAY WHY NOT.
OH CAMEROON. OH CAMELEON.
DID THEY SAY ALL PARLIAMENTARIANS , RECIEVED , MILLIONS AFYTER, THE CHANGE OF CONSTITUTION. DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PARTY REPRESENTED IN PARLIAMENT.
DID THEY SAY CAMEROONIANS EMMIGRATE BECAUSE OF LOW PAY?
PLEASE, LET US NOT POINT FINGERS AT ANYBODY. MY TEN WISE FRIENDS TELL ME WE DESERVE WHAT WE HAVE .
GOD BLESS , THE EMERGING THIRD REPUBLIC.
AT TIMES I WANT TO BLAME , PRESIDENT BIYA, WHEN THE BLAME THE FAULT IS MINE.
TO MUCH WORK TO DO, IN THE COMING DECADES.
TIME IS ON YOURSIDE. DISPAIR , BUT DONOT GIVE UP. LET US NOT DIVIDE OR KILL ONE ANOTHER, THE PROBLEM IS WITH OUR STARS.
THE DARKEST PART OF THE NIGHT IS TOWARD
DAWN. GOODWORK THE POST.
DR THOMPSON AKWO NTUBA , MD Ph,D
Posted by: DR TAN OF CAMEROON | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 02:47 PM
DR. TAN,
with your "MD" and "PH,D", you can't spell?
GOODWORK? DISPAIR? THE DARKEST PART OF THE NIGHT IS TOWARD DAWN? CAUSFUSION? INTIGUES?
BUSINESS INTERETS?
what is this? elementary school? ma man, wusai you get ya degree?
Switching to the subject at hand, why are we surprised about the shady dealings of La Republique? everyday we come here and cry and moan and yell and sweep. This routine has been going on for ages. When will Cameroonians, esp. Anglophones, take the next step? If I don't see federalism on the table, I am joining the SCNC (as ridiculous as that sounds).
Posted by: UnitedstatesofAfrica | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 03:56 PM
Danny,
Your piece of advice to the editorial directing them toward an investigative and responsible reporting is the right thing you've done and your suggestions are the right ones they've got to do. The media is always the strength behind any well-informed society. I'm always disappointed reading a cross section of commentaries here, because most are just contemplative speculations and just unsubstatiated and do clearly reveal how less informed our society is. These comments are shaped by the piece of news item read. How can we successfully change a society by basing our argument on speculations and half-truth?
Posted by: Ted | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 07:32 PM
This is just the tip of the iceburg, for i am sure Grand Camarade, if and when he decides to leave will just divert a branch of the Central Bank to Mvomeka (if only there is none already) for the exclusive use of him, chantou, and the young 'Royals'. Long live the king, eternally begotten your reign...
Posted by: numvi | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 07:45 PM
Danny,
I also share some of the disagreements you presented about this write up.First the caption is misleading.It's easy for a distracted reader to think Cavaye has already awarded himself 18 million,or that he is already retired.Secondly ,this article says nothing about what is actually meant for the president of the National Assembly, second personality of the Republic when he goes on retirement.He however makes it known that in 2005,a lot of pork was brought in to make retirement colourful for the retiring president,but what did his predecessors earn? His retirement benefits can`t be the same as those of an ordinary civil servant,but they don`t have to be astronomical either.That not withstanding,the reporter is writing in a backdrop of persistent abuse of power by this very man.Remember the reason he has been lashing out at upright MPs like Paul Ayah is because he wants to have a free hand to impose things on the other eunuchs passing for Deputies.One would not therefore expect this type of bill to have witnessed any opposition.We don`t need to learn from the writer of this article that all our parliamentarians deserve blame,for all of them are handpicked,and that when their President has 18 million,they may end up having 7,8.We also know their allowances were increased more a year ago.The President set the ball rolling by increasing the allowances of all the MPs,and then cutting the lion's share for himself.The essence of this article is to show that a group of epicureans continues to feast on the limited resources of the nation.Our government does not take or apportion responsibility for such wayward behaviour,else Cavaye Djibril will not still be President after the blatant fraud he was involved in during elections.
Posted by: Watesih | Monday, 26 January 2009 at 11:12 PM
Should this be true then i would like to consider it as the most serious joke of the 21 century. How on earth can such illiterates be paid such huge sums of money fot the dis service that they have done to the country. We need more schools and roads, pipe borne water and the rest why should This happen. God bless Cameroon. The lion man is there sitting with his hands folded and watching all this unforld as though it does not concern him. We should stop being hypocrates in this country for either we are true to ourselves or we are so naive that when it comes to issues of nation building and administration we lack the vision to see reality. This regime have failed and have failed whofully so in the interest of the state, posterity and national development such agendas should be completely discouraged for Cameroon is not woned by a single dynasty
Posted by: MOTABENAMA | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 04:37 AM
Whether this article is accurate or not is not the problem. The issue is that I don't need to be told that all these guys are fake gardeners. They are the weeds of our farm.It is a voodo system sucking the blood and sweat of the common man. I promise them they will pay for this
Posted by: JEW-MAN | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 06:27 AM
WE till our farm
and sow our yams
and leave the care
to the gardener
when its time to reap
our farm is full of weeds
We cannot see a single yam!
The weeds enjoy the yams
While we live and die of hunger...
Posted by: JEW-MAN | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 06:34 AM
Its pityfuf for intelligent Cameroonians to sit all in the name of MPs to even make such a proposal. ordinary Cameroonian are unable to live on 200000cfa for one year and some people will make a proposal of 18m a year for leading the county to slump... You are offering youyrself that huge amount of money for what? What a pity... Its a shame to you. I think Mps should seat and make better decisions that will better the life of average cameroonians other than awading yourself that sum of money for putting the country to shame.
Posted by: Forji | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 08:16 AM
Its nice to be CAVAYE !
Another tractor stealing MAKAKA is bailing himself out while everyone else watches like spectator.
This Malam i hear was once a physical education instructor or whatever, he got the guts to award himself a windfall commission, a check for himself for presiding over the hand clapping house.
His take home pension will be in six figures monthly, no joke. Woooow, who says politics la maniere primitive is not a good thing?
Posted by: SouthWest | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 09:08 AM
This is really " Great ambitions". Ambitions to turn our country into a cake; a large corporation where stakeholders try to get as much as they can from the benefits that acrue from it. Should we still call it a state, when it is clear that it's a money making avenue. The last time I checked my college notebooks, I learnt that a state is an association of men and women, on a fixed land, with a population that elects/choses a governmental hierarchy to take care of their common needs. I also learnt that at any point, if the people realise their government is not useful to them, they have the right to use all means possible to destroy or take away this government and put in place a new one. Shame to the Cameroonians who at least have the power to speak out without being thrown to jail or killed. They have refused to act.Evil will continue if good people fail to act.
How on earth could a man in his right state of mind propose such retirement benefits in an empoverished country like Cameroon?
What do we even expect from the so called parliamentarians? These are people who at best can only clap and sleep in the National assembly. Most, if not all, are people who do not even know the basic principles of rule of law, contitutionalism and separation of powers. These are people who will even say 'yes' to a bill that ask for the bombing of their own native village. Why? They will tell you it's because it is a bill from their party. These are people who do not know the difference between state and party. Or let's assume they have an idea, (this is very unlikely); they are still only interested in how to make money. That's the simple fact! A country in which people jubilate as soon as they learn one of theirs have been appointed to a big position. Jubilating for what? The answer is obvious: now we can also eat from that big government cake. "Chop i chop, country broke, yi no concern me, na my papa farm?"
Let me make some humble points:
1. Unless the people stop looking at government as a place to eat part of the cake, we will never develop.
People ought, should, and must look at governmental jobs as a place to serve the nation an it's people.
2. The parlaimentarians in cameroon need to go to university and be given some serious lectures on constitutionalism, rule of law, separation of powers, State and party differentiated, development administration and civics, ethics/moral instruction. They must be taught this because they are a disgrace.
3. The 1996 constutution of cameroon must be implememnted.
Cameroon is not a poor country. Cameroonians have been empoverished because of uneducated, selfish, wicked, unpatriotic, and political opportunists and leaders.
Wake up, people!
Posted by: Ebulle | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 09:26 AM
The Post Readers,
I am totally confused with this type of journalism. How did Cavaye get this done? How much were the former speakers making when they retired? What is happening here is pure sensational reporting.
We should not call a dog a bad name because we want to hang it. We know this government is bad, but we should be able to report fairly and assign blames to those who deserve it. The article seems to indicate that Cavaye signed an order making this pension bonanza possible; this is false.
I also want to find out how you can respond to a particular comment without going to the end of the comment section. It will be nice if you can respond to something that interest you in somebody's comment.
Peter Forkou
Posted by: pforkou | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 11:25 AM
Sensational or not,
the very idea that those 180 so called "HONOURABLES" wishes to award themselves fat pay checks for "doing nothing , hand clapping ,singing praises to their king and above all having rigged their way to that house" is in itself sickening , period!.
I dont know why anyone should be whinning about the headline.
Posted by: SouthWest | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 01:03 PM
Ebulle,
"Chop i chop, country broke, yi no concern me, na my papa farm?"
That is an excellent summation and analysis of what is essentially wrong with our country, the mental attitudes and outlook which people have towards everything.
Off course Mr. Cavaye can have the audacity to assert and authoritatively accord to himself and cohorts all kinds of outrageous benefits because he knows he is dealing with an uninformed population.
He knows that civil servants, the gendarmes, police, army and all other supporters of the regime dare not raise their little voices, for they are absolutely dependent on the little fall outs which the regime doles out to them from time to time.
Will Cavaye expect his children to sacrifice their lives to go and become drivers, cooks, night guards and errand boys for retired pot bellied civil servants..???
Can Cavaye allow his own children to forsake the unlimited options and possibilities which education and travel can bring to them in exchange for enslavement to low paying jobs...???
Does he expect that his own kindred should be limited only to the status of servitude....???
Off course not.
But Mr. Cavaye can hoist himself tall over Cameroonians and say or do what ever he wants as long as his contemporaries, and intelligent Cameroonians are unable to pose a serious threat to the present status quo.
It is a sick country, changing the president will not suffice to transform the mentality and attitudes that have reversed drastically the fortunes of the country and it's people.
Posted by: CountryFowl | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 02:09 PM
JEW-MAN
that was terrible poetry, just plain awful.
Posted by: UnitedstatesofAfrica | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 03:34 PM
That should be a big joke.If a house speaker who has tirelessly served Cameroonians is granted such benefits,one might understand.But not our present parliamentarians.Let me ask House Speaker, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril,if deep within his conscience he has earned such benefits with all the controversial decisions adopted by that 'rubber stamp parliament'.Rest assured Mr.Speaker that you would not get a dime.Posterity would judge you and shame upon you to even think for once that such benefits can be yours.Why are Africans without any feelings towards their fellow citizens?What are unemployed graduates and other poverty stricken Cameroonians receiving presently or would get in the future?Stay firm in elected office,twist the laws,force another mandate down the throat of Cameroonians but change would come to that land one day.Our politicians are so dumb to think history would bypass Cameroon.Everything that goes up must come down.
Posted by: Sango Roy | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 11:25 PM
I am really sick and tired when i read the way Cameroon has been taking hostage by a dictator and has set up a government of embezellers who on daily basis rub a nation in broad day light. However, mind them they will regret their actions and will be treated like the saddams, Moboutus, Samuel Doe's and others. If the So call president of the national assembly is awarding himself the juicy retirement package and benefits, Can we imagine how he has embezzeled already? His Boss has bailed himself out by changing the so called constitution. If he does not pay for his acts his kids and family will do
Posted by: Jones Jim | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 08:28 AM
Please can any one help me with answers to these questions
1) Is there any email adress or phone number one can reach Biya?
2) Do you have an idea if some members of his government read or put comments on this site?
Anxiously waiting for your answers
Posted by: Jones Jim | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 08:33 AM
Why will those in high places not do what ever they want and go away with it? They do know very well who Cameroonians are; that no matter what they do, Cameroonians will only grumble and stay.
According to me, this is completely nothing to worry about. The real problem was about Elecam, if we want to stop the excesses of the looters. Unfortunately, ELecam is now history and we are wasting time here as usual talking about this other form of theft.
Very soon, this will also be history and Cavaye will go ahead to enjoy his loot unperturb while we wait on another scandal of the murderous regime knock our heads.
Until Cameroonians, collectively, stop doing the talking and start doing the walk, the regime will continue to mock us.
Any time the murderous regime wants to take another heart breaking decicion, they can say, "we face no risk; if they talk, what will happen?"
Posted by: Fon. | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 11:56 AM
...but why are you guys surprised? after a century in power, haven't we become accustomed to the shady dealings of the Biya regime? this is all we ever do, talk, talk, moan, weep, curse, swear, cry, talk and more talk. When shall we take the next step and actually do something?
Posted by: UnitedstatesofAfrica | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 02:16 PM
UnitedstateofAfrica,
It's not that we're unfamiliar with the mismanagement of our nation's resources by the Biya regime but what seem to be elusive are the particulars of this mismanagement scheme. It's not a question of talking in broad terms but actually analyzing the details of every component of corruption. The reason we are pressing on our reporters to switch from reporting in general terms to giving details and specifics is because there are lots of good will commentators in this forum who've done and are actually doing a good job in exposing the corrupt nature of Biya's government to the international community... and the international community would always want to know the details of the corruption mechanism in Cameroon. It's not just enough to understand corruption and mismanagement in generalized terms and so it's the responsibility of our local media to help dig and expose all the details.
Posted by: Ted | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 07:51 PM
Cameroonians,
We have very short memories. Remember when this guy was pushing for an amendment to the constitution to grant Biya eternal reign as president? You really think he was doing that for free? Don't you think Cavaye likes to be president too? This is a thank you from Paul.He Paul wants to make it legitimate so he allows the National Assembly to play the clawn in enacting what may pass as law. We know Cameroon has always been governed by presidential decrees. The president can strike this crap with a simple pronouncement and it will disappear just as fast as it came. But it is not going to go away. Paul is also trying to feather-bed the so called North-South axis of friction, so just in case his weakened heart snaps any moment from now, your bororoh people will have some leniency over Frank who will be an amateur in the art of political brutality and nation state mismanagement a la papa. Every act of stupidity in cameroon has a huge monetary return associated with it. Santa pledged support for Paul's lengthy stay in power and got themselves a pseudo-division. What else do you expect? He has changed the provinces to regions, and bestowed upon himself the right to adjust their boundaries to suit his political agenda and no fingers are raised. He has appointed his cronies to the national election committee, and no fingers are raised. He should not even be granted the right to appoint these people, but he has. No one is raising hell. His very trusted illiterate running the national zoo of fortune seekers has been awarded with the fattest bone so he could be a life-long servant, and you complain? What is 18 million francs CFA when compared to what Paul himself takes out of the country daily?Your country needs Jesus Christ to arrive ahead of the Pope, and when he leaves, your collective prayers should be for everyone over age 5 to die so a generation of orphans can be raised by international NGO's and trained to live like the rest of the world. Cameroon is a lost nation.
Posted by: Che Sunday | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 10:44 PM
Thieves in the first order
Posted by: Ebolo | Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 04:45 AM
Mr. HS, go ahead, do what ever you like, we are behind you. Thief
Posted by: Ebolo | Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 04:47 AM
Can anybody help me with what Cavaye is earning now? If they can vote themselves such sums for retirement, what is he earning right now? This might shed some light on this story. I can not believe that anybody can be awarded such sum of money from a poor country like Cameroon.
Peter Forkou
Posted by: pforkou | Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 08:59 AM
Ted & Watesih,
saw your responses to a posting by Rogers Tabe Orock, signed Danny. I hope you do not confuse this person and his posting with me Danny Boy!
I have not posted anything since!! Maybe I am depressed or just suffering from plain fatigue, I do not know! I lack the inspiration to ignite the forum. The stories are so dire and one seems to be trading the same stuff day-in day-out.
Take Mr. Forkou,s inquiry, this is a matter we had debated at length more than six months ago when they awarded themselves bonuses to buy themselves cars and all what not!
I have been enjoying your spirited defence of free speech. Keep talking, some God will hear us someday and the retributions will be folklore for centuries to come.
Blessed be Cameroon.
Danny Boy.
Posted by: Danny Boy | Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 07:07 PM
About a hell on earth ruled by savage man-eating manicheans:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28911428/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28911428/
Posted by: Ma Mary | Friday, 30 January 2009 at 06:24 AM
The Pope needs to stay home. He is more interested in Europe, after all and it shows. John Paul came twice and their son Paul Biya just tightened his screws some more. Stay home, Benedict and say what you need to say from there. His visit will just be another excuse to "chop" money.
Posted by: Ma Mary | Friday, 30 January 2009 at 06:30 AM
USofafrica, like a prodigal son, come back home.There is absolutely no option for federation of the Southern cameroons with la Republique.We need all our brethren, even those with whom we have had serious arguments and disagreements .It is the acceptance of truth and reality.Like Dannyboy said,it is really boring talking about la republique intrigues.They are so macabre to the extent that they can inspire madness.One can actually go banana by pondering over the kind of tricks that la Republique under Biya regime plays.The deeds are unimaginably shocking, done as if every other person they are dealing with out of their cult government is a fool, so overt, dull and very uninteresting to follow.People of the Southern Cameroons have nothing to benefit from such a regime unless they want to satisfy personal and selfish motives at the expense of the future of the Southern Cameroons.We ought to be patriotic about our historical,cultural , legal and territorially defined nation of the Southern Cameroons with great regard for the future.
La Republique is the lost nation Dr Che Sunday.The Southern Cameroons when administered as a state on its own even at its worst state of governance,its polity would surpass the best form of government that can ever be expected from la republique.The Southern Cameroons we are talking about is to be the prototype of true democracy in Africa.This is where our strength should empty, to realize this mission of reinstating our sovereign independence.History points to the fact that the Southern Cameroons ceteris paribus should have been amongst if not the first african countries to have independence.This is a nation that was founded in 1858 when missionaries under Joseph Merrick settled and bought land from Bakweri and Isubu chiefs and named it Victoria in honor of the queen of England, hoisted the British flag thereby puting it under the sphere of influence and jurisdiction of Britain.This was before the Berlin conference in 1884 which designated that area and east of it as German Kamerun.The Southern Cameroon therefore existed as distinct state prior to the notion of one german kamerun for about 3 decades .So when mr biya and his regime talk of one and indivisible cameroon having always existed,it is a historical distortion of fact.When France and Britain defeated Germany, a condominium was formed to govern the defunct german kamerun by both France and britain but was immediately aborted as France and Britain worked very hard to build their sphere of influence over their respective sides and also because of the conflicts that arose from the diffences in inherited socio-cultural and political ideology that both sides distinctly had.The Southern Cameroons had been culturally, politically cultivated in a british style in the time of the missionaries earlier mentioned under Joseph Merrick and furthermore under English baptist missionary Rev Alfred Saker.France and Britain understood the dangers that circumscribed any attempts at bringing together these people east and west of the mungo who had over decades been exposed to absolutely different historical, cultural,political , and territorial conceptions and ideologies.So from the very outset the issue of one cameroon was aborted and history has proven that any attempt at puting the two together in the form of unity or federalism is an absolute failure.
We have seen it all.We all have to withdraw every dealing with la republique that stands against our nationalist movement for self determination and sovereign independence.
Everybody is welcome back home to the Southern Cameroons.The struggle is our most legitimate fight to defend our God given rights.
Long live the Southern Cameroons.
Peace,
Legima Doh,
ScNc
Posted by: Legima Doh | Friday, 30 January 2009 at 03:00 PM