House Connect of April 18, 2024 on CRTV
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Hello, and welcome to House Connect, your insights
00:28 into parliamentary activities.
00:30 Barely weeks into recess after the end
00:34 of the first ordinary session of the year,
00:37 lawmakers continue to reflect on how
00:39 to change the course of development
00:41 for the benefits of their communities.
00:44 On today's edition of the program,
00:46 we zoom in on their commitments to promote ecological transition
00:50 in the country.
00:52 Our guest is Honorable Teku Thandi Teku,
00:55 a vocational training expert who is keen on promoting education
01:00 in his crisis-ridden constituency of Manu
01:03 in the southwest region.
01:05 But don't go away.
01:06 We'll be right back in a jiffy as we
01:07 begin with the speakers.
01:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:12 The House Speaker, the Right Honorable Kawa Gjibril,
01:18 who also doubles as traditional ruler of Mada
01:21 in the Far North region, has been
01:23 itching for a synergy between traditional medicine
01:27 and conventional medicine in order
01:29 to guarantee quality health services for the population.
01:33 He inspired the creation of the parliamentary network
01:37 for the promotion of health and for the popularization
01:40 of traditional medicine in Cameroon
01:43 that has been functional in parliaments since 2020.
01:47 Traditional medicine is oftentimes
01:50 considered as pre-scientific, with its practices
01:53 and treatments termed a cake and worth replacing.
01:57 This misconception is addressed by the House Speaker,
02:01 the Right Honorable Kawa Gjibril, who strongly believes
02:05 that the strengths of African traditional medicine
02:08 can be explored by practitioners of conventional medicine.
02:12 The head of the technical secretariat
02:14 of the parliamentary network for the promotion of health
02:17 and the popularization of traditional medicine,
02:21 Dr. Ronil Temfak, summarizes the reflection
02:24 in a book titled The Naturopathy Guide.
02:27 We give to the president documents.
02:30 In that document, we were trying to advise traditional healers
02:37 that they must have a way to treat the patient.
02:45 They must do their practice with the law.
02:50 With over 80% of Cameroon's population seeking remedies
02:54 from herbalists and other experts
02:57 in African traditional healing, it
02:59 is incumbent for government to regulate the practice.
03:03 A bill to govern the sector and to provide avenues
03:07 for exchange between conventional and traditional
03:10 medicine is currently being drafted
03:13 and is expected to be tabled before Parliament
03:16 in the upcoming sessions.
03:17 Cameroon's rich forest and coastal resources
03:27 are increasingly at risk due to current droughts, rising sea
03:32 levels, and deforestation with large consequences
03:36 for economic development.
03:38 Ecological transition, which provides
03:40 a model for sustainability, is now
03:43 an imperative for the lawmakers of the parliamentary network
03:47 for the sustainable management of forest ecosystems' repair.
03:51 The effects of climate change are there.
03:54 They are telling, manifesting on our communities, our peoples,
03:57 our populations, and in fact, our environment.
04:01 You can see the health hazards.
04:03 You can see the deterioration in weather conditions
04:07 and, of course, the deplorable state of our forest resources.
04:13 All of this put together must be now
04:16 at the center of our conversations
04:18 and our discussions.
04:20 Technological innovation is of the essence,
04:22 a secular economy where every waste is a resource
04:27 and other options are to be explored.
04:29 We firmly believe that it is urgent,
04:32 not only in terms of political, economic, and social security,
04:37 but also in terms of perspective,
04:39 because we are hosting in Central Africa the Congo Basin.
04:43 And we firmly believe that accelerating
04:45 ecological transition will open several opportunities,
04:49 several opportunities in terms of employment.
04:51 In some forest zones, the threat to survival
04:55 is real and warrants the intervention of the state.
04:59 About some two weeks ago, you experienced
05:01 that floods got into Bekumu in my subdivision,
05:04 and the greenery there turned into something else.
05:08 Each ministerial department should put aside
05:12 in their budget amounts that would fight
05:16 against environmental degradation.
05:18 If we don't do that, then we'll just be beating about the bush.
05:21 This money that will be made available
05:24 should be given to the council,
05:25 because the mayors, you know, are the players at the field,
05:29 and they can know better how to work with the people
05:32 to see that our environment is sustainable.
05:35 REPA considers the revision of the 1994 forestry law
05:40 and the needfulness to incorporate host community benefits
05:44 in its provisions.
05:45 Mamphe Central and Tinto or Upper Banyan subdivisions
05:51 are forest zones, and one of the things we think
05:54 we should promote is sustainable development.
05:56 And in order to do that, we think that there are certain policies
05:59 that government must put in place.
06:00 Government should be able to give authorizations
06:03 for legal logging.
06:05 There should be legal logging.
06:07 People should not walk into villages, walk into forests,
06:10 and then just carry out illegal logging.
06:13 And I think that's what has been happening
06:15 in most of the areas like the East region.
06:17 Even the administration in that area should be informed.
06:20 So if there are any issues,
06:22 they should be able to address the situation.
06:24 The community should be part of the decision-making.
06:27 Most of the time, the royalties that are given
06:30 don't, you know, the community does not benefit.
06:34 You should cut using authorization.
06:37 Not that you just see anybody who has forest,
06:39 you go to him, and then you just negotiate,
06:42 and then you can tell the person, "I have 3,000,"
06:45 or we, the person, can even sell the forest for 15,000, 20,000, 30,000.
06:50 Because we know that there's crisis,
06:52 he cannot do anything with the forest.
06:54 No, we want that the government should impose
06:58 that people should use authorization
07:01 before they cut the forest so that my people will benefit.
07:05 An overhaul in mentalities
07:07 and an increase in investments will change the tides.
07:10 We need to build more sustainable cities
07:13 because currently in our country,
07:14 we face a lot of difficulties in terms of transportation,
07:18 in terms of energy, and even in terms of waste management.
07:21 But we need to leverage on ecological transition
07:24 to offer better solutions to the populations.
07:26 We cannot create ecological transition without social justice.
07:31 And it is also very important that we take into account
07:34 all the measures that need to be taken
07:36 to eliminate discriminations,
07:38 discriminations in terms of disabilities and all of that.
07:42 With the pursuit of opportunities
07:44 that create social, environmental, and economic awareness
07:49 while reducing environmental impact,
07:52 Cameroon is sure to survive
07:54 in spite of the devastating climate change effects
07:57 that threaten human existence.
08:00 As we announced at the start of the program House Connect today,
08:09 our guest is Honorable Teku Tani.
08:12 Teku is CPD and member of the National Assembly
08:15 of Manu constituency in the South-West region.
08:18 Honorable, you're welcome to the program.
08:20 Thank you very much, Esther, for inviting me.
08:22 It is a pleasure to have you on the program.
08:24 Thank you.
08:25 So we'll begin by finding out who is Honorable Teku Tani.
08:28 Teku, who is on his first mandate in Parliament.
08:30 I am a professional guidance counsellor.
08:35 I am a former principal of a government secondary school.
08:39 And I want to stress that the government secondary school
08:41 was in Acquia, subdivision.
08:45 But above all, I'm an expert in vocational training.
08:49 And for one educationist who's moved up the ranks,
08:52 you've occupied a position of principal,
08:54 you've equally worked at the ministry.
08:56 So what took you to Parliament?
08:59 The youth sent me to Parliament.
09:02 You know, at a certain time, they look for the person
09:05 who has the qualities they want.
09:07 Somebody who is altruistic and empathetic,
09:11 somebody who cares for them, somebody who listens to them.
09:15 We can't talk about the youth without talking about education.
09:17 Is that why you place your mandates
09:19 on the promotion of education?
09:21 Exactly. That is just one of the reasons.
09:24 Because we went into Parliament in 2020
09:27 at the peak of the socio-political crisis.
09:31 I'm from a subdivision with 66 villages.
09:34 And as at that time, up to now,
09:38 schools are functioning only in two villages.
09:41 It means 64 villages do not have schools.
09:44 We have about 21.
09:46 Every village at least has a government primary school.
09:50 You mean they do not have schools?
09:51 Or you mean the schools that they have are not functional?
09:54 Are not functional.
09:55 So schools are functional only in two villages
09:59 out of 66 villages.
10:02 So I'm saying that 64 villages, schools are not functional.
10:06 And we have, before the crisis,
10:09 we had 21 functional government secondary
10:12 and technical colleges.
10:14 As of now, only two government secondary
10:19 high schools are functional and one technical school.
10:22 Though the schools are functional only in two villages,
10:26 we tried to move children, pupils and students
10:31 from other villages, which are like the red zones,
10:34 to a Umojok and a Kok, which are green zones
10:37 for security purposes,
10:39 and to push the children to go to school.
10:41 Moving the children from the red zones to the green zones,
10:44 we could have parents who opened their doors
10:46 to take just any child to live with them.
10:48 Our role had been to make those children
10:50 attending those schools feel comfortable
10:53 by sponsoring them, giving them grants,
10:55 making them leave and attend school,
10:57 buying didactic materials for them,
10:59 paying their PTA fees and many more.
11:02 Could you give us some details of these actions
11:06 that you've been carrying out at the level
11:08 of your constituency and with whose assistance?
11:10 Because we all know the security situation.
11:12 Do you go to your constituency all the time?
11:15 I go to my constituency and I'm always there.
11:17 You know, it is during difficult moments
11:19 that the people know the politicians who are with them.
11:22 The Government Technical College in Umojok
11:24 had problems of electricity,
11:27 but no electricity, their workshops could not function.
11:30 And I donated to them two years ago,
11:33 a big Lister generator that cost more than 2 million francs
11:38 to enable them to have their workshops functional.
11:42 And I want to tell you,
11:43 to thank the Minister of Secondary Education
11:45 that after the school produced very good results,
11:48 they upgraded the school
11:49 to a Government Technical High School.
11:51 So that is it.
11:53 And for the other schools, I have been donating computers,
11:57 I've been donating didactic material,
12:00 paying, giving students scholarships,
12:04 grants and other awards to motivate them.
12:07 And for pupils, they are not left out.
12:09 Every year since I went to Parliament,
12:11 children writing the Common Entrance
12:13 have a certain amount of money to motivate them
12:17 to work hard.
12:18 And writing the first school's certificate,
12:21 it is the same thing.
12:22 And the results have been so wonderful.
12:24 We have been having meetings to call for sensitized parents
12:28 on the necessity to let their children start schools
12:32 in their various villages.
12:33 But Esther, I want to tell you that the fear factor is there.
12:37 - If there's a recommendation that you,
12:39 the people's representative of Umojok,
12:41 will have to make to Government
12:42 in order to facilitate this learning process in your area,
12:47 what would that be?
12:49 - We have to increase the security situation.
12:53 If schools are functioning in Umojok and Ekok,
12:56 it is because there are military bases there.
12:58 So if they could create other military bases
13:02 in some other villages like Kembung, like Osin,
13:07 which are centers, clusters,
13:09 where other children can come to attend school,
13:12 then the number of children going to school
13:15 would increase considerably.
13:17 - You're a vocational training expert.
13:19 And today, with the evolving world,
13:22 the new professions that are coming up,
13:24 what would you say is the importance of vocational training
13:28 in the development of a country like Cameroon, which is ours?
13:32 - It is unfortunate that many, many people,
13:35 many parents and even students and children
13:38 from our English-speaking regions
13:40 are not aware of the existence of certain
13:43 very important vocational training centers.
13:46 The government, the past about 10 years,
13:49 has tried to implement vocational training centers in Cameroon.
13:54 We have like the Advanced Vocational Training Center,
13:58 Center in Limbe.
13:59 In Cameroon, there are only three.
14:02 One is Sangmelima, one in Douala, and one in Limbe.
14:05 The school fee at inception was 500,000 francs,
14:09 given the value of the training that comes out of there.
14:13 But after two years ago,
14:17 the government decided to step down the school fee
14:20 to 50,000 francs.
14:23 - To make it more accessible.
14:24 - Make it more accessible.
14:26 Yet, many of our people are not aware.
14:29 I want to say that that training institute, for example,
14:33 enables those who have done general education
14:36 to come and convert and have a profession.
14:40 Imagine a young student who graduated with a degree
14:43 in English or in history,
14:45 goes there, will do an advanced certificate
14:48 in beauty and aesthetics, for example.
14:52 They come out to be job creators.
14:55 Like what I'm doing now, I have trainees
14:58 from my constituency whom I've sent
15:01 to vocational training centers, like the OIC.
15:03 - In Yomojoq subdivision,
15:05 the mainstay of the population is agriculture.
15:09 How have you been able to impact these farmers in your area?
15:14 - There are youth groups, organized youth groups,
15:16 where I give like engine sauce, I give farming materials,
15:20 I give fertilizers, hoes, and all of that.
15:24 But recently, on the 24th of March, I was in Yomojoq,
15:29 and I gave five tons of treated maize seedlings
15:33 to all the 66 villages of Yomojoq subdivision.
15:37 You know, with the crisis going on,
15:38 people have problems even going to their farms.
15:40 So when you go there, the issue is hunger.
15:43 So we donated this to them
15:48 so that they will plant, not only for consumption,
15:53 but Yomojoq happens to be at the borders with Nigeria.
15:57 So those who go into even industrial production of maize
16:01 will have the market to sell to the neighboring country
16:05 and make some money.
16:07 We have been promoting women's groups to,
16:10 because of the crisis we are talking about,
16:13 many people left their villages.
16:17 Most of them are women who are still fending
16:21 and struggling to send their children to school.
16:23 So I decided, and through my parliamentary network again,
16:28 organized for entrepreneurship in the National Assembly,
16:31 organized training seminars,
16:34 sponsored them in training seminars.
16:36 And I want to tell you that we have succeeded
16:39 to remove many women from the side of the road to markets
16:44 where they have their little sheds.
16:47 You know, they know how to do.
16:48 We have some who have gone into poultry farming.
16:50 We have some who have gone into pig farming.
16:53 But in all of this, we think that we should get to a stage
16:56 where they'll be more comfortable going back home.
16:59 - That's definitely a number of internally displaced persons
17:03 from Umoja subdivision,
17:04 given its closeness to Nigeria, neighboring country.
17:09 How have you been able to encourage
17:11 some of these people to come back?
17:13 - We have been working on that with my brother, the mayor.
17:17 And two years ago, and even last year,
17:20 there are hundreds of them who came back to Umoja.
17:27 Most of them do not have like national identity cards.
17:30 Most of them, they were running away,
17:32 all their documents, no birth certificates.
17:34 So we have been struggling to plead with the powers that be
17:38 that they should give the opportunity for these people
17:41 to have new birth certificates.
17:43 They should reopen the identification office
17:48 that was in Umoja, and because of the crisis,
17:51 it was closed down.
17:52 Now that they have come, they cannot be moving
17:55 from Umoja to go and do national identity cards in Manfe.
18:00 - What is the current security situation
18:02 in the Umoja subdivision?
18:04 - It is relatively calm.
18:06 I stress on the word relatively calm.
18:08 Relatively calm because once in a while
18:11 we have sporadic attacks.
18:13 But the most dangerous section of the route
18:17 in the Manu division now is between Ekok and Manfe,
18:21 where recently there have been many kidnappings
18:26 and asking for ransoms.
18:27 I use the opportunity to thank the defense
18:33 and security forces for the great job they are doing.
18:36 But given that we are a border subdivision,
18:39 some of these people come from the neighboring country,
18:42 and when they carry out their attacks,
18:45 their evil attacks, they rush back.
18:47 But then it is not going to be like that forever.
18:50 We have to, we are pleading with our brothers
18:53 who are part of this trouble,
18:56 that the head of state has told them to come out.
18:59 The head of state says, "Come back
19:02 "and nothing will happen to you."
19:03 - You can be pardoned and given a chance
19:05 to begin all over again. - A chance.
19:06 They send you to the DDR, where you learn a profession,
19:10 a lifelong profession, and some of them are coming,
19:13 some of them are not coming.
19:15 - So you're encouraging all those who are involved
19:17 in the security activities? - We're encouraging everybody
19:19 to come out and join.
19:21 We need them for the development of our subdivision,
19:24 for the development of our division
19:26 and our country in general.
19:28 - You're almost at the end of your first mandate,
19:30 about nine months, if the electoral calendar doesn't change.
19:36 What plans do you have for the remaining months
19:39 for your constituency?
19:41 - Much still to be done in the area of education.
19:45 The children have to continue going to school.
19:47 Schools have to reopen in most of our villages
19:51 in Manu Division.
19:52 We have to let the children,
19:54 they used to have opportunities that are there
19:57 for them to gain admission
20:00 into vocational training centers.
20:02 We have our women who are finding out that every time,
20:05 we have to empower them with the little trainings
20:09 in entrepreneurship.
20:12 So there's still much that we have to do for our people,
20:17 much, much, much.
20:18 In fact, more than what we have even done,
20:20 there's still much to be done.
20:22 - We hope that your impact is gonna be felt
20:24 and your legacy will live on,
20:27 whether you're still in parliament
20:28 or you're moving on for other functions.
20:30 We thank you, Honorable, for taking of your time
20:33 to be our guest on House Connect today.
20:35 - Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity.
20:37 - Thank you.
20:44 - Beyond legislating and controlling government action
20:47 in plenaries and committee settings,
20:49 senators and members of the National Assembly
20:52 are conscious of their role in promoting developments
20:56 in their communities.
20:58 Apart from ensuring that funds are located
21:01 in the public investment budgets are appropriately used,
21:05 they are equally engaged in a closer collaboration
21:08 with the electorates for the betterment of livelihoods.
21:13 Financial constraints on certain market conditions
21:17 and competition are the most common challenges
21:21 faced by private entrepreneurs in the country.
21:25 The parliamentary network
21:26 for the promotion of private entrepreneurship
21:29 mediating between the state
21:31 and the small business community
21:33 is going beyond subsidization to the creation of wealth.
21:37 - For the past years, the administration,
21:40 central administration was able to solve our problems.
21:44 They recruited a lot of youngsters
21:46 to be civil servants and so on.
21:48 But nowadays it's impossible.
21:50 We know that the way for some of our youngsters
21:55 to be a membership of our society,
21:58 a productive one, is to create a business,
22:02 to enter in entrepreneurship.
22:04 - The lack of experience and knowledge among youth
22:07 plus a desire to scale and grow their business
22:10 is being looked into by the legislators.
22:13 - Most of the farmers are receiving in that area
22:18 some machines to plant corn, soya beans, mainly women
22:23 because women in the Bamankim constituency
22:26 are really strong, they are motivated.
22:30 So we distribute some machines to improve the production.
22:34 Currently they have some machines that we call seeders.
22:37 They can plant one hectare of corn or soya bean in six hours.
22:42 And they also have some little tools to spray the fertilizer.
22:46 This is what we are trying to do.
22:47 - To ease the process of figuring out
22:50 how to grow your business,
22:52 the network is engaged in the creation of clusters
22:56 throughout the national territory.
22:58 - The members are supposed to have meetings
23:04 with the councils or to do it by themselves,
23:08 to create clusters so that these young people
23:13 be informed, be trained to create a business
23:17 in their circumstances.
23:19 We hope that at the end of the year, we'll have 25 created.
23:23 But we hope that we'll have more
23:26 because each member of parliament
23:28 can create even two or three or four.
23:30 - Apart from encouraging small-scale ventures,
23:33 members of the Cameroon-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group
23:37 deliberated on ways of fostering ties
23:41 and concerted legislative action with their peers.
23:45 - Cameroon was privileged to have had Germany
23:49 as its first colonial master.
23:50 And during their period of colonialism,
23:54 they put in place structures, policies,
24:03 which until today are playing a very significant role
24:08 in the evolution of things in Cameroon.
24:14 Economically, they set us on a platform
24:20 which the foundation, the very foundation
24:22 of Cameroonian economy is based or built on.
24:25 - The commitment to strengthen trade investments
24:29 that have been relatively modest over the years
24:33 was also taken.
24:34 - It is with these actions of lawmakers
24:45 on the field that we draw the curtains
24:47 on today's edition of House Connect.
24:49 Our guest was Honorable Teku Tani Teku
24:52 of the Banyu constituency in the Southwest region.
24:55 As we look forward to what lawmakers
24:58 will be deliberating on in the coming weeks,
25:00 we'll take a rendezvous for a fourth night.
25:03 Till then, accept warm regards
25:06 from the entire production team of House Connect on CRTV.
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