Ama Tutu Muna caught in embezzlement offense

Romeo Dika claims to have received a donation of guitars from the International Federation of Musicians (FIM).

After investigation, it is revealed that the Department of Arts and Culture had financed the purchase of the guitars distributed by the Union of Cameroonian musicians.

When leading a department such as the Arts and Culture in the center of much controversy in relation to acts taken against the collective management organizations of copyright and related rights without proof of legal basis both in Law No. 2000/011 of 19 December 2000 relating to copyright and rights related to copyright and Decree No. 2001/956 / PM of November 1, 2001 laying down the procedures for applying the Act on the one hand and in violation of the provisions of law and other basic texts of the copyright societies such as CMC and SOCAM accusing the leaders of that financial malfeasance structures on the other hand, one must be perfect when it comes to governance.

This lesson, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ama Tutu Muna, should meditate on at the time the ad hoc Committee set up by the Prime Minister and charged with making proposals for the improvement of the collective management of the right of artists had just recommended the audit of the special deposit account charges of copyright whose creation proceeds from the will to secure the royalties collected and the Trust Account for the support of the cultural policy of Cameroon.

This account comes from the Presidential Decree No. 2001/389 of 5 December 2001. A revolutionary act of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, in the context of the grant and the development of cultural industries in Cameroon.

At the heart of the concerns of the Ad Hoc Committee is the lack of traceability on the disbursement of funds from the Special Deposit Account by the only president of the Permanent Commission of mediation and control of collective management organizations of copyright and related rights Copyright (CPMC), a dismemberment of the Department of Arts and Culture.

It goes without saying however that the normal procedure in the matter if any outflow has previously supported at least three board chairs of Directors of three copyright societies to which is added that of the President of the CPMC because the special deposit account belongs to the copyright companies which are the only custodians of the funds that are housed and not the Department of Arts and Culture.

Unfortunately, this provision is regularly violated by the Minister of Arts and Culture and the President of the CPMC which certain actions are simply revealing embezzlement or misappropriation of funds. The other concern that monopolizes the ad hoc Committee is the management, for the less opaque, surrounding the management of the Trust Account for the support of the cultural policy of Cameroon by the Department of Arts and Culture.

The clear definition of the criteria and monitoring surrounding the granting of funds from the Account to the artists remain unclear.

Ama Tutu Muna, Romeo Dika and the guitars case began in June 2014. The Musicians' Union of Cameroon (SYCAMU), including Romeo Dika who is president, was organizing from 2 to 5 June 2014 in Yaounde a capacity building workshop for the union members.

75 guitars were then distributed to musicians. On the origin of guitars in question, the President of SYCAMU covers praises to the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) for this "substantive gift". The ceremony is attended by the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ama Tutu Muna.

On Saturday, August 30, 2014, another guitars distribution ceremony was organized in Yaounde, more precisely in the National Museum. 100 guitars were still given to musicians. Also in the presence of the Minister of Arts and Culture.

The President of the Union, Romeo Dika, magnifies the partnership between SYCAMU and the Department of Arts and Culture. Ama Tutu Muna, in her speech, urged the artists to be glued behind Romeo Dika for the smooth running of SYCAMU.

During our investigation, all our attempts to have a copy of the agreement signed by the SYCAMU and the Department of Arts and Culture were unsuccessful, the two parties turned down our request. The agreement between the SYCAMU and the Department of Arts and Culture is based on what? What are the demands of SYCAMU as a union? An agreement that actually binds the SYCAMU and the Department of Arts and Culture? Questions and many others unanswered.

On 03 April 2015, 170 guitars were again shared to artists. The Minister of Arts and Culture personally presided the ceremony in Douala in the Littoral region.

On 28 April 2015 the SYCAMU discovered Mbengwi, a town located in the department of Momo in the northwest. In the presence of Ama Tutu Muna, much controversy surrounded the said event: yet programmed Bamenda as distribution of guitars for Mbengwi is delocalized.

Meanwhile, a musical copyright society was created in the capital of the Momo. Artists present at Mbengwi were divided on this initiative. The case made a field day in the press. The President of SYCAMU in many media outlets, turned vitriolic against the Prime Minister, head of government.

In services of the Prime Ministry, is the face of amazement to the sabotage against Roméo Dika. The President of SYCAMU wanted to create an unfavorable environment to the Ad Hoc Committee to make proposals for the improvement of the collective management of copyright.

Within the said Committee, the President threatened to expel the representatives of the Ministry of Arts and Culture (Edmond Mballa Elanga and Christophe Seuna).

Money for the guitars and suddenly the pretext is thus questioned to know more about the guitars distributed by SYCAMU since June 2014: where do they come from? Who is the patron? What is the responsibility of the Department of Arts and Culture in partnership led by Ama Tutu Muna Minister and Romeo Dika?

Last Thursday, the newspaper EQUATION joined on the phone two leaders of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM). Although President, John Smith, and General Secretary, Benoit Machuel recognized SYCAMU support in the development of his actions, however they are formal on one point: the International Federation of Musicians never gave a gift of guitars to the Cameroonian musicians union for its members.

For Benoit Machuel, the objectives of the FIM are clear: encourage the professional organization of musicians group within it the musicians worldwide organizations, stimulate and strengthen international cooperation; take all necessary initiatives to give birth to laws, nationally and internationally, to protect musicians; provide moral and material support to member associations when they are engaged in a professional defense struggle in keeping with the aims of the FIM; encourage all efforts to ensure that good music becomes a common heritage to all peoples among others.

Without absolutely referring to the statements of the main leaders of the FIM to deny association with the guitar gifts which officially SYCAMU believed through Romeo Dika and Minister of Arts and Culture, we went once again to the headquarters of the district SYCAMU Tsinga in Yaounde, to consult two main documents: the shipping schedule of FIM SYCAMU guitars and clearance certificate of the musical instruments.

From these two documents, neither one nor the other has been presented to the EQUATION for the newspaper to reinforce the thesis of the FIM guitars donation to SYCAMU.

Last week against a team of investigators from the Directorate General for External Research (DGRE), whose leaders do not hide the irritation that the Minister of Arts and Culture poses them about her contacts with the President of SYCAMU, Romeo Dika, Ama Tutu Muna could not raise suspicions as to finance the purchase of the guitars distributed to SYCAMU artists and musicians by the Department of Arts and Culture through funds of a special deposit account belonging to the category of musical art.

A survey by the DGRE at Societe Generale (former SGBC) let's perceive as at September 02, 2014, the Minister of Arts and Culture, together with Romeo Dika, personally made a collection 205 million FCFA special deposit royalties to the copyright Account. of the 205 million FCFA, 175 million FCFA were the subject of an inter-social distribution of fees due in respect of copyright and related rights of copyright between SOCAM, the SOCIDRAP the SOCADAP and SOCILADRA according to Decision No. 004/036 / MINCULT / CAb of 11 July 2004 on the approval of a scale of inter-social distribution.

Meanwhile, 30 million FCFA took an unknown destination to date. In an interview with Mutations in its issue No. 3725 of Monday, September 8, 2014, Ama Tutu Muna, in her usual exploitation of ignorance and manipulation of national and international opinion, had however said that the "special allocation" for musicians on August 19, 2014 resulted from a special endowment of the President of the Republic to the musicians.

Then what about the funds collected in the special deposit account? A real nebula. February 16, 2015, through the care of the President of the Permanent Commission of mediation and supervision of copyright societies, the Department of Arts and Culture, without even referring to organizations of collective management of copyright (CPMC), collected 25 million of the special deposit account charges of copyright.

Questioned by the newspaper EQUATION on the merits of such a transaction which violates current regulations, Edmond Mballa Elanga, president of the CPMC was somewhat prolix if not downright silent.

Furthermore, in preparation for the Mbengwi ceremony, the Department of Arts and Culture had a sampling 205,235,000 FCFA special deposit account charges of copyright on April 13, 2015. According to indiscretions of some relatives of Romeo Dika in SYCAMU, these guitars distributed to musicians were purchased at brick neighborhood yaoundé with a Malian trader, one Karim, whose products come from nigeria.

In this context, the Prime Minister, head of government, should immediately clarify things by establishing all the responsibilities through two audits: that of the Special Deposit Account royalties of copyright on the one hand and that of the account of Trust for the support of the cultural policy of Cameroon. We must first secure the rights of artists, rights which are the main problem between copyright societies and the Minister of Arts and Culture because it is money that is at the center of the crisis. And all observers notified of the collective management of copyright in the musical field have observed for several months: Ama Tutu Muna Minister describes in moving words of the righteous and the catastrophic situation in which the law companies found to create. But then, as we have understood for a long time, she never talks about her own management.