Art Boss Ensures Hitch-Free Services in Buea

Telecommunications are being fine-tuned to pre-empt technical hitches during the reunification celebrations.

Within the framework of resolutions taken during a meeting of the National Organizing Committee for the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Cameroon's Reunification, the General Manager of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (ART) Mr. Jean-Louis Beh Mengue, was in Buea 12 December 2013 to ensure hitch free telecommunications before, during and after the event.

Stakeholders of MTN, Orange, Camtel, P&T left no stone unturned as they fine-tuned strategies to resolve any technical problems that may eventually arise. Site visits took the ART boss and his entourage to Bongo's Square (venue of the march past), the Regional Delegation of Communication, the P&T Delegation, the Delegation of National Security, the Parliamentarian Flats, Mountain Hotel and the South West Headquarters' of the National Gendarmerie.

In hotels, the technical equipment was scrutinized to ensure that internet connections, telephones and the television networks are effectively functional. At the Parliamentarian Flats, the General Manager proposed that additional computers be installed to serve users who will be in their numbers.

The visit offered a timely opportunity for stakeholders to voice their level of preparedness and problems encountered in their sphere of responsibility. This evaluation meeting chaired by South West Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai harped on radio, telephone and television signals not only in Buea but in the Bakassi peninsula, cyber-criminality and security. Participants regretted that Buea is dubbed the hub of cyber-criminality in Cameroon and called on stakeholders to identify perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai called on ART and its partners to pre-empt any hitches that may mar the pomp of the celebrations. "This is not the moment for errors. It is a moment for excellent and exactitude," he insisted. There was good news as Orange announced that it will ensure coverage in the entire Akwaya as from 2014.

Talking to the press after site visits, Mr. Jean-Louis Beh Mengue voiced satisfaction with what has been realized. "The level of preparedness is encouraging. We are satisfied; what is remaining are few challenges that will be quickly resolved," he said. He disclosed that everything is being done to network remote areas like Bakassi and Akwaya.