Female MPs, Councillors hone skills on social accountability

The US based Women’s Democratic Network, WDN, in collaboration with the Interfaith Vision Foundation Cameroon IVFCam, recently drilled some 30 female MPs, Mayors and Councillors, drawn from the Southwest, West, Littoral and Northwest on good governance and social accountability to enable them serve as responsive leaders.

During the two days seminar workshop, that held at Azam Hotel in Bamenda, the Founder and Executive Director of WDC-Cameroon Country chapter and Chief Executive Officer of IVFCam, Anne Stella Fomumbod, recalled that before the 2013 twin elections in Cameroon, hundreds of women were trained by WDN in what was dubbed “Women’s Leadership School” and 70 of these ‘students’ stood as candidates on different political party tickets and some made it as MPs, Mayors and Councilors.

She said the goal of the seminar was to enhance the ability of women legislators and councillors in conducting democratic governance once elected and increase public confidence in the ability of women to serve as responsive leaders under the banner of social accountability.

The Country Director of WDN, Stella Fomumbod said, if women effectively lead in governance, “then most of the laws and policies which are patriarchically oriented will be revised to the benefit of the masses made up of women and children.

As such the underlying goal of WDN and IVFCams’s mission, will certainly be attained, of course, the Human Right of orphans and widows, which is the heartbeat of IVFCam’s work, will eventually be improved on in the long run, through the contributions of mothers who are policy makers.

The Regional Delegate of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Judy Ngwe Abong, lauded the efforts of WDN and IVFCam, saying the training of the elected female officials was timely and it falls within the strategic development plan which her Ministry stands for.

The Ist Assistant Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, Jean Pierre Ndoumbe Dika, said Government will continue to support the efforts of WDN and IVFCam in ensuring that women become good leaders.

Amongst the resolutions arrived at were that; women should be voted into offices because they are more accountable than men; councillors should be allowed to determine sources of income for the councils and their nomenclature reflecting their council area.