No Voters Cards, No Payment For Holiday Jobs: Kumba City Council tell students

Officials of the Kumba City Council, KCC,recently blocked hundreds of students offered holiday jobs from receiving payment unless they proved that they were registered voters.

Samuel Anoke, an agent of ELECAM in Kumba I, said the Government Delegate, Victor Nkelle Ngoh, took the decision in a bit to boost the registration of youths on the voters roll.

Anoke refuted allegations that the students were forced to register on the electoral roll. He said there is no provision binding ELECAM to forcefully register citizens.

According to the official, the decision of the Council encouraged the youths to register. He said at least 20 youths registered within an hour on the same day the decision was announced.

”Most of them seem to be angry with their forefathers. We have not forced anybody to vote.In less than one hour we have registered some 20 youths on the electoral register,” said Anoke. 

Quizzed on the reluctance among youths of voting age to register, Anoke said some say they do not trust the system. He said often, some say that with the current setting in Cameroon, their vote cannot count in an election.

Others, Anoke said, admitted to the ELECAM agents that it was their first time hearing about voter registration. Some claimed it was their first time of hearing about ELECAM.

On how the voters’ card will reach the students, the ELECAM official said the data collected carries specific information relating to the neighbourhoods where the students reside. He said a door-to-door distribution approach will be used to reach out to the potential voters.

As the decision from the City Council authorities went into force, the holiday workers battled to get paid, criss-crossing the Council to get registered.Upon registration, they rushed back to the treasury department of the City Council and received their payment of FCFA 25,000.

News of the decision gave the youth leaders of some political parties the opportunity to canvass for militants.They even assisted ELECAM in setting up the bio-metric kits and other registration gadgets.

The Kumba City Council strategy has received acclamation from public observers, while others think the measure was too spontaneous.

Cameroonpost