With the session as of right held yesterday at the Conference Centre in Yaounde, the ordinary session of the third legislature of the senate will now roll on with the election of the executive bureau and setting up of commissions.
The next meeting of the house will be dedicated to the award of attributes to the 100 senators. This will come after the verification of documents relating to their curriculum vitas submitted at the secretariat of the Senate. Another detail before the conferment of attributes is an individual sworn statement which each senator is required to sign and drop at the secretariat of the Senate.
Things are expected to move fast after the ceremonial opening of the session which was brief. Presiding at the session as of right, the oldest member of the house Rene Ze Nguele, who heads the provisional bureau of the senate, kicked off with a reading of the list of the elected members of the house as transmitted by the Constitutional council. He followed with those appointed by the Head of State. The Secretary General of the CPDM, Jean Nkuété, who was present at the session, was certainly overwhelmed as the names of his comrades were read out. It reminded him of the sweeping victory of the CPDM at the last senatorial polls. The dean proceeded to check if the quorum had been attained as members of the government led by the Prime Minister Head of Government stilly listened.
Charity without doubt begins at home. The dean, Rene Ze Nguele in his speech thanked Paul Biya, Head of state for “renewing his confidence” in him with a third uninterrupted appointment of the patriarch from the East region, and former minister.
He then welcomed ‘freshmen’ senators. He called on his colleagues to be disciplined and responsible to ensure parliamentary business is conducted with due diligence. He said the active participation of all the senators is needed to forge a solid democracy in Cameroon as wished by the Head of State. Done with his short speech he declared the session “open”.
Jude VIBAN
