Elections within these bodies have still not taken place because of tensions between leaders. The Cameroonian Minister of Sports has had to intervene.
Among the fifty sports federations in Cameroon, at least twelve have failed to organize the renewal of their respective governing bodies. These are the federations of boxing, volleyball, cycling, roller skating, gymnastics, wrestling, dance, baseball, rugby, nanbudo, tennis and checkers.
Elections to these bodies are blocked. In each case, two camps are opposed and cannot agree on the texts and the identity of the members of the General Assembly who should take part in the various votes. The outgoing leaders are suspected of having carved out new statutes to suit them. Faced with the crisis, the Minister of Sports, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, was invited to the process.
The federations had until December 31 to hold their elections. There is a dynamic of adhesion," said the Minister of Sports on the occasion of the New Year. Only, there are some recalcitrant federations whose outgoing leaders want, through subterfuge and bypassing the law, to maintain themselves, even in a position of illegitimacy. A situation to which, the tutelage is working to provide answers in the order of laws and regulations of the Republic", assures the Ministry of Sports.
The veto of the Minister of Sports
Narcisse Mouelle Kombi has vetoed the resumption of the elections, and the federations are required to respect not only the national law of 2018 on the organization and promotion of physical and sports activities in Cameroon, but also the circular letters of the minister. Several federations have finally agreed to comply with these instructions. This is the case of the Cycling Federation.
"We have reviewed the federation's organic texts as part of the conformity check carried out by the committee monitoring the renewal of the executive offices of federations, set up by the Minister of Sports. The result: the minister agreed to the organization of our elective general assemblies," said Jean-Baptiste Biaye, head of communications for the Cameroon Cycling Federation.
Volleyball: 2 GA and 2 elections in sight
At the Volleyball Federation, the General Assembly (GA) of 2013 has resumed its function, in accordance with the texts in force and the instructions of the supervision of sports. The 2/3 of its statutory members met on January 4, 2023 during an extraordinary General Assembly. "The texts were modified in Assembly and the draft was deposited with the Ministry of Sports for obtaining its visa of conformity, in application of the law. We are confident that the Minister will grant us this visa of conformity", explains the reporter of the work, Joe Archange Samba.
The timetable of the elections was thus developed. The election is scheduled from January 9 to 18. Even if on the other hand, the outgoing management team does not intend to leave the business without a fight. Accusing the Minister of Sports of having taken the side of his opponents, the office headed by Serge Abouem seems to have opted for an arm wrestling. He calls the members of the GA of 2013 illegal and reiterates that the texts in force are those adopted on 28 October 2022.
