Traditional Rulers Briefed On Parliamentary Functioning

Traditional rulers who make up the Executive Bureau of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon on Saturday January 11, 2014 in Yaounde acquired knowledge on bicameralism in Cameroon.

Meeting in their third Executive Bureau session, traditional rulers were told by guest at the ceremony, the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies, Amadou Ali, that the 1996 Constitution gives pride of place to parliament and that today, that parliament is made up of the National Assembly and the Senate referred to as bicameralism.

He went further to explain that before the Constitutional amendment of 1996 giving room for to the Senate, Cameroon had a mono-parliament system which evolved from colonial period to what we have today. Amadou Ali, besides recounting the history of the putting in place of the bicameral system of parliament in Cameroon, also told traditional rulers that the Senate was made up of 100 members - 70 elected and 30 appointed and that for the National Assembly, the number has evolved from the colonial period to what we have today (180). Parliament, he explained, controls government action and the Senate does a similar thing but can in addition, adopts and or amends texts from the National Assembly.

The President of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon, Alim Hayatou, Lamido of Garoua, North Region, hailed traditional rulers for their active participation in national life, especially in politics as evidenced by the appointment of some of their members into the Senate and the election of others into the National Assembly. He told them that the Head of State, Paul Biya, is not only engaged but has the political will to foster the wellbeing of traditional rulers as auxiliaries of the administration.

This, he said, was done by the September 2013 decree giving allowances to first, second and third class chiefs. "Traditional rulers know the importance of social cohesion and for that to happen, they must be peace crusaders as being preached and practised by President Paul Biya," he said. He stressed that the Council is not only an organ for reflection but that which promotes peace by initiating projects and carrying out activities that benefit the population.

Top on the agenda was a debate on the report of the committee that was set up to revise the statutes, internal rules and regulation of the council that was born in 2010. "With the passage of time, we have seen an increasing need to polish up our statutes and internal rules and regulations to meet the challenges of time," the Secretary General, Fon Chafah XI of Bangolan said. The council plans to build a benefitting Secretariat in Yaounde as part of their plan of action for this year.