Magazine: Inside-Out of July 18, 2023 on CRTV
Transcript
00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00:04 Never before has Cameroon, once reputed for its stability
00:00:09 in a rather turbulent Central African sub-region,
00:00:12 experienced such destructive and devastating conflict
00:00:16 like the one that has been protracting
00:00:19 in the Northwest and Southwest regions since 2016.
00:00:24 For seven years running and brought
00:00:26 in an embittered armed struggle, the two Anglophone regions
00:00:30 have experienced massive and extensive destruction
00:00:35 in infrastructure, ruining both the economic and social
00:00:39 fabrics.
00:00:40 It's three years today since the government of the Republic
00:00:44 designed and put in place the presidential plan
00:00:48 for the reconstruction and development of the Northwest
00:00:51 and Southwest regions, the PPRD.
00:00:55 Following the hatching and launching of the recovery
00:00:58 program, voices have been rising from both ends
00:01:01 of the political divide, some arguing that it is ill-conceived
00:01:06 and ill-timed, others that it sort of places
00:01:10 the cart before the horse, arguing
00:01:12 that it would have been propitious to end the crisis
00:01:16 before engaging in reconstruction,
00:01:19 while others again welcome it as a time-honored initiative that
00:01:24 would go a long way in placating and calming
00:01:28 flaring tempers in the restive regions
00:01:31 and luring them into embracing peace and development
00:01:36 while putting an end to the atrocious crisis.
00:01:39 Whoever is wrong or right is not the issue here.
00:01:43 Whatever and however people view or construe
00:01:46 the opportunists of the plan is immaterial.
00:01:50 The truth is it is here and up and running,
00:01:54 and it's three years already.
00:01:57 The records have it that since it
00:02:00 was set rolling in the two conflict-prone regions,
00:02:04 significant progress has been recorded on the ground,
00:02:08 both on the three pillars on which the plan straddles,
00:02:11 that is the promotion of social cohesion,
00:02:14 the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure,
00:02:18 and the revitalization of the local economy,
00:02:22 and on the overall return to normalcy in the two regions.
00:02:27 Placed under the supervision of the prime minister
00:02:30 and following the adoption of an annual and operational budget
00:02:35 by the steering committee in May 2020,
00:02:38 as well as the mobilization of funds
00:02:41 by government and partners, reconstruction work
00:02:44 is ongoing in several sectors.
00:02:47 Schools, health centers, water supply points, amongst others,
00:02:52 are witnessing reconstruction, while agriculture
00:02:55 and social cohesion are witnessing a major turnaround.
00:03:00 What has been found so far under the program
00:03:03 to improve the situation on the ground?
00:03:06 What has been the reaction of the victims?
00:03:09 And what prospects are there for the future?
00:03:13 These are some of the questions we
00:03:15 seek to answer in today's edition of your program.
00:03:19 Hello, everyone.
00:03:20 I am Ben Menopofong in Yaounde.
00:03:23 This is News Inside Out.
00:03:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03:30,
00:03:45 It's three years today and counting
00:03:48 since the prime minister, head of government, Joseph
00:03:51 Djangute, on the instructions of the president of the republic,
00:03:55 set up the presidential plan for the reconstruction
00:03:58 and development of the Northwest and Southwest regions.
00:04:02 The PPRD seeks to address the immediate needs
00:04:06 of the populations of the two regions,
00:04:09 devastated by a prolonged sociopolitical upheaval.
00:04:13 The United Nations Development Program, the UNDP,
00:04:17 has been associated to the program,
00:04:19 both as financial umpire to ensure transparency
00:04:23 and as implementing partner and fund manager.
00:04:28 Actions on the ground are based solely
00:04:31 on the need of the affected populations,
00:04:34 with priority given to the most urgent and most vulnerable
00:04:38 cases.
00:04:40 The reasons behind the setting up
00:04:42 of the presidential plan for the reconstruction and development
00:04:45 of the Northwest and Southwest regions
00:04:47 are here, narrated by Christian Che'atem from Genesis
00:04:52 to Revelation.
00:04:54 The presidential plan for the reconstruction and development
00:04:57 of the Northwest and Southwest regions
00:05:00 was born out of a desire to address the sorrows
00:05:03 and sufferings inflicted on the people of the two regions
00:05:07 by the sociopolitical turmoil which escalated in 2016.
00:05:11 It is a direct response to the aspirations of delegates
00:05:15 from the two regions and from other parts of Cameroon
00:05:18 who attended the major national dialogue from the 30th
00:05:21 of September to the 4th of October, 2019.
00:05:25 One of the main recommendations of the forum
00:05:27 was for some form of reconstruction
00:05:30 to be carried out as a way of rebuilding the shattered lives
00:05:33 and infrastructure of the two regions.
00:05:36 To formulate a vast program for the recovery, reconstruction,
00:05:40 and development of the Northwest, Southwest,
00:05:43 and the far North regions aimed at improving the living
00:05:47 conditions of the populations and consolidating
00:05:52 social cohesion and national unity.
00:05:56 When the prime minister head of government, Joseph Diongute,
00:06:00 who is also head of the committee
00:06:02 to follow up the implementation of the recommendations
00:06:05 of the major national dialogue, signed the text establishing
00:06:09 the presidential plan for the reconstruction and development
00:06:12 of the Northwest and Southwest regions,
00:06:15 it was clear that the government was ready to act.
00:06:18 The presidential plan has the objective
00:06:21 of networking for funds to rehabilitate and develop
00:06:25 basic infrastructure, revitalize the economy of the two regions
00:06:29 plundered by years of violence, and promote
00:06:32 social cohesion in the two regions which
00:06:35 had seen their two social fabrics seriously dismantled
00:06:38 by the conflict.
00:06:40 To guarantee the autonomy and transparency
00:06:42 of the presidential plan, the government
00:06:45 chose the United Nations Development Program
00:06:48 as implementing partner.
00:06:50 The funding agreement and project document
00:06:53 was signed between the UNDP and the government of Cameroon
00:06:57 on the 5th of May, 2020, giving way for the beginning
00:07:01 of project activities.
00:07:03 Since the funding of the presidential plan
00:07:05 falls under the responsibility of Cameroon,
00:07:09 the government made an initial contribution
00:07:11 of some 9 billion francs, representing 10%
00:07:15 of the overall budget plan.
00:07:17 Since then, the steering committee
00:07:20 of the presidential plan has been
00:07:22 canvassing for the support of friends and partners of Cameroon
00:07:25 to help the country in reconstructing the Northwest
00:07:28 and Southwest regions by making financial contributions
00:07:32 to the plan.
00:07:34 As of the 8th of July, when the steering
00:07:36 committee of the presidential plan for the reconstruction
00:07:40 and development of the Northwest and Southwest
00:07:43 met in its fourth session, the government of Japan
00:07:46 was the only foreign partner which had officially
00:07:49 made direct financial contributions
00:07:52 to the presidential plan for the reconstruction
00:07:55 and development of the Northwest and Southwest
00:07:57 with the other funds coming from the government of Cameroon
00:08:01 and from the private sector.
00:08:03 The last comprehensive balance sheet of the plan
00:08:06 also dates back to the fourth steering committee held
00:08:09 in July.
00:08:10 Then it was revealed that the implementation
00:08:13 of the presidential plan for the reconstruction and development
00:08:17 of the Northwest and Southwest regions was in full sway.
00:08:21 Concerning the promotion of social cohesion,
00:08:24 it was revealed during that meeting
00:08:26 that the plan had reconstituted over 800 lost documents,
00:08:31 trained some 60 insider mediators,
00:08:34 and a network of influencers for peace,
00:08:36 reconstructed and equipped five multi-purpose centers
00:08:40 for women and youths in the two regions.
00:08:43 Concerning the reconstruction of essential infrastructure,
00:08:47 officials during the fourth steering committee
00:08:49 meeting of the presidential plan revealed
00:08:52 that about 30 schools had been rehabilitated together
00:08:56 with 20 health centers and 19 water points in the two
00:09:00 regions.
00:09:01 As far as the revitalization of the local economy is concerned,
00:09:05 officials talked of the supply of materials and equipment
00:09:09 to more than 2,400 farmers and fishermen.
00:09:12 The granting of starter kits and funding for 120 startups,
00:09:18 the rehabilitation of five community credit unions,
00:09:21 and support to 47 cooperatives and various other actions
00:09:26 carried out.
00:09:27 Whatever the case may be, it is evident
00:09:30 that the work done so far cannot pay
00:09:33 for the level of destruction, trauma, and loss suffered
00:09:36 by the populations of the Northwest and Southwest
00:09:38 regions during the years of sociopolitical turmoil.
00:09:42 But there is no gainsaying the fact
00:09:45 that the simple will to kick off the reconstruction process
00:09:48 is a helpful initiative.
00:09:50 It is thus incumbent on the steering
00:09:53 committee of the presidential plan
00:09:55 to be more resourceful and inventive in scouting
00:09:58 for funds, funds which are highly
00:10:00 needed to rebuild the broken bridges, mend the broken hearts,
00:10:05 and reignite the broken dreams of the tens of thousands
00:10:09 of innocent victims of a situation they never
00:10:12 bargained for.
00:10:13 Christian J. Atam there.
00:10:16 After that chronicle on the conception and birth of the PPRD,
00:10:21 let's now go out and have a feel of how the recovery program is
00:10:25 playing out on the ground.
00:10:27 First, in the Southwest region, where some projects are already
00:10:31 in service against apprehensions that no meaningful strides could
00:10:36 be achieved in the midst of insecurity.
00:10:40 During an evaluation outing to the region recently,
00:10:43 the president of the steering committee of the plan,
00:10:46 Balungeli Konfiancebune, rejoiced
00:10:49 over these achievements and urged the populations
00:10:53 to appropriate the reconstruction process
00:10:56 and the return of peace in the region
00:10:58 so that more development projects could follow.
00:11:02 Inside out, Nwea Ben Mudika has been
00:11:05 keen on how the plan is faring in the Southwest region
00:11:09 and reports that there is every reason for the populations
00:11:13 of the region to hope for a better tomorrow.
00:11:17 The process is gradual, but sure,
00:11:19 as the presidential plan for the reconstruction and development
00:11:23 of the Northwest and Southwest regions
00:11:25 takes effect in some relatively safer parts of the region.
00:11:30 The implementing partner, the UNDP,
00:11:32 reveals that about 100 projects have
00:11:35 been realized in the domains of education, health, water
00:11:40 supply, restoration of social cohesion,
00:11:43 and in the support of microfinancial institutions,
00:11:46 startups, and small businesses.
00:11:48 The presidential plan is an offshoot
00:11:50 of the major national dialogue.
00:11:52 And all of these recommendations,
00:11:55 under the watchful eyes of the head of state,
00:11:59 who had a visionary guide to ensure
00:12:02 that this project, which at the inception
00:12:05 was not that easy to accept, because we had some who did not
00:12:10 see the foresight of this project.
00:12:12 But today, I think I'm very satisfied with the mission
00:12:17 that the prime minister instructed me to do.
00:12:20 Come to Boya and the FACO Empowerment Platform,
00:12:24 which is helping with the reinforcement of the skills
00:12:26 of youth, women, and other vulnerable groups,
00:12:30 including displaced persons, is a testimony.
00:12:33 I'm here in the Telerin department.
00:12:35 From this, we would like to just learn and go and sit
00:12:39 in a house like that.
00:12:40 We learned that after we learned,
00:12:41 they should empower us by giving us
00:12:43 some of the materials, the machines,
00:12:45 so that we can empower ourselves and continue
00:12:47 to help the community that we found ourselves in.
00:12:49 Here, our trainees are able to gain access
00:12:53 to skills such as Telerin, Ketrin,
00:12:56 and we have the ICT department.
00:12:58 Most of them come from the affected areas.
00:13:00 We have persons from [INAUDIBLE]
00:13:03 We have some from [INAUDIBLE]
00:13:06 We have some from [INAUDIBLE]
00:13:07 Another proud beneficiary of this plan
00:13:10 is the Gratitude Islamic Secondary School.
00:13:13 It serves as a specialized institution
00:13:16 for the promotion of Islamic education and culture in Boya.
00:13:19 Thank the head of state for this presidential plan, which
00:13:23 has come to relieve a lot of burden.
00:13:27 Of course, you know that the crisis within this period
00:13:30 have brought in a lot of IDPs, some who were of school age
00:13:34 and could not have a comfortable area.
00:13:38 Being a community-based school, we took upon ourselves--
00:13:45 and you want to also understand that the UNDP program,
00:13:48 we are the elite community members,
00:13:51 the religious communities.
00:13:53 You've heard of the AGC.
00:13:56 The AGC with the late Qadina Toumi is eminent.
00:14:03 When they approached us to find out
00:14:05 if with this resistance from other persons,
00:14:10 hesitant to accept the presidential plan,
00:14:13 we said, well, the religious people are ready.
00:14:15 Because after all, one of our mandates
00:14:17 is to relieve the suffering persons, the masses.
00:14:21 And so each and every individual of the community members
00:14:26 who were there, religious authorities,
00:14:28 presented their needs.
00:14:30 Over at the St. Joseph's College,
00:14:31 Sase, the officials and students are
00:14:34 celebrating the reconstruction of their dormitory, which
00:14:37 was bent down in the rehabilitation of their school
00:14:40 fence.
00:14:41 We caught fire some two years ago,
00:14:44 and everything was destroyed in the dormitory.
00:14:46 Students lost their mattresses, other property,
00:14:49 and the whole dormitory was destroyed.
00:14:51 Now, within this framework of this presidential plan,
00:14:55 the UNDP came and carried out reconstruction
00:14:57 of this dormitory.
00:14:58 And as you have seen for yourself,
00:15:00 it is already being used.
00:15:02 The boys are happy being lodged there.
00:15:04 Then the second project is the fence project,
00:15:06 which you can see from here.
00:15:08 That fence project was also carried out simultaneously
00:15:11 with this dormitory, and was meant
00:15:13 to increase the security of our compound.
00:15:16 And it has helped to check movements
00:15:21 in and out of the compound.
00:15:23 And then the last project is the water tank.
00:15:27 They have enlarged the water tank,
00:15:28 and we have now more water.
00:15:30 It's very good.
00:15:32 We suffer from water problem here.
00:15:33 But with that enlargement of the tank, we have regular water now.
00:15:37 In Bakingile Limbe subdivision, their integrated health center
00:15:41 has been upgraded as a result of three major projects
00:15:45 from the reconstruction and development plan.
00:15:49 The rehabilitation of the infrastructure
00:15:53 has really brought light to the community.
00:15:56 The new structure is for mother and child.
00:15:58 So it will help ameliorate the health standard of the mother
00:16:01 and child by preventing hospital-acquired infection.
00:16:05 We have the borehole.
00:16:07 The water has really helped the health center
00:16:10 and part of the community.
00:16:11 During a recent visit of the president of the Syrian
00:16:14 Committee of the Reconstruction and Development Plan,
00:16:17 he called on the actors and stakeholders
00:16:19 of the southwest region to ensure
00:16:22 a participatory execution of these projects
00:16:25 and to also take a collective approach to the search of peace
00:16:29 in the region.
00:16:30 One of the major reasons of this mission
00:16:34 was not only to do an evaluation,
00:16:36 but also for the beneficiary populations
00:16:39 to be at the forefront to appropriate this project.
00:16:43 Because it is some sort of a bottom-top approach for them
00:16:48 to appropriate the projects.
00:16:50 It is high time that they seize this opportunity
00:16:53 of the olive branch given to us by the head of state
00:16:56 and the achievements we have just seen.
00:16:58 To join in this nation building, they
00:17:00 have a contribution to make.
00:17:02 As peace returns progressively to the hardest-hit zones
00:17:05 of the region, it is expected that the impact of the plan
00:17:10 would snowball even today, hither to orange and red zones
00:17:15 of the southwest region.
00:17:17 Over in the northwest region, various projects
00:17:20 have been presented to the people
00:17:22 as milestones achieved through the presidential reconstruction
00:17:26 plan.
00:17:27 Although most of them only came to the limelight this year,
00:17:31 the stakeholders say work had been
00:17:34 ongoing since the program took off in 2020.
00:17:39 However, insecurity and finances have
00:17:42 been standing out as part of the key challenges
00:17:45 on the way of the project.
00:17:48 But as Inside Out's Mercy Cusi went finding out,
00:17:53 there are assurances from those steering the reconstruction
00:17:57 process in that part of the country
00:17:59 that the remaining two years of the plan
00:18:02 will bring forth more developments
00:18:05 in the world-ravaged region.
00:18:07 Mercy?
00:18:08 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:18:10 It is no longer news to anyone regarding the state of damage
00:18:14 the six-year conflict has cost the northwest region.
00:18:18 The presidential plan for reconstruction and development
00:18:21 came in with its main mission to salvage the situation
00:18:26 and give hope to the people of this region
00:18:28 for a brighter future through the three pillars, which
00:18:32 are social cohesion, revitalization of the economy,
00:18:37 and infrastructural development.
00:18:40 But permit me bust your bubble that this
00:18:43 wasn't received in good faith by all and sundry at its inception.
00:18:49 Three years down the lane, various actors of the plan
00:18:52 believe they have been able to disprove the naysayers.
00:18:56 And today, they have projects to show
00:18:58 for in the education, health, economic,
00:19:02 and sociocultural domains.
00:19:04 The only thing I want to emphasize is that the plan
00:19:07 works.
00:19:09 Those who are still skeptics should understand
00:19:12 that the plan works.
00:19:14 And we should all put our hands on deck
00:19:16 to ensure that we get back our society in a better
00:19:20 way than it was before.
00:19:22 This is a gathering of some of the region's
00:19:24 talented young people communing with members
00:19:27 of the administration.
00:19:29 It is a cultural festival like no other,
00:19:32 organized by the Northwest Regional Assembly
00:19:35 in collaboration with the United Nations Development
00:19:38 Program to mainstream peace and social cohesion in line
00:19:43 with the presidential plan for the reconstruction
00:19:47 of the Northwest and Southwest regions.
00:19:50 In this second edition, which took place in December 2022,
00:19:54 the goal was to remind the youth of their much-needed
00:19:58 contributions in developing the region.
00:20:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:20:04 In this process, we hope that everyone
00:20:10 should know that we are one another's keeper.
00:20:13 That is why you saw people from all the divisions,
00:20:19 from all walks of life, who are here,
00:20:24 and especially to sue for peace.
00:20:29 Because when we meet, when we show our talents,
00:20:34 as our young children did, our dancers,
00:20:37 and our cultural experts did, we are
00:20:41 likely to speak a more friendly language, a more
00:20:45 peaceful language.
00:20:47 And we will show the love, empathy, and compassion
00:20:52 that is known of the people of the Northwest.
00:20:55 Promoters of an illusory secessionist agenda
00:20:58 started off by attacking education.
00:21:01 And it soon grew into attacks on students and pupils
00:21:05 and school facilities, some of which were razed.
00:21:09 Schools belonging to the Cameroon Baptist Convention
00:21:12 have had their fair share of those challenges.
00:21:15 But today, they are beginning to build back better with support
00:21:20 from the presidential plan of reconstruction and development.
00:21:24 Proof of this is the Baptist School, Nkwen.
00:21:28 The reconstruction work by the government
00:21:30 has been a boost to our academic work here in CBC Nkwen.
00:21:35 In that the children have classes
00:21:38 that they can sit freely.
00:21:39 They have benches, because there were about 100 benches donated
00:21:43 with nine classrooms, a computer lab that has helped
00:21:46 to decongest the classrooms.
00:21:48 We used to have 70 in a class.
00:21:50 But presently, we have averaged 50,
00:21:52 which is making the work easy.
00:21:54 And the children's performance, too, is increasing.
00:21:56 And many more children like to come to CBC Nkwen
00:21:58 because of the beautiful structures.
00:22:00 We are grateful, because at first, we
00:22:02 were ashamed of the structures we had.
00:22:04 So we could not boast anywhere when we go at CBC Nkwen.
00:22:06 But now, we are at the top of the town.
00:22:08 The plan has also extended its tentacles
00:22:11 to schools belonging to the Catholic mission, the full
00:22:15 gospel mission, likewise Islamic schools.
00:22:19 We have benefited in a very, very big way
00:22:22 for the renovation of schools and to ensure
00:22:25 that children go back to school in better conditions,
00:22:29 even than they were before the schools were closed.
00:22:33 And a typical example is what you
00:22:34 are seeing behind me, St. Joseph's Nursery and Primary
00:22:39 School that has followed the principle of build back better.
00:22:46 And you know how what was here before.
00:22:50 And I think now, the children are
00:22:53 going to have a better structure in which to learn than before.
00:23:00 So it's a very, very important step
00:23:04 for the growth of these children and for the education.
00:23:06 The Muslim communities, they were
00:23:08 suffering because of lack of an institution that can blend
00:23:11 Islam and the secular education.
00:23:14 So this project came, revamped the old structures
00:23:18 they are using.
00:23:19 And you see how beautiful the structure is.
00:23:21 It is so important.
00:23:22 The community does well.
00:23:23 Most of the children are here.
00:23:25 Actually, there has been a dramatic increase
00:23:28 or a drastic increase in population from 100 to about 400,
00:23:33 about 359 exactly.
00:23:35 Mayors and municipal authorities are major partners
00:23:39 in this project.
00:23:41 And through them, the program has reached out
00:23:43 to members of the different council areas,
00:23:46 constructing water points, women's empowerment centers,
00:23:50 and donating farm inputs to some.
00:23:53 You see this reservoir that is behind me
00:23:58 is donated by the presidential plan that
00:24:01 is going to go a long way to ameliorate the water
00:24:04 situation of the municipality.
00:24:06 The presidential plan have donated some farming tools
00:24:11 to some farmers in the municipality.
00:24:15 About 35 farmers benefited.
00:24:18 Startups were given to some youths
00:24:22 to start up small, small businesses.
00:24:26 Some women also benefited from some poultry birds
00:24:31 and chickens and the inputs that will enable
00:24:36 them to start up life after the crisis, where
00:24:41 it was very severe.
00:24:43 They are now picking up.
00:24:45 And I'm sure that in the months and years ahead,
00:24:48 they will be getting better and better.
00:24:50 Some of the internally displaced persons
00:24:52 also benefited from free birth certificate issued
00:24:56 by the presidential plan because they lost their documents
00:25:00 in one way or the other in the course of moving
00:25:05 from the conflict zone to a safer zone.
00:25:09 So we are here to appreciate that the presidential plan is
00:25:14 benefiting Bamenda III municipality.
00:25:17 I think this project has really come
00:25:18 to reinforce and to strengthen the peace that we'll
00:25:21 be working for in Bamenda I.
00:25:24 You can see in the dry season, we
00:25:26 have no water, even right down at a station which
00:25:28 is the administrative quarter.
00:25:29 You see where the tank is?
00:25:31 We will not save all the administrative quarter.
00:25:33 Everybody will have enough water.
00:25:35 On many occasions, the execution of the plan
00:25:38 takes the form of sensitization of opinion leaders, who
00:25:42 are in turn tasked to educate the beneficiary communities
00:25:46 on the need for them to protect the structures put in place.
00:25:51 We are all aware that of late, his excellency President
00:25:54 Kobe recently signed a decree to authorize a loan agreement
00:26:00 to finance this presidential plan.
00:26:03 Ladies and gentlemen, I invite us
00:26:05 to work together for the success of the reconstruction
00:26:08 and development process in the Northwest region.
00:26:11 It is only in this way that we will
00:26:14 be able to help our dear and beautiful region
00:26:18 to regain its enviable socioeconomic place
00:26:21 in the great nation Cameroon.
00:26:24 May I also seize this opportunity
00:26:27 to once more reiterate the peace offer of the head of state
00:26:32 to those still carrying arms and terrorizing
00:26:36 their own communities, their own very communities,
00:26:41 directly or through the social media
00:26:44 to retain their future and that of their respective communities
00:26:49 by embracing the only branch and joining nation building.
00:26:53 At the beginning of this year, the national coordinator
00:26:56 of the PPRD and his team paid a visit to the Northwest,
00:27:01 in the course of which partnership agreements were
00:27:04 signed between the Northwest Regional Assembly
00:27:08 and the Northwest Development Authority
00:27:11 to facilitate their work.
00:27:13 And with this, we can hope for a scale up
00:27:16 in the execution of earmarked projects
00:27:19 and an even better improvement in the living
00:27:22 conditions of the people in this region in the months ahead.
00:27:27 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:27:42 As the reconstruction and development project
00:27:44 unfolds in the two regions, many are
00:27:47 those who find it hard to demarcate
00:27:51 where the actions of the presidential plan end
00:27:54 and where those of regional and municipal councils start.
00:27:58 Yet, these are organs that all work
00:28:01 towards the improvement of the living conditions
00:28:05 of all the local communities.
00:28:08 The socio-infrastructural projects
00:28:10 being constructed within the framework
00:28:12 of the presidential plan are thus
00:28:15 only coming to add to what local authorities are doing
00:28:19 and will continue to do for their respective communities,
00:28:24 first to help increase the transparency
00:28:27 and accountability of mayors towards their councils,
00:28:31 and then the municipalities towards their citizens.
00:28:36 And as Inside Out's senior reporter Ebenezer Kanga now
00:28:40 explains, this is a relationship of complementarity
00:28:45 and not one of rivalry.
00:28:48 The local authorities of the Republic of Cameroon
00:28:51 are councils and regions.
00:28:54 The council is the basic local authority
00:28:57 whose overall objective is to ensure local development
00:29:01 and improve the living environment, as well
00:29:04 as the conditions of its inhabitants.
00:29:07 This, through the realization of socio-cultural, economic,
00:29:11 and infrastructural development projects.
00:29:13 [INAUDIBLE]
00:29:15 We have been struggling and constructing some culverts
00:29:18 to link some villages.
00:29:20 But what is so challenging to us is
00:29:22 that we have too many bridges that are just within town,
00:29:28 that are actually hindering movement.
00:29:32 But I want to thank God and thank the government
00:29:36 that something has just been done within this area,
00:29:38 as I'm talking.
00:29:39 Funds have been allocated to construct one of the bridges
00:29:44 that has been a big hindrance to us.
00:29:46 Because even leaving from town to travel to my council office,
00:29:50 there's a big bridge that a vehicle cannot go over
00:29:53 to reach my office.
00:29:54 So I've been going over to my office on bikes.
00:29:57 Coming to terms of health, we are
00:29:59 recruiting nurses, but on the stipend,
00:30:04 just on stipend, condensate salary,
00:30:05 I know if somebody is not well paid,
00:30:07 he may not function very well.
00:30:10 The output, the performance will not be very well.
00:30:13 So we have the staff that we have
00:30:15 recruited in all the health centers.
00:30:18 And then we are struggling and paying them
00:30:20 with available means.
00:30:21 And also in terms of water, then the council
00:30:26 has given water to all the front dams, to all the front dams.
00:30:31 And then boho, we have dug bohos in all the front dams
00:30:34 and given them water.
00:30:36 And so actually, we are not sleeping.
00:30:39 We are doing what we can do with the available resources.
00:30:43 If councils in the Northwest and Southwest regions
00:30:46 have meager resources, which make it difficult for them
00:30:49 to realize their objectives, the socio-political crisis
00:30:53 in the two regions has further compounded the situation.
00:30:57 We are almost the last council in the whole region,
00:31:01 in terms of what we call CRC.
00:31:04 That's Council Additional Tax that
00:31:07 comes through the government to assist the council.
00:31:09 We have very, very minimal, very small,
00:31:12 that can only help us to pay council staffs and then
00:31:16 do some functioning.
00:31:17 So not actually to carry out our projects.
00:31:20 Our budget in the year is just around 395 million francs.
00:31:26 And realization, that's through the administration account,
00:31:29 is just close to 140, 250 something.
00:31:33 This 200 something is including the public investment projects
00:31:38 that are being given to the council.
00:31:40 If I'm given more means, I think that I
00:31:42 will transform the municipality.
00:31:44 Because the first thing I would tackle
00:31:46 is to link the subdivisional headquarter
00:31:49 to the divisional headquarter, Fondon,
00:31:51 then to also link Fonfouka, South Konane route.
00:31:56 Because Konane is the chief economic town in Boum.
00:32:01 And it is not linked to Fonfouka,
00:32:07 which is the subdivisional headquarter.
00:32:09 And if I have more means, I think
00:32:11 that I'll make sure that there's good potable water
00:32:15 in the whole community.
00:32:16 Because many people, many people in the community
00:32:20 still drink water from streams, from running streams
00:32:23 that they fetch.
00:32:24 If the council is a basic local authority,
00:32:27 the region is a local authority composed of several divisions
00:32:32 and covering the same territorial boundaries
00:32:34 of the region, which is an administrative unit.
00:32:38 The region has a general duty to promote economic development,
00:32:42 social progress, harmonious, balanced, and sustainable
00:32:47 territorial development.
00:32:48 We have realized quite a good number of projects.
00:32:51 In the Kuno Titi, Indian division,
00:32:55 we constructed a modern maternity block.
00:33:00 I think that maternity block will
00:33:03 be equipped with the equipment, medical equipment,
00:33:07 and medical supplies which we came back from the US,
00:33:12 donated to us by our partner in the US,
00:33:16 MedChair International.
00:33:17 Indian division also, the division headquarters
00:33:21 can use solar streetlights today,
00:33:26 thanks to the regional assembly.
00:33:27 In the Mumei division, we are putting up
00:33:32 one story to a building, which will
00:33:36 serve as an administrative block of the Kumbatist hospital.
00:33:39 And I think we'll also equip that building.
00:33:43 We are constructing a paved cement road in Kumbatang,
00:33:46 which will serve as a bypass road to the regional hospital
00:33:51 mix and to the administrative quarters,
00:33:54 where the SGO's office will realize
00:33:55 that that very strategic part of the town
00:33:59 has only one access road.
00:34:02 So the project is ongoing.
00:34:05 And many other projects, we are building boreholes,
00:34:10 constructing boreholes in localities
00:34:12 where they do not have water supply.
00:34:15 We are doing that in Mumei.
00:34:16 We're doing it in Fakou.
00:34:18 We are doing it in Kupemaningupa.
00:34:21 We are doing it in Gian, in Manyu, in Libyana.
00:34:25 All the divisions have projects which
00:34:29 have been realized and are ongoing.
00:34:31 But the achievements do not in any way
00:34:33 overshadow difficulties faced by the region.
00:34:37 Our resources are not adequate enough
00:34:40 to enable us to respond to the demands of our population.
00:34:45 We are trying to cut our code according to our size.
00:34:49 These resources will never be enough.
00:34:53 Even in the most developed countries,
00:34:55 the demands are always there.
00:34:56 So I want my population to understand that we can only
00:34:59 move progressively.
00:35:01 They say the journey of 1,000 miles
00:35:03 begins with one step.
00:35:04 So we are taking the first step.
00:35:05 We are taking the second step.
00:35:07 So eventually, most of their demands will be attended to.
00:35:11 So that's one of the stumbling blocks we have.
00:35:14 The people, they want too many things
00:35:16 to be realized within a very short space of time.
00:35:19 But I think we are beginning to make them understand that we
00:35:22 can only go progressively.
00:35:25 The other challenge that we have,
00:35:28 and which the prevailing situation, which we all
00:35:33 know in our region.
00:35:35 But I think that with the collaboration
00:35:37 of the beneficiary population, we
00:35:40 are succeeding to break grounds.
00:35:43 That is why when we started, our activity and our actions
00:35:47 were limited to what we here that we called green zones.
00:35:50 But now we have moved to yellow zones, what
00:35:53 was in the yellow zones.
00:35:55 And we realize that the population in what
00:35:56 used to be the red zones, they are also asking us to come.
00:36:00 And so we are going there.
00:36:01 We know that we're going there because they
00:36:03 are collaborating with us.
00:36:05 And they also need those facilities.
00:36:07 I think the future is very bright.
00:36:09 The future is bright, especially because the population,
00:36:14 as we informed and educated them,
00:36:17 they have come to realize that we can sit in Buya today.
00:36:22 And we decided we are building a classroom in Tole.
00:36:26 We don't need to refer to Yawande to take that decision.
00:36:30 So what we told them at the beginning, they did not believe.
00:36:33 But today, they are beginning to believe
00:36:35 that the population of Buya Town will complain that they don't
00:36:38 have water, potable water.
00:36:41 We know the water crisis we have in Buya.
00:36:43 I will tell them we're going to construct a borough,
00:36:46 a solar borough, and we have done that.
00:36:49 The same thing for my 17 and any other.
00:36:51 So now they know that if they have a problem,
00:36:55 and the problem is brought to our attention,
00:36:57 the problem can be solved without the community
00:37:00 necessarily referring the matter to Yawande.
00:37:02 And since we have opted for a bottom-top approach,
00:37:07 because we organize periodic town hall meetings.
00:37:09 We go to [INAUDIBLE] We go to [INAUDIBLE]
00:37:12 et cetera, all the things.
00:37:13 We should ask the people, what do you want?
00:37:15 What is your priority?
00:37:17 If they say their priority is a borough,
00:37:20 we should not go and build two classrooms.
00:37:24 The examples are bound.
00:37:26 So that is the approach that we have adopted.
00:37:28 And I think the population is collaborating with us.
00:37:33 And I want to say that the future is very bright.
00:37:36 Local authorities are therefore catalysts of development
00:37:40 at the base.
00:37:41 But they need to be given the appropriate means.
00:37:46 The challenges of executing the presidential plan
00:37:49 for the reconstruction of the Northwest and Southwest
00:37:51 regions, which has pulled decades of development
00:37:55 backwards, are not less than those
00:37:58 in war-devastated countries with education, health, roads,
00:38:02 and other social and economic infrastructures brought down
00:38:07 to the state of pity.
00:38:09 Reconstruction experts say rebuilding efforts
00:38:13 are caught up in the crossfire of separatist fighters
00:38:16 on the one hand, and the defense and security forces
00:38:20 on the other, a situation that renders every effort
00:38:24 to work on the ground a huge risk of self-sacrifice.
00:38:29 Let's now leave some of the ordeals and dilemmas
00:38:33 of reconstructing in times of war in this report
00:38:38 with Kilian Ndantifor.
00:38:41 So much material destruction has been
00:38:43 registered in the Northwest and Southwest regions
00:38:47 within the over six years of crisis in the two regions.
00:38:52 Schools, hospitals, public administrative structures,
00:38:55 individual buildings, communities, raise down.
00:38:58 The presidential spatial reconstruction plan
00:39:01 has met with challenges of different forms and degrees.
00:39:04 Contractors are in a fix, caught between the security forces
00:39:08 and the separatist fighters to realize earmarked development
00:39:11 projects.
00:39:13 We have these issues of insecurity.
00:39:16 But unfortunately, there are no measures
00:39:18 that are taken directly to assist the contractor
00:39:22 in realizing these jobs.
00:39:24 For example, you go to an area like Momo,
00:39:28 where we had a lot of projects to construct health centers.
00:39:33 The state didn't take any security measures.
00:39:36 So as a contractor, you have to go to these areas
00:39:39 and map your way out.
00:39:42 Most often, the hard way, the only way.
00:39:44 The government provides security,
00:39:46 but not all individuals can be secured.
00:39:48 The military, the gendarmes, and the police forces who are there
00:39:53 can cover the security of every person as a group.
00:39:58 But you cannot go and pay to secure you working on the site.
00:40:03 So those security problems come.
00:40:05 And even when they come to a project site
00:40:08 and they carry your things or things are being stolen,
00:40:10 you cannot fight back because you are afraid to.
00:40:13 So it's a very tricky zone.
00:40:14 They are also rejected by the local population who's here.
00:40:19 Equally is that of being identified
00:40:22 as an associate of an enemy by both sides.
00:40:25 The moment you start executing projects
00:40:28 and you are not having any setbacks,
00:40:30 the security forces think you are in collaboration
00:40:36 with the AMBA workers, the separatists.
00:40:41 And in other places, when the separatists realize
00:40:46 that you are also working well, they come to kidnap you
00:40:49 because they think you are working in collaboration
00:40:51 with the security forces.
00:40:53 When it comes to government projects,
00:40:56 they are afraid that if they come working for your project, which
00:40:59 is a government-sponsored project,
00:41:02 they might be attacked by the police
00:41:03 because they have a problem with--
00:41:05 their main problem is the government.
00:41:07 Not knowing that it's a developmental scheme
00:41:12 to develop their area.
00:41:14 So the local population are really
00:41:17 afraid that they are terrorized.
00:41:19 So usually they will stay back.
00:41:21 Or usually they will close work before it's time for them
00:41:24 to go, just because they don't want to go late in the evening
00:41:27 so that they might be attacked and they
00:41:29 want to get into their homes on time
00:41:31 so they think they have peace and they are safe.
00:41:34 The crisis in the Northwest and Southwest
00:41:37 has made it difficult to reconstruction experts
00:41:40 to get the necessary material for work.
00:41:43 There are times when they declare
00:41:45 that cars should not move.
00:41:48 And materials that we use, especially those
00:41:51 that come from out of town, it's difficult for us
00:41:54 to have them, like cement, iron, rubber,
00:41:57 when it comes into construction.
00:41:58 It will be very difficult for you to have them.
00:42:00 And that makes the scope of the work and the timing
00:42:03 to be delayed.
00:42:06 And it does not go with what the normal signature
00:42:09 or the normal terms and conditions for the contracts.
00:42:12 So there are many times they come to the construction sites
00:42:15 and do destruction, just because, like,
00:42:19 you want to work on Monday to meet up with time.
00:42:21 They say, no, Monday for them is a no work day.
00:42:24 So days like that, even your employees
00:42:26 and those you use on the ground will be afraid to come and work.
00:42:29 And those days are just dead.
00:42:32 And you waste a lot of time and money,
00:42:34 because time wasted is money wasted.
00:42:37 It's improper that you carry sand from Yaounde
00:42:40 to go and construct a project in Manfi
00:42:42 when there is sand in the local area.
00:42:45 Or you buy timber from Boya to take to Manfi
00:42:47 when there is timber in Manfi.
00:42:49 So we try to use the local material as well as
00:42:52 local level, unless in areas where it's impossible that you
00:42:57 cannot get either local level or local materials,
00:43:00 then you can resort to action to plan B,
00:43:04 which is getting it from the neighboring villages.
00:43:07 When I presented a project to my bankers,
00:43:10 and they were like, oh, it's a war zone.
00:43:12 So they won't finance, because they're not sure of--
00:43:16 in terms of payment, they are not
00:43:18 sure how long the project will take
00:43:20 to go to its completion.
00:43:21 So we have problems with having finance.
00:43:24 So we are forced now to go another route
00:43:26 to look for money somewhere else,
00:43:27 because banks are also not that secured with the way
00:43:33 the region is.
00:43:34 So financially, we really find it difficult to have money.
00:43:40 Survivor methods have been employed
00:43:43 to circumvent these difficulties,
00:43:46 because life has to move on.
00:43:49 And the contractors have devised each one according to need.
00:43:54 The workforce is completely drained.
00:43:58 Like in areas where you would have an active youth
00:44:01 population, they have either fled away to urban areas.
00:44:05 So when you get to these areas, getting a workforce
00:44:07 is very challenging.
00:44:09 Then the local population work in fear
00:44:14 for not wanting to associate with the contractor,
00:44:17 thinking it is a government project,
00:44:19 so the separatists can come to attack them,
00:44:22 because they feel like they are in collaboration
00:44:25 with the contractors.
00:44:27 And the contractor is left at some point
00:44:30 in the middle of nowhere, because he can neither
00:44:33 work in collaboration with the local population for fear
00:44:36 that they will be at risk.
00:44:39 And he can neither work in collaboration
00:44:42 with security forces.
00:44:43 So he's really, really left in the middle of nowhere.
00:44:48 At times, you go another way to pay higher than what you pay,
00:44:55 just because you want to encourage them to come and work.
00:44:58 So with that, you discover that the cost of work
00:45:03 before the crisis and the cost of work now, or level now,
00:45:07 are two different.
00:45:09 Because for the people to take the courage to come and execute,
00:45:12 you have to pay them.
00:45:13 And because prices of materials have gone up,
00:45:17 a more laborious tax payment on the prices, money spent
00:45:24 on material, so that is a percentage of money
00:45:26 spent on material.
00:45:27 So since the prices have gone up,
00:45:29 because people are afraid to transport into the zone,
00:45:31 so prices have skyrocketed.
00:45:33 You have to pay high.
00:45:35 So when you pay high, and they are a little bit encouraged,
00:45:37 and they see that they can make money from there,
00:45:38 some of them will come and work.
00:45:40 Certain elements are requested by these people, who
00:45:44 are simply working to get things back
00:45:46 to a state of normalcy for better living conditions.
00:45:50 The population needs to be collaborative,
00:45:52 because after six years of this senseless war, what has ended
00:46:00 has just landed the population 20 to 15 years,
00:46:04 15 to 20 years backward.
00:46:07 The way I've handled the problem of security
00:46:09 is that I have dissociated myself completely
00:46:12 from the security forces in place, be it military,
00:46:15 be it police, be it gendarmes.
00:46:18 When I go there, I don't go to them,
00:46:20 because the moment the separatists realize
00:46:23 that you are making friends with these people,
00:46:25 they'll come after you.
00:46:27 And secondly, I don't go to the separatists
00:46:29 itself, because I don't try to send a signal.
00:46:34 If the security forces in place realize
00:46:37 you're working in collaboration with the separatists,
00:46:40 they'll equally come to arrest you.
00:46:42 So when I go to these areas, I just go to the project.
00:46:46 I can maybe inform the mayor, maybe the prefect of the area,
00:46:50 that I'm here to work.
00:46:51 That's it.
00:46:52 In areas where we are able to have the workforce,
00:46:55 we try to mobilize labor from the neighboring villages,
00:47:00 because what we try to do is try to galvanize
00:47:04 some sort of a collaboration in a way
00:47:06 that the people working in the area
00:47:08 should be familiar with the geography of the area.
00:47:14 You can't take a phone to go and work in Bui, for example.
00:47:20 But if you take somebody from DUP,
00:47:22 there can be some familiarity in the way
00:47:25 they associate themselves.
00:47:27 So even if there's nobody from Bui, for example,
00:47:30 at least somebody coming from DUP has some familiarity,
00:47:33 maybe friends from the same area,
00:47:35 that he can easily synchronize his approaches
00:47:42 or easily be assimilated in the area.
00:47:45 Development has no color.
00:47:47 Why would someone destroy or hinder
00:47:50 the realization of projects for the good and growth
00:47:54 of their community?
00:47:56 This is the question no one has succeeded to answer.
00:48:01 They are not going to take away these projects to other areas.
00:48:05 They will not remove the roots of root buildings.
00:48:08 So my message to them is that development
00:48:12 is like a milestone to every development.
00:48:19 Development is like the milestone
00:48:22 to the growth of every economy.
00:48:25 And the more we are developed, the more the economy
00:48:30 is going to grow.
00:48:31 But if they are destroying the development,
00:48:34 then in a nutshell, after the crisis has been resolved,
00:48:38 whether positively or negatively,
00:48:41 they will be at ground zero and will have
00:48:42 to start back from afresh.
00:48:44 Whatever the hindrance or challenges faced,
00:48:48 the special presidential plan is on course
00:48:51 in the Northwest and Southwest regions.
00:48:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:48:58 My guest on the program tonight is the national coordinator
00:49:16 of the presidential plan for the development and reconstruction
00:49:21 of the Northwest and Southwest regions, Tamajong Motuba Obase.
00:49:27 Mr. Tamajong, good evening and thanks for joining us.
00:49:29 Thank you, Ben, and thanks for accepting me into your program.
00:49:33 Now, I want to know from you, how
00:49:36 does it feel sitting on the steering
00:49:38 wheel of the car that you are currently driving?
00:49:41 I mean, the PPRD.
00:49:44 First of all, that the president of the republic
00:49:49 accepted that I could take the steering wheel of such a plan,
00:49:55 which means a lot to this country, which
00:49:56 means a lot to him.
00:49:57 Challenging, daunted, because when
00:50:04 you look at a task that involves the PPRD
00:50:07 and the people involved in trying to make their lives
00:50:10 better, you basically hardly sleep.
00:50:13 Do you know your destination already,
00:50:15 and how long do you think it's going to take you to get there?
00:50:18 I know my destination.
00:50:20 I think I have an idea of how long it might take us
00:50:23 to get there, because I work in a team.
00:50:25 I'm not working alone.
00:50:27 Might be a driver's seat, but there are co-pilots.
00:50:31 And we think we can wrap up the first phase in the next three
00:50:36 years.
00:50:38 And then, you know, the second and the third phases
00:50:41 have already started, actually, although they are still
00:50:45 a team, but then we know that in the next three years,
00:50:51 we should be wrapping up the first phase.
00:50:53 Getting to your destination, does it depend on the car?
00:50:56 Does it depend on the passenger on board?
00:50:58 Or it depends on the state of the road?
00:51:01 I would say the three.
00:51:03 It depends on the car, in terms of we
00:51:08 have some state-of-the-art car, in terms of conception,
00:51:12 in terms of the support we are receiving from both
00:51:16 the architect of the plan, that's
00:51:19 the president of Republic, His Excellency Paul Bier.
00:51:23 We have very good mechanics.
00:51:27 I'm talking about the private side of government
00:51:31 and its entire ministerial team.
00:51:34 And I'm talking about the road, because over this rocket,
00:51:40 we are confident that we've got expertise
00:51:43 in terms of the mechanics.
00:51:46 We've got expertise in terms of the people who are directing us
00:51:49 with the weather forecast, where we should expect slippery roads
00:51:53 and where we should expect bumps.
00:51:55 And I think we're going to get there.
00:51:59 In terms of the population, I can
00:52:02 see that with time, everybody needs what they need
00:52:08 and what they want.
00:52:10 And therefore, if they need social services,
00:52:12 if they need schools, if they need hospitals,
00:52:15 those needs are going to come far
00:52:17 beyond any ideological circumstances or situations.
00:52:20 And so we are confident we're going to get there.
00:52:23 Now, you know the destination you're going on.
00:52:25 You say you have the car that can take you there.
00:52:27 And you're confident that it has the requisite fuel
00:52:29 to take you to your destination.
00:52:32 Yes.
00:52:33 The fuel would have expected to have excess fuel
00:52:36 to go at full speed.
00:52:38 And proof is that June 2020 to December 2022.
00:52:47 In April this year, you attended a meeting
00:52:50 that was convened by the chairman of the steering
00:52:53 committee of the recovery plan for the Northwest and Southwest
00:52:57 regions, Mr. Balungeli Konfiansebune.
00:53:00 Now, can we have an idea of what really
00:53:02 transpired in that meeting?
00:53:03 We could not let that foundation remain for long
00:53:07 without putting the brakes.
00:53:09 And so we started by doing systems and procedures.
00:53:14 And that had to go to the steering committee
00:53:18 for that to be validated.
00:53:20 And so beside the work plan and budget proposal,
00:53:24 which had to be endorsed, these procedures,
00:53:27 these systems that we had actually elaborated
00:53:30 had also to be validated.
00:53:32 Now, what would you say has been the ground that you've
00:53:35 covered ever since the plan went off?
00:53:38 I would say we've covered lots of ground
00:53:43 in very difficult circumstances.
00:53:46 When this plan started in 2020, the situation, the suspicion,
00:53:57 the lack of faith in the plan was very high.
00:54:04 And maybe I'll just use the opportunity again
00:54:08 to thank our implementing partner, UNDP, that
00:54:14 has got enormous experience in dealing
00:54:16 with crisis situations in almost 36 countries around the world.
00:54:21 And they came in and said, we can do it.
00:54:24 We can prove the concept that we can start reconstructing when
00:54:28 there's a crisis, because people have needs.
00:54:31 And those needs cannot be abandoned or ignored
00:54:34 because there's a crisis.
00:54:36 And so I would say for that period of time,
00:54:41 it might look little what was done.
00:54:45 But it's enormous in terms of effort,
00:54:49 in terms of the time lag within the space of the challenges.
00:54:55 So I would say we've covered--
00:54:57 putting that into perspective, we've
00:54:59 covered more than 30% of our road to go.
00:55:05 It's such a solid foundation that we're
00:55:10 going to start cruising.
00:55:11 And the proof is that the budget more than quadrupled
00:55:16 for activities for 2023.
00:55:19 OK.
00:55:19 Now, you're talking there about the budget.
00:55:21 And I understand that one of the key components of the plan
00:55:25 is the financial side of it.
00:55:27 So far, what has been the level of financial mobilization
00:55:30 for that program?
00:55:31 Let's thank the president of the republic
00:55:36 for authorizing and instructing that the plan received
00:55:40 8.9 billion francs.
00:55:43 And then we also received, through the president's
00:55:50 instruction, 7 billion francs for this year.
00:55:55 This is not without--
00:55:57 I mean, last year.
00:55:58 And this year, we received out of 15 billion
00:56:02 special funds for the three economically embattled regions
00:56:08 or crisis regions.
00:56:10 The PPRD, the presidential plan, received 10 out
00:56:16 of the 15 billion.
00:56:17 It goes without saying that the emphasis
00:56:22 being put on trying to resolve the crisis by resolving also
00:56:27 the developmental problems is taking a center stage.
00:56:33 And in June, there was a remodeling
00:56:39 of the special fund, which has gone up to 29 billion francs.
00:56:43 If you were asked to put a finger, like people say,
00:56:47 on what the PPRD has been doing on the ground ever since it was
00:56:54 created, some 27 months or so, what
00:56:57 would be your pick in the two regions?
00:56:59 What is it that concretely has gone on the offing,
00:57:02 thanks to the existence of the PPRD?
00:57:06 The main thing the PPRD has done is
00:57:09 created faith in the people of the southwest and northeast
00:57:13 region.
00:57:14 The PPRD came at the time 2016, 2017,
00:57:21 and the destruction just went on and on.
00:57:24 No matter how we look at it, people
00:57:27 have their reasons for doing what they do.
00:57:29 And we don't have the monotony of being right or wrong.
00:57:32 So for them, many people started losing hope.
00:57:38 And I think PPRD came and gave people hope
00:57:42 that when all is lost, we can count
00:57:47 on the people who think and care about us profoundly,
00:57:50 even if they are not sitting or wearing our shoes
00:57:54 to help us rebuild, to help us recover.
00:57:58 And I think I can cite hospitals, health centers,
00:58:03 schools to rebuild, and all of that.
00:58:07 But then, as I say, its biggest contribution
00:58:13 was this rekindling of the hope of the people of the northeast
00:58:17 and southeast region.
00:58:19 Now let us-- let us-- let us to the concrete of it,
00:58:21 and let us go with some of the pillars on which the PPRD
00:58:24 stands.
00:58:26 Let us talk about the idea of social cohesion.
00:58:29 How far have you gone with that in remodeling?
00:58:33 Social cohesion is like the lady that comes in quietly
00:58:39 and then brings the tissues together.
00:58:42 And then you come to the tread with infrastructure
00:58:45 rehabilitation, livelihood improvements,
00:58:48 or local economy revitalization.
00:58:50 And therefore, with social cohesion,
00:58:53 we come in to reveal the structure which
00:58:58 had been like shaking.
00:59:01 Now the crisis attacked two main-- three main pillars.
00:59:08 The institutional pillars, which is the states,
00:59:12 the traditional pillars, and the religious pillars.
00:59:18 So these three main pillars were consistently being eroded.
00:59:24 And this led to a lack of faith in people and themselves,
00:59:29 people who were brothers and sisters
00:59:31 started suspecting each other.
00:59:33 You never knew who was who.
00:59:35 And so social cohesion comes in to reveal the social tissue,
00:59:39 the social trust.
00:59:41 And people can then start sharing public space together.
00:59:47 People can then start talking to each other.
00:59:50 People can then start having faith in each other.
00:59:54 And that gives us the chance for the other projects
00:59:57 to start coming.
00:59:58 And I always tell people that PPRD contributes to peace
01:00:04 by action, not by talking peace.
01:00:07 And people don't like it.
01:00:09 I say, by what we're doing, we're
01:00:11 going to contribute three, four times more to the peace
01:00:15 than probably talking about peace every time.
01:00:19 And people are there starving.
01:00:21 People are there not going to school.
01:00:23 People are there dying of malaria
01:00:25 under tree trunks in the bushes.
01:00:28 Now, it's true, social cohesion, you say,
01:00:29 it's on a good footing.
01:00:31 What about the other component, like let's
01:00:33 talk about the rehabilitation of social infrastructure that
01:00:36 is equally part of your mission?
01:00:38 Great.
01:00:39 As I said, with the situation in which the plan started in June
01:00:44 2020, we had to go really slowly, discreetly,
01:00:51 not really to offend people, but not
01:00:56 to make us feel insensitive to the different feelings
01:01:01 and opinions of the people concerned.
01:01:04 And basically, with social cohesion
01:01:08 coming into rebuildables to regain
01:01:13 faith in the communities and the persons around,
01:01:16 we were now able to start building key infrastructure,
01:01:20 like health centers, providing potable water,
01:01:27 providing and reconstructing and equipping schools.
01:01:32 Because these are community projects.
01:01:34 And I think-- thank you, Ben, for giving me this opportunity.
01:01:38 Most of the time, people will have said,
01:01:40 what about my house?
01:01:43 And I can understand that feeling.
01:01:47 Many people, and I'll be sure, even you,
01:01:51 must have lost something because of this crisis.
01:01:54 But then the logic is, the things which were destroyed,
01:01:59 we should first try to rebuild.
01:02:02 And by rebuilding, we create a feeling of faith
01:02:06 and confidence.
01:02:07 By rebuilding, we create a system of resilience.
01:02:13 It's not like challenging another person.
01:02:16 And because they're community structures--
01:02:19 schools, health centers-- everybody generally
01:02:23 benefits from the structures.
01:02:24 It's not like somebody's house or that person's house.
01:02:29 Now, I can say that we are now pushed the gear
01:02:33 into closing, and we have raised new activities,
01:02:36 like starting to support household kids.
01:02:44 In as much as everybody will say,
01:02:47 you cannot take maybe 100 friends
01:02:51 and tell them you're going to rebuild my house, I agree.
01:02:54 But then we have to start somewhere.
01:02:56 We say, the people who are the most vulnerable
01:02:59 are not the people in the cities of Bamenda, or Kambe,
01:03:05 or Manfe, or Boye, or Olimbe.
01:03:09 They're the persons living in those villages.
01:03:11 And if you look at some of those villages,
01:03:13 the way the destruction took place,
01:03:17 if I probably burn your house in Olimbe or in Bamenda,
01:03:24 it might not affect you as much as if I burn somebody's house
01:03:29 in a village in Furawa or in Gabo.
01:03:34 And so the idea is to start rebuilding the city.
01:03:38 That's what I mean by introducing new activities,
01:03:40 which are going to--
01:03:43 beside ones I cited, we are supporting
01:03:46 housing kids, reconstruction.
01:03:48 Not only are we just going to support housing kids,
01:03:51 we are providing psychosocial care.
01:03:54 Because people have suffered trauma.
01:03:59 The crisis is never easy for any person.
01:04:01 And you bring somebody back to the environment in which he
01:04:06 or she was, it takes a person back.
01:04:10 Memorily, some of those memories are not very easy to handle.
01:04:15 And so we have teams which are going
01:04:17 to accompany these persons who would want to join our team.
01:04:22 Because we are having experts--
01:04:25 I'm calling them experts.
01:04:27 Technicians are going to help these persons, the kids,
01:04:31 to start rebuilding their houses.
01:04:33 We are also putting into place a system of training
01:04:38 in local youths, female Americans,
01:04:42 to aid in reconstruction in that locality.
01:04:46 You are still on infrastructure.
01:04:47 It is good.
01:04:48 So I just gave you some of the examples of what we're doing.
01:04:53 But then, we are not doing them as isolated activities.
01:04:56 We're trying to use what we call a cluster
01:04:59 approach of development.
01:05:01 In other words, you don't just come and throw a bubble
01:05:05 in Bastos or Guero.
01:05:08 Let me use villages out there in Bova and Guero.
01:05:13 You come and you do a bubble.
01:05:15 And if there's a school, and you rebuild the school,
01:05:19 and there's a health center, you rebuild the health center.
01:05:21 You see, you're doing cluster development.
01:05:23 And you're making life much more--
01:05:27 I mean, I don't want to use Palitibor,
01:05:29 because it goes to the extreme.
01:05:32 You can support living day to day better.
01:05:35 So that's the system we're going to use.
01:05:37 And in terms of infrastructure, we
01:05:40 are also thinking of getting to telecommunications,
01:05:46 doing some pools that will help citizens
01:05:51 be able to even communicate.
01:05:53 I mean, if you know what communication is
01:05:55 in this modern world, some people are completely cut off.
01:05:57 They can't even call.
01:05:59 So if we have to do monitoring, we
01:06:03 have to have live information of what is going on.
01:06:08 Then we have to also have these communication pools
01:06:13 and centers installed.
01:06:14 We are also-- in this year, we are also
01:06:17 introducing the reconstruction of electrical systems.
01:06:22 I mean, I don't want to call an enterprise's name,
01:06:27 because some of those pools are destroyed.
01:06:29 Transformers got burnt or were destroyed
01:06:32 or got degraded.
01:06:35 And all of these--
01:06:36 and in most of these areas, for example,
01:06:40 our bubbles are going to be-- they are all solar powered.
01:06:43 So it reduces the dependence on electricity,
01:06:49 which is based on fossil fuel or land, which might not even
01:06:54 be rich in there.
01:06:55 So those are some of the things we
01:06:57 are introducing this year under infrastructure,
01:07:00 which we are not there.
01:07:01 So we'll see how the pilot situation goes.
01:07:03 We are also going, this year, to do a pilot
01:07:07 rebuilding of palaces.
01:07:10 Palaces.
01:07:11 Great.
01:07:12 So I know you're thinking, how are you going to do that?
01:07:16 And the whole idea is that, as I explained,
01:07:19 the traditional institutions are one
01:07:21 of the pillars of a society that was attacked to destroy,
01:07:26 to disintegrate the system.
01:07:28 So by rebuilding confidence in our palaces,
01:07:35 I think we are going to help bring back
01:07:38 the harmony in the communities.
01:07:40 And bring back all of those funds
01:07:42 who are all living in metropolises.
01:07:44 Yeah.
01:07:45 I know it's going to be very tough,
01:07:47 but we'll lay down some simple preconditions,
01:07:52 like people who have been there, the funds, the chiefs who
01:07:56 have been staying there all this while, the most vulnerable.
01:08:01 I love that word, vulnerability.
01:08:03 Because if I can build a new palace,
01:08:08 I should help, we should be able to help those
01:08:10 who can't really stay in.
01:08:12 I say it's just a support.
01:08:13 And the way it's been going, a lot of elites
01:08:17 and executive members of development associations
01:08:21 have met us.
01:08:22 And I say, look, we are even helping
01:08:25 to do situational analysis of how our palaces can
01:08:30 be restructured, which is what we need.
01:08:32 These are the virtues.
01:08:34 And I think if we start one, two,
01:08:36 it might prove the concept that these things can be done,
01:08:41 and then we can have a spread.
01:08:42 So far, so good for infrastructure reconstruction.
01:08:45 Then what about the rehabilitation,
01:08:48 the revitalization of the local economy?
01:08:50 What grounds have you covered in that sector?
01:08:53 That one, I think, is considered by a lot of people
01:09:01 beside housing as a core.
01:09:05 Social cohesion-- let me just go back to that one,
01:09:08 because it's very important.
01:09:09 But people don't see it.
01:09:11 Social cohesion is a motto.
01:09:14 Where the economy, what comes to my pockets, is very important.
01:09:20 OK, if you're going to tell me all about all the nice things
01:09:24 you're doing on social cohesion, fine.
01:09:26 But what comes to my pockets?
01:09:28 Am I going to be able to have a meal tomorrow?
01:09:31 And so basically, we are tackling the economy
01:09:37 with revitalization from two facets.
01:09:41 The congregate facet, in other words,
01:09:43 cooperatives, groups, which we are giving priority to.
01:09:47 Again, it's easier working with groups.
01:09:49 And there's little loss or dispassion.
01:09:56 And also, we are tackling it from the perspective
01:10:00 of individuals who have innovative ideas.
01:10:03 And I also just would say that we
01:10:09 have remodeled our motto from bearing back better
01:10:15 to bearing back better innovatively.
01:10:17 What do I mean?
01:10:19 What we're trying to do is we've got a unique opportunity
01:10:22 the head of state, President Paul Obie,
01:10:23 has given us to rethink our development
01:10:28 model of these two regions.
01:10:32 If we let this opportunity pass by us,
01:10:36 posterity will have us to blame.
01:10:40 And so what we're doing is in every circumstance,
01:10:43 we're saying, what was being done yesterday was this.
01:10:46 How can we do to improve upon what was being done?
01:10:51 So for example, we are giving preference
01:10:54 to hybrid and lab group initiatives.
01:11:01 In other words, if you have a palm plantation,
01:11:04 why don't you put in some goats or some sheep on that?
01:11:08 If you have a poultry and you have water running around,
01:11:13 or a fish, why don't you do a fish pond?
01:11:16 So with this hybrid concept is one thing
01:11:19 that we are encouraging.
01:11:21 And we are encouraging systems which are innovative.
01:11:25 And so individuals who have got innovative ideas, especially
01:11:29 youths, are also being supported.
01:11:32 If they are in groups, the better.
01:11:34 And last year, we supported almost 17 of these groups.
01:11:42 And this year, as I said, we are stepping up almost 100%
01:11:45 across the board in most of the activities we're going to do.
01:11:48 I know it's going to be challenging.
01:11:50 That's what we're meant for.
01:11:51 Challenges are meant for human beings to tackle.
01:11:53 That's one of the reasons for which you are existing here.
01:11:56 I think so.
01:11:58 Now, what would you say about those who think--
01:12:01 or let me put it differently.
01:12:02 What is the support that you are having in carrying out
01:12:06 all of these projects, especially
01:12:08 executing the three main pillars on which you stand?
01:12:11 Apart from government, who are your other partners
01:12:13 in this endeavor?
01:12:16 Lovely question.
01:12:17 Nice opportunity.
01:12:19 We've got the government of Japan,
01:12:22 which supported us last year with 1.5 billion francs.
01:12:29 And this year, they're putting in 1.35, 30-something billion
01:12:35 francs again.
01:12:36 And as I said, they were actually
01:12:38 supporting most of the health facilities
01:12:41 which we reconstructed and water facilities as well.
01:12:44 We've got SRBC that supported us with 500 billion.
01:12:49 I mean, I'm talking about GCAM.
01:12:51 GCAM has got different--
01:12:53 SRBC is one of their affiliates in GCAM.
01:12:59 We've got this year--
01:13:00 PECAM is going to be supporting us with 250 million francs.
01:13:05 UNDP supported the program last year
01:13:07 with about 275 million francs.
01:13:10 And this year, UNDP is supporting the program
01:13:13 with about 230 million francs.
01:13:16 We had 400 million francs from also another GCAM partner.
01:13:24 Now, tell me, so far, we see you active on the ground, yes.
01:13:30 So what would you say, or how would you
01:13:32 say is the PPDR impacting the ongoing unrest in the two
01:13:37 regions that are under your care?
01:13:39 Is the situation calming down, thanks to PPDR initiatives?
01:13:44 I think--
01:13:45 Or you are waiting for it to get calm before you actually
01:13:47 get started, your opinions?
01:13:49 Yeah, when we started, as I said,
01:13:53 the people who started the program, working on the program,
01:13:56 had a hot potato to bite.
01:13:59 And therefore, they weren't actually
01:14:01 not talking too much about the program being done.
01:14:07 When I was appointed on the 4th of November last year,
01:14:12 I felt, basically, we cannot have
01:14:16 a program which actually takes care of our sufferings.
01:14:21 I would make it look as if it's taking care of the sufferings
01:14:25 of somebody else.
01:14:25 And I said, look, we're going to start changing the gear again.
01:14:34 And so we moved.
01:14:36 We actually worked on a strategy under the instructions
01:14:40 of the Prime Minister of the government,
01:14:43 Chief Dr. John Gute.
01:14:45 We developed a strategy for 2023,
01:14:48 which, as I said, was one of the documents which was adopted.
01:14:51 And one of it, under the directives,
01:14:53 again, with the partnership of UNDP,
01:14:55 is that we're going to concentrate 70% of our activities
01:15:01 in what we call the green zones.
01:15:03 That's zones which are relatively free from too
01:15:05 many squabbles and security uncertainties.
01:15:10 And we're going to do 20% of activities in the yellow zones,
01:15:15 zones which are not too red or not too hot,
01:15:19 and not too easy to deal with.
01:15:21 And we're going to do 10% in the red zones.
01:15:24 This is the whole idea.
01:15:27 By showing, by working for this past 200 years,
01:15:32 basically, other communities have been demanding,
01:15:37 now what about us?
01:15:38 We also need water.
01:15:39 We also need schools.
01:15:41 We also need health centers.
01:15:44 So the original feeling that we had that these people don't
01:15:50 want this thing, for whatever reasons,
01:15:55 they seem to have been changing.
01:15:58 So we cannot have the luxury to step up and get
01:16:04 things done for the people.
01:16:06 And one of the ways we can do that
01:16:10 is by talking about what we want to do in the communities
01:16:13 with them, getting them to appropriate assets,
01:16:17 and therefore make these structures resilient.
01:16:20 In other words, the structures become--
01:16:23 and efforts become sustainable.
01:16:25 Else, you come on, as I explained,
01:16:27 you come and build a water point.
01:16:31 And the cable gets disconnected.
01:16:34 And nobody really cares after all.
01:16:35 Somebody just come up with a water point there.
01:16:38 So we are now moving gradually into the yellow and red zones.
01:16:46 I mean, we've got approaches where
01:16:49 we've got to make sure the community really
01:16:51 wants a project.
01:16:52 The community participates in the project.
01:16:55 And in our strategy, we also developed a system,
01:17:02 which one of the things systems will put in place.
01:17:06 Because we thought we should put systems.
01:17:08 And therefore, probably sometime early next year,
01:17:11 we'll just put people into automatic gear.
01:17:14 And it will just be flying on its own.
01:17:15 And so the systems are necessary.
01:17:17 And one of the systems is that we'll
01:17:18 be using the local communities to monitor the projects.
01:17:23 If the communities are involved, participate,
01:17:27 as one of the three strict instructions given to us
01:17:29 by the prime side of government, then
01:17:34 they should be involved in monitoring
01:17:36 and seeing what is happening.
01:17:37 Now, from the outset, there were people
01:17:39 who were nursing this apprehension
01:17:40 that you don't reconstruct in times of war.
01:17:44 Now, almost three years gone, would you still
01:17:47 say those people who had those apprehensions still
01:17:49 have a case?
01:17:52 They do.
01:17:54 They had a case.
01:17:56 Because they say we should respect
01:17:58 the opinion of every person.
01:18:00 And the case they have is that let there be peace
01:18:07 before we start reconstructing.
01:18:10 But then, the case we had--
01:18:15 then probably it's not my place, but the case
01:18:19 we had in elaborating the presidential plan
01:18:26 was that it was going to contribute to peace.
01:18:29 It was going to be a vector of peace.
01:18:32 So we are not saying that's a perfect condition.
01:18:36 And I'm glad to say we're now becoming a case study.
01:18:40 In the meeting of the TAFIM, the Fifth Settlement Committee
01:18:44 Session of PPRAD, some of the donors
01:18:48 actually said they are surprised positively
01:18:56 to see the positive impact that the presidential plan is
01:19:00 having in the two regions.
01:19:02 Because they've been having feedbacks,
01:19:04 even from some of the persons who were reticent.
01:19:08 And it's normal that people are reticent.
01:19:11 If you have complete peace, perfect.
01:19:14 Without peace, there can be no development.
01:19:18 If you had a special appeal to make, especially in those zones
01:19:21 that you call red zones--
01:19:23 I don't know how you characterize them--
01:19:25 but if you had a special appeal to make so that the PPRD can
01:19:30 actually accelerate the gear on which it is driving now,
01:19:34 what would that appeal be?
01:19:36 What message would you want the people to hear
01:19:39 so they can accompany you in your activities on the ground?
01:19:42 The first one is that we should ask--
01:19:45 we should ask--
01:19:47 we should ask ourselves for who is PPRD building?
01:19:54 Is it building for the person who gave us the plan?
01:19:59 If it's those people who are helping us build the water
01:20:05 points, build the schools, build the roads,
01:20:09 who are going to use them, then probably we
01:20:12 might say we don't need it.
01:20:13 Let's ask ourselves the fundamental question.
01:20:16 Who benefits most from the things which have been built?
01:20:21 And so if we can ask that, then I
01:20:24 will appeal to them to rally behind the activities,
01:20:30 appropriate the activities, and make sure
01:20:33 that the little that is being put there
01:20:37 is done in the most efficient manner
01:20:40 for the benefit of the greatest number of persons
01:20:44 in each community.
01:20:46 Mr. Tamaja Mutubawubase, the national coordinator
01:20:49 of the presidential plan for the development
01:20:52 and for the reconstruction and development
01:20:54 of the Northwest and Southwest region,
01:20:56 we appreciate your time with us.
01:20:58 It's my pleasure, Ben.
01:21:00 I hope we'll see very soon to see how far we've gone.
01:21:03 Thank you very much.
01:21:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:21:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:21:11 Military engagement and post-conflict reconstruction
01:21:26 are impossible to disentangle.
01:21:28 Modern firepower means that even short wars
01:21:32 can leave widespread devastation, shattered cities,
01:21:37 and infrastructure, dysfunctional institutions,
01:21:41 and weakened social and political structures.
01:21:44 Military engagement and reconstruction
01:21:46 are two sides of the same coin with
01:21:49 interdependent objectives.
01:21:51 Peace cannot be maintained without reconstruction.
01:21:55 But reconstruction is impeded by ongoing conflict.
01:22:00 A construction, therefore, is costly.
01:22:03 It is a massive organizational challenge.
01:22:06 Fiscal damage may be catastrophic,
01:22:09 communities confused and disoriented.
01:22:12 IDPs may even be demanding resettlement
01:22:16 despite the lack of housing, food, water, and employment.
01:22:21 Societies emerging from a civil rife,
01:22:24 like the ones in the North and Southwest regions,
01:22:27 confront the double challenge of creating dynamic economies
01:22:32 and promoting inclusion without which
01:22:35 national reconciliation and the consolidation of peace
01:22:39 will prove elusive.
01:22:42 That's my take on the program today.
01:22:44 Thanks for the privilege of your company.
01:22:46 See you next month.
01:22:48 Same station, same day, same time.
01:22:51 Bye now.
01:22:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:22:56 [MUMBLING]
01:23:00 [MUMBLING]
01:23:04 [MUMBLING]
01:23:07 (upbeat music)
01:23:10 (upbeat music)