THE PROBLEM WITH THE CPDM

THE PROBLEM WITH THE CPDM

Some months back, President Paul Biya as Chairman of the CPDM party constituted a body to examine cases of indiscipline in the party.

This is commendable because it indicates that the party is doing something to bring about order and sanity. Nonetheless, for it to be meaningful, the caliber of the people chosen must be exemplary. Perhaps over and above everything, they must be a bunch that the public respects for their probity and integrity.

Although there may not be any holes to pick in the pedigree of those to whom Paul Biya has assigned the job, there is nevertheless another worry: They are all members of the same party, which means they are being made to sit in judgment over their peers. Some years ago, the government appointed officials in each ministerial department to head the Anti-Corruption Units there. However, the scheme has. One obvious reason is that there was no way such appointees could be objective, considering that “familiarity breeds contempt”. The president could have included some “neutral” members such as Cardinal Christian Tumi in the current team. After all, Massi Gams who heads the National Anti-Corruption Squad (CONAC) is a cleric, just like Mgr. Befe Ateba, Chairman of the National Communication Council (NCC).

However, the president`s should still be commended for recognizing that his party is “sick”. So, the team led by Former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge now faces the task of cleaning up the party – or better still, giving it a “bath”. The problem is that what the CPDM needs now is not just a “bath” but actually a “shower”.

In setting up the task force, the president may sought to redress wrongs specifically perpetrated during the last elections. If that is so, then the president should look further than the elections. The CPDM is beset by a host of problems, despite its seeming numerical strength.

Often at election time, CPDM officials use their influence to intimidate voters. Some traditional rulers who are also Central Committee members have threatened their subjects with exile unless they voted for the CPDM. Other officials on campaign have warned the electorate that if they do not vote for the CPDM, development will not come to their areas. CPDM officials with the complicity of administrators have been known to rig elections in favour of the CPDM, before forwarding the results to Yaounde for proclamation.

The CPDM must redefine the roles of Political Bureau and Central Committee. They are blurred. Even among members, there is grumbling that the party is making them pay “huge” amounts of money as a compulsory levy.

Politbureau members, Central Committee members and other post holders of the party treat the grassroots with contempt. A typical example is when they go out to campaign for elections. They arrive in expensive vehicles, splash money around; make promises which are not fulfilled and then leave.

Party members complain that election campaign teams from Yaounde to force candidates on them.  Sometimes this disagreement leads to a victory for the opposition.

Campaigning officials use insulting language. They say for example that they have come to “bury” the SDF (opposition party). This stance is wrong because one cannot bury someone who is alive. Furthermore, after making such extreme claims, if ones party still loses what explanation will one give?

The CPDM should realize that people at the grassroots are meticulous. So when an official claims that the CPDM “is the way, the life and the truth”, they take it as blasphemy. Strictly speaking, the CPDM has nothing to lose by making such declarations in CPDM heartlands such as the Centre, South or East Regions; but not in the North West which is an SDF bastion. That is why in those three CPDM dominated regions, the Beti slogan, “RDPC a ne zen (the way). RDPC A ne enying (life). RDPC a ne babela (the truth)” is normal. But when the Former CPDM minister John Begheni Ndeh used it in the North West once, it raised a wave of protests.

CPDM party officials are viewed as selfish. When they hold a post, they cling to it tightly. Worse still, if they have the opportunity to grab one post, they want to grab more. So, someone who is already a parliamentarian and Section President still wants to bid for contracts.

The CPDM should review its use of money to capture voters. This is firstly because often the move is counter productive to the party. An example is the SDF heartland where the CPDM`s money failed to deviate SDF voters to the CPDM.

Another problem is that the splashing of money has given CPDM officials an opening to embezzle. At the last elections, money was handed to each Council constituency in the North West Region. Where the mayor was CPDM, the money was handed to him or her. But where the mayor was SDF, the money was handed to the CPDM Section President. In the end, officials at the top pocketed a huge chunk of the budget and only gave crumbs to those who did the door-to-door campaigning.

The lifestyle of some CPDM officials is cause for concern. They live in expensive homes and run a fleet of vehicles. So, what the ordinary Cameroonian wonders is where such persons who are not business people but civil servants could have got the money to display in this way.

Perhaps as a solution, CPDM officials should lead the way in declaring their assets. Although over the years, there have been repeated calls for assets to be declared, neither the government nor the CPDM party has ever done so.

The CPDM allows its officials to victimize their underlings. So there is wide scale with-hunting, petition writing and illegal withdrawal and suppression of people`s files whose successful transmission and treatment could have given them a rise in the public service. The CPDM is held responsible because the officials who handle these files are CPDM appointees.

Paul, Biya tends to appoint officials and then allow them allow them there for too long and without checks and balances. These are usually cabinet ministers, parastatal Board Chairmen and General Managers. This encourages malpractices.

Another problem is that of the youth wing of the CPDM, the YCPDM. It`s role is unclear. Although the wing is meant for “youths”, adults have been known to militate in it, posing as youths.

The CPDM should rethink the role of other youth groups such as the President Paul Biya`s Youth (Presby) and the Jeunesse Chantal Biya (Jachabi). These tend to duplicate and even sometimes supplant the YCPDM. Because the two bodies are said to be close to the president of the Republic and the First Lady, some people have joined them purely out of selfish aims. Those heading the institutions have also duped people by falsely claiming that they can obtain favours for them from the presidential couple.

 Although members of the CPDM may not be aware, the end of the party may be near. We are only four years to the next presidential election. Yet, Biya may surprise everyone by stepping down earlier. If that happens there is likely to be disarray and instability within the CPDM as different people vie for leadership. If the opposition plays its cards well, this could be the golden opportunity for it to gain power. It is clear that for now Biya is the uniting force behind the CPDM. If he goes, the party may fall apart.

Even so, four years is a long time in politics. The CPDM might yet still be able to get its act together and weather the storm.