CAR refugees are issued Cameroonian identity cards - MP

The Member of Parliament, MP, for the Lom and Djerem Constituency in the East Region, Hon. Dimbele Boui, has raised an alarm at the ease with which refugees from the Central African Republic, CAR, are issued Cameroonian identity cards.

He raised the concern during a question time plenary at the National Assembly on December 8. The MP said the over 170 CAR refugees in the East Region were wrecking havoc in the place. He revealed that the refugees were perpetrating rape, kidnapping, especially children, as well as involving in cattle rustling.

According to Boui, Batouri and Yokadouma were hard-hit by atrocities of CAR refugees. Going by the MP, the overwhelming number of refugees in the area was adversely affecting the wellbeing of the local population. He said they also risk being contaminated with so many diseases.

He warned that if measures are not taken to arrest the situation, CAR refugees will relegate Cameroonians to the background and even take positions as traditional rulers in their areas.

Reacting to these concerns, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, said Government was very much aware of the pre-occupying situation of refugees in the country. It was because of these; he went on, that Government created a commission to handle the refugee issues in the country.

He said the authorities were taking measures to protect the Cameroonian nationality by stopping the indiscriminate issuance of national identity cards to people who were not well identified.

He continued that Government was creating police and military posts as well as taking measures to better master the borders. The Minister said authorities will investigate and monitor the movement of refugees in the country. He stated that Government was forced to grapple with the refugee situation because Cameroon is a signatory of the UN Convention on Refugees.

Sadi also answered Hon. Hermine Taimano Ndam Njoya’s question on the politicisation of the pilgrimage by Muslims to the Holy City of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. He explained that the commission managing the trip grapples with a lot of problems because Saudi authorities usually impose their conditions.

To him, it is true that those who did not succeed to go were very disappointed but explained that the number of pilgrims who go to Mecca from each country is determined by the Saudi authorities. Managing the pilgrimage trip, he went on, is very complex because not every Muslim who has the means is allowed to go there. He, however, disclosed that the number of Muslims that went to Mecca this year from Cameroon has increased.

Meanwhile, the SDF Parliamentary Group Leader, Hon. Joseph Banadzem, took the Minister of Public Works to task on the poor road network in the country. He chided Government for lacking a culture of maintenance, saying the entire road network in the country has potholes that have degenerated to yawning craters. He observed that roads, lifts in public offices and public buildings, as well as other State property, are never repaired.

The MP regretted that the road from Babadjou in the West Region to Bamenda in the Northwest Region was an eyesore. He wondered why so much money was being collected from tollgates in the country when the roads were not being maintained.

Reacting to Banadzem’s concerns, Minister Patrice Amba Salla said money collected from tollgates is not used only for road construction because it gets into the national treasury. He said Government uses the money as need arises and not only for the maintenance of roads. He explained that every tarred road has a life span depending on its breadth and how it is being used.

The Minister said Government was repairing roads gradually because it does not have the means to do everything at the same time. He added that Government needs more than FCFA 500 billion to be able to maintain the roads in the country.

He revealed that the maintenance of the Babadjou-Bamenda road was stopped because of lack of funds. Amba Salla, however, said Government was negotiating with donors to completely rehabilitate the Yaounde-Bamenda highway.