Eric Money Marceau ou Chou Baby, comme l’appelaient ses intimes, repose désormais au cimetière de Deido. L’enterrement s’est déroulé samedi dernier, sous haute surveillance policière.
Une centaine de gendarmes ont été déployés dans les carrefours et au rond point de l’école publique de Deido, un des foyers des affrontements entre des «bendskineurs» et des ressortissants de ce canton, au lendemain de l’asssassinat d’Eric Money. Les militaires y ont été déployés pour renforcer l’effectif des policiers du Groupement mobile d’intervention n°2. Ces policiers, armés et équipés de gilets pare-balles, formaient une ceinture au rond point de l’école publique, où des chars anti-émeutes étaient encore garés. Quelques conducteurs de motos ont tenté de défier ce dispositif lourd, en réclamant leurs engins brûlés, et en exécutant en chœur quelques chansons. Ils ont aussitôt été dispersés.
Le cortège funèbre, lui, était constitué de dix carrés. Les natifs du canton se sont massivement mobilisés pour rendre hommage à un de leurs fils. Le cortège est bouclé par des jeunes, tous de noir vêtus, avec des bandeaux rouges noués autour du bras. A leur passage, ils scandent: «Obi ndongo! Obi ndongo!». Traduction littérale; «Connais-tu le piment?». Les choristes ouvrent le cortège. Ceux-ci sont suivis des amis du défunt, du corbillard, de la famille en pleurs et de la fanfare municipale. On peut distinguer, dans la longue file, quelques leaders politiques. A l’instar de Jean-Jacques Ekindi, Lengue Malapa, le maire de Douala 1er, Armande Din Bell, Jacques Ngollè, maire de Njombé Penja, etc. Fritz Ntoné Ntoné, du canton Deido, le préfet du Wouri, Bernard Okalia Bilaï, étaient aux obsèques.

La paix
La famille a tenu à remercier les autorités administratives, «qui ont pris des dispositions pour que les obsèques se déroulent dans la paix, et qui nous ont permis de consolider notre volonté de vivre dans la paix, de vivre ensemble». P ar ailleurs, elle a salué les jeunes de Deido pour leur conduite responsable durant les obsèques. Le chef supérieur du canton Deido, Essaka Ekwalla, met en garde «les pêcheurs en eaux troubles, qui ont profité pour mettre le feu. . . Nous continuons, M. le préfet, à vous demander la paix, à demander que le Cameroun ne soit pas un Bantoustan dans lequel certaines personnes édictent des règles qui ne concernent pas la République», plaide-t-il. Sur un ton plus conciliant, son homologue Din Dika Akwa III, président en exercice du Ngondo, a prôné la paix. «Le Ngondo interpelle toutes les composantes socio-ethniques de cette métropole afin que chacun et chacune se sente pleinement interpellé, responsable de tout ce qui peut arriver en bien et en mal», exhorte-t-il. Puis, s’adressant aux « communautés étrangères » à Douala, il affirme: «Vous avez raison de venir enrichir cette cité. Sachez que vous êtes chez vous, assurément. Chez vous car vous avez apporté à cette ville les grandes qualités qui sont les vôtres: tolérance, persévérance, ardeur au travail». Il appelle cependant ces «étrangers» à respecter les normes de cohabitation avec les riverains.

Les scènes de violence ont débuté à Deido le 31 décembre 2011, quelques heures seulement après l’assassinat de ce jeune, natif du canton du même nom. Il était âgé de 38 ans.

Théodore Tchopa | 21 Janvier 2012 | Le Jour |

Some of them have developed pains, suffered heart attacks, caught colds and infections, as there is only one pit toilet shared among the 500 women and men present.

Since September 12th , the Ex-Cameroon Tole Tea (CTE) Workers have occupied the Labour office and National Security building here. All in demand for what is rightfully theirs: severance that was supposed to be paid to them a decade ago when the tea plantation was privatized.

The ex-Tole tea workers incident demands a reflection on the state of social justice and workers’ rights in Cameroon. This is a very serious problem in the country: protecting workers rights and providing social justice.

Ten years back, in the media nationwide, the government of Cameroon announced privatizing the tea plantations, which included Tole Tea Estate situated in Tole Village in the Southwest region.

News reports first said Tole Tea had been bought by a South African-based company known as Brobon Finex, whose chairperson was Derrick Garvie. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Tole Tea was owned by a Northwest Cameroonian-based tycoon by the name of Ahaji Danpullo.

Ahaji Danpullo, highly influential in the country, owns multi-mega companies, countless herds of cattle and abundant hectares of land. He also is the proprietor of one of the leading satellite TV stations in the country.

In  October 2002, a convention was signed determining the terms of privatization of the tea sector which demanded that all workers jobs, conditions and privileges for employees would remain the same should workers agree to sign a contract to work with the new employer.

It is important to note that, in that time, employees for the tea sector were housed in camps on the plantation land. Schools were built for employees’ children, health care and other facilities were provided to the employees and their families.

In addition, the Cameroon legislation at that time stipulated that employers terminating employees’ contracts should ensure that their employees be paid all entitlements which include a so-called good separation bonus. And in this case, the government which was the CTE former employer was supposed to pay these due on or before  October 2002.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

And shortly after the new management of the Tole Tea Estate under the leadership of Ahaji Danpullo, the benefits agreed upon were gradually breached. By 2006, all these workers who were in total 736 were dismissed without compensation.  In order words, Danpullo did not honour the privatization agreement nor did the government in its own part.

The resulting effect to these led to strike demonstrations in February and July 2006. Later, some of the workers were arrested in the cause and this action by the GMI Police angered the workers more, so much so that the female workers stripped naked at the GMI Police Station where the arrested male colleagues were kept until they were realized.

This behaviour by the female tea workers, besides other mounted pressure led to former Prime Minister .H.E. Ephraim Inoni to summon an adhoc committee meeting in August 2006 on the verification of the social rights of the Tole CTE workers.

Attendance for the meeting were some six ministers; six CTE Management including Danpullo and six worker representatives of Tole and CTE Head Office, Bota.

In the meeting, nine resolutions were adopted. And these resolutions were meant to be respected and realized soonest. Over the years, seven of the resolutions have been realized except for two; articles seven and nine. Both talk about the good separation bonuses or “a golden handshake”, which is the main reason the ex-CTE Workers have been sleeping in an open air since September 12.

“No human being should be allowed to live in an open space for over four months” Pa Nicholas, former ex-CTE Worker, said when interviewed on the Tole Tea workers sit-down demonstration.

It hurts to see old mothers and fathers suffering. And it hurts most to realize that a state can leave part of its population, especially the old, exposed to health risks and other forms of human security threats.

It is true that in some situations, governments worldwide haven’t served in the interest of its people. But the case of Cameroon is most complicated to address.

On most instances, standing up against unjust practices and for fairness and equality in Cameroon, even at a minimal level, is often very challenging, painful, and exhausting. However, this shouldn’t be a reason not to keep fighting for social justice. And I believe that if the citizens embrace such commitment and devotion like those of the ex-CTE workers in condemning unjust practices, there might be a significant decrease on the level of employers’ abuse on workers’ rights.

This brings us back to the severance due. As explained by Ma Regina, an Ex-CTE Worker, “A good separation bonus simply means the old employer pays a worker a negotiable amount depending on the employee length of service and salary”.

A spokesman for the Ex-CTE Workers, Bate Atem said “It has stopped from being a Labour problem. It is now a social problem”.

And in an interview with the Regional Delegate for Youth affairs and Sport, Buea , since his office building  is the nearest official structural to the Labour Office building, he stated  “ my personal worry is the youth under their care,  the effect of these young people living  without parental control might be dangerous to our society”.

The fact that the Tole crisis has slowly expanded into a social issue is already threatening to the community and the nation at large.  For example, the Tole Estates was estimated to have a population of 5,264 in the year 2006, with the majority being women and children.   And three-quarters of these workers are the breadwinners to their families and extended relations.

With the shutdown of the Estate and the abuse of workers’ rights and agreement, the estate’s population, especially the women, are exposed to social challenges and health risks due to their vulnerability and increased level of unemployment.

For instance, it is obvious that once a person loses her / his financial grounds and social status, (s)he becomes emotional distressed and traumatized; having invested so much so that life won’t become uncomfortable.

And as a woman and a daughter, seeing another woman, a mother subjected to such harsh conditions saddens me. Worse of all as a women’s human rights defender seeing women’s human rights violated just meters away from my base is offensive.

Being a student, knowing what it means to lose an academic year makes me feel extremely sad for the Ex-CTE Workers’ children for losing this academic year.  And yet, their parents have not received any compensation from the government.

“Education is a gift and should never be denied to a child; directly or indirectly”, Ma Indingo, Ex-CTE Worker explained when interviewed on the Tole Tea workers sit-down demonstration.

This is a very sensitive issue and should be resolved with care and interest.

I strongly recommend that proper counseling and guidance be offered to these kids, during the post-demonstration moments. So as to enable the children to grow up without nursing bitter hatred and grievances against the state, especially those of the Labour office sector.

Though as of now, very little research is made available to know the total numbers of children who stayed out of school due to the Ex-CTE Camping at the Labour Office. Nonetheless, based on past experiences from different communities, there are certain consequences that are common and the CTE situation is not very dissimilar.

And I hope that, sooner would this cause come to a pleasant end and may this endeavour bring meaningful change and end abuse of workers’ rights in Cameroon.
Zo Fem | January 23, 2012 | Zo Fem

De chaque côté du portail coulissant qui ouvre sur le Complexe industriel d’Ebolowa, deux portraits de Paul Biya habillent le mur de la clôture qui le protège. Deux drapeaux aux couleurs nationales qu’éclairent de nuit deux lampadaires achèvent le décor d’accueil du plus grand complexe industriel de la région du Sud.
La décision de construire ce complexe fut prise à la hâte afin d’ajouter au Comice qui s’était tenu en janvier 2011 à Ebolowa, un élément de plus. Le village Akak-Essatola retenu pour héberger le site de l’usine est à peine 1000 mètres de Ngalan, site principal du Comice.

Akak-Essatola a tout ce qu’il y a de naturel pour plaire : végétation luxuriante et totalement verte, rafraichie par une colline à l’altitude moyenne ; un terrain plat, humide et sec par endroit, est en fin de compte, propice à toutes les formes de cultures. Ce n’est pas un hasard si c’est en ces lieux que le ministère de la Recherche scientifique et de l’innovation a choisi des passerelles pour ses expériences dans la recherche scientifique. Non loin de là, commencent les deux hectares, domaine réservé à l’usine de montage des tracteurs.
Le gardien qui nous accueille et nous renseigne n’est pas particulièrement heureux : «Nous avons 3 mois d’arriérés de salaire ; certains d’entre nous ne sont pas originaires d’ici ; comment devons-nous vivre ?» S’interroge t-il avant d’ajouter : «Nos patrons (les Indiens, Ndlr) se découragent chaque jour un peu plus ; ils ont envie de partir d’ici parce que rien ne va et rien ne pointe à l’horizon qui soit encourageant», constate ce gardien visiblement à bout de patience.

Salaires
Environ 750 tracteurs de types différents montés hâtivement pour servir, pour certains aux démonstrations pendant le Comice agropastoral d’Ebolowa, sont livrés aux intempéries dans la broussaille d’Akak-Essatolo. L’herbe envahit ces engins dont certains sont conçus pour être protégés sous des hangars.
L’image est saisissante et désolante à regarder ces engins à perte de vue sans savoir ce que le lendemain leur réserve. Ils sont parqués là depuis plus d’un an. Un habitant de la ville d’Ebolowa informe : «depuis la fin du Comice, les Indiens ont sorti les tracteurs deux fois dans la ville afin de les roder, car disaient-ils, ils risquent de prendre la rouille et ne seront plus fonctionnels… Découragés certainement par le mutisme des autorités de Yaoundé qui ne rassurent personne, ces tracteurs ne sont plus sortis de leurs herbes.» Un autre phénomène inquiète les expatriés qui veillent sur le parc à tracteurs d’Akak-Essatolo : certains ouvriers mécontents de ne plus percevoir de salaires depuis 3 mois, dépiècent les engins et écoulent leur butin vers les grands centres de Yaoundé ou Douala pour servir de pièces de rechange à d’autres tracteurs.

Serions-nous en train de revivre le spectre de la Cellucam d’Edéa ? Dans cet autre cas passé il y a une vingtaine d’années, les Indiens, dans un partenariat avec le Cameroun, avaient voulu monter aux environs de cette ville un grand complexe de pâte à papier, étape qui précède la fabrication du papier industriel. Cet ambitieux programme évalué en centaines de milliards de francs Cfa et en milliers d’emplois, mourut dans les magouilles de toute nature. De centaines de gros engins sont morts avec le projet, démontés, rouillés dans la forêt de la Sanaga Maritime. Certains Camerounais, fossoyeurs de ce projet sont là, écoulant paisiblement leurs jours dans la liberté totale, sans être inquiétés le moins du monde.
L’année agricole va bientôt commencer dans les 10 régions du pays. La mise en oeuvre organisée effective de ces engins, ils seraient en train d’être acheminés dans nos campagnes afin de faire commencer la modernisation de l’agriculture camerounaise, comme le souhaite de ses voeux le chef de l’Etat.
A défaut, ce qui se profile à, Ebolowa conduira à redouter un autre scénario après celui de la Cellucam : que ces tracteurs se retrouvent entre les mains des gros responsables du pays, qui les loueraient plus tard à ceux qui en manifesteraient le besoin.

Xavier Messè | 19 janvier 2012 | Mutations |

Plus de 250 policiers et gendarmes veillent au grain. Trois chars anti-émeutes prêts à intervenir. Des bombes lacrymogènes entassées.
Des renforts en troupes et en matériel. C’est un décor de guerre qui a accueilli les dizaines de conducteurs de mototaxis qui ont organisé une marche vers le quartier Deido hier matin vers 9 h. « Nous exigeons la réouverture immédiate des rues fermées », pouvait-on lire sur l’une des nombreuses pancartes brandies par les manifestants dont le nombre grandissait progressivement. Les forces de l’ordre et les mototaximen se font face, jusqu’à l’arrivée de renforts de la gendarmerie nationale, autour de 12 h30 minutes. « Nous allons circuler à Déido à tous les prix », persiste l’un des meneurs de la contestation.

A l’origine de ce regain de tension à Deido, théâtre d’affrontements violents entre le 31 décembre 2011 et le 2 janvier dernier, se trouve l’interpellation d’un certain Ekongolo Djom, présenté par la police comme étant l’assassin présumé d’Eric Money. L’assassinat en question avait été imputé aux conducteurs de mototaxis. Ekongolo Djom est tombé dans les filets de la police tôt samedi matin, alors qu’il se rendait à Yaoundé. Il a été placé en garde à vue, « en lieu sûr pour éviter des débordements ». Une source policière précise que « Ekongolo Djom n’est pas la seule personne gardée à vue ». Le suspect numéro 1 est un natif de Deido, a-t-on appris auprès de l’enquête. Suffisant pour provoquer la colère des moto-taximen, qui exigent des dommages pour le préjudice subi lors des récentes émeutes.

Autour de 13h30 hier, alors que les mototaximen se faisaient plus menaçants, un responsable de la police a confié au Jour que « la hiérarchie a instruit une stricte neutralité, la retenue et le dialogue avec les manifestants ». Les gendarmes ont également affirmé que « l’utilisation de la force ne peut intervenir qu’en dernier ressort ». Les autorités administratives de Douala pourraient reconsidérer leur position sur la crise en cours, à en croire un membre du cabinet du gouverneur de la région du Littoral, Faï Yengo Francis.

Denis Nkwebo | 16 Janvier 2012 | Le Jour |

V

Des échanges de coups de mains, de bâtons et incendies de maisons ont animées le quartier en lieu et place du Makossa, Bikutsi, Bendskin, et autres rythmes populaires qui egayent nos maisons et vente à emporterpendant le reveillon.

L’intervention des personalités politiques, administratives, et des forces de l’ordre  arrivées sur les lieux pour calmer les deux parties antagonistes n’a été que temporaire.
Lisez le compte-rendu des émeutes ici.

The sight of women and children trekking long distances in search of water is a familiar one across Africa. But Mama Rosalie did not imagine she and her six children would be rejoining this daily journey.

“More than five months ago, the pipes in my house ran dry. Now I have to trek five km every day to this valley to fetch water,” she tells IPS.

Basile Atangana Kouna, the minister of energy and water resources, who is also director-general of the Cameroon water utility CAMWATER, says there are several reasons why neighbourhoods like Mama Rosalie’s have lost their water supply.

“The city of Yaoundé with its over three million people requires a daily water supply of 311,000 cubic metres,” said Atangana Kouna, “but the Akomnyada treatment station which supplies the city has a daily production capacity of only 100,000 cubic metres.”

The minister told IPS that the shortfall is explained by the fact that for the past 20 years, no investments have been carried out in the water sector in Cameroon, and the existing water infrastructure has been neglected.

According to Atangana Kouna, the lack of investment in water infrastructure was caused by the World Bank and IMF-imposed structural adjustment programmes that practically put a freeze on government spending

“In addition, the flow of water in the Nyong River on which the treatment plant draws is falling, while the population of the city is steadily increasing,” says Joseph Kemogne, chief of the CAMWATER distribution division.

As urban growth places higher demands on water supply, water pressure in the system has gone down, and neighbourhoods on higher ground like Damas have been cut off.

“The current system did not take into consideration the fact that the city would be expanding so rapidly,” Kegmone says, explaining that as more people flock to the capital, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get water up to higher-lying areas like Damas, even if water initially flowed in the pipes in such quarters.

He further told IPS that the falling levels in the Nyong River are caused essentially by the diversion of the rivers’ waters for irrigation schemes in the arid northern parts of Cameroon, but also by the troubling phenomenon of climate change.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), mean annual rainfall in Cameroon has decreased by 2.9 mm per month since 1960.

The failing urban water supply has proved profitable for some. Damas residents like Pierre Kwekam now ferry truck-loads of water from a public borehole about 10 km away in Obobogo for sale in his own neighbourhood.

“Every day, I make about 10,000 CFA (approximately 20 dollars) from water sales”, he tells IPS with a smile.

“But the primary goal has not been to make a profit,” he is quick to add.

Kwekam sells 20 litres of water for 100 CFA, the equivalent of 20 cents of a dollar. His customers complain that this is too expensive, but they have little choice. “Water is life, and even if he were selling a 20-litre jug at 200 CFA (40 cents), we would still buy,” says Jessica Mdzeka, another resident of Damas.

She spends at least four dollars a day to meet the water needs of her family of seven – a significant sum given that she earns just 200 dollars a month as a primary school teacher. The water is nearly eighty times more expensive than what residents previously paid for piped water: 63 CFA (slightly over 10 cents), for 1000 litres.

The government’s emergency response Since October 2011, a mixed commission set up by President Paul Biya has been distributing water to 17 neighbourhoods in Yaoundé, including Damas, that have been badly hit by the water crisis. The commission is comprised of representatives of the fire fighters brigade, the police, the Yaoundé city council and CAMWATER.

“We have established a daily calendar for distributing water to these water-bankrupt neighbourhoods,” says fire brigade captain Herve Samnick.

“We target two or three neighbourhoods each day, supplying them with a total of 120 cubic metres of water.” He says the distribution team returns to each neighbourhood after four or five days to re-supply them.

Residents generally seem satisfied with the emergency measures. Many have purchased additional containers so they can store more water each time the commission makes deliveries.

“Each time the commission comes, I make sure I fill all the containers in my house, which hold about 170 litres,” Mdzeka says. “This is certainly not enough to meet the needs of my family for the three or four days we have to wait for the commission to return, but the situation could have been worse if no deliveries were made at all.”

Long-term solutions

The ministry of energy and water resources estimates that by 2015, Yaoundé will need a daily water supply of 400,000 cubic metres. The government plans to build the Mefou Plant with funding from the African Development Bank. But this will only provide an additional 50,000 to 60,000 cubic metres of water a day.

Repair works on the Akomnyada treatment plant will lead to an additional output of 35,000 cubic metres, but the total production will rise only to 185,000 cubic metres – which means there will still be a daily deficit of 200,000 cubic metres.

In the face of this dire situation, the government has launched an 885 million dollar mega-project to pipe water from the Sanaga River to Yaoundé. This is expected to result in daily water production of between 300,000 and 400,000 cubic metres which, added to the existing supply, will largely satisfy the needs of the country’s capital.

Government officials say about half of the financing will come from the Exim Bank of China, while the rest of the money will be raised locally through the issuance of treasury bonds.

But Cameroon’s capital city is not the only problematic spot. Official statistics indicate that only 29 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water – a situation that frequently contributes to outbreaks of water-borne diseases in the country.

In 2010, for instance, over 400 people lost their lives to cholera in the country’s North and Far North regions – a disease whose spread is usually the result of inadequate access to good drinking water and poor sanitation.

The government plans to step up national access to potable water from 29 percent to 60 percent by 2015, in efforts toward meeting the Millennium Development Goal on water, which is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.

In January, the government signed agreements with a consortium, including the French Development Agency and the European Development Bank, worth a total of 130 million dollars.

The money will be used to improve water supply to five municipal areas: Yaoundé, Douala, Bertoua, Ngaoundere and Edea. The project to pipe in water from the Sanaga River is in addition to this scheme.

But until the projects are implemented, Mama Rosalie will continue to plod down the slope to the brook in search of water – in a country that has the second largest hydroelectric potential in Africa, after the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ngala Killian Chimtom | January 2, 2012 | IPS |

The discovery of the Mobilong diamond field not far from the village located some 700 kilometres (440 miles) from the capital Yaounde, could vastly improve what is now a difficult life for residents.

Cameroon tapped South Korea’s C&K Mining for the project, issuing a 25-year exploitation permit. The company says diamond mining will begin in 2012.

And if all goes according to plan, Mparo — along with six other villages that include several pygmy settlements — will be entitled to a ten percent share of an announced eight percent tax on all proceeds from the diamond mine.

“We expect social advancement: schools, hospitals roads and power. Currently, there is nothing good,” said Francois Metoya from the village of Mboy where the Mobilong mine project is located.

“Villagers live in extreme poverty. There are no asphalt roads. Schools are opened, but there are no classrooms, no benches or coursework,” said Victor Amougou from a local aid group based in Yokadouma, the main town nearest the mine.

Here, most homes are built of straw and bricks of dried mud. They lack running water, telephones, or electricity. As in most villages, lighting comes only from oil lamps.

“As traditional activity, there is agriculture, hunting, fishing, gathering of forest materials. These are subsistence activities,” Amougou said.

In the village of Mang, hopes are high that diamonds will bring classes back to a technical college “that couldn’t open last year”, said Father Marcellin Ikouawe who, lacking enough instructors, teaches five subjects at the school when it is running.

Metoya, the villager, said there had been an electrification project.

“An entrepreneur came to begin work, but since then nothing has happened. We think the money’s been stolen,” he said.

Jean-Jacques Kenmogne, from Mparo, has hopes for alternative energy.

“We learned that Koreans are very good with solar energy. If they partnered with our village electrification project … that would benefit the lives of our villagers hugely,” Kenmogne said.

In South Korea meanwhile, authorities have opened a probe into alleged corruption involving senior Korean officials and C&K Mining.

The investigation is thought to hinge on the actual size of diamond deposits at the Mobilong field.

Early estimates by C&K Mining put that total at a whopping 420 million carats, 2.5 times the total world output of diamonds in 2007. Activists say the real potential of the field is lower.

Two Cameroonian aid groups have demanded the suspension of C&K Mining activities in the country and that parliament investigate the issuing of the mining permit.

But a company source, requesting anonymity, maintained that the original deposit estimates were true.

According to this source, C&K Mining has already invested more than $10 million on the project since beginning exploratory work in 2006.

But far away from these controversies, local residents hope that the benefits from diamond mining get spread around, unlike an earlier experience in their region with foresting revenue.

Between 2000 and 2009, the Yokadouma district received 8.5 billion CFA francs (13 million euros) in foresting licensing fees.

Charles Gall, a local official, acknowledged the foresting income had little impact on development in the surrounding villages. – ANP/AFP

RNW | 1er Janvier 2012 |

«Ce chiffre de la population ne correspond pas à celui qu’on nous a remis au début de notre mandat. La population de notre commune était estimée à 700.000 habitants», argue Robert Wafo, membre de la commission Finances.

«C’est une situation que l’ensemble des conseillers municipaux a relevé», indique Denise Fampou, maire de Douala IIe. L’exécutif communal dénonce ce chiffre qui aura un impact négatif sur le budget 2012.

Il s’agit notamment de la baisse du Centime additionnel communal octroyé à cette commune d’arrondissement. «Sur la base des chiffres de cette population de 2010, nous bénéficions de 250 millions de francs Cfa par an», déplore Robert Wafo, conseiller du Social Democratic Front (Sdf). Par ailleurs, ce chiffre va porter un coup sur certaines réalisations pendant l’année budgétaire.

«Nous demandons que les communes qui ont le même nombre de conseillers que nous, puissent avoir les mêmes taux de Centimes additionnels communaux.

Sur le plan législatif, nous avons les communes qui ont moins d’habitants que nous, mais qui ont plus de conseillers et parfois même, plus de députés à l’assemblée nationale.

Nous estimons que dans ce sens, nous sommes lésés», déplore Denise Fampou. Les conseillers municipaux comptent aller plus loin dans leur démarche. «Les conseillers ont demandé de faire une note à l’attention des autorités administratives et des pouvoirs publics pour remédier à cette situation», informe le maire.

Le budget de l’exercice 2012 de la mairie de Douala IIe est équilibré en recettes et en dépenses à la somme de 1 598 753 457 Fcfa. Il connaît une progression de 80 653 457 Fcfa en valeur réelle et de 05,32% en valeur relative par rapport au budget 2011.

Sandrine Tonlio Tiako| 25 Novembre 2011 | Mutations |