PM envoy to delegates at SW Peace & Dev’t Forum “Your destiny is in your hands”.

Ebune, who is Director of Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office, made the call in Buea Friday May 12. The call, on behalf of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, formed the highpoint of the peace and development confab that ended Saturday May 13.

The PM’s envoy was categorical that now is the time for the people of the South West Region to rise to the occasion and shape the course of peace and development of their ancestral land instead of waiting for others.

Beyond the call, Ebune left the Region elated that the people have “demonstrated that their destiny is in their hands and do not depend on onlookers faraway who want to dictate issues in the Region”.

Ebune promised to update the Prime Minister, Head of Government, on the new momentum among South Westerners to work for the peace and development of their communities.

The PM’s messenger was categorical that the people must sustain their declared commitment to “work with all the living forces of our Region for our collective development, because development has no colour, no political party, no tribe, and no religion. Where a road passes, it serves everyone. The world is becoming a very small village where sectionalism is eroded by competition and excellence”.

‘Align with Biya’s peace, dev’t drive’

He also encouraged the population to align themselves to the peace and the development initiatives of the Head of State, President Paul Biya. 

In this light, he underscored that the virtues of peace, unity, living together and a one and indivisible Cameroon so dear to the Head of State, must be preserved.

‘There can be no dev’t without peace’                

As discussions came to a close Saturday, the PM’s messenger said the time to act is now. Initiatives, he noted, must be taken in line with the knowledge shared and resolutions arrived at to make the South West Region an administrative unit of reference.

“We have listened to experts, asked questions, and traded opinions. Now it is time to put all what we have acquired into practice,” he stated, before saying “it is only through peace that we can have meaningful development and make our Region a reference”.

In this light, Ebune urged the President of the South West Regional Assembly, Zacheus Bakoma Elngo, to continue rallying the people of the Region to promote development.  

“The South West Regional Assembly should prepare the living forces of this Region for this difficult task,” he quipped. 

Envoy, committees discuss details to revive Region

On the second day of the forum, the 600 delegates, comprising 100 each from the six Divisions of the South West Region, were split into committees.

They spent time outlining key areas where new focus must be applied to make the South West Region a better place. 

The delegates were drawn from all sectors of the communities to give every group a place in the development agenda of the administrative unit. 

The Prime Minister’s representative took turns to visit all the committees to get a grasp of what was being discussed.

Participants included politicians, scholars, traditional rulers, civil and political leaders, religious leaders, youth and women leaders as well as members of the civil society.

Many underscored that the forum was a follow-up of the Major National Dialogue, MND, that took place Yaounde in 2019. 

The gathering was the brainchild of the President of the South West Regional Assembly, Zacheus Elango Bakoma.

“People from other areas taking over Region”

Another heated observation made by some elite at the forum was that people from other parts of Cameroon are “taking over” the South West Region.

One of them, Prof Enow Orock George, who is a former scribe of the South West Elite Association, SWELA, lamented that “South Westerners are becoming an endangered species in their Region”.

He said: “People we do not like” are taking over land and the daily management of towns and villages in the South West Region.

The retired medic also decried what he said is the little attention given to South West Region indigenes in terms of admission into the Faculty of Health and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Buea. He also appealed for the revival of SWELA.

‘Deliver more children’

For Senator Mbella Moki Charles, women of South West origin should give birth to more children to address what he considers as demographic imbalance.

“…there is no one home without the people we do not like. The demographic imbalance in the South West Region is taking us to nowhere. My sisters, let’s deliver,” the Senator stated.

Mbella Moki also urged elite ranking as members of parliament, and ministers not to forget the base and stay only in Yaounde.

Women rights activist, Sarah Derval, deplored the fact that South West Region indigenes are not given key positions in the National Oil Refining Company, SONARA. Recruitments at SOANRA, she asserted, favours mostly Francophones.

Forum first step in long journey

Most of the participants were visibly satisfied, stating that the peace and development forum was the first step in a long journey.

Some expressed the desire to see the gatherings extended to Divisions, Subdivisions and villages to give the grassroots population a voice.

On her part, Professor Fonge Beatrice, appealed to Yaounde to devise other means of bringing armed youngsters out of the bushes.

Prof Fonge said violence will not solve the problem. In the quest for peace, government, she said, must also accept errors made in addressing grievances.