Presidency delegation holds security meeting in Buea

Reunification celebrations:

Presidency delegation holds security meeting in Buea

BY ATIA TILARIOUS AZOHNWI

The Chairman of the National Organising Committee for the Celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Cameroon’s Reunification, the Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic, Martin Belinga Eboutou has chaired a crucial security meeting in Buea ahead of the event.

The meeting held at the Presidential Palace in Buea adjacent the office of the South West Governor, was attended by officials from the presidency of the Republic including the Chief of State Protocol, Simon Pierre Bikele and the Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic, Joseph Anderson Le.

Security officials from the presidency of the republic, local security and administrative officials were privileged to attend the in-camera meeting.

When Belinga Eboutou and his team touched on Buea last Friday, January 24, his mood proved that they had come for strict business, signalling that the date for the celebrations is at hand.

Though they did not attend the security meeting, the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary; Minister of Urban Development and Housing, Jean Claude Mbwencho; the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ama Tutu Muna, the Deputy Director General of the Cameroon Radio Television, Francis Wate and the boss of the News and Publishing Agency, Marie Claire Nana were also part of the high-profile delegation from Yaoundé to Buea.

The delegation received breakfast at the Buea Mountain Hotel, to make assurance double sure that the infrastructure is ready, before proceeding to the two presidential palaces in Buea.

They paid a brief stop at Bongo’s Square to evaluate work done on the Presidential Tribune and later zoomed off to the University of Buea were works to rehabilitate and extend the university’s open-air amphitheatre ahead of the august feast had been completed.

The delegation seemed satisfied, particularly with the reunification monument that had reached an advanced stage but disappointed with the Regional Open-Air Amphitheatre at Bongo’s Square whose execution rate has remained worrisome.

On Tuesday, January 28, it was the turn of the Minister of Transport, Robert Nkili to visit transport projects ahead of the reunification celebrations; notably the heliport at the presidential palace and the Tiko Airport.

Minister Nkili accompanied by the Governor of the South West. Okalia Bilai Bernard and the Regional Delegate for Transport, Vivanje Ivo and other members of his entourage were denied access into the Presidential Palace where the minister had wished to inspect the heliport found within the precincts of the structure.

After struggling to convince the fierce-looking security officials at the palace to let him inspect the project, he was told that everything at the heliport was set and ready for the visit of the President.

At the Tiko Airport, the minister rather approved the renovation of a small portion of the airport into a heliport.

Technicians argue that the two weeks it will take them to do the job would have been more and costlier if the entire airport is to be rehabilitated. Also, most of the airport land is occupied by members of the pubic who have either constructed living houses or transformed the land into farms.

Even though the date for the celebrations is kept in the breast pocket of the Head of State, the people are waiting.