Gov’t Presents Compendium On Concessions Made To Resolve Anglophone Crisis Since 2016

A compendium on concessions made by government to find lasting solutions to the crisis rocking the North West and South West regions of the Cameroon has been made public. The document released by the committee to follow-up the implementation of the recommendations of the Major National Dialogue, MND.

PM Dion Ngute during opening of MND on Anglophone Crisis in 2019

It was released shortly after the visit of the PM to Buea to chair the second session of the follow-up committee. The document chronicles the milestone of the MND and other steps taken for the past five years to arrest the socio-political unrest.

To recall is the fact that the MDN which has officially clocked two years was convened by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, and chaired by the Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute from September 30 to October 4, 2019, with objective to seek lasting solutions to the problems in NW, SW regions.

Though the crisis which the dialogue was convened for still lingers on, the recent release, details series of steps that has been taken to respond to the grievances that were advanced by the Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone teachers from 2016 before the situation morphed into the armed conflict as is the case now.

“Since 2016 when corporate claims morphed into civil disobedience acts in the North West and South West Regions, the government elected to address the issues raised through Dialogue. It is in this regard that ad-hoc commissions in both the educational and legal sectors were created, meetings were organised and actions taken to address the concerns presented by the corporate bodies,” stated the Committee to follow up the implementation of the recommendations of the MND in the document, adding, though MND held to find solutions to the crisis, it wasn’t “the endpoint in the dialogue process”.

“The historic event (MND) was a unique opportunity to leverage the collective efforts of all and sundry in reinforcing the bonds of the Cameroonian common destiny and a major milestone in the very honourable exercise of constructing the nation. The MND afforded Cameroonians, in line with the Constitution, the opportunity to seek ways and means of meeting the high aspirations of the people of the North-West and South-West Regions, but also of all the other components of our Nation,” the MND follow up committee added in the document.

Solution to grievances of lawyers, teachers

Recalling steps engaged by government, the Committee cited the dispatch of teachers to the Anglophone regions, the transfer of school staff who did not master the English language from Anglophone schools, the recruitment of 1000 bilingual teachers specialised in science and technology, special recruitment of 1000 young bilingual graduates, recruitment of lecturers in all state universities, creation of the Department of French Modern Letters in the Higher Teachers’ Training College (ENS) of the University of Bamenda, the reinforcement of the Admission of HND/HPD certificate holders in particular specialities, into the third year of HTTTCs of the Universities of Bamenda and Buea, to make up for the acute shortage of technical teachers in Anglophone schools amongst some of the first measures that were initiated and completed by the government.

Participants at MND 

Other gov’t efforts before MND

The document also brought to the fore other steps which were taken by government to find solution to the crisis even before the holding of the MND. These efforts, the document recalled, includes among others the ongoing harmonisation of programmes of the Universities of Buea and Bamenda, increase in the number of candidates to be admitted into the HTTCs and HTTTCs, implementation of the One-Text book policy, translated version of the OHADA instruments, return of wigs seized from lawyers during protests, prosecution of officers involved in the recorded brutalisation of lawyers, the introduction of a Common Law Section at the Supreme Court, the inclusion of a Common Law section at ENAM, increase of the number of Anglophone Magistrates and the redeployment of magistrates, following the linguistic criterion, ongoing consultation of the Bar Association on the amendment of the law on the organisation of the legal profession, the creation of a Law School for the training of Lawyers and Notaries, the recruitment of interpreters specialised in courts, pending the results of the special recruitment of Anglophone magistrates and registrars. The continuation, on a transitional basis, of the exercise of duties of lawyers and notaries, cumulatively in the North West and South West Regions, the preparation of the National Forum on Justice, during which all the problems raised by lawyers, and many others, will be taken into account, authorisation of Lawyers to visit their clients detained in a Police Station or Gendarmerie Brigades, efforts to speed judicial procedures, the ongoing redeployment of Magistrates, Court Registrars and Judicial Police Officers of French-speaking in the Anglophone Regions based on their mastery of the English Language as well as moves to promote Bilingualism and Multiculturalism and living together.

Steps to implement MND recommendations

Harping on the moves to implement the MND recommendations, the Committee touched on steps taken to accelerate Local Governance and Decentralization, citing moves like: Promulgation of Law 2019/024 on the General Code of Decentralized Local Authorities, election and setting up of Regional Assemblies and Special Status to the SW and NW; creation of the National School of Local Administration and appointment of Officials; creation of the Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development; adoption of budgets of Regional Councils; appointment and installation of Public Independent Conciliators; drafting of enabling decrees for the transfer of powers to Regions; allocation of 30billion francs CFA for the functioning of Regional Councils; pursuant to instructions of the President of the Republic; materialisation of 15% of State revenue to Regional and Local Authorities; elaboration, forwarding and defending the signing of the decree on the transfer of power to the Regions regarding Youth and Civic Education; finalisation of specifications for the project on the modalities for the transfer of power to the Regions concerning youth and civic education; Transfer of FCFA 1, 639 191 000 to MINDDEVEL for the realisation of MINJEC competencies transferred to it.

Reconstruction of NW, SW

On the efforts to rebuild the war-torn regions, the document noted that the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction of the North West and South West regions is ongoing, adding that the creation, by Presidential Decree No. 2020/136, to follow up the Implementation of the Recommendations of the MND falls within moves to ensure the reconstruction programme monitored.

It also mentioned the creation by the President of the DDR Centres for the voluntary surrender of weapons and efforts by government to reintegrate ex-fighters to the society.

Efforts to calm tensions

The document recalled that the President of the Republic also made gestures aimed at calming the tensions in the two regions by release some of those who were arrested in connection to the crisis in the two reigns as well as amnesty to repentant combatants and catering of the needs of the IDPs and refugees.

Aside ensuring daily protection of cilians and their property in the two regions, government has also offered assistance to owners of small and medium sized enterprises and startups, through the Prime Ministerial Decree N°2019/3179/PM to grant the status of economic disaster areas to the Far-North, North-West and South-West Regions, 90-day tax breaks accorded to businesses to assuage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the adoption of a refreshed National Development Strategy SDN30.

By Doh Bertrand Nua