Major National Dialogue follow-up committee meeting: Members say peace gradually replacing conflict in NWSW regions

Members of the Follow-up committee of the implementation of the resolutions of the Major National Dialogue have saluted the gradual return to peace in the North West and South West Regions.

Meeting at the star building, August 4, 2022, in its fourth follow-up committee meeting, to evaluate the progress made concerning the implementation of the recommendations of the MND , 3 years after the major National Dialogue, the members all testified that despites all the odds, peace, love and harmony is returning to these regions hit by the armed conflict since 2016.

Chairing the follow-up committee meeting, the Prime Minister and head of Government Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute in his address said that despite the progress, there are still some pockets of resistance posed by the separatist fighters.

On the reopening of schools, Prime minister Dion Ngute announced with great delight that, after the drastic fall in the number of children going to school in these regions at the start of the conflict, which at a certain point went down to 20,000 in 2017 for the South West region but that number today has tripled as the South West Region counts over 91000 children going to school while the North West alone counts 71000 according to statistics of the last academic year and it seems the situation is improving as the years unfold, he said.

The restart of agricultural activities in the regions is gradually improving as fresh-looking vegetables are in the markets of the urban centres of Cameroon from the North West Region. The Prime minister mentioned they had been significantly revamping agricultural activities in these regions as more and more people are returning to continue their farming activities that were interrupted due to the conflict. The prime minister also highlighted that even Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC whose activities were grounded at the start of the crisis has pick up steam and have begun exporting its products to Europe and the Americas. To the delight of many, it has greatly improved the living condition of the population of these regions.

Messages of peace and loved from former separatists

At the start of the crisis in 2016 hate speech was the order of the day, as brothers and sisters of the same country could not look into the eyes of each other and talk peace but today thanks to the creation of the national commission for the promotion of bilingualism and multiculturalism, whose members have been doing a commendable job by preaching against hate speech. There has been a remarkable transformation as the population now upholds virtues of peace, love, reconciliation, and progress. The population is gradually turning its backs against separatists and enemies of peace, the Committee noted.

Decentralization and the special status to the North West and South West regions

members of said one of the strong recommendations of the Major National Dialogue was the granting of a Special Status to the North West and South West regions. Their linguistic, legal, socio-cultural, and educational specificity tabled a need for them to be treated differently from the other 8 regions. The public independent conciliators of these 2 regions have been appointed and are currently carrying out their duties. The House of Chiefs which is a particular identity to the people of the North West and South West was put in place during the regional council elections. All these measures were taken to answer the grievances raised by the population of these regions and accommodate them in a country that is one and indivisible.

Despite the great strides, there is still a lot to do

The Committee believes that the situation in the North West and South West has greatly improved. This can be drawn from the reopening of schools, some separatist fighters have dropped their guns, and the regions are currently under reconstruction, love and harmony seem to be flowing down the streams of these regions but there is much that is still to be done. Separatist fighters are still in control of some parts of these regions, arms are still been trafficked, bombings and killings even in the church everywhere seems to be dark, and everywhere seems to still be In slumber. The members of the committee quite aware of these happenings brained stormed on the possible way out with the hope there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. They called on the population to be more collaborative with the government so that in the end we will laugh when all will be said and done.