# 31 December 2007 at Unity Palace
# HEAD OF STATE'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO THE NATION
Fellow Cameroonians,
My Dear Compatriots,
Before making an overview of the events of the year just ended with you, I believe it is absolutely necessary to come back to the tragedy that occurred in Bakassi a few weeks ago and which left 21 of our soldiers dead and many others injured. I shared the strong feelings of all Cameroonians and, like you all, felt the deepest sympathies for the families of the victims. However, one cannot but also feel indignation at this attack on our soldiers by unidentified elements.
We must get to the bottom of what transpired at Bakassi. The Nigerian authorities have assured us that they had no responsibility in this tragedy. They dispatched a Senior Minister to Yaounde to extend their condolences to us and to express their attachment to the Greentree Agreement on the implementation of the ruling of the International Court of Justice concerning Bakassi.
Investigations are under way on the Nigerian side and on the Cameroonian side. I want to believe that they will reveal the truth about these hideous acts whose perpetrators must be brought to book. In the meantime, precautions have been taken to ensure that this tragedy does not repeat itself. The nation can count on its army.
My Dear Compatriots,
The year 2007 was, in a way, a transitional year, falling between a period of rehabilitation of our public finances and consolidation of our institutions and a period which, we all hope, will be one of a strong revival of economic growth and the improvement of the living conditions of our people.
This definitely does not mean that nothing has been done over the last twelve months. You have all been witnesses.
The management of the State budget has improved considerably. This has been recognized by the international financial institutions.
This progress as well as the funds freed up by debt cancellations have enabled us to invest in the social sectors.
The education sector has been one of its beneficiaries. Hundreds of new schools have been opened. New faculties have been created in our universities. Many new teachers have been recruited at all levels.
The health sector has not been left out. The country's health coverage has expanded. The fight against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS has been pursued and there has been no slowdown in the provision of drugs to government hospitals and health centres.
Furthermore, special efforts have been made to rehabilitate our defective infrastructure or create new ones, notably in the road and urban sanitation sectors.
Measures have also been taken to defend our purchasing power. As such, salary advances were granted to State employees and measures were adopted to combat price hikes, either by fighting speculation or removing taxes on some essential goods, or even by liberalizing the importation of some goods.