Court summons Fame Ndongo

Former Minister of Communication (Mincom) will have to respond to the case of the connection of Cameroon Radio and Television (Crtv) to satellite.

The current Minister of higher education (Minesup) will be heard as a witness, as part of a dossier which he believed he had buried. He will have to explain himself, on the use of the funds made available for the stowage of CRTV on satellite.

He must also satisfy the curiosity of judges about the fate of this technological leap once loudly touted by the then president of the Board of administration (Pca) of the office of radio and television with public capital.

The case of the connection of Crtv on satellite - what is already called the 2nd Mendo Ze case - relates to the market of an amount of 3.5 billion Cfa francs. This contract was awarded on the eve of the 18 France-Africa Summit-January 19, 2001 in Yaoundé.

Indeed, Cameroon, which was so weighed down with the obsolescence of facilities in the field, wanted to take advantage of these meetings to address the deterioration of its radio and TV signals in the territory.

Companies that vied for the contract include ertex Rsi, Worldspace, Lst, Metracom Systems and Engeneering, Mds International S.A, Mbm-Europe but the realization of stowage was finally given to entrepreneur Ntin S.A., managed by Eugène Akame Akame, offspring of the former Minister of economy and finance, Édouard Akame Mfoumou.

It must be said that faced with the complexity of the task, and with regard to the urgency of the situation, Ntin S.A entered into co-realisation with the Mds international operator, specializing in bindings distances.

It is true that International group Mds - Ntin S.A which was adjudged technically performant; lowest among any other nominations. In addition, it was stated that there was no better options, given that the international grouping Mds-Ntin S.A. offer stood at 3.5 billion CFA francs while some providers projected 14 billion Fcfa.

In other words, the study of the international grouping Mds - Ntin S.A was judged the least costly and most equipped to perform this kind of work - including scanning and over-the-air terrestrial broadcast on all of Cameroon for the benefit of Crtv. A greater control of the State mission deployed to this effect on 44 sites, allowed them to assess the effectiveness of such projects which up to to today is still abandoned.

Despite multiple reminders of the then Mincom and Pca, from Crtv asking the Director General to provide the equipment to Mds - Ntin S.A group, nothing was done. Jacques Fame Ndongo, always categorically refused demands from Crtv, until he changed ministerial portfolio in December 2004.

However, pending the receipt of the market, Eugène Edouard Akame uploaded on the site Eagle Security guards, other company from its portfolio. These guards eventually abandoned 18 months later after Mr. Akame faced difficulties to make income.

Other sources reported that several invoices by Ntin S.A. society, estimated at nearly 400 million CFA francs remained unpaid, to date. Hence it appears, and this is where the problem lies, and that the second instalment of the payment of the market was indeed released. Surprisingly, nobody has been able to trace it.

It is based on these concerns that the magistrates of the CHT will investigate a number of actors including Jacques Fame Ndongo, and also the former general manager of Crtv, Gervais Mendo Ze.