MEMORANDUM OF CONCERNS PRESENTED BY THE CAMEROON DIASPORA
BLACK FRIDAY MOVEMENT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON, H.E PAUL
BIYA ON THE 22/04/2016
His Excellently,
Mindful of the constitution of the Republic of Cameroon
Mindful of the constitution of the SDF, CPP & MRC
Mindful of efforts played by our principals: SDF, CPP, MRC
and all other parties to democratically win elections democratically in
Cameroon
Mindful of the mass suffering of the Cameroon people due
mainly to bad governance
Mindful of the urgency of the now to restore dignity and
hope again in our country
Mindful of the deplorable state of our public sector
institutions
Mindful of the sad state of our public infrastructure
Mindful of the unacceptably high levels of unemployment in
the country
Mindful of the crisis level and extremely high youth
unemployment levels
The Cameroon people in the diaspora, patriotic and peace
loving declare this day that over the last 34 years of your reign, Cameroonians
in and out of Cameroon have been confronted with what a large majority of our
people now call failed leadership on a number of issues affecting our national
life. Mindful of the important role of an active civil society in the
construction or reconstruction of the state, mindful of an inherent right to
speak out to defend democratic values, the South African structures of the
Social Democratic Front (SDF), the Cameroon People’s Party (CPP) and the
Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC) supported by other Cameroon
Diaspora anti-government movements around the globe this day in Pretoria South
Africa jointly affirm the creation of the Cameroon Diaspora Black Friday
Movement whose main mandate is to ensure it uses all democratic means possible
to ensure that Cameroon finally becomes a democratic beacon of hope as
expressed by the collective aspiration of the Cameroon people from North to
South, West to East when the SDF was launched in 1990 and the wind of change
opened a new page in our national life.
Mr President, you stand accused of having systematically
done everything in your powers to move Cameroon far from a truly democratic
state where active citizen involvement in national life leads to citizen power
where in exercising such, state officials are held accountable as they
discharge their responsibilities in national life beginning with the head of
state . This has led to the collapse of our major institutions thus hampering the
spirit of the Cameroon democratic revolution leading to a near collapse of the
state.
We collectively call on you to take actions that will again
begin to give Cameroonians hope that the future is infinite with possibilities
or reassess your ability to deliver on the national mandate and step down if
you can deliver us into our achievable promise land. We demand the following:
1. Fix our medical health systems. The death of 31 year old
Koumate Monique and the twins is just a tip of the iceberg with regards to the
mounting challenges inherent in our health system. The United Opposition Voices
in the Diaspora demand justice for Monique but also call for a thorough review
of our health laws and policies to ensure that our public health facilities at
minimal cost can provide proper medical care and on time to the poorest of the
poor of our citizens. With lack of current data in most aspects of our national
life, it is estimated that more than 48% of our citizens now live below the
poverty line. These are exposed to a reoccurrence if the right root causes to this
unfortunate loss of lives and the many others unreported or broadcasted are not
identified and addressed properly. We demand a complete overhaul of our medical
health system so we get one that adequately talks to the needs of our people.
2. Stop taking the Cameroon people for granted by changing
the constitution of our country when you want, when it serves your individual
interest, that of a clique and not necessarily as a result of a natural
adaption to positions that will promote and increase the fortunes of our nation
Cameroon. When you allegedly ordered your CPDM members of parliament to use
their majority that came from highly fraudulent and badly organised elections
to move the Presidential term limit from 5 to 7 years and then removed term
limits for the office of the President in the subsequent constitutional change
again, that amounted to a blatant rape of the Cameroon constitution and all its
institutions. Mr President, we call on you to reverse this process, by using
your unpatriotic CPDM members of parliament who voted for this bill so as to
serve you to do the right thing for our beautiful nation Cameroon. All Cameroon
Presidents must serve a maximum of two (2) terms of office, no more, with a
term not exceeding 5 years looking at global best standards.
3. Put in place credible anti-corruption mechanisms with a
true intent of putting a nail on the coffin of this cancer in our society.
Corruption in our country is normal practice and almost a culture these days.
Where there is corruption, democratic gains fizzle out in the illicit trade of
buying voices that build democratic institutions. In 1998, Transparency
International classified Cameroon as the most corrupt nation in the world. This
did us a lot of damage in image and investment inflows. We must win the war on
this.
4. We decry the state of our infrastructure. Our roads are
death traps. Our schools, medical facilities, water, electricity capabilities
and more have not only failed to meet up with the need of the day but will not
be able to serve Cameroonians in future.
5. On terrorism, we applaud the government for efforts in
containing Boko Haram. We however call on the Head of State and parliament to
visit the terrorism law that tramples on the constitutional right of freedom of
speech and expression of our people. People cannot be protesting for legitimate reasons that will build
the nation and are branded terrorist or quasi terrorist. We must not turn
Cameroon into a police state under the pretext that we are fighting terrorism.
Civilized society uses acceptable democratic practices to fight terrorism
without trampling on citizen rights.
6. Put an end to the attack on the press. The press is a
very important instrument of nation building. Media houses and journalists can
no longer be suppressed for carrying out a constitutional mandate that is noble
and legal. We have courts that can address issues of irresponsible journalism.
7. Stop the illegal arrest of politicians as they rally our
people to raise their voice on issues that are pertinent to them. State
perpetration of these is tantamount to state terrorism.
8. Mr President, you have now ruled Cameroon for 34 years
and are well into your retirement age. Reject the calls by the very unpatriotic
CPDM members calling upon you to stand for elections again as President during
the planned 2018 Presidential elections. You have changed our constitution
twice to accommodate your quest to lead our country. At this moment, Cameroon
needs a much younger President who can connect with the popular will of our
people. Cameroonians need peace.
Cameroonians are calling on you to distance
yourself and reprimand these corrupt minded CPDM members of your party and
bootlicking government officials. We call on you to make a public declaration
you will not be running for Head of state again.
9. Mr President, news of an early 2016 Presidential election
is rejected vigorously by the people of Cameroon. Let’s respect the
constitution of our country. There is no major crisis in our country that will
require such unwarranted distractions on our national plan. As the collective
of the opposition, we must quickly state here that we are not scared of
elections. We will beat the CPDM any day any time free, fair and credible
elections are conducted in our country. But, let’s follow civilized tradition,
respect the people of Cameroon and respect our constitution.
10. The unemployment situation of our country is alarming.
Joblessness is made so many Cameroonians hopeless and forced many to go into
foreign lands where they still have no future because of the harsh reality of
surviving in a foreign land as foreigners. Home is home. It is our
responsibility as leadership to create a thriving economy capable of creating
jobs for our people in the different sectors of our economy. This will be a
trigger for worst things to come if your government does not address this
unemployment challenge in our country.
11. Cameroonians today, 26 years afterwards are still
calling for a Sovereign National Conference where we will conduct a national
audit of our national life and like one man chat a path forward for a peaceful,
prosperous and peaceful Cameroon.
12. Rural development, food security and land reform are
issues that must be given serious attention.
13. It is the right of the people to choose who they want
whenever there is an election in the country. Our electoral processes are still
far from what we will call minimum acceptable standard for fair elections. We
call for a replacement of ELECAM with a truly Independent Electoral Commission
with full autonomy and independence from the start of the electoral process
right through to results declaration. For all ELECAM focal points in the
diaspora, it is practically impossible for Cameroonians very far away from
towns where Embassies are situated to get registered. We call on
you to get the necessary institutions to make funds available for ELECAM to go
to the people and get them to register to vote otherwise we will perceive this
as systematic exclusion which we will always stand against.
14. Lastly, Mr. President sign the Dual Nationality Bill.
You promised Cameroonains you will do that while you were in France. It is good
for Cameroon, it will allow us to be more economically active in countries in
which we find ourselves to survive economically and thus support our families
and country. There is an overwhelming diaspora call on this bill to be signed.
Mr President sign the diaspora bill.
We trust the urgency of the now will inform your judgment to
take the deep concerns of the Cameroon people seriously.
Done this Day,
22 April 2016, Pretoria South Africa
Signed:
Comrade Milton Taka, Global Coordinator - THE CAMEROON
DIASPORA BLACK FRIDAY MOVEMENT & SDF SA Chairman
Com Nestor Djomatchui, MRC SA
Comrade Sofa Augustine, CPP SA
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