The rather shabby treatment accorded to the Mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge, by members of the Central Committee of the CPDM in his own municipality recently has left some of his proponents seething in anger.

According to the infuriated militants, their boss was treated with scorn during the installation of the recently appointed Permanent Regional and Divisional Delegates of the CPDM.

The installation ceremony that brought together militants of the party from the six Divisions of the Southwest Region and staged at the National Social Insurance Fund, Mile 17 was presided at by the Secretary General of the CPDM, Jean Nkuete.

During the ceremony, Mayor Ekema was not accorded a place on the high table, as was the case with Mayors in Douala during the installation of the Littoral Permanent Regional and Divisional Delegates of the party.

Instead, the Mayor’s seat was placed in an inferior position, despite hosting the event in his municipality. According to his supporters, the move was a travesty of the protocol set up by the party which was intended to ridicule the Mayor, a man whom they said, has been working hard to foster the ideals of the party in Buea.

Another factor that left the Mayor’s sympathisers fuming in rage was that in all the speeches presented at the event (Fako III Section President and CPDM Secretary General), the presence of the Mayor was not acknowledged. This to the Mayor’s supporters was contrary to the ideals of the party and the administrative protocol order.

Again, it was odd to the Mayor’s collaborators that in a CPDM organised event, a CPDM Mayor like Mayor Ekema was not given even a second to vouchsafe a word of welcome to CPDM comrades in his municipality. This, to them, was the height of disrespect and disregard for his office and personality.

After the installation ceremony, the CPDM Secretary General convened an in-camera meeting with top brass of the party in the Southwest Region in which he reprimanded Buea and Kumba for the infighting that almost left the party in tartars, during the reorganisation of the basic organs of the party.

Mayor Ekema could not escape the ire of Jean Nkuete as he was reminded of the demonstration staged by his supporters after the rejection of his list. Nkuete’s wrath also descended on the militants of Meme, a Division that has become a political shifting ground for the CPDM.

During the in-camera conclave, the CPDM Scribe warned against disrespect of senior party officials like former Prime Minister, Peter Musonge, who many have described as the political godfather of Fako politicians.

The issue of disrespect also opened up another gory can of worms that has fomented unending bickering between Mayor Ekema, Senators Peter Mafany Musonge, Charles Mbella Moki and Honourable Emilia Lifaka Monjowa. This political infighting is still awaiting a lasting panacea for the grisly political sores it has left behind.

According to Nkuete, complaints about gross indiscipline and disrespect manifested by some junior militants towards their senior colleagues have reached his office, and that the Disciplinary Commission of the CPDM Central Committee will soon be vetting the complaints and those found guilty will be punished as prescribed by the basic text of the party.

To some political analysts in the Southwest, the installation of the CPDM Permanent Regional and Divisional Delegates in the Southwest Region, headed by Senator Musonge and the grungy treatment accorded Mayor Ekema may be the beginning of the end of the Mayor’s political career in the CPDM.

Ekema Refuses To Buckle, Joins CONAC In Corruption Fight

Meanwhile, despite the scruffy treatment received on June 17, the lionhearted Ekema refused to buckle under his political adversaries and detractors as he bounced back on June 21, in a press briefing to join forces with the National Anti-Corruption Commission to fight corruption and promote good governance in Cameroon.

In a programme dubbed Municipal Council Business Management and Public Service Governance Fellowship, BMF, the Mayor said the programme is intended to empower Cameroonians in general and those in the Buea municipality in particular with necessary skills to help government fight corruption, improve good governance and foster the country’s development agenda (vision 2035).

According to Mayor Ekema, the BMF, which is offered by the Buea Council in partnership with the National Governance Institute, a UK based NGO, represented by its Cameroon Chapter, Focal Integrity Team, also intends to overcome shortcomings in the development potential of ordinary citizens, who constitute key players in the social, economic and political life of Cameroon.

“The BMF supports young public servants, unskilled business operators and young entrepreneurs and graduates who desire to improve their skills in business management and local governance for sustainable development. The purpose is to help Cameroon recover lost grounds in economic and social development and accelerate the realisation of national vision by 2035,” he stated.

The five-day programme which will be launched on July 4 and will run through July 9, will bring together lecturers from renowned universities in the world who will present on; The National Anti-Corruption Strategy of Corruption, IMF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility Medium Term Economic and Financial Policy Framework, Cameroon’s Development Strategy as expressed in the 2009 GESP among others.

Mayor Ekema said since their election in 2013, his team has been prioritizing infrastructural development, but through the BMF, they want to invest in human capital. He encouraged Cameroonians living in or out of Buea to apply for the programme before June 28. Application can either be done online on www.bmf/buea.org or deposited at the Buea Council office.

On his part, the representative of the International Global Institutes, Stephen Asek, said even though corruption is entrench in Cameroon, there are some institutions like Buea Councils who are harnessing efforts to reduce it spread. He said his organisation is determined to help such institutions by offering its services free.