November Parliamentary session: Stakes and challenges

The November parliamentary session in Cameroon opens on Thursday, November 12, 2020. The opening plenary at the national assembly is billed for 11: 00am while that of the Senate starts at 4:00 pm.

The last ordinary session of parliament for the year 2020 opens less than three weeks after the massacre of seven students at Mother Francisca International Memorial Academy Kumba. The action is considered one of the worst since the beginning of the Anglophone crisis depicts the daily killings and destruction of property in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

Would the massacre urge lawmakers to debate a permanent solution to the war in the national assembly and the senate? Some Cameroonians think the decision of the executive arm of government takes prominence in the country. Therefore, the law-making houses have little or to say. The government’s decision remains the use of the military to solve a purely political problem.

After the recent kidnapping of Fon Sehm Mbinglo, Paramount traditional ruler of Nso, Christian Cardinal Tumi, and others, Cameroonians expect lawmakers to chart an end to the war.

It should be recalled that since 2016 when the Anglophone crisis started, Cameroon’s law-making houses have not debated on the issue to seek a permanent solution.

In an earlier meeting chaired by the prime minister, the 2021 budget is expected to focus on health, security, and the organization of the African football championship in 2021 and the African Cup of Nations 2022. It’s expected that the law makers will mainly follow orientations given by the government. This means Cameroon’s 2021 state budget will be guided by the above aspects, with no hope of the Anglophone crisis getting remedy from lawmakers.

Mbatho Ntan.