Defence Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o Inaugurates Naval Recreational Centre

The centre called “Cercle Naval” is found at the Navy Headquarters in Yaounde.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o on Friday, May 14 officially inaugurated “CERCLE NAVAL”, a befitting and decent recreational centre for Marine officials of the Navy headquarters in the capital city, Yaounde. The structure is the equivalent of “Officers Mess” for the Air and Land forces in the military.

Defence Minister talking to the press after inaugurating the structure said it was a concrete fulfilment of the Head of State, Paul Biya’s promise to improve on the living and working conditions of the defence forces. President Biya made the promise on December 4, 2009 as he presided at the graduation ceremony of the 31st and 32nd batches of the Yaounde Combined Services Military Academy (EMIA). Mr Mebe Ngo’o said the structure was in line with the government policy to keep the soldiers in the barracks through improving their working conditions.

Navy Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Guillaume N’Gouah- N’Gally said the “Cercle Naval” was a military structure whose functioning will be regulated by permanent instructions to be submitted for the minister’s visa. The centre, he said was well equipped, made up of a dinning hall divided into three sections reserved for senior military officials and other very important guests, military officers and soldiers of the rank and file. It is also comprised of a bar, three rooms and an office. The Chief of Navy Staff stated that with the support of the Defence boss, the structure will equally have a library and a multimedia centre. All the facilities, Guillaume N’Gouah- N’Gally said, were provided to stop soldiers from unfortunate incidents in restaurants in town. Soldiers of the Navy headquarters, he said, henceforth have a venue within their work place where they can develop the spirit and feelings of camaraderie and solidarity of the corps. At the entrance to the building is a logo of the Navy conspicuously positioned with the wordings “CERCLE NAVAL” boldly written on it and the date of its inauguration in French and English.