Thirty seven years at the service of the state with a clean record is definitely a fit very few civil servants can attain in their career. But Patrice Lumumba Mboh Ticha, the workaholic Director of General Affairs at the Directorate General of Treasury, Financial and Monetary Cooperation (DGTFMC) so charmed President Paul Biya by his loyal and exemplary services to the state at a time of resources are getting more and more scarce to carry out development projects that he was spotted for recognition.
It therefore came as no surprise that he was raised to the Officer of the Order of Valour on the occasion of Labour Day 2024. He received that award of honour last Friday from the hands of MINFI boss, Louis Paul Motaze, on the occasion of the Annual Conference of Senior Officials of central, devolved and external services of the Ministry of Finance, coupled with New Year wishes.
The salvo of applause accompanying the declaration of the honour on behalf of the Head of State and the handshake from the MINFI boss testified to the fact that he merited the distinction.
Speaking to the press at a ceremony to celebrate the award at this residence in Yaounde, the soft-spoken laureate said he was delighted the recognition was coming at the crown of his career, during which he worked diligently, loyally and faithfully serving the state for 37 years.
“We work in a department that is very delicate and you have to have the tact to manage the difficulties that the users are going through and the scarcity that is being felt as our nation is going through serious crisis. It is about being resilient in the face of crisis”, he noted.
He advised his younger colleagues to work in a diligent way and with integrity, putting the user in front in order to benefit from such a recognition.
Good wine needs no bush
The party thrown at his residence to celebrate the distinction attracted the presence of his immediate boss, Mr Moh Sylvester Tangongho, DG of Treasury and other senior officials at the MINFI who came to wish him well, but also collaborators, members of the Pinyin community, his immediate family and his Alma Mater, Sacred Heart College Mankon . They were all praises for the laureate whom they said had distinguished himself by his gentleness, humility, hard work, diligence and soft-spokenness to win the confidence of the Head of State.
Dr Fonkam Azu’u, former Director General of ELECAM who spoke on behalf of the Pinyin community, hailed these qualities, noting that “good wine needs no bush”. He urged Mr Mboh to win more gold for his community through his good works, stressing that he still had the Commander of the Knight of Valour and the Grand Officer of the Order of Valour to attain.
His younger sister, Prof. Motia, also briefed attendees on the workaholic nature of the laureate which had ‘contaminated’ all of them in the family.
Taking the floor, the laureate thanked those who had showered kind words on him, promising to work harder to attain heights. He then urged them to enjoy the party to the fullest.
