As minutes die down to seconds, the picture of what the 3rd Ordinary congress of the Cameroon people’s democratic movement would look like gets more and more clearer.
Preps are heightening here at the Yaoundé conference centre where the event would be staged. The opening and closing ceremonies have been planned for the hall which is commonly referred to here as “la grande salle.” Formerly comprising 1500 seats, the capacity has been stepped up.
The hall has a ground floor and a balcony overlooking it. The former now has 1222 seats while the latter would have 700 seats. At press time late Sunday September 11, seats had not been placed on the rostrum where the National chairman, Paul Biya and his close aides would sit. But those working on the site assured this reporter that upon completion of works, the hall would have a sitting capacity of at least 2000. Certainly the hall would not host all attendees. Only the statutory delegates alone are 1.166 to whom the National chairman is still to add his guests and observers as well as friends of the Cpdm from across the world. Given that the event has been awaited for the 15 years, there are several thousands of attendees who would be coming just to live it from outside. To ensure that they do not miss even a split second of happenings in the hall, a giant screen has been erected at the esplanade. Flours in the various lawns here have been trimmed while grass around the yard has been cut. It truly gives the picture of a site awaiting a historic event.The structure has received a new coat of paint light green oil paint. It is beaming to the noise of machines that are mobbing the heavily marbled floor. Staff of the complex is busy washing the doors and windows while electricians are moving from one chandelier to the other replacing old bulbs with new ones. The entrance to the hall where President Biya would alight upon arrival has been clad in national colours. Meanwhile the red carpet stretches from there through the stair case to the hallway. At the far right of the hall way is an imposing effigy of President Biya wearing a broad smile at the Cameroon map painted in green, red and yellow. At this time when Cameroon is on the move with its economy undergoing an unprecedented turnaround, such a smile is pregnant with meaning. “There is every reason to hope for a better Cameroon,” somebody quipped while gazing at it. Fountains at the esplanade of the conference centre have all been repaired and cleaned ahead of the day. To enable journalists of both national and international press file their reports with ease, a press centre has been put in place with several brand new computers and high speed optical fibre internet connection. A secretariat has also been erected in view of the event. Lodged in one of the commission rooms of the third floor of the conference centre, it counts 10 brand new computers, a photocopier with capacity to run 200 copies in three minutes as well as two laser jet coloured ink printers. In the meantime, the various sub commissions are holding rounding off preps. The sub commissions in their majority are meeting in the confines of the complex. Those for reception and protocol are rehearsing while those charged with lodging the various delegates are scouting for hotel facilities around town. Meanwhile operatives of the Directorate of presidential security are making rounds identifying how they would position themselves on D-day. The L’Action sub commission for its part has assembled and forwarded the list of accreditation requests to the presidency for final scrutiny and subsequent issuing of press badges to retained journalists. At press time late Sunday September 11, at least 175 media organs had tabled their accreditation requests.
Benedict Ndinwa
