Minister Atanga Nji Says Gov’t Has Disbursed 1.9 Billion FCFA, Following The Heavy Floods That Hit The Far North Region

The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, has disclosed that President Paul Biya, or better still the Cameroon Government, has so far disbursed the total sum of 1.9 billion FCFA (one billion, nine hundred million francs CFA), to emergency issues related to the devastation caused by the gigantic floods that have hit the Far North Region, especially Mayo Danay Division whose divisional headquarters is Yagoua.

Minister Atanga Nji made the disclosure in the Far North Region on Saturday, September 21, 2024, where he arrived to preside over the distribution of some basic necessities bought by Government, for thousands of victims of the floods, precisely those that have been displaced.

It should be noted that Government’s statistics as regard  the devastation caused by the heavy floods in the Far North Region, stands as follows: 200,000 inhabitants affected, with many displaced. 11 deaths. 800 houses destroyed. 190 schools affected. 103,000 hectares of farmland flooded, 1,200 cows killed, among other things. Of course roads have been flooded. Also, an important bridge in Yagoua town gave way under the heavy pressure of the gigantic floods.

 Controversy Over Amount Of Money Allocated By Gov’t

Meanwhile Minister Atanga NJi’s disclosure that President Biya has given the total sum of 1.9 billion FCFA to handle emergency cases related to the floods in the Far North Region, especially in Mayo Danay Division which has been at the centre of the floods, came a week later after he sparked a controversy over the amount of money that Government, or better still, President Biya, has allocated to succor the flood victims and handle other related issues.  Speaking to the media in Yaounde, Minister Atanga Nji had said that President Biya had given the sum of 350 million FCFA, to succor the flood victims in the Far North Region.

But Minister Atanga Nji in his usual characteristic was so focused on trying to paint a picture of the magnanimity and the generosity of President Biya, and how the President was such a caring leader, that he forget to explain to the media that the 350 million FCA was what was given to his ministry with instruction to handle some specific emergency issues.. He forget to  state that the Government, or President Biya as he wanted it seen,  had also allocated funds to  a number of other ministries like the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development or the Ministry of Public Health, that also had  emergency things to handle in the Far North Region following the heavy flood. Perhaps, it was not that Minister Atanga Nji forgot. The minister might have just thought it wise to limit his message to the media to what his boss instructed him and his ministry to do, and not to get into what some of his colleagues were assigned to do.

Government Becomes Embarrassed.

So on Monday, September 16, 2024, many local newspapers reported that President Biya or the Cameroon Government had succors victims of the flood in the Far North Region with 350 million FCFA.  That was what was said at the weekend by Minister Atanga Nji. But it should be noted that by then, the Government had in fact allocated a total of 1.6 billion FCFA (one billion, six hundred million francs CFA). All that money, including the 350 million FCFA that the Minister of Territorial Administration alluded to, was allocated on the same day.

The embarrassment of Minister Atanga Nji and the Cameroon Government on Monday, September 16, 2024, was the lead story in the French language daily newspaper, La Nouvelle Expression, which had as title: “Biya Offre 1,750 FCFA a Chaque Sinistre’, meaning that Biya has offered 1,750 FCFA to each flood victim. Well, what happened was that instead of writing that President Biya has come to the aid of flood victims or has succored the flood victims with 350 million FCFA as many papers wrote, La Nouvelle Expression looked at it from another angle, which in itself was brilliant. Assuming like others that all the money that President Biya had ordered disbursed to take care of the flood victims was 350 million FCFA, considering Minister Atanga Nji’s declaration, La Nouvelle Expression went ahead to do a calculation (arithmetic) of what each of the 200,000 persons affected by the flood would get, if the 350 million FCFA was to be shared to them.  The newspaper’s answer was that each of the flood victims would get the meagre sum of 1,750 FCFA.

Outrage In The Country

There article of La Nouvelle Expression, sparked an explosion of outrage in the country, over what was considered to be the Cameroon Government’s scandalous callousness or insensitivity to the plight of the flood victims in the Far North Region of Cameroon. Many  Cameroonians could not understand how the Cameroon Government that not long ago gave 2 billion FCFA to Turkey as a humanitarian gesture, following a landslide in that country, would allocate a meagre sum of 350 million FCFA  following the heavy floods that his hit the Far North Region of Cameroon, with disastrous effects on human life and property.

Many opposition politicians quickly picked up the story of 1750 FCFA for each flood victim, and went after the Biya Government. The National President of FCC, Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu, said the Government’s allocation of just 350 million FCFA to 200,000 victims of the floods in the  Far North Region, was  an “inadmissible insult” to the population of  the region.  Hon Nintcheu also questioned whether the 350 million francs CFA came from President Biya’s pocket, or was his personal donation, considering the way Minister Atanga Nji presented it.

Minister Atanga Nji Struggles To Explain

Under the heat of the embarrassing situation, the Minister of Territorial Administration had to call CRTV to his rescue. In an interview during the prime time news on that Monday, September 16, Minister Atanga Nji  tried to explain that the 350 million FCFA  that he mentioned to the media, was just part of what President Biya had given to take care of emergency – interventions by Government in the  Far North Region, following the heavy floods. The minister disclosed on that September 16 that President Biya had given a total of 1.6 billion FCFA, and  not only 350 million FCFA. He frowned at the report of La Nouvelle Expression which said Biya has offered 1,750 FCFA to each of the flood victim, insisting that the paper got it all wrong.

It should be noted that another French language newspaper, LOeil du Sahel, which is a paper that focuses on the three northern regions of the country, reported on that Monday, September 16 that the Government has disbursed the total sum of 1.6 billion FCFA following the disastrous flood in the Far North Region.

President Of National Assembly

Meanwhile, on Thursday, September 19, 2024, the President of  the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, who hails from the Far North Region, in his capacity as the Far North Regional Coordinator of the CPDM,  convened a meeting of Yaounde based CPDM elite of  the region, to launch a fund raising to support the  victims of the floods back in their region. In a prepared or written speech  which he made on the situation  in the Far North,  Cavaye said  the Government has on its part disbursed  the sum of 350  million FCFA, 500 million FCFA and 800 million FCFA, to handle emergency cases in the Far North Region, following the floods. 350 million FCFA, 500 million FCFA and 800 million FCFA, give a total of I billion, .650 million FCFA (one billion, six hundred and fifty million francs FCFA).

But then two days later, which was on Saturday, September 21, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, who was on a visit to the Far North Region in relation to the floods, said the total amount of money that President Biya has disbursed in relation to the heavy flood, is 1.9 billion FCFA. The minister did not give any details.  This amount gave a difference of 250 million FCFA as compared to the amount that the President of the National Assembly gave two days earlier. Did the Government disburse another 250 mission FCFA after the President of the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, gave the figures in his possession on Thursday, or what really happened? Or is the 1.9 billion FCFA an inflated amount

The Government’s Spokesman

There is no question that  the communication concerning Government’s actions in the gigantic floods that have hit the Far North Region causing several deaths  as well as heavy destruction  to property, has been poor, leading to much confusion. Nothing has so far been heard from the Government’s spokesman, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, who is the Minister of Communication. In a situation like this, it is the Government’s Spokesman that is supposed to be collecting or receiving Information about Government’s actions, and then giving out the information to the media. If things were done the right way, the controversy that the Minister of Territorial Administration created with his first communication about 350 million FCFA, would not have arisen.

And now the opposition is not letting go the issue of 350 million FCFA.  In a panel discussion in the weekly programme, Canal Presse, over Canal 2 International on Sunday, September 22, 2024, a senior member of the opposition, Jean Robert Wafo, still took on the Biya Government that it disbursed a scandalous amount of 350 million FCFA for 200,000 flood victims in the Far North Region. The CPDM representative on the panel, Chales Elie Zang, fought hard to try to debunk the claim.  This is a situation that would have avoided if Government’s communication on the flood had been well organized.