IS THE MINISTER READY FOR THIS,

TELL US THEN, Mr. MINISTER Cameroon’s Minister for the Environment and Nature Protection, Héllé Pierre, has issued repeated warnings to the entire nation, to the effect that plastic bags will no longer be allowed for use from March 2014. The reason for this is that such bags create a serious health hazard which can only be successfully tackled if plastic bags are totally out of circulation. Surely, the idea behind this draconian measure is commendable. Nonetheless, we have major concerns as to how the minister will implement this new policy, especially considering that we are only three months to the month of March 2014. Here are our worries in point form. 1. Is the minister sure that he will have sensitized the entire nation by the deadline? Right now no sensitization seems to be going on in the country. 2. Does he realize that the use of plastic bags has become so engrained in our society that it would take mighty bulldozers on his part for attitudes to be changed? 3. Will sellers and buyers of plastic bags be compensated for the bags that they must now forfeit? If so, how will the compensation be calculated? And will they agree to the terms? 4. The minister wants to take plastic bags out of circulation. But what will replace them? 5. Does the minister have the appropriate budget to implement such a wide-ranging policy? AN ASIDE We recall that when Bello Bouba Maigari was Transport Minister he got up one day and announced to the nation that night public transportation of intercity passengers was being stopped. Surprisingly, shortly after, the ban was lifted. While some observers explain that the decision to unban came from above, others hold that there were no orders from above, the idea being that the minister banned and unbanned in order to talk with economic operators in the sector. Is this likely to be the case with the Minister for the Environment and Nature Protection, come March 2014? So, tell us, Mr. Minister.