Cameroonian Expert Bashes Algeria and Polisario over Aid Mismanagement in Tindouf

Cameroonian expert Alphonse Zozime Tamekamta underlined the grave shortcomings of Algeria and Polisario in the management of aid destined for the population living in Tindouf camps as mentioned in the “WFP interim country strategic plan for Algeria (2019–2022)” report.
The expert explained that the World Food Program revealed the embezzlement of humanitarian aid inside and outside Tindouf, as well as in neighboring countries, at the time when the camps’ dwellers are living in challenging conditions, marked by chronic malnutrition, especially among women and children.
“What is even more serious is that the WFP has again expressed its grave concern about the lack of registration and census of the population in the Tindouf camps and the possibility of aid embezzlement as a result of this situation,” he said.
Zozime Tamekamta also highlighted that the Tindouf population has never been registered, for almost 50 years, as refugees, which has deprived them of all the rights guaranteed by the Convention of 28 July 1951 on the Status of Refugees.
“The report also showed the inability of specialized UN agencies to access the camps without impediment”, he said, describing the internal running of the distribution of humanitarian aid carried out by the polisario as biased.
The university professor recalled that the European Parliament had adopted a resolution saying that Algeria had applied a 5% tax on this aid and had refused the refugee headcount requested by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1977, 2003, 2005, and 2015.
The UN Secretary-General’s report shed light in 2021 on the embezzlement of funds and aid intended for the population in captivity in the polisario-run camps.