Reference Documents for the Social Democratic Front

Power to the People is the epitome of the ideology of the Social Democratic Front (SDF). The people are the owners of the sovereign power in any political system. It is the people who decide how it should be used for the general good and they control its exercise. The destructive dictatorships in Cameroon have confiscated the power of the people. One of the main objectives of the SDF fight for change is to restore the power to the people so that they can take proper charge of their own lives and communities.

The Council Elections provide the long awaited opportunity for the people to snatch back their power from the anti-people dictatorship. The SDF is the only Party that has proven that it can be trusted to stand by the people and provide honest and reliable leadership in regaining the people's power.

Therefore your vote for the SDF list is a vote for a dedicated team of councilors:

who respect the people as the source of power that should be used for the well-being of the society;
who respect democratic principles, human rights, human dignity and the rule of law and justice;
who believe in a participatory and consultative approach to decision-making;
who will practice transparency and accountability in the discharge of their responsibilities;
who will wage war against the evils that plague our public life including graft, stealing, embezzlement, mismanagement, corruption, nepotism, tribalism, ethnocentrism, etc.;
who will render service to all the people without any discrimination of any sort;
who will work honestly, selflessly, efficiently to transform the peoples' power into goods and services and improve the lives of the people;
Guided by these principles, SDF Councillors shall ensure:
1. the development and maintenance of good civil status registration services close to the people in towns and villages.
2. infrastructural and economic development including:
  1. the building and maintenance of good farm-to-market roads.
  2. the building and maintenance of clean and safe streets.
  3. the creation of functional rural and urban markets and slaughter houses.
  4. the good planning, orderly building and development of cities and the emerging small towns in the villages; the promotion of the use of cheap local material for building; the indigenisation and humanisation of names of streets, towns, monuments, etc.
  5. the creation and good management of motor-parks and parking lots in towns.
  6. the honest transaction of real estate matters and the promotion of productive use of land.
  7. the mobilization of communities to promote tourism using their rich cultural resources.
  8. ensuring that companies exploiting the natural resources of the local communities establish their head-offices in the localities and that the communities benefit from the companies through getting their due share of the revenues resulting from the operations, from the award of contracts, training, employment, etc.
  9. the wise investment of council monies.
  10. the coordination and tapping of all the human resources of the villages and towns individually or collectively (village/chiefdom development associations, NGOs, common initiative groups, PTAs, APEs, cooperatives, religious bodies, etc.) for development.
  11. the creation of opportunities for people in the communities to sustain themselves through productive activities.
  12. the training and encouragement of the use of Community Development Officers; establishing, promoting and encouraging the activities of Community Development Committees.
  13. the creation and maintenance of public cimetries in towns and villages,
  14. the provision of affordable and sustainable electric energy in towns and villages through the harnessing of the abundant hydro-energy in the localities.
  15. the provision of sustainable and affordable public telephones in towns and villages through the exploitation of modern satellite technology.
3. The Establishment and promotion of Good Health and Sanitation through:
  1. the promotion of a primary health care approach that emphasises community participation in planning, managing, delivering, monitoring and evaluating their health services.
  2. the institution of community health committees and the revival of Sanitary Inspectors to ensure good personal and environmental sanitation and hygiene and cleanliness in towns and villages.
  3. the provision of clean water in towns, villages, markets and highway refreshment centres like Makenene, Sombo, Kekem, etc.
  4. the provision of public toilets in towns, villages, markets and highway refreshments centres.
  5. the clearing of garbage and the cleaning and maintenance of streets and public squares in towns and built-up place in the villages.
  6. the provision of sports, games and recreational facilities, such as good play grounds, parks, etc; especially for children, youths and the aged.
  7. checking infant and maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy.
4. Socio-Cultural Development including:
  1. the promotion of development, commercialisation and enjoyment of cultural activities through the intelligent exploitation of our customs, traditions, beliefs, religions, languages, crafts, art forms, music, dance, etc., including visual arts, film, threatre, drama, written/oral literature, etc.
  2. the promotion of the creation and maintenance of libraries, museums and monuments, community halls, halls of fame and other entertainment places such as dance halls, clubs, theatres, concert halls, cafés, etc.
  3. ensuring the protection of holy places.
  4. the promotion of a vigorous sister council programme.
  5. the promotion of quality education in collaboration with NGOs, (PTAs, APEs, common initiative groups), etc.
  6. the creation of handicapped centres for the physically disabled and mad persons.
  7. the creation of special education centres for the mentally retarded and street children.

HOW SHALL SDF PROGRAMMES BE FUNDED?

Most people will ask where the SDF intends to get funds to carry out these laudable programmes. The answer is that the SDF does not intend to increase spending.

We intend only to:

redirect and reallocate existing funds.
reorganise and rationalise existing systems in order to unlock resources that are presently wasted through mismanagement, corruption, embezzlement, irrationality, etc.
ensure the empowerment of the people which means better health, better training, better skills, increased level of education, increased awareness, increased participation in decision making; this will lead to increased ability and willingness to afford and sustain various goods and services.

THE SDF PLATFORM FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

HOW SHALL SDF PROGRAMMES BE FUNDED?

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