By John Agbor Obi, Turin Italy
The decentralization bill of 2003 is still pending implementation; the spirit of that bill is presumed to improve management, accountability and regional development while preserving national unity. A CV of the regime is a catalogue of unfulfilled promises and this cannot be different. Again, an expert eye on that bill is a suspicious agenda by the regime to politically and financially grip opposition strong holds . - Some questions arouse this suspicion.
1) Why has that bill not been implemented since 2003
2) What consultation was made as a popular acceptable option
3) Why is the SW Region having two Government Delegates?
4) Who is afraid of elected Governors and Autonomous Regions?
National unity does not mean bad governance. Correspondingly, effective management, accountability, competitiveness and performance is when the regions are autonomous, this will eventually control corruption and embezzlement since the elected Governors will be answerable to the people. The South West Region is known to produce more than 40% of the national GDP; the plough back is total absence of development and refusal of natural indemnities. The time has come for the Sons and Daughters, Elites and Chiefs of the South West Region to press for autonomous regions with elected governors to protect its interest as any region in the world blessed with natural resources will do. 50 years of hospitality and generosity has been mistaken for cowardice. Let national unity go hand in hand with regional development and accountability. Too much centralization has fostered embezzlement, corruption and overt stealing. Cameroon is badly in need of a regional performance mechanism with the central government as an overseer. The elastic limit of the SW region is near. The new generation of the South West region are beginning to ask questions that require satisfactory answers from their elites and leaders.
