WOMEN PEACEBUILDERS VOW TO INTENSIFY MEDIATION  By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum About twenty women ha ve taken a commitment to intensify peacebuilding and mediation. They are inspired by a seminar which empowered them with knowledge on peacebuilding, mediation, conflict analysis and effective communication in times of conflict. The seminar was organised by Mother of Hope Cameroon-MOHCAM with funding from Women Mediators across the Common Wealth.  The over twenty women who attended the seminar are civil soceity leaders under the banner Women Peace Builders Network - WOPEN. The women are worried by the Cameroon Anglophone crisis affecting the Northwest and Southwest Regions of the country where parties on the opposing side are yet to settle on peace talks. This has led to rampant increase in human killing, kidnap, rape, shut schools, extortion, ghost towns, lock downs and a generally epileptic economy and "women have borne the brunt of the crisis" says Madam Gladyse Foncham, Secre...

WOPEN STRENGTHENED IN MEDIATION, PEACEBUILDING  By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum About twenty female civil society leaders under the umbrella Women Peace Builder’s Network WOPEN have been imparted knowledge in the domain of mediation, peacebuilding and conflict analysis. This was during a three day capacity building workshop November 25-27 2020 in Yaounde, dubbed “Strengthening the capacities of the Women Peacebuilders Network in Mediation and Peacebuilding Processes in the Northwest Region”.  The workshop was organised by Mother of Hope Cameroon MOHCAM in partnership with Women Mediators across the Common Wealth.  WOPEN blends outfit with Northwest traditional colours, photo session at  Peacebuilding, Mediation workshop. For three days, the women absorbed knowledge from a cream of resource persons on varied topics related to peace, mediation, conflict, effective communication and the law. Adah Mbah,  The Chief Executive Officer of MOHCAM stated the motive “our coming t...

MBENGWI COUNCIL STRIVES HIGHER AFTER 80% BUDGETARY EXECUTION By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum Ten of seventeen projects has been delivered by the Mbengwi Council for the present year with a corresponding 80% budgetary execution rate. The council is committed to achieve higher in the coming year. Mr Ngassa Kennedy Akam Mayor of the Council together with other councillors and staff agreed to step up efforts in serving the population. This was during a session to vote and adopt the budget for 2021 .      Ngassa Kennedy, Mayor of Mbengwi The budgetary session was moderated by the Secretary General of the Mbengwi Council Mr Ndokonyi Musa. Also present at the session was the Senior Divisional Officer for Mbengwi Center Fouda Etabe Benoir Nicaise, the Divisional Officer Essapa Javis, the First Deputy Mayor Dorine Fonjong Anwi Else Angwe and the Second Deputy Mayor Kadiri Oumarou. Councillors at the session While the Council continues with projects within the gradually expiring current y...

MINISTERIAL DEFENCE TEAM SHARES IN NORTHWEST PLIGHT BY Mildred Ndum Wung Kum A four man delegation from the central government on mission to Cameroon's Northwest Region met with senior security and administrative officials of the region in what was dubbed a security evaluation meeting.  The Minister Delegate at the Presidency Incharge of Defense Joseph Beti Assomo, Secretaryof State to the Minister of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie Etoga Galax Yves Landry, Delegate General for National Security Martin Mbarga Ngele and the General Directorate for External Research - Leopold Maxime Eko Eko all met with security and administrative staff of the region. Joseph Beti Assomo, Minister Delegate at the Presidency Incharge of Defence led by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency Incharge of Defense Joseph Beti Assomo, they had a closed door meeting Friday November 20, 2020 in Bamenda Capital of the Northwest Region during which the ministetial team devoted hours long scrutiniz...

BAMENDA II COUNCIL EXTENDS CHARITY TO EX COMBATANTS By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum Ex combatants in Bamenda have received gifts from The Bamenda II Council, through Chenwi Peter, Mayor of Bamenda II. Over one hundred disarmed men and women were beneficiaries of foodstuff, sanitary pads and FCFA 200,000 The gesture of the donor was to patronize ex fighters as well as to uplift their welfare. This took place November 10, at the Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration -DDR Center Bamenda. Mayor Chenwi Peter accompanied by the Divisional Officer for Bamenda II presented the gifts to the ex combatants in the presence of the Coordinator of the DDR center Mr Gapsa Sixtus. The items included corn, beans, plantain, rice garri and sanitary pads. "I'm very happy today seeing the mayor being one of the first elites in the Northwest Region to visit the DDR center which I call the Holy Branch of peace. This center has operated for three years now and has never witnessed any elite of the Nort...

MILITANTS UPHOLD TRUST AT BIYA’S 38 ANNIVERSARY OF RIDDLED MANDATE  BY MILDRED NDUM WUNG KUM Militants of the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement CPDM feted the thirty eight anniversary of Paul Biya in power November 6, 2020. For close to four decades, the mandate of Mr Biya, incumbent president of Cameroon and national chairman of the CPDM party has been described as one marked with riddled achievement. In spite of this criticism from his opponents, sympathisers of the party celebrated his anniversary with high spirit, sustaining trust in Mr Biya’s regime. Comrade Fru Jonathan, Section President of Mezam II which covers the Santa area, organised militants where celebration of thirty eight years of Paul Biya at the helm of presidential power was done with renewed confidence. The Section President together with the youth and women leaders of the party rejoiced at a president whose term of office has been marked with an increase in infrastructure in all parts of the country includin...

GROWING THREAT AWAKES SECURITY STAKES BY MILDRED NDUM WUNG KUM Cameroon's Northwest region is fortifying stakes in  security prior to growing threats within and out of the region. The recent kidnap of teachers in Bui Division of the region and the massacre of seven children in the neighbouring Southwest Region has put security stakeholders on increased guard. Jolted by these happenings, a security meeting took place at the region's headquarter - Bamenda chaired by Northwest Governor Adolph Lele Lafrique November 3rd 2020. The in camera meeting summoned   senior administrative and security officials of the region. No statement was made to the press after the meeting, however, before the official start of the meeting, Mr Lele Lafrique in a statement to the press once again appealed for civil - military collaboration which he intimated is crucial for stemming insecurity in the Northwest region. "We are appealing to the population to continue organising themselves in vigilant...