The maiden visit also served as a forum for staff of the organisation to present New Year wishes to their president.

The Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Adoum Garoua, yesterday visited the National Olympic Committee for the very first time since he took over office. The minister during the visit was officially handed the invitation for Cameroon to take part in the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as a special invitation to the Head of State, Paul Biya, to attend the opening ceremony of the games in London.

The minister acknowledged receipt of the invitation, promising to transmit the invitation of the president to him. He urged the Olympic Committee to work to enable Cameroon win more medals than they have ever done in 12 previous participations saying the Olympic committee is a privileged partner of government in the development of the sports movement in Cameroon. He also called on the National Olympic and Sports Committee to organise training courses on sports management so as to put an end to amateurism in sports management.

The president of the Olympic committee, Colonel Kalkaba Malboum, in a press briefing on the side-lines of the ceremony, which also served as a forum for the presentation of New Year wishes to him, said the organisation couldn’t materialise its “Road to London 2012” project signed with government, due to the failure of the latter to disburse the sum FCFA411 million agreed on. He however, said some six athletes benefitted from scholarships through the effort of the organisation. Among the major projects of the organisation in the near future, is the organisation of the 3^rd edition of the national games (DIXIADES), the Cameroon Olympic Awards to reward meritorious athletes, the Olympic week as well as setup an Olympic museum and shop.

The occasion also saw the inauguration of the third building to host the office of the organisation and the award of end of course certificates to some 12 officials who undertook a training course on the management of sports organisation under the auspices of the Olympic Committee. Prominent among those present, were; the Minister of Labour and Social Security and vice president of the Olympic Committee, Grégoire Owona, the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the British High Commissioner to Cameroon, Bharat Joshi, the president of the national Paralympic Committee president, Jean Jacques Ndoudoumou and Cameroon’s roving Ambassador, Roger Milla.