Cyprian Wongibe Fondufe, Director of Standards, Sports Organisation and Monitoring speaks on a recent ministerial memo on the organisation of sports and physical education in Cameroon.

Why a circular and directives to sports federations?

The circular was in reference to the new law on organization of sports and physical education activities in the country. The sports charter having been outmoded by the law of 15^th July 2011, it was imperative for sports federations to comply with the new law by not making reference to the sports charter in their internal rules and regulations and all the abiding points in this new law.

What are the salient points in the directives?

The salient points of the new law have to do with the recognition of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education as the supervisory organ of sports in the country. We have always had problems with some federations in the past who think they are autonomous. When we consider that these federations are executing a public mission confided to them by the State, it is therefore necessary that they recognised the authority of the government. In the past, federations used to affiliate themselves to international organizations without the consent of the government and we are usually embarrassed when Cameroon is suspended for non payment of the affiliation dues which tarnishes the image of the country. Also, some presidents of federations present their candidatures in international bodies without informing the government whereas diplomacy has to come to play to lobby for the success of the candidate. Another issue is that of doping which is a canker worm in the sports movement in the country. Manie Lionel won an international competition but was stripped of that title when she failed the doping test. So this is one sector we need to hammer on to cleanse the sports movement in Cameroon. We are also insisting on an electoral code that guarantees free and fair elections in federations.

What about the directives just signed by the minister?

It is complementary to the internal rules and regulations of the federations. The directives complement the loopholes in the internal rules and regulations in matters of elections. This is aimed at having a very dynamic sports movement in Cameroon in the 2013-14 sports season.

This is a very lofty initiative but what is the ministry doing to make sure all federations implement the directives?

Many people think it is the ministry that organizes elections. This is not true. The federations organize the lections and we just supervise and validate the process. People will be sent from the ministry to monitor the elections that they are conducted as stipulated in their respective constitutions. The supervisory agents from the ministry will work with CONAC to ensure transparency and avoid corruption. They have been trained on what to do before during and after the elections. We are going to work in partnership with CONAC to make sure there is transparency and the whole exercise is free of corruption.