The mayors came from all regions of the country, and some agreed to give us their impressions and expectations following the organization of this 1st national forum on universal birth registration.
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Raymond Epassy Doumbe, 1st deputy mayor of Dizangue, Littoral region
« As you know, Dizangue is home to a large community of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the northwest and west, as well as two agro-industries. Density is starting to be a problem, as are the distances between the villages and the commune's chief town. As a result, many children are born without birth certificates, and the 90-day time limit seems to be a problem because it's difficult to drag children before the judge with witnesses so that he can authorize the drawing up of the certificate. We ask the authorities to allow us to think about this problem of birth certificates, even at the last moment. ».
Yannick Ayissi Eloundou, Mayor of Yaoundé II Centre region
« We have taken stock of the nearly 2,000 citizens of our commune who do not have birth certificates, and all the necessary steps have been taken, but we have come up against a stumbling block at court level, because in order for the procedure to be completed, the necessary steps must be taken with the judicial authorities. We hope that, at the end of this forum, we'll be able to get some help, because the financial cost is enormous, especially for all these destitute families. It's a right, and this birth certificate gives everyone the right to education, health, nationality and much more. This generates costs in terms of regularization to enable these people to benefit from it. The group most concerned are children, so we need to find lasting solutions to help establish birth certificates for children who don't have them. And through this forum, we hope that solutions will be found to this problem. As a prelude to this forum, I took part in the preparatory workshop held in Ebolowa last March. And I can assure you that the mayors worked very hard with Minddevel and UNICEF officials. I believe that today, everything that was said that day will be proposed and suggested to the mayors during these two days, so that at the end of this forum, a charter of all the mayors of Cameroon will be signed to make it easier for the majority of Cameroonians, especially children without birth certificates, to benefit. The most important thing is to make this action permanent, so that in the future some people will no longer find their way around. ».
Mme OSIANEBOM épse ENANGA, mayor of NITOUKOU Centre region
« I assure you, it's a problem of will and determination. I share with you the experience of Nitoukou, which is not covered by mobile operators, but we were able to install an internet connection to be in contact with the Bunec management. We did it to save our information and we made an advocacy to the DG of Bunec who came to install us a software with all its apparatus which enables us to make the digitalization of our documents. This is possible elsewhere, as Nitoukou is one of the low-income communes that are highly indebted, Yes we can. As the head of UNICEF said, if we want to defeat the scourge of ghost children, we must have a common will. ».
Mamadou Ahiwa, mayor of Ngong North region
« I'm against extending the 90-day deadline, because even if we leave it for 5 years, there will always be some latecomers. We need to get to grips with the problem of missing birth certificates, take the bull by the horns, and each municipal executive needs to work hard to reduce the birth certificate deficit. In Ngong, we have counted 19,682 children without birth certificates, and with the results of this forum, I'm convinced we can close the gap. ».
Clément Noumsi
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