Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Clash in the award of contracts in Garoua gets ugly ²

Projects planned in Garoua, the regional capital of the North, including the rehabilitation of the Roumdé Adja stadium and the construction of a 4-star hotel, in view of the next African Cup of Nations that Cameroon will host in 2019 have not started.

Unlike other cities, such as Douala (Littoral), Yaoundé (Center), Limbe (South-West) chosen to host the teams that will qualify for the next Can 2019, Garoua in the North is not yet at the award stage of public contracts. Cameroon Concord News has gathered that violent clashes erupted deep within the Biya administration with top political elites from the North Region  pointing an accusing finger at Paul Bell, Assistant Director of Sports Facilities and Equipment at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education. Paul Bell is also a cousin to Bidoung Mpkatt, who is the current Minister in charge of Sports and Physical Education.

In the commission dedicated to the awarding of contracts for the construction of the infrastructures of the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 to be hosted in Cameroon, the voices of Minister Bidoung Mpkatt and his relatives in the ministry are preponderant. Our source in Yaoundé hinted that the presidency of the republic cannot award a contract without a favorable opinion of Bidoung Mpkatt and his gang. Aware of this situation, Paul Bell is calling the shots which have culminated to an unacceptable delay in the award and execution of contracts in the North.

With Issa Hayatou voted out, Cameroon is only 5 months away from the visit of the inspectors of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), for a first evaluation mission. What miracle will the Francophone political elites perform for the North region to succeed in the feat of hosting a single pool of the competition? The Adamaoua, North and Far North regions therefore appears to be  on the wrong footing in comparison with other regions to accommodate the various delegations of the competition, whether in hotel infrastructures or stadiums. Paul Bell will not succumb to any pressure and simply wants his own share from the contractors of the Northern regions.

By Sama Ernest