On Thursday 27 August 2020, the Secretary General of MINPMEESA, Joseph Tchana, chaired a working session with the evaluation team of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism (NCPBM) at the film hall of the Immeuble Emergence. The mission headed by David Abouem à Tchoyi, member of the mentioned Commission, aimed at evaluating the level of bilingualism in MINPMEESA. It also intended to come up with recommendations for a more dynamic practice of bilingualism within MINPMEESA.
In his opening remarks, David Abouem à Tchoyi recalled the objective of this meeting which was to appreciate the implementation of the recommendations made during the last visit of the Commission in 2017. Generally speaking, the aim was to ensure the effective implementation of the high instructions of the Head of State H. E. Paul Biya as well as their application within the various state-owned structures, including MINPMEESA.
Discussions were based on the triptych namely the application of Law No. 2019/019 of 24 December 2019 on the promotion of official languages in Cameroon, the monitoring and development of a national policy of bilingualism, and finally, a brainstorming on the mechanisms for the suppression of hate speech.
During the debates, the various officials raised their concerns and made suggestions. Unanimously, it emerged that the concrete practice of bilingualism within MINPMEESA is effective both through the drafting of administrative memos and on digital platforms, as well as in signposting. In order to increase this implementation, the Ministry has recently produced a glossary on the names of all the services of the ministry. As for the devolved services, the Secretary General specified that measures are being taken to ensure that bilingualism is effectively put into practice. He suggested that the coordination of this operation be entrusted to the local administrative authority. He added that MINPMEESA, which has already integrated this trend, is keen to pursue it through the heads of structures, both central and devolved services.
At the central level, some services have been visited by members of this mission to get a first-hand look at the realities of the application of bilingualism. During the restitution day of 28 August 2020, David Abouem à Tchoyi congratulated MINPMEESA for the significant efforts made in terms of bilingualism and expressed the wish that the course should be maintained. He then thanked everyone for their contributions to the triptych subject to this visit. He finally recalled that Cameroon will only become effectively bilingual through joint efforts.
At the end of this successful and productive meeting, there was a feeling of overall satisfaction among the stakeholders, especially since they worked in perfect harmony. While closing the discussion, the Secretary General promised to pay attention to the implementation of the recommendations of the said meeting, both at the level of central and devolved services.