"La Mère" Françoise Foning Is No More

 BY FCN,

The Mayor of Douala V, "La Mère" Françoise Foning is reported to have died at the Yaounde Central Hospital. She died after she was involved in a ghastly motor accident on the Douala-Yaoude. She lived and died as one of the dieheart militants of the CPDM. She had been Mayor and MP accumulatively at a point in time. As Ntenfac Ofege puts it ‘those who loved her truly loved her. Those who hated her did so with venom. Ask her political opponents in both the SDF and the CPDM but this woman loomed. Rabble rouser, business woman, mayor, con artist, community mobilizer, Biya fanatic, you name them. Foning has many colours some of them irksome’.  

Born around 1948 in Bafou, Tsobgny Nguiazong Foning Françoise hails from Menoua Division in the Western Region.

After obtaining the CAP in Secretariat duties, she worked as a secretary at the Regional Delegation of Tourism for the Littoral. In Douala, she also sang in cabarets, her specialty being the interpretation of songs and French. Her political career began in 1986 when she became WCPDM Section President for Wouri. In 1988, she was elected councilor in Douala. And in June 1990 she became a full member of the Central Committee of the CPDM. Moreover, from 1988 to 1992, she was MP at the National Assembly. But despite her failure in the legislative elections of 1992 and in municipal January 1996 in the constituency of Douala V, she was elected MP for Wouri East on CPDM list of 1997, then that of June 2002.  And she was again elected Mayor of Douala 5.

Always politically, she founded the Circle of Reflection and Action for the Renewal Policy (crater). As a woman entrepreneur, she established the following companies: ANFLO specializing in carpentry; WABCO, which specializes in the manufacture of batteries and GINNY, specializing in marketing tricycles. On the business front, she has held or still holds several positions of responsibility: President of CAFM, President of the African Network of Support for Women Entrepreneurs (RASEF), Vice- Chair of the Forum Francophone Affairs in charge of Africa, and Vice President of the World Organization of Women Entrepreneurs.

BBW dynamic woman, this brave lady who was one of the best-known Cameroonian women worldwide died on January 23 in Yaounde, emergency Central Hospital following a car accident.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)