CONTROVERSY OVER FCFA 2 BILLION OF HUMANITARIAN AID TO AMBAZONIA
Ambassador Philippe Van Damme Clears the air
On 30 December last year, the European Union released a communiqué announcing that it was going to release a little more than FCFA 2 billion to fight against food insecurity across war torn Ambazonia According to the organisation’s estimates, nearly 600,000 people are in need of emergency food aid in Ambaland. Questioned by Internet users about a 2 billion CFA francs envelope that the European Union will release to fight against famine in Ambazonia, amid a raging armed conflict, Ambassador Philippe Van Damme has defended himself from any bias. Still on the 2 billion CFA francs envelope that the European Union has said it will release to fight against famine in Ambazonia, Philippe Van Damme has defended himself in a tweet from any possible bias,
As An alleged Ambazonia liberation fighter was concerned that this funding could be diverted by the colonial LRC government to finance the war, the ambassador replied that _it is completely absurd.
Saying “To ensure neutrality, our humanitarian aid has never been channelled through government channels”.
Further on, Philippe Van Damme replied that “our humanitarian aid is always in the form of donations, through humanitarian agencies, the United Nations, the Red Cross/Red Crescent, NGOs…“. And in the case of this aid, it is the World Food Programme, the European Union in Cameroon and the local Office for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
Phillip Van Damme. Who is he?
Philippe Van Damme is from (BRUGUH) - Brugge in Belgium,
In January 2010, he took office as Ambassador-Head of Delegation of the European Union in the Republic of Guinea (Conakry). Four years later (2014), he continued as Ambassador-Head of Delegation to the Republic of Zimbabwe.
In 2018, he returned to the Headquarters of the European Union in Brussels to take up the post of Political Advisor at the Africa Directorate of the European External Action Service. Since April 21, 2021, Philippe VAN DAMME is officially Ambassador-Head of Delegation, accredited by the European Union, to the Republic of Cameroon. He is married, the father of five children and a grandfather.
While some others might be happy about the news of fcfa 2billion humanitarian funds to be released, there are others like the example we gave that are bothered if the funds will ever get to the hands it was released for. Because anyone who has studied the pattern of Lrc, knows it is not the first time to embezzle money meant for the development of the people, or the first time to disregard the plight of the grassroot, Here are some Social media reaction, Mark barata who has portrayed himself severally as a confused activist, even one time threatening the life of the president Sako on live tv, was the one who actually brought more online eyes and ears to the issue,
He said:
“The European Union has offered Cameroun government 5 billion CFA to fight famine in the so-called Anglophone regions. They are very much aware that this money will be embezzled or used by Biya to sponsor his war in Ambazonia yet they do not care. What will these people not show us?” If you noticed from different source the figure has not been quite ascertained, Mark Barata says fcfa 5 billion, and some other sources have said 2billion fcfa, that we’ll get to find out soon enough.
Here Another user had this to say:
“…. So why was the idea even on the table in the first place?
We know that you guys know these funds will disappear. The distressed are only going to receive (if our government officials realise there's a thing called shame) toilet paper + Efferalgan”. Some others wanted to know how it would be delivered the people as Phillipe Van Damme said otherwise
Is this one sentence from Philippe Van damm enough to clear the air?
But then we’ll have our eyes on the ground to know what happens later.
