The Minister of Youth and Sports, Siegfried David Etame Massoma, last Monday created a commission to probe into the management of financial and material resources, accruing from sponsorship, by the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT. The decision is a logical follow-up of what has come to be considered in Cameroon as the « FECAFOOT affair ».
In effect, the cabinet reshuffle of last May 23 which saw the removal of the then Minister of Youth and Sports, Bidoung Mkpatt, among others, was followed by a communiqué from the Minister of State, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Jean Marie Atangana Mebara. In the release, the senior government official clearly stated the reasons of the cabinet shake up: « Take sanctions against certain lapses and …enhance the efficiency of the government team ».
The domain of sports certainly had some of the worst lapses in recent times with the sanctions by the world football governing body, FIFA, to the Cameroon Football Federation (fine of CFA 85 million and deduction of six points from their 2006 World Cup and Nation Cup joint qualifiers that is yet to begin), being the most recent blunder to tickle government action. The same communiqué of the Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency, said the President Paul Biya, had « prescribed the sending of a commission of inquiry to FECAFOOT and a quick review of the statutes of that body ».
On May 7th, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Siegfried David Etame Massoma, started implementing these high instructions as he created a commission to review the statutes of the Cameroon Football Federation. Last Monday, the Youth and Sports boss went a step further in respecting President Biya’s prescriptions as he created a commission to probe into FECAFOOT’s management of financial and material resources accruing from sponsorship.
The commission headed by Ngack Mahop Christophe has as mission to carry out an inquiry at the federation. It will enumerate and control the regularity of the management of the material and financial fall outs from the participation of the national team in international competitions, sponsoring by PUMA, ORANGE, PMUC and SABC and the retransmission rights by Sport Five. The six-man commission will also seek to know the fall outs of friendly encounters and publicity in stadiums, as well as examine the technical issues binding the FECAFOOT to the World Football governing body, FIFA and the Confederations of African Football, CAF.
The commission was officially installed yesterday evening by the Minister of Youth and Sports. Mr Etame Massoma enjoined the team, made up of public finance and administrative law experts, to be discrete, objective and exercise a sense of patriotism in the execution of their mission. « Since this is an administrative inquiry, put those you would meet at ease », he instructed.
The commission has 30 days to come out with its report which will establish responsibilities and make concrete proposals to the Minister of Youth and Sports.
Irene MORIKANG
