No, Mishe Fon. I do not know from which constitution of Cameroon you have gotten this discovery especially because Cameroon appears to have more than one constitution being applied at a time. This is particularly true given the fact that the Constitution of 18th January 1996 published in the Official Gazette of 30th January 1996 does not say anything about the 1972 Constitution that was in force until the 1996 Constitution was promulgated. That said, this is what Article 63 of the 1996 Constitution talks of concerning amendments.
:
63. (1) Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed either by the President of the Republic or by Parliament.
(2) Any proposed amendment made by a member of Parliament shall be signed by at least one-third of the members of either House.
(3) Parliament shall meet in congress when called upon to examine a draft or proposed amendment. The amendment shall be adopted by an absolute majority of members of Parliament. The President of the Republic may request a second reading ; in which case the amendment shall be adopted by a two-third majority of the members of Parliament.
That said, I do not believe that Bilingualism is the problem in Cameroon. The lack of good will is the problem. The cases you have mentioned (if they have any merit) such merit cannot be attributed to the fact that those countries are not bilingual. A good number of them are multilingual. Yes, Rwanda changed one of its official languages from French to English. Interestingly Rwanda did not abolish Ki-Rwanda which is the primary language of instruction especially in the Primary school sector.
God bless.
Mbeseha
On Sunday, December 6, 2015 1:41 AM, 'Mishe Fon' via ambasbay <ambasbay@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Did you guys know that the Prime Minister of Cameroon although appointed by the President has the powers and can orchestrate a Constitutional ammendment?
Well, here is what I found while perusing the present Cameroon Constitution...and Constitutional scholars can prove me wrong on this.
Part XI of the Cameroon Constitution, Article 63 states:
(1) Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by either the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister.
(2) Parliament shall meet in Congress when called upon by either the President or Prime Minister to examine the draft proposed amendment. The amendment shall be adopted by an absolute majority of the members of Parliament. The President may request a second reading, in which case the amendment shall be adopted by a two-third Majority of the members of Parliament.
My layman's interpretation of this "discovery" is that the Prime Minister has Constitutional prerogatives he could lean on to challenge the President...if Push comes to shove. The Parliament although with an overwhelming majority (including the PM) CPDM presence owes its allegiance to Cameroonians who elected them to REPRESENT the People. In reality, these Representatives are not in Yaounde solely for their Party or their personal bottom-lines but to stand up and support their "Constituencies". If my primary residence for example is Yaounde II or Mfoundi, I am supposed to have access to my "Honorable Depute" to air my grievances. But if as a Law abiding citizen in good standing, I don't even know who my "Depute" is; how is he/she then "Representing" my/our interests?
I think the problem we have in Cameroon is "Citizen participation and understanding of governance. My strong feeling is that, this "Bilingualism Thing" in Cameroon is the root cause of Political stagnation.
The truth is: Anglophone culture is diametrically anathema to Francophone culture. I am not saying one is better than the other. I am stating for the record that we either adopt one or the other system of governance. Mixing the two has become a toxic combination that has so far led to a desequilibrium and monumental societal failure. Anyone who doubts what I am saying should look at the positive socio-economic strides happening in Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria. Rwanda which was decimated by Genocide, Wars and other ethnic destruction; has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa today. A simple Google search will attest to the veracity of my findings. Cameroon was way ahead of these countries in all facets of life just a few short years ago. Now see what is happening. What went wrong?
Cameroon is blessed with abundant mineral and natural resources, a vibrant well educated youthful population, PEACE, is a touristic haven and much more. So I ask the nay sayers...Why is my analysis flawed? And what is your solution in levelling the present undulating playing field and come out of the present marasmic quagmire of under-development, lethargic Man Go Do How..On Vas Faire comment" mentality?
Honestly, President Paul Biya has tried his best; BUT after 33 years in absolute power, methinks he deserves a well compensated REST in retirement. I know the main problem is actually the Political machinery around him who are completely afraid of the aftermath of the Biya era. Let them have no fears of reprisals. Any forward looking new Government should not have as agenda "les Reglements de Comptes". They should simply tell Cameroonians how they would Govern better and bring Cameroon to modernity...like these other African countries are doing. Again, I ask you to look up what the very new President of Tanzania is doing within the first 100 days of his administration and draw your own conclusions. It is not Rocket Science. Just plain GOVERNANCE. Na all dat.
Tah Mfar Mishe Fon
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