MPs send Biya a petition for Anglophone rights

Some 50 MPs across the political spectrum have signed a petition urging the President of the Republic to take advantage of the Anglophone marginalization in Cameroon, before it degenerates.

The MPs are complaining of the magnitude of Anglophone marginalisation in all walks of life. According to them, bilingualism, especially with the English language is not respected in the country, with most, if not all official documents issued exclusively in the French language.

According to reports, the MPs wanted President Biya to device measures of solving the problem in order to stop it from getting out of hand. The MPs have also expressed worries why certain administrative portfolios cannot and have never been headed by an Anglophone. Ministries such as the Ministry of Finance, Defence, Territorial Administration, External Relations, Education and others were cited as the exclusive preserve of Francophones, even when better qualified Anglophones abound.

The MPs complained about the position of Anglophones in the administrative ladder. They frowned at the notion that the first Anglophone in the administrative ladder holds the fourth position. This is because the Head of State comes first in the administrative ladder followed by the President of the Senate, and the National Assembly.

According to an unwritten, yet obnoxious law, the first personality of the country is supposed to be the President, a francophone, who ought to be assisted by an Anglophone.

The issue of Anglophones being relegated to the back burner had been raised by Anglophone Lawyers, Southwest Chiefs, Southwest Elites Association and now MPs.

In Post edition No 01638, one of such MPs for Donga Mantung Central Constituency in the Northwest Region, Hon. Cyprian Awudu Mbaya had declared that he will ensure that bilingualism is respected in the nation and that all notices are routinely written in English and French.

Hon. Mbaya had stated that he will not tolerate anyone who posts notices only in French; he has embarked on a campaign to pull down all notices bearing a single language, French. According our source, Chief Mukete was the first to sign the petition.

At press time, over 50 MPs had already signed the petition with quite a few from the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM.