It's a great honour for me to attempt a balance sheet of the year that will soon run out, while making projections into the New Year. The year 2020 was a very rough one to most economies around the world and Cameroon, our beloved fatherland was not spared. The covid-19 pandemic dealt a serious blow to almost every aspect of our national life. Thanks to the foresight of the Head of State, president Paul Biya, the ravaging effects of this deadly pandemic were both mitigated and contained. My deepest sympathy goes to the families that lost their loved ones as a result of this ravaging Pandemic.
The president of the Republic signed a Finance Ordinance paving the way for the National Assembly to modify the initial state budget as a stop gab measure to downplay the adverse effects of this global health crisis. Despite the economic setbacks Cameroon experienced due to covid-19, it was equally another opportunity for our economy to test her resilience. The 9th February Legislative and Municipal Elections went on as planned. This paved the way for the Regional Elections which was organised on December 6th 2020; the final step towards the putting in place of an effective decentralisation in Cameroon as well as the eventual implementation of the Special Status to the North West and South West regions: a vital outcome of the Major National Dialogue. The cultural specifications of these two regions shall be greatly enhanced by this new arrangement.
The ten regions of Cameroon shall henceforth enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy, a springboard towards our growing democracy and our quest for greater participation in matters of development. It's our turn to exploit this opportunity and forge ahead despite the hurdles.
We hail the education stakeholders of our country especially those in the North West and South West regions for braving the odds to make sure the right to education of the children of these regions were never compromised. Some of them achieved this even at the peril of their own lives, very sad indeed. The Kumba macabre incident remains fresh in our minds. May the souls of these martyrs of education receive Divine justice.
As the new year draws near, we bid farewell to 2020 with a heavy heart. A year with lots of downs, Covid 19 with its ramifications on businesses, education and most especially our health, the Ngarbuh incident, the Kumba massacre which let to loss of civilian lives many of them children. Even as our pillows were soaked in tears with these unfortunate incidents , attempts were made to exploit such misfortunes for political earns. Quite strange. Politics remains a competition of ideas and impact, never a mischievous adventure. With all these challenges, the state as usual stood it grounds to mobilise resources to fight the deadly global pandemic, establish responsibilities in various macabre incidents and bringing the culprits to book.
A careful examination of challenges in our urban settings especially the poor waste management scheme, inspired me to nurture this project of full transition from linear to Circular Economy by initiating the Parliamentary Network for Circular Economy (PANCEC), a few months into my parliamentary activities. The project is on track, expected to generate almost five thousand green jobs by militating that all councils of Cameroun attain Financial Autonomy by embarking on Circular Economy. This initiative to revamp our national economy considering the changes brought by the Corona Virus, was after a careful analysis embraced by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Right Honourable Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, who signed an order creating PANCEC on September 3rd 2020. The initiative which is not only an option for government to help decentralized local communities to attain financial autonomy, is a unique opportunity for my humble person to support the Head of State in the implementation of effective decentralization and the attainment of the emergence goal come 2035. This was preceded by an elective convention during which my humble self was elected president of the Executive Bureau.
The new year which is pregnant with hope and great expectations starts with a lot of hope as the Head of State on the 30/12/2020 signed a decree that brought up and hamonised the retirement age to 60 years for categories A and B civil servants. Africa and the rest of the world shall turn their attention to Cameroon as we play host to African Nations Championship, CHAN. The world class sporting infrastructures put in place by the government is a mark of readiness and it is our fervent wish that the football fans feed their anxiety with great spectacle from this soccer jamboree.
All structures have been put in place for effective decentralisation to take effect next year; the regional councils, the city councils and the councils. This coupled with the anticipated budgetary upsurge to these local collectivities inspire hope of greater participation, accountability and consequently the enhancement of sustainable development. It shall be up to us to take advantage of the available opportunities offered us.
We shall continue to work tirelessly towards the disarmament, demobilisation and deradicalisation of the ex-secessionist fighters for an eventual reintegration into the society through the provision of jobs and other forms of income generating activities. This shall continue to systematically improve the security situation in the restive regions of North West and South West of Cameroon. This is a prerequisite to improve the education and health facilities as well as road networks, and the marshal plan for the reconstruction of the battered regions.
At the local level, we're working very hard to keep our campaign promises. We won against the backdrop of security concerns and wanton destructions. Our campaign slogan "Peace Crusader, to Rebuild and Restore our Community" is gradually being transformed into concrete reality. Back to School is already a dream come true in all the five Subdivisions of Donga Mantung Division in particular and the two English Speakling Regions in general with little foot dragging notwithstanding in some areas. More and more people are returning home to take up their normal daily activities. This is thanks to the consistent efforts we've made towards restoring peace and serenity.
In the domain of road infrastructure, the Magba-Kakar stretch is under construction thanks to our efforts. This is the main corridor that links Donga Mantung to the rest of the country since the blockage of the Kumbo- Ndu stretch is still very effective. In Nkambe town, most roads have been graded with gutters and some bridges constructed but for the fact that the Kumbo Quarry which supplies aggregates for tarring is down as a result of the crisis, those streets would have been tarred by now . The Binshua-Binjeng-Binka road has been graded and the Mamba bridge at Kungi under construction. The Binjeng-Binshua bridge has been constructed as well.
Fon's Palace Tabenken, GHS Tabenken and Bondu quarters have been electrified to further serve Mbibu, Njilah and Kudu quarters. GTC Tabenken went operational less than one month after official announcement creating the school thanks to our timely intervention. We constructed two blocks of six classrooms in GS Bondu to provide an enabling environment for teaching and learning. All these are part of our campaign promises that we realised in less than nine months in office. We intend to spread our tentacles to other parts of the constituency as normalcy continues to gain momentum.
We are grateful to the dynamic team that make things happen in our constituency. I salute the dynamism of the Mayors of Nkambe and Ndu and the selfless elites who compliment our efforts at every given opportunity. The ease with which this synergy bears fruits has been so far very satisfactory.
We thank the different media organs, development associations and NGOs who trailed our activities sometimes crediting our efforts with very encouraging awards. To those who were critical of our efforts, we took notice and pray next time they don’t do so as a form of blackmail but as way to bring their contribution to trigger the positive energy in me to do better.
As we remember the 39 who recently perished in a ghastly accident on the Bafoussam-Yaounde highway, we pray for speedy recovery for those who suffered injuries of varying magnitude. We cease this opportunity to extend our condolence to families who've lost love ones in the course of this year sometimes under very tragic circumstances. I hereby exhort all travel agencies and road users to take all necessary precautions to preserve the lives of Cameroonians on our highways.
This new year ushers in another opportunity for us to rise to the pinnacle of sustainable endeavours. We pray for a good dose of courage needed to surmount the obstacles we might encounter on our path. As former US president Thomas Jefferson puts it: "nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude". A man's character is his fate.
Happy new year 2021 fellow compatriots.
Hon. NGALA Gerard NDOMBANG
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