The 7:30pm TV News of May 23, 2023 on CRTV
Transcript
00:00 [Music]
00:03 Time of reckoning for thousands of students in the francophone subsystem of education in Cameroon
00:14 as they step into the official examination season with practicals.
00:19 [Music]
00:23 Ant Lompanga illuminates homes in the east region of Cameroon as the director general of EDSA
00:31 switches on the first of four turbines of the 32 megawatt power plant.
00:37 Music makers in Cameroon are at odds in making ends meet as the ICTs impose a shift in consumer
00:47 patterns. Cassettes and CDs having been dumped to the antiquities. These and more right here
00:55 on the 730 news. Around the world and across Cameroon this is the 730 news with me Ben Menopufo.
01:06 Thanks for joining us.
01:09 It is the start of the official examination season in Cameroon in all the two subsystems of education
01:19 in the country and in the francophone subsystem now is the time for practicals. The theoretical
01:27 phase expected to follow in the days ahead as we open our dossier on the examination season
01:34 in Cameroon. Beatrice Ngum walks us through the organizational as well as the logical logistical
01:44 phase of the exams with focus on who does what. These are candidates in an official examination.
01:55 They have questions conceived by a team whose know-how was tested during the organizational
02:02 phase. Those who master the programs conceive the test the topics which they send to the ministry
02:11 after that the regional inspectors they try to see if those topics are well conceived. The printing
02:20 service can do its job from that regional delegates call divisional delegates to come
02:29 and take the subjects to the centers. The chief of the center is responsible of the security of
02:37 this the topics. During official exams the credibility of the Cameroonian education system
02:43 is at stake so government must have a say. All these activities are done in all confidentiality
02:52 and security. In my time we used to use military aircraft to transport the question papers.
03:00 From script conception to dispatching to the different examination centers
03:07 the process is cumbersome yet well defined. What topic is going to be proposed to the candidate
03:16 even the ministry doesn't know. And with this tight security belt around the organization of exams
03:22 leaks are almost impossible. If there is leakage the ministry is able or the authorities the
03:31 responsibles are able to know who has done what, where, at which moment. The roles are shared
03:42 the concerned have a common goal to see the exams unfold and end hitch free.
03:50 And the objective is to succeed and succeeding in examination is not all about reading. Personal
03:57 organization, time management and symbiosis between the student, the parent and the teachers
04:04 are equally primordial for results to follow. As the official examination season opens in the
04:11 country our reporter Iwane Epale accosted some educationists on practical tips on how to approach
04:20 an exam and came back with the following story. Exams are always an important part of life and
04:29 especially end of school year official examinations that open up a world of opportunities for students
04:36 being aware of these many of them are busy preparing. Just revising all work that we have
04:42 done. We just answer past questions and we work on them because there are things that repeatedly come.
04:49 Besides students and their tasks education officials advise that parents need to play
04:55 an essential role. Education is partnership a child cannot succeed without the help of the parents.
05:02 Provide transport fare for your child to come to school. Advise the child to sleep early enough so
05:09 that the child will get to begin earlier to pick up a taxi to come to school. To complement this
05:16 students are expected to focus on their studies. The students should be aware that what they have
05:22 been learning is exactly what I'm going to teach in the exams. They should be confident of themselves
05:26 because the first problem they face is fear. It's very possible to read the first three questions
05:31 and you don't know anything about it but you should read the question time and again before
05:36 selecting. With this education officials say the student's success is guaranteed.
05:44 And as the kickoff date inches in for some of the candidates to most of them now is the time for
05:52 them to burn the midnight candle on revision sessions to avoid any last minute embarrassment
05:58 particularly on D-Day. Angel Faith Ilunga is a form five student looking up to the GCE ordinary
06:06 level in the days ahead. She's been telling our reporter Faith Ngwang in the following report
06:13 that this last lap is exclusively reserved for studies and concentration.
06:21 To live up to expectation one has got to have a B in the abonnet and Angel Faith here plowing the
06:36 field of economics with her classmates after regular school hours is putting her eggs in one
06:42 basket studies. I was like trying to calculate price elasticity of supply before my friend came
06:50 to help me because I made a mistake I didn't put some of the steps normally we close at 3 40. At
06:57 times we study economics at times history at times literature like yesterday we went back to the
07:03 house at six because we're studying. Time waits for no one she's on it full scale barely a moment
07:10 to have a bite after school and Angel Faith is back to books. I get up like at 2 30 or 3 o'clock
07:19 I read after reading we usually start for our morning prayers I do my morning chores and I go
07:25 to school and I read in school and later on I come back to the house so it repeats itself.
07:30 With the GCE drawing nearer even example phobia can stand Angel's self-confidence. I feel courageous
07:39 because I've been studying since September so I feel that I'm going to make it with God's grace
07:45 and I know that with God all things are possible. Like Angel Faith and her classmates many other
07:52 students preparing for official examinations are now in the heat of studies concentration
07:59 is at its maximum.
08:03 Over 2 000 candidates of the secondary general education uh subsystem of the French uh subsystem
08:12 of education began sitting the practical phase of the national official examinations for the 2022
08:22 2023 academic year. About 178 candidates taking the ICT and applied mathematics series turned
08:32 out for the exercise that kicked off at the GBHSSS center here in Yaounde and so far there
08:41 have been reports are talking of examinations that went off H3 and we'll be giving you details
08:49 in our subsequent editions.
08:50 On to other developments in the news now the first of four turbines of the 32 megawatt capacity
09:01 Lumpenga hydroelectricity power plant has been turned on to provide electricity to some localities
09:09 in the east region. The general manager of the electricity development corporation
09:15 edise Theodore Sangu symbolically switched on the turbine during an inspection visit to the
09:23 power plant. Valentine Gwamesia reports that some inhabitants of the east region are already
09:31 expecting their localities to see electricity for the very first time ever. The symbolic action by
09:40 EDC general manager Dr Theodore Nsangu at the command desk of the Lumpenga hydroelectric power
09:45 plant using a computer mouse to click on electricity into the 105 kilometers of transmission lines
09:53 definitely terminates the usage of the Betwa thermal power station. After commissioning the
09:58 first unit of power plant of Lumpenga we are on the way to commission the low voltage to electrify
10:06 150 villages in the east region. I think that before end of December a lot of villagers from
10:14 this region will be connected to the hydroelectric plant of Lumpenga. This first surge of electrical
10:21 power fluctuating between 7.5 and 8 megawatts though sufficient to satisfy the east region's
10:28 entire energy needs will be augmented when a second turbine goes operational in June.
10:34 I confirm shortly before end of June the second turbine will be commissioned. With enough
10:40 electricity available for the entire region the east electricity potential is already attracting
10:46 investments from industries engaged in activities such as the fabrication of roofing materials
10:52 and wood transformation. Cameroon's minister of public works has issued a verbal warning
11:00 to the company constructing the Dwala Bonepupa road in the littoral region for the rather slow
11:06 pace of work and the poor organization of the company's manpower executing the works. Minister
11:13 Emmanuel Nganu Jumeisi who is on an inspection tour of road projects in the littoral region
11:19 also visited works on phase two of the project to renovate the east entrance to Dwala.
11:26 Joyce Kimbe Forwaju reports on the progress of work in all the areas that the minister visited.
11:36 Second phase of the east entrance into Dwala construction progress is estimated at 13.7%.
11:42 The project director Federick Jean-Philippe Zermak says this corresponds to the development
11:49 of identified alternative roads, the construction of nine bulks culvert completed and ongoing
11:56 progress of earthworks on two lanes of the both sides of the road construction. But specifically
12:03 the progress rate of the works concerning earthworks, pavement and sanitation lot carried
12:10 out by the subcontractor Mark Sahl is at seven percent down. The visiting state engineer instructs
12:17 that compression of deadline is expected.
12:20 The east entrance I'm satisfied with what is going on there. I'm satisfied the company Mark has mobilized himself properly.
12:29 Magile is doing his best. They are working very hard Mark, Agis, Magile. They are forming a very very very good team.
12:40 Meantime on the Dwala-Bonepupa road construction project the minister of public works expresses
12:46 dissatisfaction with the progress of work and the organization of the company.
12:51 It's very very unfortunate that we are facing a situation in which you have a company
12:57 mobilized in a section of the road, this section of the road, Dwala-Bonepupa, who has
13:04 equipment but no human resources. I have decided to, you know, to withdraw the contract so that
13:13 another company be installed here for the road to be constructed.
13:16 The development of these two roads aims at facilitating access into the city of Dwala.
13:25 And that's how the problem of road infrastructure in Africa is at the center of the executive
13:32 committee meeting of the African Road Maintenance Fund Association holding in Sokoment in the
13:40 Republic of Namibia. Deliberations opened with the swearing-in of Cameroonian-born
13:47 Efe Fumusa as the president of the 36-member country association for a mandate of two years.
13:55 He takes over from Namibia's Ali Ipanga, CRTV's special envoy.
14:01 Efe Fumusa reports from Sokoment.
14:04 A new journey, a new path to a brighter future. Delegates of the 36-member state
14:13 African Road Maintenance Fund Association are part of the new route to an efficient and cost
14:19 effective transport infrastructure. A Cameroonian, Efe Fumusa now heads the association with hopes of
14:27 reasonably solving inefficiencies, cut-throat and artificial tariffs that impede economic development.
14:38 We will continue with the projects established by my predecessor, lobby for the African Union to be
14:44 a consultative body, generate income and fight for the association to gain its pride of place.
14:51 Efe Fumusa officially took the baton of command, clad in the sash of authority. He signed and
14:58 received legal documents from the outgoing president, Ali Ipanga of Namibian descent,
15:04 who believes the new president fits into the role. We could make sure that our association remain
15:11 focused on delivering on its mandate, which is really to make sure that the African road user
15:18 enjoy driving on good roads for furthering of the social development and economic development.
15:25 And that's why we believe that our new president from Cameroon, he has got a big role to play to
15:31 make sure that we carry on this mandate. As the continent's population and cities continue to grow,
15:38 so too does the number of vehicles on the roads. Delegates say road infrastructure has to keep
15:45 pace with this growth. The new resident representative of the United Nations
15:53 Development Program in Cameroon, Aliou Mamadou Dia, says he will work in perfect collaboration
16:02 with the government of Cameroon to attain sustainable development goals and to restore
16:08 peace in the rest of the Northwest and Southwest regions of the country. He made the statements
16:14 in Nyaonde today after his first meeting with the prime minister, head of government Joseph
16:20 Django. Aliou Mamadou Dia now talks to our reporter Christian Cheatum about the UNGP's
16:28 plan of action in Cameroon. Take a listen. My program of action is to support the government
16:34 to deliver by 2030 the SDGs. Cameroon has made significant progress and what we will do is to
16:42 sustain that, to support them to move forward. One of the programs that we are currently
16:46 implementing is called the Recovery Program, the PPRD, in the Northwest-Southwest region.
16:52 And that program is absolutely important to bring back development in that part of the country. So
17:00 UNDP is fully engaged with the government for the implementation of that program. We have also
17:06 talked about the far north region, the stabilization program that UNDP is currently implementing. We
17:13 have talked about many other initiatives that we are currently working on, youth employment, gender
17:19 equality, decentralization, which is absolutely important.
17:25 More than 8,000 liters of palm oil can now be produced daily in Boka, a locality near Nkuti,
17:36 in the Kupema Nyinguba division of the Southwest region. The agro-industrial breakthrough follows
17:42 the inauguration of a palm oil mill in the subdivision recently. Larry Efande reports
17:48 that the initiative of Mr. O.K. Johnson, an indigent and elite of the area,
17:54 makes Mboka village an emerging business hub in the division.
17:58 The women of Mboka, Nkuti subdivision, couldn't bridle their tongue as much excitement is expressed
18:07 at the sight of the palm oil mill. The monthly production quantity now becomes a daily revival
18:14 local economy, with several of the youth here getting to work in the 135 hectares palm plantations
18:21 that produces nuts for the plant. It was a very tedious exercise because when we started in 2005
18:29 and today, it was a very big sacrifice on the part of the promoter. The capacity is 8,000 liters per
18:35 day. With the new plant, the reception of fresh fruit bunches from the plantations, sterilizing
18:43 and threshing of the bunches to free the palm fruit, mashing the fruit and pressing out the
18:48 crude palm oil becomes easier, a project that means a lot for the locals here as it gets to
18:54 empower the smallholders. The economy of the area depends largely on the palm's production,
19:01 so this initiative will go a long way to help the population realize the
19:07 objectives of improving their livelihood. Inaugurating the mill that can crush 40,000
19:13 tons of palms daily, the deal for Nkuti legislators, mayors and members of elite
19:19 plus traditional rulers all described the donor, Okiye Johnson Ndo, as a beacon of stability
19:27 with a development agenda for the people of Nkuti. You're watching the news on the Cameroon
19:34 radio television, Dossier TV. We are beaming live from Yaoundé. Technology is changing the world,
19:44 so are consumer patterns in the Cameroonian music industry. The good old cassettes and CDs through
19:52 which musicians in the country made money have now been overrun by YouTube, Spotify,
19:59 Vidmate, Poweramp, you name them, now the new way to go. That's how Cameroonian musicians are making
20:07 frantic efforts to flow with the tides and you say Tony Nanyongo that the survival instinct is their
20:15 late motive. From vinyl records to cassettes, then CDs and now digital downloads, the emergence of
20:24 new technologies has enriched society with new ways to consume musical works. Internet has become
20:32 the best way for artists to sell their products. The new technologies and modes of listening to
20:38 music demand that artists redefine their means of remuneration. We need more enterprises who get
20:47 interested in selling music like in other countries, but the problem we are facing now here in Cameroon
20:53 is that we don't have a common organization. Unlike in other countries with structures that
20:59 permit musicians to financially benefit from their work online, in Cameroon a well-organized system
21:07 is still to be found. By just liking or sharing a song there is an amount that should come to the
21:16 artists. Unfortunately Cameroonian artists are unable to benefit from this directly because
21:22 our country has not ratified some key treaties. Artists are therefore coming up with survival
21:29 strategies at individual levels. It's basically musical concerts and also author's rights,
21:37 but unfortunately lots of users of our works don't pay easily. We prefer to sell via flash discs,
21:44 yeah it's better because less and less people have CDs at home or on cars. Their search for a
21:52 well-organized system of payment may be tedious, but as they toil daily in the studios to satisfy
22:00 music lovers, musicians in Cameroon are keeping their hopes alive.
22:05 A promotional sales campaign organized by the Ministry of Trade to relieve households of
22:14 spiraling inflation in the prices of basic commodities is currently running in one of
22:20 Yaounde's popular markets in the Bugbezi neighborhood. The local councils have been
22:26 involved in the campaign to make sure people in remote areas also buy goods at home-located prices.
22:34 Trade Minister Lugma Glambarga at Tangana visited one of the sales points and expressed satisfaction
22:41 with the popular turnout. Details with Clarice Ray Tucker.
22:47 A litre of vegetable oil sold at 1,425 francs, the cost of a 25 kilogram bag of rice down by
22:54 1,000 francs and a packet of sugar which can be bought for several hundred francs instead of 900
23:00 francs. These are some of the facts and figures consumers will be feeding on for as long as the
23:05 promotional sales organized by the Ministry of Trade will last. In one of the sites at the
23:10 Bugbezi neighborhood of Yaounde, a wide array of edibles are on display. In collaboration with
23:16 wholesalers and retailers, the government has embarked on a mission to ensure that prices
23:21 progressively adapt themselves to the purchasing power of inhabitants.
23:25 Now it's normal that the consumer take advantage of this new situation. I know that there are some
23:34 economic operators who don't want to apply it on the field. I want to tell them clearly that we are
23:42 vigilant and we will oblige them to do it. There is thus need for a somewhat positive outlook on
23:48 the international scene to be felt at the domestic level. With many such initiatives
23:53 multiplied across the country, officials are hopeful that consumers' feeding habits will remain
23:58 stable. Some journalists in Cameroon are currently enrolled in a GIZ sponsored workshop in Yaounde
24:07 where they are being schooled on the range and scope of projects the German government is running
24:14 in Cameroon and it filtered from the deliberations that over 400 projects are ongoing in the country
24:22 and that so far the German government has injected over 2.3 billion CFE funds for the
24:29 improvement of livelihoods in Cameroon. Details with Yoti Kale Esange.
24:36 Drilling journalists on what German cooperation is all about in Cameroon. One of the things they
24:42 are told is that implementation agencies like GIZ, KfW and BGR are part of the German cooperation
24:49 even though having different roles. A training that seeks to help pressmen in the country
24:54 improve on their reporting. We realize that the way we work, our objectives, our projects are not
25:00 widely known in Cameroon so we think it is important that we know more about what do you
25:05 need to know about us. The areas of German cooperation are also explored underlining four
25:11 that is the sustainable use of natural resources, rural development, good governance and health.
25:17 We hope that by the end of the day everyone thinks that now I know what German cooperation is
25:23 and we know how do we have to communicate with you that you can multiply our messages. With this
25:30 we were able to report more deeply on issues like education, climate change and other activities
25:35 that the country Germany is carrying out here in Cameroon through their various agencies and organs.
25:42 It's been over 60 years of German cooperation in Cameroon with more than 40 ongoing projects
25:48 in all 10 regions of the country costing about 2.3 billion CFE francs.
25:55 Activities to culminate in the diamond jubilee of the African Union on May 25 have been launched
26:03 in Yaoundé with a colloquium on the African continental free trade area considered as one
26:11 of the milestones of the African continent. During the event attended by experts and African diplomats
26:18 accredited to Yaoundé, speakers shared optimism that the fostering of a free trade area in
26:25 Africa will salvage the continent from its economic and security quagmire and as well as the
26:34 capital lies on its development. The African day to be celebrated on May 25
26:41 marks the founding of the defunct organization of African unity.
26:49 The parliamentary assembly of La Francophonie, the AFP is poised to cutting a more attractive
26:57 image of itself and tell its vision in a manner that meets present-day challenges. That was the
27:05 substance of an exchange between the visiting secretary general of the AFP Bruno Fuchs and the
27:12 president of the Cameroon branch of the AFP as they met in a tête-à-tête in Yaoundé yesterday.
27:20 Esther Kima reports on the main thrust of their discussions.
27:23 Designated parliamentary secretary general of the parliamentary assembly of La Francophonie APF
27:32 last March, Honorable Bruno Fuchs comes calling to cut up what stalls the progress of the
27:38 Francophonie space. The Cameroon branch president of the APF, Honorable Ilha Ronguetang, senior
27:44 deputy speaker, accompanied by his peers and the cause, agree that new solutions must be sought
27:50 to render La Francophonie attractive and promising for younger generations.
27:55 Francophonie has to find solutions like professional formation, like jobs. How can we
28:04 move in the Francophonie space? Because if it's more difficult to go to France or to go to
28:13 Belgium or Canada, young people, they will go to other countries.
28:17 The parliamentary dimension of the international organization of La Francophonie is poised to
28:23 change the tides in its 88 national and regional parliaments, supporting education and fostering
28:29 economic cooperation for sustainable developments. The new vision on increased mobility, access to
28:35 basic commodities, and gender mainstreaming will be discussed at the APF general assembly
28:41 scheduled for Georgia this July. Let's now open our special page on acres of last Saturday's
28:50 National Day celebrations in Cameroon as we take you to Kumbu, Bali, and Goku Tunja in the northwest
28:58 region. Administrative officials were rather elated with the gradual return of peace in the
29:07 localities and invited the populations to stand up firmly against violent crimes currently
29:14 perpetrated by separatist fighters. Details in the following joint report by Eric Lamiawufo and
29:21 Kilo Valery Salar from TRTV Northwest. In the context of Kumbu described by security sources
29:30 as the region's crisis epicenter marked by gun battles, kidnappings, lockdowns, and ghost town
29:36 operations, state officials in the area described these images as peculiar. Celebration this year
29:43 is very special. Special because it is marked by the gradual return to normalcy in Kumbu's
29:49 subdivision and in Bui division in general that has been hardly hit by the political crisis. In
29:55 Kumbu's subdivision with headquarters in Tatum, another separatist hotspot in Bui, these courageous
30:01 individuals brave the security odds there to show their attachments to national unity. The area
30:07 struggles to transit from a chaotic present into brighter days of peace. In March past year witnessed
30:15 a huge turnout of the population who are gradually embracing the values of peace after a six-year
30:21 armed conflict. Defense and security forces marched past in various squares much to the
30:27 admiration of spectators in the ceremonial ground. The civilian march saw the participation of primary
30:34 and secondary schools that are increasingly witnessing a surge in attendance after many
30:40 years of lockdown operations. The senior divisional officer Fungo Ketunja Anderson Kwetom
30:45 Konge has described the impressive turnout of the population of Mdok as a pointer to the gradual
30:51 return of peace. Prior to the May 20th event, participants took part in an enjoyable recollection
30:57 of glory days of May 20th through the organization of a campfire. Bali's subdivision has had its own
31:05 fair share of the ongoing sociopolitical crisis whose secessionist fighters said to be wreaking
31:10 havoc on the population and its property. Administrative and municipal authorities used
31:15 the May 20th celebrations to denounce the acts of terrorism. The population of Bali
31:21 finally came to the understanding and the acceptance that this country can never be
31:28 separated. The various detachments of defense forces marched past portraying their determination
31:34 in protecting the population and its goods. Prior to the national day event, officials organized
31:40 human investment, a campfire and a football match between the civilian party and the defense forces.
31:47 Let me now take you over to Kribi where officials of Cameroon's ministry of water and energy and
31:56 the Cameroon water utilities company Calmwater have converged to map out ways of improving
32:04 the quality and quantity of water supplied in the country. On the issues at stake,
32:10 we now call on our reporter Pauli Kapatia in Kribi. Reorganizing the Cameroon water utilities
32:19 corporation Calmwater and approving its status as the para-public charged with duty to ensure
32:25 proper production, transport and distribution of potable water in the urban and suburban areas
32:31 across the country is the main objective of the workshop that assembled stakeholders from
32:37 the ministry of water and energy and Calmwater in Kribi. During the come together, the participants
32:43 brainstormed on how to effectively apply the 2018 presidential decree that validates the
32:49 concession that binds the government of Cameroon and Calmwater. It was in 2018 that the head of
32:58 state signed a decree to reorganize the water and energy sector in Cameroon by signing a contract
33:05 with CDE and Calmwater. Today the contract with CDE has been terminated. Calmwater is therefore
33:13 responsible on the distribution of potable water across the country that is starting from production,
33:20 storage, distribution, transport right to the finished state. Taking all the responsibilities
33:28 from CDE, Calmwater is hence expected to improve on the quality and quantity of water supply in
33:35 urban cities right to their peripheries in the 10 regions of Cameroon. Absolutely, the authorities
33:43 concerned are working on the instruction of the head of state to step up the quality and quantity
33:50 of potable water in the country. After the Kribi workshop, Calmwater is expected to improve on
33:59 the quality and quantity of water flow in Cameroon and ensure those at the periphery
34:04 enjoy potable water as well as those in urban areas. That's the news. Thanks for watching.
34:14 Good evening.
34:15 [Music]