Election ethics watch

Now that we know the date and time, the next big question is “Will this date and time mark the beginning or an end?”  Everyone that you talk to about the elections wish for a free, fair, transparent and peaceful election.  But wishes will never relieve an oppressed people of their pains and agony, only action would do so. At this point in the life of our nation, we actually need  concerted and coordinated efforts towards national redefinition and nation building. We must move beyond talking to actions. We must denounce our national ills and other visible actions around this election deemed to be counter productive to our national peace and stability from whomever and from whichever direction.  Isn’t it more dignifying to stand and die for what is right than live for what is bad and evil? There are thousands in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Yemen, in Syria, in Bahrain and in Libya now in their graves with absolutely no blood in their hands.  Thousands of others are moving the streets freely with human blood dripping from their hands.  This is the paradox of the evil nature of the human mind. Remember these words as they were echoed by Dr. King Jr. “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that”.

In a nation like ours where State institutions are overrun by selfish and individual interest, where our past hunts us and blind our eyes from seeing and understanding the truth, where self pride and respect means nothing as compared to our evil voracious thirst for money and power, we can expect nothing but shameful manipulation of people and the law at this time.

I know how valuable a cup of rice is to a mother whose children cry daily for food, I know how valuable a thousand Francs is to a woman who is unable to pay school fees or hospital bills for her children.  So I fully understand that the weak human spirit will always push such persons to see more value in what they get in times like this than the evil that has pushed them to become scavengers in their own country, a land flowing with milk and honey.

For the past seven years since the last presidential election, the poor people of Cameroon have not received little or nothing in line with the many presidential campaign promises from both the party in power and the opposition. It is therefore evident that there is a trick in this whole game.

The trick seem to be “keep them hungry and poor enough over the years so they will hang onto anything during elections”

The time has therefore come for another round of lies-telling, empty promises and shameful donations.  Some say it is the ruling party, while others say it is the opposition. The truth is, it is both of them,  we Cameroonians are part of the problem.

As we drive this campaign,  we do not care who is who, we just need the truth and nothing but the truth. We want to know and publish the true story and the story behind the story. We want to follow them during this election.

Please join the Name and Shame campaign by following all the candidates and their campaigns by documenting all financial and material donations as well as promises. Please keep an eye on the use of state property like cars etc during this election. Make reference to the following obligation of the civil servants in Cameroon …”Civil servants are bound by the obligation of reserve in the discharge of their duties. For a civil servant, this obligation consists in abstaining from publicly proclaiming his/her political, philosophical, religious, or trade union opinions and in not performing services on the basis of the said opinions”.

Soon government offices will soon run dry as civil servants will spend time campaigning for whoever – God knows. Oppositions will be hard at work negotiating for a share and ministerial positions instead of educating the people on their rights to be part of the process. It’s shameful.

Send pictures and the stories to shame@mycameroon.org and read your story online at www.mycameroon.org

52 candidates in for Cameroon presidential elections

The election was announced and 51 candidates filed in their candidatures. Anybody with a sound mind would have not gone to sleep on Monday the 5^th without realising that something is seriously wrong with our Cameroon politics. In a country of less than 20 million persons with more than 50% aged 0-20, how realistic can it be that 51 persons want to be president. It may be important to note that political parties do not pay taxes and so the cost of maintaining a party is nothing more than few hours of thinking about when elections will be organised. Elections in the context of Cameroon are a good way to make money.  For presidential elections, paying 5 million is what anyone can do knowing that he/she will get far more than this from the state for campaigns.  Another source and sweetest of all is when you are ready to wed with any party that has the highest amount to spend for the wedding and that will accept to go along even for a few years.  During these few years, the bride can siphon as much from the family income knowing that it was a conditional love. No doubt some of the candidates know first hand that they just want to make a name as “former presidential candidate”. Others want to be called the runner up. Some are simply put in place for a purpose.

If all 51 candidates have the nation’s interest at heart, why is it that they are so blind to see where their ideas croses and so join forces to build the nation. When I took time to go through the list, it down on me that some of the candidates may be known beyond their villages or even family cycles. I combed my city and region to see if I could find regional representation of these parties, sub divisional and divisional bureaus and could not find them.  Whom are these  If I had the money and the power, the best thing to do would have been exactly what has hapended.

Double registrations on the electoral list

As the days unfold, I feel so disappointed that ELECAM missed an important opportunity like our project to make good the mess they have made this far. Distribution of vote cards is so disorganised and many seem to show no interest in going for the cards.  Some who ever develop the courage to go receive vote cards with the wrong polling stations etc.

If ELECAM ever allowed reason to play, Cameroonians would have known via sms which polling stations they are going to vote in and may even chose to go to those polling stations on the day of the election and then pick-up their cards and vote.
With less than 10 days to go, less than 5% of Cameroonians who registered have vote cards. Instead of sending vote cards to the various polling stations with a permanent team to work in the polling stations during this distribution, people are called to specific locations to collect vote cards. How many Cameroonians are willing and have the money to pay a taxi just to go and collect a vote card?

Looks like the game is over!

Mrs Paulin Biyond even concluded the whole game by confirming the popular outcry that ELECAM is a branch of the CPDM central committee by actively campaigning for the CPDM.

The opposition on the other hand is so weak and senseless to continue wasting their time instead of putting pressure for the resignation of this ELECAM member.  I was at the regional delegation of the ELECAM office to put my pick-up truck at their disposal for use in the distribution of voters cards after I some of them complained about lack of means of transportation. To me, Cameroonians should do everything to stop ELECAM from finding any excuse for not doing their work. This offer is still in good faith like we wanted to do with the sms system.

During my meeting with the Delegate of ELECAM, I was surprised that he was as bitter when I brought to his attention the fact that members of elecam are campaigning for a political party.  He even showed me photocopies of the newspaper article while lamenting that her action has completely made them at ELECAM look stupid and speechless ( see copy of our offer letter attached)

Many of the political party leaders never showed up for the meeting on Tuesday. Only Paul Aya and the representative of Admaou Ndam Njoya showed up but the exchange with them was excellent

126 SCNC arrested in Buea

I went to Buea yesterday Sunday to witness it first hand and actually talked with some senior police officials. Those arrested are actually not in the cells but are kept within the confines of the police premises. 126 is the number at the Mobile police unit alone.  Many more are at the central police office and then some at the Nigeria consular. As of this morning, all of them are still within the police compounds. No food has been served to them by the state. Relatives are however allowed to bring food to those arrested.  This morning, they were requested to enter the police truck for transportation to a new centre but they all refused instead opting to walk to wherever they wanted to take them to.  I tried to find out where they were being taken to but no police official will comment.  But by the time I was leaving the station this morning, all of them where still at the different police stations.

Just next to the same police station is a group of old men and women who are former workers of the Cameroon tea estate bought over by Ndamolo some years back. These estranged workers are demanding payment of their dues which the government and the buyer of the estates promised to pay years ago.  It is sad to know that while these poor men and women have been sleeping in the open for weeks under the biting cool of Buea, the same guy who owes them donated over 100 millions to Biya’s campaign.  The same Biya’s campaign took place few meters from where these helpless Cameroonians where and no one paid any attention to their problem.  When I extended a hand of sympathy this morning by offering 50,000F CFA to help them buy some food, they greeted this with tears of joy and I felt so bad to see this in a nation flowing with milk and honey.

I think this nation need a fearless and sustained governance program outside the window dressing programs of the state to start exposing and addressing some of these ills.  I will never run away, I will be here until the sun shines for all to see and celebrate true freedom and sense of national belonging. Mindful of the short life we all have to live, I pray God should allow me to be born again in Cameroon if I ever had the chance to be born again. It is more fulfilling to be where there are problems to solve than wasting in affluence knowing that there are unsolved problems in the world.

checking executive powers

By now I know exactly in which direction the polls will go and so it’s about time we start thinking of how to restructure the national assembly to check the powers of the executive.  A look at the Cameroon national assembly for the past many years will remind us that it has been nothing more than a collection of signature holders ready to sign laws whose content they basically have no idea about let alone understanding the impact of such laws on the people of Cameroon. I think it’s about time we flush the national assembly and begin to build a truly nationalists assembly that will lead this nation out of its current social, cultural, political and spiritual casualty. With over 200 hungry, focus blind political parties, I think the civil society in Cameroon must stand up to help direct the nation to a safe return to social justice, peace, the rule of law and development.

Looking at the work of the civil society this far, I must say that though weak and heavily infiltrated by destabilising forces, the number of meetings and declarations, warnings and predictions around the current presidential elections are evident that the Cameroon civil society is growing. I personally think that for the first time, the civil society has demonstrated a sense of unity and direction.  

The major work in the months ahead will be to help put in place a national assembly made up of men and women who will for once think beyond their narrow selfish and party interest.

Any “victory” tomorrow that will not be check by a carefully calculated and constituted national assembly in the months ahead will always be remembered as the day Cameroon sank in her own tears.  

I read from some web pages that Mrs. Paulin Biyond was appointed as the representative of the civil society.  Let me clarify here that she was NEVER appointed as a representative of the civil society. She was appointed as a Cameroonian on the basis of her misguided trust by the head of state and so in no way can be quoted as representing the civil society.  After this trust was abused, the same head of state removed her which is but normal. The civil society to the best of my knowledge was never consulted before appointing the two members. Her dismissal from ELECAM should as a matter of fact open serious investigation to the level of impartiality of all the members.  The known trips abroad by some members should be investigated as well.