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Monday, 23 November 2015
Tombel:
Ngassa Rose weeps after heavy drubbing
By Mesumbe Micheal Ewang in Tombel
Easily the most hotly contested and tension-packed in Kupe-Muanenguba Division, the reorganization of basic organs of the CPDM party in Tombel have come and gone with the “unity list” led by Samme Mesape giving the list of mayor Rose Ngassa a humiliating drubbing.
The unity list bagged home over 4000 of the about 5300 votes cast, while Rose Ngassa had only a paltry 718 votes. The difference was telling, indeed.
It is worthy to note that Ngassa Rose was badly beaten by the unity list after she rejected an offer for her to join the unity team as leader of the WCPDM list.
Unable to contain the humiliating defeat, Rose Ngassa burst into tears. She said she had been tricked into running in the election. She wailed and sobbed in front of her supporters, confessing to them that she never really wanted to contest in the election in the first place. Ngassa said her supporters deceived her into believing she was still very popular in Tombel and that she would clinch an easy victory if ever she ran. She lamented how she had spent several millions of francs cfa for campaigns just to get a humiliation at the end.
Observers said Ngassa Rose had been vomited by the populations of Tombel despite the support she enjoys from Central Committee Scribe, Jean Kuete, the SDO for Kupe Muanenguba Haddison Quetong and even the Paramount Chief of Tombel, HRH Dr. Sale.
Political pundits in Tombel said they had predicted Ngassa Rose’s drubbing. They said for a long time now she has been a thorn in the flesh of the people of Tombel, who have spared no opportunity to publicly criticize her for mismanaging the Tombel council.
Many said against the popular will of the population of Tombel, Ngassa Rose was parachuted to the helm of the Tombel Council after the 2013 municipal election.
By Mesumbe Micheal Ewang in Tombel
Easily the most hotly contested and tension-packed in Kupe-Muanenguba Division, the reorganization of basic organs of the CPDM party in Tombel have come and gone with the “unity list” led by Samme Mesape giving the list of mayor Rose Ngassa a humiliating drubbing.
The unity list bagged home over 4000 of the about 5300 votes cast, while Rose Ngassa had only a paltry 718 votes. The difference was telling, indeed.
It is worthy to note that Ngassa Rose was badly beaten by the unity list after she rejected an offer for her to join the unity team as leader of the WCPDM list.
Unable to contain the humiliating defeat, Rose Ngassa burst into tears. She said she had been tricked into running in the election. She wailed and sobbed in front of her supporters, confessing to them that she never really wanted to contest in the election in the first place. Ngassa said her supporters deceived her into believing she was still very popular in Tombel and that she would clinch an easy victory if ever she ran. She lamented how she had spent several millions of francs cfa for campaigns just to get a humiliation at the end.
Observers said Ngassa Rose had been vomited by the populations of Tombel despite the support she enjoys from Central Committee Scribe, Jean Kuete, the SDO for Kupe Muanenguba Haddison Quetong and even the Paramount Chief of Tombel, HRH Dr. Sale.
Political pundits in Tombel said they had predicted Ngassa Rose’s drubbing. They said for a long time now she has been a thorn in the flesh of the people of Tombel, who have spared no opportunity to publicly criticize her for mismanaging the Tombel council.
Many said against the popular will of the population of Tombel, Ngassa Rose was parachuted to the helm of the Tombel Council after the 2013 municipal election.
Buea:
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| Disgruntled CPDM militants demonstrating in Buea |
The reorganization of the basic organs of the CPDM has ended in Fako III, Buea with many militants disappointed with the outcome. Many militants especially supporters of Buea Mayor Patrick Ekema said they were taken aback when the list of candidates to run for different elections were published with the list of Patrick Ekema not included.
With this shocking development, supporters of Ekema Patrick immidiately rallied at Bongo square from where they staged a protest match to the DO’S office. The striking militants carried placards and chanted songs calling for Ekema’s list to be included among the contesting lists. “We want Ekema’s list reinstated; there will be no elections without Ekema,” some of the placards read.
However, before the mob arrived at the DO’S office, gendarmes and police officers were already stationed there to prevent them from carrying out any destruction. The gendarmes asked the strikers to disperse and go back to their homes, saying their worries would be looked into by the appropriate authorities.
Addressing the mod, Chief Njombe NJoke observed that the CPDM party is a peaceful and united party but some people are doing every thing to destroy the unity and peace that President Paul Biya is working tirelessly to forge within the ranks of the party. Chief Njombe urged the militants to move back to Bongo square where they would be addressed by the mayor.
Suspicion, strife mar voting in Meme IA
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in K’ba
While official results were still awaited in the various sections of Meme CPDM, unofficial projections showed that except for Meme IA and Mbonge, all other sections in Meme will see the incumbents re-elected. While Senator Otte Andrew Mofa was said to be on course to succeed his elder brother, Ekong William as section president in Mbonge, it was not the case for Meme IA, Kumba, where Tabot Lawson alias Njalla was said to be giving incumbent Prince Ekale Mukete a run for his money and ambition.
The reorganisation committee led by Richard N. Njikam, was accused by Ekale Mukete of trying to doctor results in favour of Njalla. It is worthy to note that Njikam and Ekale Mukete have been at loggerheads for a while now with the latter previously refusing to recognize the former as the boss of the local committee for the reorganization in Meme IA.
Nonetheless, Senator Nfon Victor Mukete called a victory party on behalf of his son, Prince Ekale Mukete, even before the results were published.
Worthy to note that the Meme IA section has been a trouble spot for many years running, with mayhem reigning before, during and after every other election.
While official results were still awaited in the various sections of Meme CPDM, unofficial projections showed that except for Meme IA and Mbonge, all other sections in Meme will see the incumbents re-elected. While Senator Otte Andrew Mofa was said to be on course to succeed his elder brother, Ekong William as section president in Mbonge, it was not the case for Meme IA, Kumba, where Tabot Lawson alias Njalla was said to be giving incumbent Prince Ekale Mukete a run for his money and ambition.
The reorganisation committee led by Richard N. Njikam, was accused by Ekale Mukete of trying to doctor results in favour of Njalla. It is worthy to note that Njikam and Ekale Mukete have been at loggerheads for a while now with the latter previously refusing to recognize the former as the boss of the local committee for the reorganization in Meme IA.
Nonetheless, Senator Nfon Victor Mukete called a victory party on behalf of his son, Prince Ekale Mukete, even before the results were published.
Worthy to note that the Meme IA section has been a trouble spot for many years running, with mayhem reigning before, during and after every other election.
After Motanga’s Crushing Victory:
Angry Limbe CPDM militants threaten to join SDF
By Nwo Fuanya in Limbe
Hundreds of CPDM militants in Limbe are now threatening to join the SDF party along with their supporters after the incumbent Section President of the erstwhile Fako IA, and Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council, Andrew Motanga Monjimba meandered over all the banana peelings placed on his way to obtain a crushing victory over his opponents in the ongoing CPDM reorganization exercise.
Though speculations were rife that Motanga would be given a good run for his money in the elections, this only turned out to be a pipe dream as he gave his rattling opponents a bashing that was not previewed at all.
For the post of Fako IA CPDM section President, Motanga had 3488 votes while his runner up Kemajou Brisco managed 181.The third person for the post, Dr Esunge who was highly rated crawled in third position with 179 votes. Critics were quick to note that the two humiliated politicians sensed their humiliation, reason why they did not even show up for the counting exercise.
In spite of the crushing majority in favour of Motanga, disgruntled supports of the losing side still claimed to be the majority. According to them, unfair criteria were used to make sure that they do not vote in the election, thereby giving the leeway for the Motanga supporters to give him the outstanding victory. To buttress their point, these CPDM supporters whose political strength is still questionable have vowed that they prove their point by joining and voting for the SDF in subsequent elections.
By Nwo Fuanya in Limbe
Hundreds of CPDM militants in Limbe are now threatening to join the SDF party along with their supporters after the incumbent Section President of the erstwhile Fako IA, and Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council, Andrew Motanga Monjimba meandered over all the banana peelings placed on his way to obtain a crushing victory over his opponents in the ongoing CPDM reorganization exercise.
Though speculations were rife that Motanga would be given a good run for his money in the elections, this only turned out to be a pipe dream as he gave his rattling opponents a bashing that was not previewed at all.
For the post of Fako IA CPDM section President, Motanga had 3488 votes while his runner up Kemajou Brisco managed 181.The third person for the post, Dr Esunge who was highly rated crawled in third position with 179 votes. Critics were quick to note that the two humiliated politicians sensed their humiliation, reason why they did not even show up for the counting exercise.
In spite of the crushing majority in favour of Motanga, disgruntled supports of the losing side still claimed to be the majority. According to them, unfair criteria were used to make sure that they do not vote in the election, thereby giving the leeway for the Motanga supporters to give him the outstanding victory. To buttress their point, these CPDM supporters whose political strength is still questionable have vowed that they prove their point by joining and voting for the SDF in subsequent elections.
Ngala Gerard wins in Nkambe
By Tatah Christogonus in Nkambe
The reorganization of basic organs of the CPDM party in Donga Mantung 1, Nkambe have come and gone with emblematic party diehard and Douala-based businessman, Ngala Gerald emerging as the section president. Ngala had what many have described as an easy victory as he was elected by acclamation.
The elections that hitherto were expected to be hotly contested, did not produce any fireworks as the militants in a rare show of maturity and mutual understanding accepted to present consensus candidates as advised by party bigwigs.
Thus the Central committee supervisor for Donga-Mantung, Senator Njingum Musa and his delegation had very little to worry about in Donga-Mantung 1, Nkambe. This was so because prior to their arrival, the local team for the reorganization headed by Nji Christopher, had already done all the ground work.
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| Ngala Gerald |
The elections that hitherto were expected to be hotly contested, did not produce any fireworks as the militants in a rare show of maturity and mutual understanding accepted to present consensus candidates as advised by party bigwigs.
Thus the Central committee supervisor for Donga-Mantung, Senator Njingum Musa and his delegation had very little to worry about in Donga-Mantung 1, Nkambe. This was so because prior to their arrival, the local team for the reorganization headed by Nji Christopher, had already done all the ground work.
Preferential treatment:
DO bans SDF event to make way for CPDM
By Nwo Fuanya in Limbe
Against all expectations the DO for Limbe I, Seraphin Epalle last Saturday November 14 suddenly banned a fundraising meeting that the SDF Limbe I electoral District had planned to raise funds for its Community Centre project.
The circumstances surrounding the ban took a new twist a day later on Sunday November 15 when the chairman of the Limbe IA CPDM reorganization exercise, Gobina Simon openly congratulated the DO, Seraphin Epalle for the drastic and timely measures he took to ensure that the CPDM voting exercise was not disturbed by other circumstances.
This led observers concluding that Gobina was thanking the DO for stopping the SDF fundraising a day earlier for fear that it could attract attention and spoil the CPDM elections.
According to the Limbe I SDF Electoral District Chairman,Ndenge Godden Zama,his party had submitted a request for an authorization to hold the meeting to the DO.He expressed shock that two days to the meeting ,he was called up urgently at the DO’s office and handed the ban letter;with the paradoxical reason that he did not have an authorization that he had earlier asked for.
By Nwo Fuanya in Limbe
Against all expectations the DO for Limbe I, Seraphin Epalle last Saturday November 14 suddenly banned a fundraising meeting that the SDF Limbe I electoral District had planned to raise funds for its Community Centre project.
The circumstances surrounding the ban took a new twist a day later on Sunday November 15 when the chairman of the Limbe IA CPDM reorganization exercise, Gobina Simon openly congratulated the DO, Seraphin Epalle for the drastic and timely measures he took to ensure that the CPDM voting exercise was not disturbed by other circumstances.
This led observers concluding that Gobina was thanking the DO for stopping the SDF fundraising a day earlier for fear that it could attract attention and spoil the CPDM elections.
According to the Limbe I SDF Electoral District Chairman,Ndenge Godden Zama,his party had submitted a request for an authorization to hold the meeting to the DO.He expressed shock that two days to the meeting ,he was called up urgently at the DO’s office and handed the ban letter;with the paradoxical reason that he did not have an authorization that he had earlier asked for.
CPDM Reorganization:
Abdou Borno Wins Big in Donga Mantung II
Abdou Borno Kamfon has been anonymously elected Section President for Donga Mantung II, Ndu. In an acceptance speech on 15th November 2015 after his exploits, he told militants and sympathizers of the CPDM that he was honored to have been elected and installed as CPDM section President for Donga Mantung 2, Ndu.
“My election as section President and Madam Naomi Nfor as WCPDM President , Mr Ngangeh Dieudonne as YCPDM President and other elected party officials has rejuvenated the CPDM party in Ndu sub Division as our election and installation signifies a total reconciliation between the party and more youthful population and women of Ndu sub division. More energetic and committed officials have been elected into post of responsibilities in all the organs of the party making the party to have a new birth in Ndu sub Division” observed Abdou Borno Kamfon
Abdou Borno Kamfon has been anonymously elected Section President for Donga Mantung II, Ndu. In an acceptance speech on 15th November 2015 after his exploits, he told militants and sympathizers of the CPDM that he was honored to have been elected and installed as CPDM section President for Donga Mantung 2, Ndu.
“My election as section President and Madam Naomi Nfor as WCPDM President , Mr Ngangeh Dieudonne as YCPDM President and other elected party officials has rejuvenated the CPDM party in Ndu sub Division as our election and installation signifies a total reconciliation between the party and more youthful population and women of Ndu sub division. More energetic and committed officials have been elected into post of responsibilities in all the organs of the party making the party to have a new birth in Ndu sub Division” observed Abdou Borno Kamfon
Olembe low-cost housing project:
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| Jean Claude Mbwenchou |
Chinese operators get a better deal than Cameroonians
Amongst other things, the honorary president of Cameroon’s entrepreneurs told the press in Yaounde last week that although Cameroonians are awarded contracts at a relatively lower cost, they are patriotic enough to do a better job than Chinese contractors
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
The honorary president of Cameroon’s entrepreneurs has expressed dissatisfaction at the quality of houses that Chinese entrepreneurs who were awarded contracts to build low-cost houses in the Yaounde Olembe neighbourhood are constructing. He equally frowned at the fact that in the award of the contracts Chinese entrepreneurs are favoured more than their Cameroonian counterparts.
Talking to the press on the sidelines of an inspection and evaluation visit made by the Housing and Urban Development Minister, Jean Claude Mbwenchou, to the Olembe low-cost housing village last week, El Hadj Saidou Ndernai Njilda, who doubles as president of the building/construction section of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, said when coming from afar you see beautiful buildings, but as you come closer you see lots of defects.
Nkum Council Adopts 2016 Budget
Councilors of the Nkum council sitting in an ordinary council session on Friday Nov. 13, 2015 at the Nkum Council Hall Tatum, adopted the sum of FCFA 645,840,320 in income and expenditure as budget for the 2016 fiscal year.
Taking into consideration the Council’s desire to develop the municipality, a whopping FCFA 280.500.000 which is above 43% of the budget and which exceeds the minimum percentage required by law reserved for investment was channeled to investment projects.
The budget also reflected and assimilated the recent Presidential Decree which placed Mayors and their Deputies on a monthly salary and some allowances as well as allowances of councilors.
Addressing the councilors, the Mayor of Nkum Council, Suila Aruna described the new status of Mayors, their deputies and councilors as a “game changer” that warrants performance noting that they might “miss the political train” if the results are not forthcoming.
“By every indication, the masses shall rightly or wrongly expect part of the fallout from this Presidential Decision to manifest in the improvement of their socio-economic well-being. Such expectations to by view are not out of place because our financial empowerment should logically manifest in our greater contribution towards the improvement of the lots of our friends, neighbors and our community as the need arises” he noted.
Taking into consideration the Council’s desire to develop the municipality, a whopping FCFA 280.500.000 which is above 43% of the budget and which exceeds the minimum percentage required by law reserved for investment was channeled to investment projects.
The budget also reflected and assimilated the recent Presidential Decree which placed Mayors and their Deputies on a monthly salary and some allowances as well as allowances of councilors.
Addressing the councilors, the Mayor of Nkum Council, Suila Aruna described the new status of Mayors, their deputies and councilors as a “game changer” that warrants performance noting that they might “miss the political train” if the results are not forthcoming.
“By every indication, the masses shall rightly or wrongly expect part of the fallout from this Presidential Decision to manifest in the improvement of their socio-economic well-being. Such expectations to by view are not out of place because our financial empowerment should logically manifest in our greater contribution towards the improvement of the lots of our friends, neighbors and our community as the need arises” he noted.
28 Suspects, 5 Chinese arrested in North Gabon for trafficking sacred wood
By a Correspondent
Gabonese law enforcement officials arrested twenty eight people including 5 Chinese nationals and six government officials for illegally trafficking in Bubinga, a highly priced and protected tree species. The operation that resulted in a series of arrests that spanned close to a month started following an investigation mission that enabled a Gabonese State Prosecutor to stop and search a truck carrying the wood.
When a truck carrying the huge log of Bubinga, also known in Gabon as kevazingo, was stopped in Makokou, North East Gabon, by the Prosecutor accompanied by Judicial Police officers, the Gendarmerie and a team from the Gabonese forestry law enforcement support project known by its French acronym ALEFI, the driver presented a document issued in the name of a well known timber exploiter that showed a permission was granted to collect fallen or already dead wood.
Two days later, investigators searched the place and found that the tree was cut, nearly a hundred kilometers from the town. The investigations revealed that the Kevazingo tree was cut down by the time exploiter, who came to the village with a Chinese national. The Chinese then bought the illegally cut timber. On Monday 19th October, 2015 a series of clampdown operations carried out led to the arrest of the first suspects including two forestry and wildlife officials who were implicated in the deals. Some government officials including two top provincial officials among several suspects were later arrested. The suspects are now facing a court trial while one of the Chinese has been sentenced to three months imprisonment and ordered to pay fines and damages of 5 million CFA F.
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| Arrested for illegal trafficking in a sacred tree |
When a truck carrying the huge log of Bubinga, also known in Gabon as kevazingo, was stopped in Makokou, North East Gabon, by the Prosecutor accompanied by Judicial Police officers, the Gendarmerie and a team from the Gabonese forestry law enforcement support project known by its French acronym ALEFI, the driver presented a document issued in the name of a well known timber exploiter that showed a permission was granted to collect fallen or already dead wood.
Two days later, investigators searched the place and found that the tree was cut, nearly a hundred kilometers from the town. The investigations revealed that the Kevazingo tree was cut down by the time exploiter, who came to the village with a Chinese national. The Chinese then bought the illegally cut timber. On Monday 19th October, 2015 a series of clampdown operations carried out led to the arrest of the first suspects including two forestry and wildlife officials who were implicated in the deals. Some government officials including two top provincial officials among several suspects were later arrested. The suspects are now facing a court trial while one of the Chinese has been sentenced to three months imprisonment and ordered to pay fines and damages of 5 million CFA F.
Local communities want forest royalties reinstated
Their representatives made the plea at a press conference that held on the eve of the opening of the November session of parliament meant for the adoption of the 2016 finance law
By Essan Ekoninyam in Yaounde
The opening of the November 2015 session of parliament, meant to adopt the 2016 finance law, has brought some hope to civil society organizations and members of local forest village communities. They are looking forward to having the law makers adopting a finance law for 2016 in which forest royalties would be reinstated.
This hope was made glaring by Luc Ndebe, spokesperson for members of the said communities, at a press conference organized on 11 November 2015 (that is, the eve of the opening of the parliamentary session) by the Forest and Rural Development NGO known more commonly by its French acronym FODER.
At the press conference, Luc Ndebe, who doubles as president of the local management and follow-up committee for forest royalties meant for the local Manga’a-Ndokok communities of the Sanaga Maritime division, shouted the point that the suppression of forest royalties handicaps their communities in no small way.
By Essan Ekoninyam in Yaounde
The opening of the November 2015 session of parliament, meant to adopt the 2016 finance law, has brought some hope to civil society organizations and members of local forest village communities. They are looking forward to having the law makers adopting a finance law for 2016 in which forest royalties would be reinstated.
This hope was made glaring by Luc Ndebe, spokesperson for members of the said communities, at a press conference organized on 11 November 2015 (that is, the eve of the opening of the parliamentary session) by the Forest and Rural Development NGO known more commonly by its French acronym FODER.
At the press conference, Luc Ndebe, who doubles as president of the local management and follow-up committee for forest royalties meant for the local Manga’a-Ndokok communities of the Sanaga Maritime division, shouted the point that the suppression of forest royalties handicaps their communities in no small way.
From New Bell Prison:
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| Charles Abi Enonchong |
Dear Mr. President,
THE SG OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE IS A THIEF
Equipped with a falsified order by Judge Fidel MANDENGUE, George GWANMESSIA, Secretary-General for life of the Ministry of Justice, organized the theft at N. F. C. Bank of 1 027 000 000 FCFA, being the capital of ABANE GLOBAL BANK of which I am president of the board of directors. After that act, he blocked an investigation of SED meant to retrieve the stolen money.
For suing him by writ of summons, he ordered the fabrication of complaints and issued a warrant of arrest against me. I am currently in detention at the New-Bell prison for four months now and the High Court is refusing to arrange a date for my hearing or for listening to my request for bail.
As long as I do not rescind my complaint to President BIYA, I would not have a date to defend myself in court! Yes, President BIYA, it is happening in Cameroon!
Your Excellency, I do not understand; Cameroonians do not understand how you hope to succeed to fight corruption when the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice is a thief.
Yet the Court is supposed to be the last bastion of justice of the Cameroonian citizen.
Although he is retired for 17 years now, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice since 15 years has become a baobab at the MINJUSTICE, and with a clique of adepts has taken Cameroon’s justice hostage. Your ministers fear him more than you.
Nothing illustrates more visibly the decadence in which Cameroon’s justice has been buried than the activities of Procureurs-General of Regions coming from the last supreme council of the magistracy, all of whom were placed by GWANMESSIA.
EMIL ESSOMBE: PROCUREUR GENERAL OF THE SOUTH WEST
This man was appointed Procureur-General on 18 December 2014. The following day, 19 December 2014, he seized a rubber plantation of 650 hectares belonging to the GOLD FLAME INTERNATIONAL Company. He chased away the 20 guards and expelled the 150 managers and their families who were there, and without a right or title entrusted the plantation to his concubine. To protect themselves, they give 5 million FCFA monthly to the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice George GWANMESSIA. To this day the Procureur-General ESSOMBE and his agents have already sold and pocketed more than 120 million FCFA paid by the CDC and GMG HEVECAM. In less than one year, EMIL ESSOMBE has become the richest Procureur General in the history of Cameroon!
EISERVI promotes reading culture in Cameroon
By Polycarp Labah in Kumbo
The populations of Bui Division in general and those of the Kumbo municipality and its environs in particular were last Thursday October 8, 2015 honoured through the vision and largesse of EISERVI - Education Information Services International, an NGO with Head Office in Yaounde - Cameroon, as it launched the Kumbo Council Library Open Doors Children’s Corner with the Kumbo Council, to encourage reading and a reading culture in children and adults alike in that part of the country.
The Lord Mayor of Kumbo Council, Njong Donatus who had the singular privilege to usher into his municipality the EISERVI high-powered delegation while cutting the symbolic ribbon saluted the NGO for including his municipality in it implantation agenda in Cameroon. He said the choice of Kumbo was highly welcome to beef up the literacy rate and make Kumbo the hub of education in the region. Mayor Njong pledged his commitment to ensure judicious exploitation and supervision of the library for greater sustainability. He used this occasion to challenge other NGOs and vote-holders to depart from rhetoric and empty speeches which have held the country hostage for years and become more proactive and practical like EISERVI.
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| Cutting the ribbon |
The Lord Mayor of Kumbo Council, Njong Donatus who had the singular privilege to usher into his municipality the EISERVI high-powered delegation while cutting the symbolic ribbon saluted the NGO for including his municipality in it implantation agenda in Cameroon. He said the choice of Kumbo was highly welcome to beef up the literacy rate and make Kumbo the hub of education in the region. Mayor Njong pledged his commitment to ensure judicious exploitation and supervision of the library for greater sustainability. He used this occasion to challenge other NGOs and vote-holders to depart from rhetoric and empty speeches which have held the country hostage for years and become more proactive and practical like EISERVI.
138.567 mosquito bed nets distributed in K’ba
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba
Inhabitants of the Kumba Health District have been the happy recipients of 138.567 bed nets, distributed from November 10th to 14th after a three-month delay. Anti-mosquito bed nets which were to be distributed in August only reached the hands of the population at risk three months after the fact. According to the Kumba District Medical Officer, Dr. Mbamulu N. Achu, the nets have been occupying a disturbingly large portion of a men’s ward in his Health District Service for over a month but the rains and deplorable state of roads led to a postponement of the distribution period. Till date, communities of Dikome Balue and Big ‘Mbandji’ are still experiencing an extended delay because these villages remain inaccessible due to bad roads. Another reason proffered by the DMO is the late deployment of funds from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Public Health as a result of the readjustment of the Cameroonian government’s priorities in the face of Boko Haram attacks. Thus, those who survived the assaults of Boko Haram could very well have found their death from mosquito attacks in the intervening period. According to the latest WHO figures, malaria currently causes 5.57% of all deaths in Cameroon.
Popular Protest:
‘No’ Ebola vaccine test in Abakwa town
- Bamenda Populations warn Gov’t
A clinical campaign to test the Ebola vaccine to make sure it is safe at the Bamenda Regional Hospital which was one of the coordination units in Cameroon has been suspended.
Although the reasons for the suspension are still very fuzzy, speculations are rife that the decision was motivated by a wild spate of protests from some concerned civil society organizations, social workers, Southern Cameroon National Council and some pressmen who confronted the authorities of the Bamenda Regional Hospital on the campaign.
“It should be recalled that in the fight against this worst killer disease, the World Health Organization, WHO, made it abundantly clear that neither cure nor vaccine has yet been found. To the best of our knowledge, WHO which faithfully monitors global health and seeks solutions has not made any declarations” fumed Nfor Ngala Nfor, National Chairman of the SCNC.
“We also firmly believe that if the WHO established a vaccine for this killer disease, it will first announce and prior attention will be turned to Liberia, Guinea (Conakry) and Sierra Leone. Where from comes the Ebola vaccine fit for trail only for Bamenda where cases of the Ebola outbreak have not been reported” Nfor Ngala Nfor questioned.
- Bamenda Populations warn Gov’t
A clinical campaign to test the Ebola vaccine to make sure it is safe at the Bamenda Regional Hospital which was one of the coordination units in Cameroon has been suspended.
Although the reasons for the suspension are still very fuzzy, speculations are rife that the decision was motivated by a wild spate of protests from some concerned civil society organizations, social workers, Southern Cameroon National Council and some pressmen who confronted the authorities of the Bamenda Regional Hospital on the campaign.
“It should be recalled that in the fight against this worst killer disease, the World Health Organization, WHO, made it abundantly clear that neither cure nor vaccine has yet been found. To the best of our knowledge, WHO which faithfully monitors global health and seeks solutions has not made any declarations” fumed Nfor Ngala Nfor, National Chairman of the SCNC.
“We also firmly believe that if the WHO established a vaccine for this killer disease, it will first announce and prior attention will be turned to Liberia, Guinea (Conakry) and Sierra Leone. Where from comes the Ebola vaccine fit for trail only for Bamenda where cases of the Ebola outbreak have not been reported” Nfor Ngala Nfor questioned.
World Toilet Day:
Deplorable public toilets in Kumba
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba
The 2015 World Toilet Day observed on November 19 and focusing on the link between sanitation and nutrition, has brought certain unpleasant facts to the fore in Kumba. Unlike previous years, there were no council activities to commemorate the day with council personnel laying the blame for this at the feet of an NGO, Cameroon Toilet Organisation – CAMTO - which in years past made the day an eventful one.
It would appear that without CAMTO, no attention could be paid to the toilet sanitation crisis in Kumba with an excess of pit latrines, and an inadequate number of public toilets which are almost all located only in markets.
In fact, Kumba follows the world trend where more people have mobile phones than toilets. Without CAMTO, the Kumba City Council would not even look within its living quarters to clean the toilets attached to its City hall whose condition is worse than deplorable. A visit to that toilet would put off the healthiest appetite, with dried faeces stuck unto the floors and the toilet pot full of ... A dripping sink stands to the side, constantly moisturising the dirt on the floor while spiders compete in handicraft, displaying their artistry all over the room.
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba
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| Kumba City's Number One Toilet |
It would appear that without CAMTO, no attention could be paid to the toilet sanitation crisis in Kumba with an excess of pit latrines, and an inadequate number of public toilets which are almost all located only in markets.
In fact, Kumba follows the world trend where more people have mobile phones than toilets. Without CAMTO, the Kumba City Council would not even look within its living quarters to clean the toilets attached to its City hall whose condition is worse than deplorable. A visit to that toilet would put off the healthiest appetite, with dried faeces stuck unto the floors and the toilet pot full of ... A dripping sink stands to the side, constantly moisturising the dirt on the floor while spiders compete in handicraft, displaying their artistry all over the room.
Celebrating 30 years of career:
Ben Decca electrocutes fans in D’la, Y’de
After a tour that took the Deido native to Washington and Texas in USA. Montreal, Canada, Paris, France and his hometown Douala, Ben Decca decided to also make a stop-over at the nation’s political capital to also hot-up his thousands of fans here.
Announcing the Yaounde concert at a press conference he gave at the Solomon Tandeng Muna Foundation here, Ben Decca said he was advised to organize his 30th anniversary by a fellow compatriot living in the diaspora. Ben said he and this compatriot were also in accord that the celebrations take the garb of live concerts and not playbacks.
That is perhaps why Ben Decca was true to himself when he, accompanied by his kid sisters-Grace and Dora, thrilled the many fans that attended the live concert in the banquet hall of the Hotel La Falaise here, on Saturday 21 November 2015.
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| Ben Decca |
Announcing the Yaounde concert at a press conference he gave at the Solomon Tandeng Muna Foundation here, Ben Decca said he was advised to organize his 30th anniversary by a fellow compatriot living in the diaspora. Ben said he and this compatriot were also in accord that the celebrations take the garb of live concerts and not playbacks.
That is perhaps why Ben Decca was true to himself when he, accompanied by his kid sisters-Grace and Dora, thrilled the many fans that attended the live concert in the banquet hall of the Hotel La Falaise here, on Saturday 21 November 2015.
Africa Music Awards:
Charlotte Dipanda dedicates Afrima awards to her fans
“I dedicate my victory to my many fans in Cameroon. This is because it is with them and thanks to them that I have written this page of my career. I dedicate it especially to God All Mighty, because I believe in him and it is he who gives me the force and the inspiration to be able to realize my dreams”.
It was in these words that Cameroon music diva Charlotte Dipanda, 30, opened the video-conference that she organized in Yaounde on Wednesday last week, upon returning from Lagos, Nigeria, where she won three trophies in the All Africa Music Awards (Afrima 2015).
“When I was called up to the podium to receive my first prize, I immediately told myself that I have a whole people behind me and whom I am representing here,” Charlotte said, noting: “I am proud to be among the artistes that are carrying high the Cameroonian flame; and I am particularly happy because my name will be inscribed among the artistes that marked an epoch in Cameroon.
Charlotte Dipanda told pressmen that when she put the album “massa” on the market in February this year, little did she know it would be an award-winning album.
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| Charlotte Dipanda |
It was in these words that Cameroon music diva Charlotte Dipanda, 30, opened the video-conference that she organized in Yaounde on Wednesday last week, upon returning from Lagos, Nigeria, where she won three trophies in the All Africa Music Awards (Afrima 2015).
“When I was called up to the podium to receive my first prize, I immediately told myself that I have a whole people behind me and whom I am representing here,” Charlotte said, noting: “I am proud to be among the artistes that are carrying high the Cameroonian flame; and I am particularly happy because my name will be inscribed among the artistes that marked an epoch in Cameroon.
Charlotte Dipanda told pressmen that when she put the album “massa” on the market in February this year, little did she know it would be an award-winning album.
I feel stronger after my Addis Ababa performance
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| Silver |
-Silver, Reggae artiste
The renowned music diva was the lone artiste that was invited by the Peace and Security Commission of the African Union to perform on the occasion of a third retreat of the Pan-African Network of the Wise (Pan-Wise) in the AU headquarters last week. Upon return to Cameroon, Silver related to Douglas A. Achingale details about the circumstances that led to his invitation, the performance proper, the sense of fulfillment that he had from the event, amongst other amazing things. Read on.
The Median learned that you were in Addis Ababa – Ethiopia – last week for a musical performance. What was it all about?
I was invited by the African Union (AU) under the Peace and Security Commission which organized a third retreat of the Pan-African Network of the Wise (Pan-Wise) in Addis Ababa from 16-17 November 2015, to present my famous song “La Paix”, which was highly appreciated by the Department of Peace and Security of the AU. Pan-Wise is a Commission of the Department of Peace and Security of the AU which constitutes former and sitting Heads of States, ministers, diplomats, generals, religious figures such as bishops, and civil society and NGO representatives of member countries of the AU as well as observers from western countries like the US, Germany, France, Spain, the UK, Italy, etc. The theme of this year’s retreat was “Silencing the guns for 2020 and the promotion of cultures and peace in Africa”.
How did the officials of AU get to know about Silver and his album “La Paix”?
What they told me when they called me on skype was that they had decided during their deliberations to have an artiste with an album on peace. So they went to you tube and typed “peace” and many albums with songs on that theme came out. When they listened to the albums and watched the videos, they unanimously chose mine which they said perfectly suited the context and message of the retreat. I was then called and informed that I had been selected. I confirmed my participation and was told the modalities for travelling. I left Yaounde on Sunday 15 November and performed the following day.
Could you give us a brief but graphic description of how it all happened out in Addis Ababa?
My performance took place in one of the banquet halls of the six-star Sheraton hotel in Addis Ababa. When I got there for my sound balance, I was presented the program even before the delegates started arriving. And I saw that there were just three items on it. The first was the President of the Commission’s welcome address, the second a word from the President of the Department of Peace and Security, and the third and last a presentation of the reggae-born Cameroonian musician, that is, my humble self. I was designated as the pan-African peace artiste.
You may want to know that I travelled with the Cameroon flag, but I was told that the event was an African rather than a Cameroonian affair. So I was asked to put aside my country’s flag and handed the AU flag to perform with. It was a semi-life performance. When I was announced, I came into the hall not through the main entrance, but from the back door. And as I walked in, I was doing an acapella of the main song (“La Paix”) which attracted everybody’s attention. The applause they gave me was simply thunderous.
To be honest with you, Mr. Journalist, that was the first time I was doing such a grandiose show. After singing the main song, I went into the depth of my repertoire and sang all the songs of the album, namely “No More War”, “No to Corruption”, “Not All That Glitters is Gold”, “Right is your Right”, “Wonders Shall Never End”, and “Someday”. Again, the themes of these songs are all directly tied to what was discussed in the plenary sittings, reason why they invited me to perform at the retreat.
5 Signs you're in a desperate relationship
You might not know the truth even as you're living it. Each day passes into the next and you remain oblivious, always living and trying your hardest with the kernel of fear in your heart. Maybe you've gotten used to ignoring it, this dread as it picks at you, boring into you.
Right after my first divorce, I said "yes." Inside I knew the time wasn't right, I knew my heart was too trampled to even embark on a love adventure. To my credit I had said "no" once, but then quickly and without hesitation, I dove into a shaky "yes" on the second reply.
The "yes" turned into another relationship, one whose demise I should have seen coming like a herd of majestic fantasies over the horizon, silhouetted against the sun. My hand against my forehead, I shielded my eyes and turned away. Knowing the end was coming, even as the beginning merely bloomed.
Years have passed, bringing an introspection you can only gain through multiple sunsets; I know how to identify the traits of the desperate relationship and now you will, too.
1. Fear.
When you are honest with yourself, you will note the fear like a tide lapping at you. You may see it after many months, and when you do, be gentle to yourself in your recriminations. You did not enter knowingly and with the will to hurt your partner. You responded out of the various fears that were too much to bear in your life. And as the saying goes, you can only do what you are capable of in the moment... or something like that. Meaning, you had fewer tools to handle anxieties than you might now. Forgive yourself and use this lesson for your future.
Right after my first divorce, I said "yes." Inside I knew the time wasn't right, I knew my heart was too trampled to even embark on a love adventure. To my credit I had said "no" once, but then quickly and without hesitation, I dove into a shaky "yes" on the second reply.
The "yes" turned into another relationship, one whose demise I should have seen coming like a herd of majestic fantasies over the horizon, silhouetted against the sun. My hand against my forehead, I shielded my eyes and turned away. Knowing the end was coming, even as the beginning merely bloomed.
Years have passed, bringing an introspection you can only gain through multiple sunsets; I know how to identify the traits of the desperate relationship and now you will, too.
1. Fear.
When you are honest with yourself, you will note the fear like a tide lapping at you. You may see it after many months, and when you do, be gentle to yourself in your recriminations. You did not enter knowingly and with the will to hurt your partner. You responded out of the various fears that were too much to bear in your life. And as the saying goes, you can only do what you are capable of in the moment... or something like that. Meaning, you had fewer tools to handle anxieties than you might now. Forgive yourself and use this lesson for your future.
Abaaoud, the mastermind of Paris attacks dies in police raid
PARIS (Reuters) - The suspected mastermind of the attacks that killed 129 in Paris was among those killed in a police raid in a suburb of the French capital, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 28-year-old Belgian militant, who had boasted of mounting attacks in Europe for the Islamic State, was accused of orchestrating Friday's coordinated bombings and shootings in the French capital, which killed 129 people.
Police originally thought he was in Syria, but their investigations led them to a house in the Paris suburb of St. Denis aaand heavily armed officers stormed the building before dawn, triggering a massive firefight and multiple explosions.
(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Crispian Balmer; Editing by John Irish)
Who is Abdelhamid Abaaoud?
8 key facts about Paris terror mastermind
A 28-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin was targeted in police raids this morning – suspected of being the mastermind behind last week’s Paris attacks.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, described as a former school bully and thief, has previously been linked to Islamic extremist plots – and recently taunted Western authorities from an Islamic State base in Syria.
He comes from from Molenbeek, a grimy Brussels district dubbed an extremist ‘hotbed’ – where he is said to have known other alleged Paris attackers.
Abaaoud is suspected of involvement in several botched terrorist plots including an attack on a high-speed train which was foiled when the gunman was tackled by passengers.
Abaaoud escaped from Europe after Belgian police shot dead two of his fellow militants as they broke up a cell planning terror attacks on security personnel earlier this year.
(1) Abaaoud hailed the dead militants as martyrs.
He boasted in the ‘official’ Islamic State magazine Dabiq of how he evaded arrest at a European police checkpoint, saying, ‘The kuffar (unbelievers) were blinded by Allah. I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance!’
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 28-year-old Belgian militant, who had boasted of mounting attacks in Europe for the Islamic State, was accused of orchestrating Friday's coordinated bombings and shootings in the French capital, which killed 129 people.
Police originally thought he was in Syria, but their investigations led them to a house in the Paris suburb of St. Denis aaand heavily armed officers stormed the building before dawn, triggering a massive firefight and multiple explosions.
(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Crispian Balmer; Editing by John Irish)
Who is Abdelhamid Abaaoud?
8 key facts about Paris terror mastermind
A 28-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin was targeted in police raids this morning – suspected of being the mastermind behind last week’s Paris attacks.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, described as a former school bully and thief, has previously been linked to Islamic extremist plots – and recently taunted Western authorities from an Islamic State base in Syria.
He comes from from Molenbeek, a grimy Brussels district dubbed an extremist ‘hotbed’ – where he is said to have known other alleged Paris attackers.
Abaaoud is suspected of involvement in several botched terrorist plots including an attack on a high-speed train which was foiled when the gunman was tackled by passengers.
Abaaoud escaped from Europe after Belgian police shot dead two of his fellow militants as they broke up a cell planning terror attacks on security personnel earlier this year.
(1) Abaaoud hailed the dead militants as martyrs.
He boasted in the ‘official’ Islamic State magazine Dabiq of how he evaded arrest at a European police checkpoint, saying, ‘The kuffar (unbelievers) were blinded by Allah. I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance!’
FECAFOOT palaver:
Bell, Abdourahman…‘whitewash’ Bidoung Mkpatt!
The signatories of a communiqué to counter that of the minister of Sport and Physical Education have made known to the public facts which reveal Bidoung Mkpatt as having no authority whatsoever to annul the decision of the Chamber of Arbitration of the National Olympic Committee invalidating the elections at FECAFOOT
By Essan Ekon-Inyam in Yaounde
Sport and Physical Education minister Ismaël Pierre Bidoung Mkpatt’s annulment of the decision of the Chamber of Arbitration to cancel the FECAFOOT election has not been taken kindly by many football stakeholders in Cameroon. Three such persons are former Indomitable Lions keeper Joseph Antoine Bell, Etoile Filante of Garoua president Abdourahman Hamadou Babba and a certain Loga.
In a press communiqué, just like the one issued by the minister to annul the decision, Bell and his friends describe Bidoung Mkpatt’s decision as untimely and illegitimate. Throughout their text, they reveal the minister as someone who has lost his authority completely.
In effect, the three complainants who signed the two-page communiqué point out the many aspects of injustice as well as the permanent violation of principles and rules of ethics and governance that their opponent’s statement has brought to the fore. To them, the Sport and Physical Education minister only made a semblance of consulting members of the contested bureau of FECAFOOT and of the National Olympic Committee, to give the impression that the decision is consensual. The decision is a one-man show, they cry out.
The signatories of a communiqué to counter that of the minister of Sport and Physical Education have made known to the public facts which reveal Bidoung Mkpatt as having no authority whatsoever to annul the decision of the Chamber of Arbitration of the National Olympic Committee invalidating the elections at FECAFOOT
By Essan Ekon-Inyam in Yaounde
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| Abdourahman |
In a press communiqué, just like the one issued by the minister to annul the decision, Bell and his friends describe Bidoung Mkpatt’s decision as untimely and illegitimate. Throughout their text, they reveal the minister as someone who has lost his authority completely.
In effect, the three complainants who signed the two-page communiqué point out the many aspects of injustice as well as the permanent violation of principles and rules of ethics and governance that their opponent’s statement has brought to the fore. To them, the Sport and Physical Education minister only made a semblance of consulting members of the contested bureau of FECAFOOT and of the National Olympic Committee, to give the impression that the decision is consensual. The decision is a one-man show, they cry out.
After gov’t’s interference in fecafoot:
Dicey future for Cameroon football?
Bidoung Mkpatt’s decision to validate Tombi’s election, sports critics say, is an act of interference in Fecafoot affairs and is very likely to invite sanctions from Fifa, if ever Abdouraman and Bell Joseph decide to take their case beyond the country’s borders
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
The cancellation by Sport and Physical Education minister Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mkpatt of the decision of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration (CCA) annulling the recent election at the National Football Federation (FECAFOOT), has raised dust that may not settle anytime too soon. Observers see Bidoung Mkpatt’s action as the beginning of an intricate conundrum that would eventually lead to his sacking from that seat which has proved to be (one of) the hottest in President Paul Biya’s 33-year reign.
The minister’s act came on Wednesday, 18 November 2015 after a consultation meeting he held with some top members of the contested FECAFOOT bureau; viz, Tombi à Roko (president), Faustin Mbida (his director of cabinet) and Patrick Ebode Tsanga (head of the legal department); as well as Abolo Biwole, a representative of the president of the National Olympics and Sport Committee of Cameroon (NOSCC) Kalkaba Malboum.
In the final communiqué signed by Bidoung Mkpatt, a copy of which The Median stumbled on, it is stated that law n°2011/018 of 15 July 2011 on the organization and promotion of physical and sporting activities in the country requires the CCA, which is an arm of the NOSCC, to make pronouncements on litigations opposing licensed stakeholders and sporting federations only after the means of solving them within each given federation has been exhausted. The minister’s statement added that by deciding on an issue of republican reality therefore, the CCA has acted beyond the area of its competence. For this reason, the minster considers the recently held divisional and regional elections at FECAFOOT valid.
Arguing that the texts regulating the affairs of the NOSCC are clear on the competence of the CCA to handle such a matter, critics have blamed the Sport and Physical Education minister for being too quick to make a contrary decision.
“This is a clear case of overzealousness and even superciliousness,” Ndi Raymond Fru, a sport analyst and FIFA-licensed player agent told The Median on Sunday. “Let him not think that he is working in the interest of Cameroon football or that he will please President Biya with this lame action. The President is very particular about our football; he feels most disappointed when our football is declining rather than progressing. If Bidoung Mkpatt does not know, that is why Iya Mohamed is in prison today. It is therefore in his best interest to look at the past before acting. Otherwise he stands the risk of being booted out of his position in the very next cabinet reshuffle especially if FIFA ever suspends Cameroon.”
Pundits read a lot of meaning in Ndi Raymond’s argument. Fifa sanctions have always put Cameroon into a tight situation sometimes requiring president Biya himself to go lobbying for the suspension to be lifted.
Besides, this is not the best time for Cameroon to be suspended giving that we are preparing to host the Women’s AFCON in 2016 and the Men’s AFCON in 2019.
That is why it is feared that Minister Bidoung’s decision may not spare him President Biya’s wrath if ever the worst happens to Cameroon. For one thing, the sport ministry has known one of the highest numbers of ministers for the 33 years that Biya has ruled Cameroon.
Bidoung Mkpatt’s decision to validate Tombi’s election, sports critics say, is an act of interference in Fecafoot affairs and is very likely to invite sanctions from Fifa, if ever Abdouraman and Bell Joseph decide to take their case beyond the country’s borders
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
The cancellation by Sport and Physical Education minister Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mkpatt of the decision of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration (CCA) annulling the recent election at the National Football Federation (FECAFOOT), has raised dust that may not settle anytime too soon. Observers see Bidoung Mkpatt’s action as the beginning of an intricate conundrum that would eventually lead to his sacking from that seat which has proved to be (one of) the hottest in President Paul Biya’s 33-year reign.
The minister’s act came on Wednesday, 18 November 2015 after a consultation meeting he held with some top members of the contested FECAFOOT bureau; viz, Tombi à Roko (president), Faustin Mbida (his director of cabinet) and Patrick Ebode Tsanga (head of the legal department); as well as Abolo Biwole, a representative of the president of the National Olympics and Sport Committee of Cameroon (NOSCC) Kalkaba Malboum.
In the final communiqué signed by Bidoung Mkpatt, a copy of which The Median stumbled on, it is stated that law n°2011/018 of 15 July 2011 on the organization and promotion of physical and sporting activities in the country requires the CCA, which is an arm of the NOSCC, to make pronouncements on litigations opposing licensed stakeholders and sporting federations only after the means of solving them within each given federation has been exhausted. The minister’s statement added that by deciding on an issue of republican reality therefore, the CCA has acted beyond the area of its competence. For this reason, the minster considers the recently held divisional and regional elections at FECAFOOT valid.
Arguing that the texts regulating the affairs of the NOSCC are clear on the competence of the CCA to handle such a matter, critics have blamed the Sport and Physical Education minister for being too quick to make a contrary decision.
“This is a clear case of overzealousness and even superciliousness,” Ndi Raymond Fru, a sport analyst and FIFA-licensed player agent told The Median on Sunday. “Let him not think that he is working in the interest of Cameroon football or that he will please President Biya with this lame action. The President is very particular about our football; he feels most disappointed when our football is declining rather than progressing. If Bidoung Mkpatt does not know, that is why Iya Mohamed is in prison today. It is therefore in his best interest to look at the past before acting. Otherwise he stands the risk of being booted out of his position in the very next cabinet reshuffle especially if FIFA ever suspends Cameroon.”
Pundits read a lot of meaning in Ndi Raymond’s argument. Fifa sanctions have always put Cameroon into a tight situation sometimes requiring president Biya himself to go lobbying for the suspension to be lifted.
Besides, this is not the best time for Cameroon to be suspended giving that we are preparing to host the Women’s AFCON in 2016 and the Men’s AFCON in 2019.
That is why it is feared that Minister Bidoung’s decision may not spare him President Biya’s wrath if ever the worst happens to Cameroon. For one thing, the sport ministry has known one of the highest numbers of ministers for the 33 years that Biya has ruled Cameroon.
Monday, 16 November 2015
From his New Bell Prison cell:
Prince Charles Enonchong writes to Biya & Conac
Heir to the late Chief Dr. Enonchong of Besongabang village, Prince Charles Enonchong, who is currently jailed at the New Bell prison in Douala, in his letter to president Biya, is calling on the head of state to arrest and bring to book all those who are making him to suffer
By Mercy Neba in Douala
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| Prince Charles Enonchong |
In the letter he addressed to the head of state through the anti-corruption commission, conac, Prince Charles is urging the president to intervene and stop this cabal from illegally dispossessing him of and exploiting his fortune and property.
According to the prince, a very senior official at the ministry of justice (names withheld) is at the head of this conspiracy. He says this “Chef de gang” has planted people on the field mostly magistrates, to do the hatchet job for him.
Bravo Nfon Mukete!
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| Nfon Mukete |
By Dr Eyongbessem Lawrence Ebai-ngoh, Epiahmoh Ma-Emohngoh of Etoko
“The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded” -Charles de Louis
“Et Vous, Que Faites-Vous Pour Votre Delivrance”? (A 1943 editorial headline from “Franc-Tireur”, newspaper of “Mouvements Unis de la Resistance” during the Nazi occupation of France: 1940-1945)
“Evil triumphs because good men do nothing”- Edmund Burke
“…I invite all Frenchmen, wherever they may be, to join me in action, in sacrifice, and in hope. Our country is in peril. Let us all fight to save her”- General Charles de Gaulle
It is now 54 years since the Republic of Cameroun and the UN trusteeship state of Southern Cameroons came together in 1961.
The now bastardized, skewed and imbalanced Unification gave birth to a premature and deformed baby we Christened bilingualism. 54 years after, the hapless child is still limping with one leg while the Union is standing on a tripod of injustice, discrimination and inequality of opportunity.
In honest, genuine bilingualism has never existed in Cameroon. The Francophones have never respected bilingualism in practical terms. What we have on ground is a charade, a Francophone fad and a masquerade- a fake! It is a sleazy stratagem, a shameless swindle, a freaky farce and a spineless political slogan engineered by the Francophones to get what they want from the Anglophones. Now that they have our crude, timber, cocoa…; they shamelessly and with great avarice grab and reserve all the juicy appointments and positions for themselves. The Anglophones are perpetually subdued, victimized and traumatized as house slaves and nannies, carriers of water and cutters of wood in a land where Communal Liberalism is a national mantra.
No Anglophone has ever headed ministries like Finance, Territorial Administration, Defense, Foreign Affairs … No Anglophone has ever been the General Manager of S.N.H., SONARA, S.C.D.P., despite the existence of these state corporations more than 40 years ago. From the current political configuration, it is very likely that no Anglophone can become the President and Head of State in this country in the next 100 years. As a matter of urgency the Anglophones need to begin NOW to protest and insist that as stakeholders in our bigoted and discriminating Union, thy also must start getting and enjoying some of the goodies and special privileges illegally and unconstitutionally reserved only for the Francophones beginning from the next Cabinet reshuffle.
Cavaye’s motion, DCC’s photo campaign:
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| President Paul Biya |
A deeper look at the National Assembly Speaker’s 11 November 2015 motion of support to President Paul Biya reveals that he is used by the regime to subtly test the waters for a presidential election earlier than scheduled by law. The recent picture campaigns by the Civil Cabinet of the presidency also speaks volumes
By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde
On Wednesday, 11 November 2015, the speaker of the National Assembly Cavayé Yeguié Djibril released a motion of support for the Head of State which he alone signed on behalf of the living forces of his native Mayo Sava division. Coming on the occasion of President Paul Biya’s 33rd anniversary in power, the motion of support was meant to call on the latter to stand for the next presidential election billed in principle for October 2018. It was read several times on state radio and television CRTV.
However, given the prevailing circumstances and the way things have been going on in the country, Cavayé’s gesture can be better understood if it is given a deeper meaning. Put differently, the significance of the motion of support is more than meets the eye. Political pundits see in it a call for President Biya to organize an anticipated presidential election.
The first aspect that betrays the National Assembly speaker’s intentions is the cold fact that although he urged the President to present his candidature for the coming presidential election, the date of the election is not specified in his motion of support. To observers, this is a glaring indication that Cavayé is talking about an anticipated presidential election.
National Assembly:
Budget session opens without draft finance lawThe third and last ordinary session of the National Assembly for the 2015 legislative year opened on Thursday 12 November 2015 with House speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril calling on MPs to renew their support to President Paul Biya in his efforts to combat Boko Haram.
Attended by government ministers led by Prime Minister Philemon Yang, the solemn opening session was marked by the absence in the hemicycle of at least 2/3 of the 180 MPs.
Even though no explanation was given for the absence, it emerged that most of the MPs of the ruling CPDM party had remained in their constituencies to either supervise or run in elections into the basic organs of the party.
After the brief session, MPs of opposition parties complained that the session was starting even when the draft finance bill had not been submitted in parliament as required by the law.
It should be noted that law no 2207/006 of 26 December 2007 bearing on the finance regime of the state, mentions clearly in its section 39(1) that “the draft finance law for the year, including the annexes previewed in section 36 shall be deposited in the bureau of parliament latest 15 days to the start of the session.”
Unfortunately this has not happened. The government has therefore violated the law again and for the umpteenth time.
Apart from the draft finance law, government is also supposed to submit a report on the execution of the previous budget for the appreciation of the MPs. The law states that this should be done latest the 30th of September each year. But the government has also failed to do this.
Attended by government ministers led by Prime Minister Philemon Yang, the solemn opening session was marked by the absence in the hemicycle of at least 2/3 of the 180 MPs.
Even though no explanation was given for the absence, it emerged that most of the MPs of the ruling CPDM party had remained in their constituencies to either supervise or run in elections into the basic organs of the party.
After the brief session, MPs of opposition parties complained that the session was starting even when the draft finance bill had not been submitted in parliament as required by the law.
It should be noted that law no 2207/006 of 26 December 2007 bearing on the finance regime of the state, mentions clearly in its section 39(1) that “the draft finance law for the year, including the annexes previewed in section 36 shall be deposited in the bureau of parliament latest 15 days to the start of the session.”
Unfortunately this has not happened. The government has therefore violated the law again and for the umpteenth time.
Apart from the draft finance law, government is also supposed to submit a report on the execution of the previous budget for the appreciation of the MPs. The law states that this should be done latest the 30th of September each year. But the government has also failed to do this.
Legal Conflicts 3:
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| Justice Ayah Paul Abine |
-Justice Ayah Paul Abine, Supreme Court of Cameroon
We did hold in the previous write-up that one president for two courts is inconsistent with the law. The same position is applicable to the situation of the state counsel by analogy.
The President of the Republic does appoint one magistrate « Procureur de la République près les tribunaux de grande et première instance de… » We submit that the law does not permit this. The High Court and the Court of First Instance are two separate courts created by the law in the technical sense. A decree appointing magistrates to the two courts may not be at variance with the provisions of the law.
As per the law, the High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over felonies – offences where the maximum prison term is above ten years. We spare the reader the burden of having to contend with the civil jurisdiction of that court since the presence of the state counsel in civil matters is discretionary.
The law then creates the Court of First Instance, having exclusive jurisdiction over misdemeanours and simple offences (less serious offences than felonies). The law specifies the limited cases where the high court has jurisdiction over these offences. It is unimportant to delve into those exceptions here…
Bomb blast!
When rascals become men of God
They revel in everything that people of their calling and standing should not be involved in: womanizing, falsehood, back-stabbing, avarice, influence peddling, usurpation of powers, and what have you?
By Douglas A. Achingale
It is grossly confounding how the number of men of God we have around us today has increased exponentially. Nonetheless, at a time when moral bankruptcy is on a steady rise in Cameroon, one should not search too far for the reason for this rapid increase. Rather than because good-hearted people are keen on reversing the trend, it is owing to the fact that persons with pernicious intent are taking advantage of the awful state of despondency in which most Cameroonians find themselves, to make selfish gains.
Proliferation of noisy churches
Some of the commonest sights along the streets of our major towns and cities nowadays are Pentecostal churches. Now competing with bars, they are hosted by all sorts of buildings: baroque like depleted ones. By day and by night, their stentorian preachers and screeching attendees seem irreversibly determined to disturb the peace of the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods they operate in. At times their voices resound in long distances thanks to loudspeakers installed in the façades of the church buildings.
Someone once described such pastors as “bonbon pastors with a sweet mouth who preach like Jesus…” Visit some of these churches and you will agree with that description. Many of the pastors never went to a school of theology, yet their skill in publicly proclaiming the word of God is astounding. (But some of them can be very wanting in that regard too).
When rascals become men of God
They revel in everything that people of their calling and standing should not be involved in: womanizing, falsehood, back-stabbing, avarice, influence peddling, usurpation of powers, and what have you?
By Douglas A. Achingale
It is grossly confounding how the number of men of God we have around us today has increased exponentially. Nonetheless, at a time when moral bankruptcy is on a steady rise in Cameroon, one should not search too far for the reason for this rapid increase. Rather than because good-hearted people are keen on reversing the trend, it is owing to the fact that persons with pernicious intent are taking advantage of the awful state of despondency in which most Cameroonians find themselves, to make selfish gains.
Proliferation of noisy churches
Some of the commonest sights along the streets of our major towns and cities nowadays are Pentecostal churches. Now competing with bars, they are hosted by all sorts of buildings: baroque like depleted ones. By day and by night, their stentorian preachers and screeching attendees seem irreversibly determined to disturb the peace of the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods they operate in. At times their voices resound in long distances thanks to loudspeakers installed in the façades of the church buildings.
Someone once described such pastors as “bonbon pastors with a sweet mouth who preach like Jesus…” Visit some of these churches and you will agree with that description. Many of the pastors never went to a school of theology, yet their skill in publicly proclaiming the word of God is astounding. (But some of them can be very wanting in that regard too).
Lydia Makemba storms back to CPDM from political wilderness!
By Ngeme Rattling
The well-known female dynamite at Mambanda Kumba III sub division, Mrs. Makembe Lydia, on 6 November 2015 stunned CPDM militants when she announced her decision to come back to the CPDM fold after over four years of political wilderness in the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress NADP party.
Wife of fire-brand and outspoken former senior prison administrator, Mr. Makembe Paul Aduma Lycha, Mrs. Makembe told a welcoming CPDM militancy at the Mambanda explanade that she had lived down all the inconsistencies which had caused her to quit the ruling party to join the ANDP.
Lydia however expressed the hope that the stigma of witch-hunting and unnecessary blame game have departed from the CPDM during her four years away.
The section president of Meme IC Dr. Mukwelle Nguba Isaac and his militants were visibly elated by Lydia’s resolve as well as others who switched over from the SDF.
While the local CPDM, WCPDM and YCPDM leaders Mukwelle, Madam Ngose Rose Massama and Dr. Ebongo Zachs Nanje respectively hailed president Paul Biya for what they called enormous realizations in 33 years at the helm, they saw in the ongoing reorganisation of the basic organs of the CPDM an opportunity to reinstate the lost political dynamism and sanity of party militants.
“Militants must eschew animosity and imbibe a sense of oneness and commitment,” Nguba said.
The well-known female dynamite at Mambanda Kumba III sub division, Mrs. Makembe Lydia, on 6 November 2015 stunned CPDM militants when she announced her decision to come back to the CPDM fold after over four years of political wilderness in the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress NADP party.
Wife of fire-brand and outspoken former senior prison administrator, Mr. Makembe Paul Aduma Lycha, Mrs. Makembe told a welcoming CPDM militancy at the Mambanda explanade that she had lived down all the inconsistencies which had caused her to quit the ruling party to join the ANDP.
Lydia however expressed the hope that the stigma of witch-hunting and unnecessary blame game have departed from the CPDM during her four years away.
The section president of Meme IC Dr. Mukwelle Nguba Isaac and his militants were visibly elated by Lydia’s resolve as well as others who switched over from the SDF.
While the local CPDM, WCPDM and YCPDM leaders Mukwelle, Madam Ngose Rose Massama and Dr. Ebongo Zachs Nanje respectively hailed president Paul Biya for what they called enormous realizations in 33 years at the helm, they saw in the ongoing reorganisation of the basic organs of the CPDM an opportunity to reinstate the lost political dynamism and sanity of party militants.
“Militants must eschew animosity and imbibe a sense of oneness and commitment,” Nguba said.
Reorganization of basic organs:
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| Prof. Ngolle Ngolle flanked by Yaah Paty in USA |
Yaah Patience Tamfu has been elected Section President of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement-CPDM in the United States of America. She won a crushing majority to enter the record books as the first female candidate to head the CPDM in the United States.
Patience Tamfu was the lone female candidate for the post of Section President.
Prof. Ngolle Ngolle Elvis who led the Central Committee delegation to the USA is quoted to have said that he was very satisfied with the election exercise given that the best candidate won in a free and transparent manner.
After Consupe inspectors came calling:
Ama Tutu Muna en route to Kondengui?
She is alleged to have left the ministry of Arts and Culture in financial paralysis and is currently being probed by the new minister of Supreme State Audit Rose Mbah Acha Fomundam
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Younde
The months ahead do not seem to augur well for Ama Tutu Muna, the former minister of Arts and Culture. After serving in that ministry for seven uninterrupted years, she may just be the first Anglophone lady to be thrown into jail in the famous Operation Sparrowhawk meant to punish embezzlers of public funds.
If the daughter of former National Assembly president Solomon Tandeng Muna is in the eye of the storm today, it is because her successor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi has found out that not only is the ministry of Arts and Culture (MINAC) heavily indebted, her management of the special fund for the support of cultural activities was grossly wanting.
The Median was informed that the new minister has inherited a debt of 712 million FCFA, being an amount MINAC owes its creditors who want to be paid the money without any further delay. In addition, the special fund mentioned above for the last financial year, to the tune of 1 096 billion FCFA, was either spent on trivialities or on fictitious projects.
She is alleged to have left the ministry of Arts and Culture in financial paralysis and is currently being probed by the new minister of Supreme State Audit Rose Mbah Acha Fomundam
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Younde
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| Ama Tutu Muna |
If the daughter of former National Assembly president Solomon Tandeng Muna is in the eye of the storm today, it is because her successor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi has found out that not only is the ministry of Arts and Culture (MINAC) heavily indebted, her management of the special fund for the support of cultural activities was grossly wanting.
The Median was informed that the new minister has inherited a debt of 712 million FCFA, being an amount MINAC owes its creditors who want to be paid the money without any further delay. In addition, the special fund mentioned above for the last financial year, to the tune of 1 096 billion FCFA, was either spent on trivialities or on fictitious projects.
Following financial crisis:
Massive lay-offs feared at Chantier Naval
Over 450 workers are likely to be thrown out of the corporation in the months ahead on account of the enormous problems it is currently facing
By Mercy Neba in Douala
As many as 450 workers of the Cameroon Shipyard Engineering Corporation, commonly known by its French acronym Chantier Naval, may be shown the door not too long from now. The disclosure was made during the visit of the new minister of Transport Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o to the structure in Douala recently.
During the visit, the general manager of Chantier Naval, Alfred Forgwe made known to the minister the major problems that his company is facing and said the problems may cause some of its workers to lose their job in the months ahead. He did not however state clearly the number of workers who stand such a risk. It was later in the corridors of the house that some of the workers revealed to the press that over 450 of them may soon become unemployed.
One of the first difficulties the GM unveiled to Minister Mebe Ngo’o was that of paying workers’ October 2015 salaries. “…if nothing is done,” he added “we stand the risk of facing the same problem this November.”
Over 450 workers are likely to be thrown out of the corporation in the months ahead on account of the enormous problems it is currently facing
By Mercy Neba in Douala
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| Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o |
During the visit, the general manager of Chantier Naval, Alfred Forgwe made known to the minister the major problems that his company is facing and said the problems may cause some of its workers to lose their job in the months ahead. He did not however state clearly the number of workers who stand such a risk. It was later in the corridors of the house that some of the workers revealed to the press that over 450 of them may soon become unemployed.
One of the first difficulties the GM unveiled to Minister Mebe Ngo’o was that of paying workers’ October 2015 salaries. “…if nothing is done,” he added “we stand the risk of facing the same problem this November.”
Ayah Paul takes on SDO for Banning "Coller la Petite"
Chief Justice Paul Ayah Abine, Cameroon Supreme Court Judge has openly castigated the Senior Divisional Officer of the Mifi in the West Region, Tangwa Joseph Fover for prohibiting the sale, distribution and playing of a musical tract titled "Coller la Petite" by a cameroonian musician popularly known as Franco.
In a prefectoral order No 689/DP/F35/SAAJP of Nov 2, 2015, Tangwa Joseph Fover intimimated that the move was to ensure the fight against the deprivation of minors and maintenance of public order.
In a prefectoral order No 689/DP/F35/SAAJP of Nov 2, 2015, Tangwa Joseph Fover intimimated that the move was to ensure the fight against the deprivation of minors and maintenance of public order.
Burglary or sabotage?
Yet unknown persons forced their way into the office, situated at Melen, in the night of Tuesday 10 November breaking Wednesday 11 November 2015 and ransacked the place before making away with all valuables
By Victorine Ngum in Yaounde
The head office of The Median Newspaper, situated on the first floor of the Friendship Pharmacy Building in Melen, opposite Synergies Africaines, is now a shadow of what it used to be. Some yet unknown persons forced their way into the office in the night of Tuesday 10 November, turned the place upside down and inside out before carting away all that they considered important and valuable.
The burglary was discovered by the editor of the newspaper, Ojong Steven Ayukogem, who got to the office at about 8.30 on Tuesday morning only to realize, to his utter surprise and dismay, that the office had been attacked and ransacked, with all files, books and papers and other items scattered on the floor. The bookshelf and the cupboard were also ransacked and their contents thrown out or carried away.
“Upon opening the doors to the office, I noticed that just every thing was scattered on the floor. So I told myself the place must have been attacked. I immediately alerted my closest neighbor – MJ optique, who joined me along with other neighbours to look round the office and figure out what had happened, how it happened and when,” Steve said, adding: “My surprise was all the more because i thought after reinforcing the doors with iron bars the place had been secured; little did I know some people had taken their time to study the place and discover the loophole.”
South West Region:
SHUMAS takes its humanitarian actions to Manyu Division
By Njodzefe Nestor in Mamfe
It was a happy population of Nchemba II in Upper Bayang Division of the South West Region on October 7, 2015 that came out in their thousands to receive classrooms, school equipment and health equipment offered that by the Strategic Humanitarian Services, SHUMAS.
The initiative described by the inhabitants of Nchemba II as timely and laudable came to fruition thanks to SHUMAS’ partnership with Building Schools for Africa, BSFA and the Gompels Family all of the United Kingdom.
Government Nursery School Nchemba II was a happy recipient of two classrooms, a toilet, four tables and 32 chairs for the children while Government Secondary School Nchemba II received 2 classrooms, an office, 18 benches, two tables for teachers and executive table and chair for the office likewise drinking pails and cups.
On the other hand, the Etoko Integrated Health Center that had been bedeviled by acute shortage of equipment received consultation, Laboratory and Delivery equipment.
The Principal of GSS Nchemba II, Mbonteh Divine Elume just like the Head Teacher of GNS Nchemba II, Eparty Celestine Ebong and the chief of center of the Etoko Integrated Health Center, Egwe Arrey Elizabeth showered praises to SHUMAS for coming to their aid while promising that they will take good care of the gifts.
They were all unanimous that the intervention of SHUMAS was a stitch in time to save them from the lack of equipment and infrastructure that has made their jobs daunting.
“I wish to use this opportunity to express in a very special way the gratitude of the staff and students of this institution for this wonderful gift and the esteem and the affection in which we hold SHUMAS at heart” noted the principal of GSS Nchemba II.
“I promise with confidence that both the staff and students shall conduct themselves and manage this beautiful structure with care and manner that will bring a positive impact to the standard of education in this community” he added.
By Njodzefe Nestor in Mamfe
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| Shumas promoter given Nyang-kwe title |
The initiative described by the inhabitants of Nchemba II as timely and laudable came to fruition thanks to SHUMAS’ partnership with Building Schools for Africa, BSFA and the Gompels Family all of the United Kingdom.
Government Nursery School Nchemba II was a happy recipient of two classrooms, a toilet, four tables and 32 chairs for the children while Government Secondary School Nchemba II received 2 classrooms, an office, 18 benches, two tables for teachers and executive table and chair for the office likewise drinking pails and cups.
On the other hand, the Etoko Integrated Health Center that had been bedeviled by acute shortage of equipment received consultation, Laboratory and Delivery equipment.
The Principal of GSS Nchemba II, Mbonteh Divine Elume just like the Head Teacher of GNS Nchemba II, Eparty Celestine Ebong and the chief of center of the Etoko Integrated Health Center, Egwe Arrey Elizabeth showered praises to SHUMAS for coming to their aid while promising that they will take good care of the gifts.
They were all unanimous that the intervention of SHUMAS was a stitch in time to save them from the lack of equipment and infrastructure that has made their jobs daunting.
“I wish to use this opportunity to express in a very special way the gratitude of the staff and students of this institution for this wonderful gift and the esteem and the affection in which we hold SHUMAS at heart” noted the principal of GSS Nchemba II.
“I promise with confidence that both the staff and students shall conduct themselves and manage this beautiful structure with care and manner that will bring a positive impact to the standard of education in this community” he added.
Primates trafficker arrested in Ndop
By a correspondent in Ndop
The man who was found in illegal possession of 12 gorilla skulls was arrested by wildlife officials from the Ngokentunjia divisional delegation of forestry and wildlife working in collaboration with the forces of law and order, on November 13, 2014. The 45-year-old man was arrested as he sat drinking a soft drink in a bar in Bamessing, after placing a bag containing primate skulls under the table he was using. The operation was carried out with the technical assistance of The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA).
When the bag was opened for the products to be counted, 12 gorilla skulls, 3 chimpanzee skulls, 1 drill skull and 2 other primate skulls which were not immediately identified, were found. A source close to the case said shortly before his arrest, he was seen discussing with a suspected big time poacher who is well known in Bamessing and who is reported to have been poaching for many years. The same source says some wildlife trafficking had been going on in and around Bamessing. The investigation leading to the arrest of the suspect, was initiated following an alleged selling of 55 primate skulls to someone who was described as a “Bamoun man”.
The man who was found in illegal possession of 12 gorilla skulls was arrested by wildlife officials from the Ngokentunjia divisional delegation of forestry and wildlife working in collaboration with the forces of law and order, on November 13, 2014. The 45-year-old man was arrested as he sat drinking a soft drink in a bar in Bamessing, after placing a bag containing primate skulls under the table he was using. The operation was carried out with the technical assistance of The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA).
When the bag was opened for the products to be counted, 12 gorilla skulls, 3 chimpanzee skulls, 1 drill skull and 2 other primate skulls which were not immediately identified, were found. A source close to the case said shortly before his arrest, he was seen discussing with a suspected big time poacher who is well known in Bamessing and who is reported to have been poaching for many years. The same source says some wildlife trafficking had been going on in and around Bamessing. The investigation leading to the arrest of the suspect, was initiated following an alleged selling of 55 primate skulls to someone who was described as a “Bamoun man”.
Bus driver arrested with over 100kg of giant pangolin scales
By a correspondent in Yaounde
Wildlife officials at the Nsimalen Airport arrested a bus driver for illegal possession and circulation of giant pangolin scales at the Nsimalen neighbour on November 11, 2015. The 39-year-old man who left Ebolowa, driving a commercial bus, had loaded the bag full with pangolin scales in the boot of the car and upon arriving at the check-point close to the airport on the Mbalmayo – Yaounde highway, a routine control of passengers was done by law enforcement officials manning the control point. When wildlife officials checked the boot of the car, the bag of pangolin scales was immediately identified.
The operation that was carried out with assistance from the gendarmerie was technically supported by The Last Great Ape Organisation – LAGA that had carried out preliminary investigations and found out that there was an ongoing illegal transportation of wildlife products from Ebolowa to Yaounde by some commercial bus drivers. The driver was immediately taken away for interrogation and the recording of complaint statements; steps necessary to establish a prosecution. The car was impounded and passengers who were left stranded at the check point boarded other cars to complete their journey to Yaounde.
The bus belongs to one of the popular travelling agencies that ply the Yaounde – Ebolowa highway and it is believed that the driver had to deliver the contraband to a trafficker in Yaounde. When officials who found the bag that contained the over 100 kg of giant pangolin scales asked to know who owned the bag, the driver in an attempt to evade arrest refused to own up but would later admit to being in possession.
Wildlife officials at the Nsimalen Airport arrested a bus driver for illegal possession and circulation of giant pangolin scales at the Nsimalen neighbour on November 11, 2015. The 39-year-old man who left Ebolowa, driving a commercial bus, had loaded the bag full with pangolin scales in the boot of the car and upon arriving at the check-point close to the airport on the Mbalmayo – Yaounde highway, a routine control of passengers was done by law enforcement officials manning the control point. When wildlife officials checked the boot of the car, the bag of pangolin scales was immediately identified.
The operation that was carried out with assistance from the gendarmerie was technically supported by The Last Great Ape Organisation – LAGA that had carried out preliminary investigations and found out that there was an ongoing illegal transportation of wildlife products from Ebolowa to Yaounde by some commercial bus drivers. The driver was immediately taken away for interrogation and the recording of complaint statements; steps necessary to establish a prosecution. The car was impounded and passengers who were left stranded at the check point boarded other cars to complete their journey to Yaounde.
The bus belongs to one of the popular travelling agencies that ply the Yaounde – Ebolowa highway and it is believed that the driver had to deliver the contraband to a trafficker in Yaounde. When officials who found the bag that contained the over 100 kg of giant pangolin scales asked to know who owned the bag, the driver in an attempt to evade arrest refused to own up but would later admit to being in possession.
Donga Mantung to witness big industrial transformation!
The initiator of the recently launched Frontier Agricultural and Industrial Programme-FAINAP, Dr. Fuh Calistus says it is a catalyst for the prospective industrialization of the division
Donga Mantung division in the North West region is at the verge of industrial transformation; following the recent launching of the Frontier Agricultural and Industrial Programme-FAINAP.
On 4 November 2015, barely two days to the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of President Paul Biya’s accession to the supreme magistracy of Cameroon, all roads led to Nkambe, the divisional headquarters of Donga Mantung, where thousands, irrespective of their political leanings trooped in to witness the historic launching of FAINAP.
The launching ceremony which pulled one of the biggest crowds in the history of public gatherings in Donga Mantung was presided over by H.E. Dr. Fuh Calistus Gentry, Secretary of State for Mines and technological dev’t, who doubles as the initiator of FAINAP.
The launching also saw in attendance the SDO for Donga Mantung, the DOs of Nkambe and Misaje sub divisions, internal and external elite, key partners of the programme like AFGRIC, APROCOM-PH, representatives in charge of local transformation in the ministry of industry, regional and divisional delegates of the ministries of industry, agriculture, livestock and lands as well as over a hundred fons of the division.
What FAINAP seeks to achieve?
The program seeks to take advantage of the unique diversity of the climate, vegetation and crop suitability of the different sub-divisions of the division to boost the production of palm, corn, cassava and cattle. Initiators of FAINAP say these sectors would have to undergo industrial transformation.
This, they say, is feasible because: Ako is a complete forest zone and leading producer of palm oil and forests with a climate and vegetation similar to that of the South West or Centre regions. Ndu has a near temperate climate with a huge tea plantation while its lower boundaries with Nwa around Ntaba will support palms and maize; Misaje is typical savannah with one of the largest SODEPA cattle ranches in the country and is also the sub-division with the highest cattle production in the North West. It has huge expanses of maize, cassava and even palms farms, Nwa has the Mbaw plain stretching right to the Adamawa and suitable for industrial rice production, corn and palms and Nkambe central is great for cattle rearing, corn and cassava production.
It should be said that such diversity is unique in the North West. The large boundary that the division shares with Nigeria to the west means that any amount of produce will have a more than ready market for raw and finished products.
FAINAP also seeks to make such land available to elite, cooperatives and groups who will function in clusters of at last fifteen in order to allow factors of the production chain to be brought to such organized and enlarged groups. Such factors include equipment for mechanized agriculture, basic infrastructure for evacuation, marketing and off taker agreements, and even research facilities.
FAINAP will also create an industrial zone in Nkambe to be involved in the transformation of the palms, corn, cassava and cattle sectors to add value and create jobs and wells as generate wealth for local farmers.
Already, FAINAP is multiplying moves to sign partnership agreements with national and international industrial and agricultural oriented groups to directly invest in the increase of production and in the transformation and industrial set up as well as marketing and branding of finished products.
As a matter of fact, FAINAP is already getting into partnerships with South African (AFGRILAND), Dutch (AGT) German, Cameroon, World Bank and many other international agro-industry concerns. It is hoped that by the end of 2016, FAINAP would have signed at least 25 partnerships with major international agro-industrial entities which would invest directly in Cameroon at large and Donga Mantung in particular.
FAINAP will also seek to lobby and make sure Donga Mantung is not left out by way of information for ongoing agro industrial projects in Cameroon. It will create awareness for people to take advantage of such major projects in Cameroon.
Donga Mantung division in the North West region is at the verge of industrial transformation; following the recent launching of the Frontier Agricultural and Industrial Programme-FAINAP.
On 4 November 2015, barely two days to the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of President Paul Biya’s accession to the supreme magistracy of Cameroon, all roads led to Nkambe, the divisional headquarters of Donga Mantung, where thousands, irrespective of their political leanings trooped in to witness the historic launching of FAINAP.
The launching ceremony which pulled one of the biggest crowds in the history of public gatherings in Donga Mantung was presided over by H.E. Dr. Fuh Calistus Gentry, Secretary of State for Mines and technological dev’t, who doubles as the initiator of FAINAP.
The launching also saw in attendance the SDO for Donga Mantung, the DOs of Nkambe and Misaje sub divisions, internal and external elite, key partners of the programme like AFGRIC, APROCOM-PH, representatives in charge of local transformation in the ministry of industry, regional and divisional delegates of the ministries of industry, agriculture, livestock and lands as well as over a hundred fons of the division.
What FAINAP seeks to achieve?
The program seeks to take advantage of the unique diversity of the climate, vegetation and crop suitability of the different sub-divisions of the division to boost the production of palm, corn, cassava and cattle. Initiators of FAINAP say these sectors would have to undergo industrial transformation.
This, they say, is feasible because: Ako is a complete forest zone and leading producer of palm oil and forests with a climate and vegetation similar to that of the South West or Centre regions. Ndu has a near temperate climate with a huge tea plantation while its lower boundaries with Nwa around Ntaba will support palms and maize; Misaje is typical savannah with one of the largest SODEPA cattle ranches in the country and is also the sub-division with the highest cattle production in the North West. It has huge expanses of maize, cassava and even palms farms, Nwa has the Mbaw plain stretching right to the Adamawa and suitable for industrial rice production, corn and palms and Nkambe central is great for cattle rearing, corn and cassava production.
It should be said that such diversity is unique in the North West. The large boundary that the division shares with Nigeria to the west means that any amount of produce will have a more than ready market for raw and finished products.
FAINAP also seeks to make such land available to elite, cooperatives and groups who will function in clusters of at last fifteen in order to allow factors of the production chain to be brought to such organized and enlarged groups. Such factors include equipment for mechanized agriculture, basic infrastructure for evacuation, marketing and off taker agreements, and even research facilities.
FAINAP will also create an industrial zone in Nkambe to be involved in the transformation of the palms, corn, cassava and cattle sectors to add value and create jobs and wells as generate wealth for local farmers.
Already, FAINAP is multiplying moves to sign partnership agreements with national and international industrial and agricultural oriented groups to directly invest in the increase of production and in the transformation and industrial set up as well as marketing and branding of finished products.
As a matter of fact, FAINAP is already getting into partnerships with South African (AFGRILAND), Dutch (AGT) German, Cameroon, World Bank and many other international agro-industry concerns. It is hoped that by the end of 2016, FAINAP would have signed at least 25 partnerships with major international agro-industrial entities which would invest directly in Cameroon at large and Donga Mantung in particular.
FAINAP will also seek to lobby and make sure Donga Mantung is not left out by way of information for ongoing agro industrial projects in Cameroon. It will create awareness for people to take advantage of such major projects in Cameroon.
National Campaign on Civic Education:
Students embarrass governor with uncivil behavior
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba
The governor of the South-West Region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, has lashed out at educationists in Kumba for allegedly painting pictures which misrepresent the situation on ground. He was referring to the conduct of some students while he presided at the Meme Divisional launch of the national campaign of civic education and national integration on November 11 in Kumba under the theme, ‘My citizenship contribution to the advent of an exemplary Cameroon.’
The Meme Divisional Delegate of Youth Affairs, Elangwe Victor, and the representative of the Meme Divisional Delegate of Secondary Education, Orock Gladys Etaka, were among several who presented speeches detailing activities their respective delegations had undertaken to educate young Cameroonians on their civic duty, including respect for national symbols and authority.
At the same time the speeches were being delivered, students invited from GBHS Kumba and Victory Comprehensive College were engaged in chitchatting with their backs turned to the Kumba City Council Grandstand with its dignitaries and the flag flying above. The governor endured this slur till he took the stand to address the crowd and then began by summoning Mr Elangwe and Ms. Orock, questioning them about the integrity of their reports: “Are your presentations what you are practicing daily or are they just for the ceremony? Once the governor turns his back and returns to Buea, everything stops. I don’t want to be part of a theatre... We have had opportunity during this solemn ceremony to be witnesses of such misbehaviour”.
Turning to the SDO for Meme, the governor requested for a report on sanctions to be meted on those responsible for the students’ uncivil conduct. The bewildered authorities rushed to set the situation to rights, and Mr. Elangwe could be seen at the forefront acting as protocol officer to the young miscreants, cautioning them repeatedly.
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba
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| S.W.R Governor flanked by administrative and traditional heads |
The Meme Divisional Delegate of Youth Affairs, Elangwe Victor, and the representative of the Meme Divisional Delegate of Secondary Education, Orock Gladys Etaka, were among several who presented speeches detailing activities their respective delegations had undertaken to educate young Cameroonians on their civic duty, including respect for national symbols and authority.
At the same time the speeches were being delivered, students invited from GBHS Kumba and Victory Comprehensive College were engaged in chitchatting with their backs turned to the Kumba City Council Grandstand with its dignitaries and the flag flying above. The governor endured this slur till he took the stand to address the crowd and then began by summoning Mr Elangwe and Ms. Orock, questioning them about the integrity of their reports: “Are your presentations what you are practicing daily or are they just for the ceremony? Once the governor turns his back and returns to Buea, everything stops. I don’t want to be part of a theatre... We have had opportunity during this solemn ceremony to be witnesses of such misbehaviour”.
Turning to the SDO for Meme, the governor requested for a report on sanctions to be meted on those responsible for the students’ uncivil conduct. The bewildered authorities rushed to set the situation to rights, and Mr. Elangwe could be seen at the forefront acting as protocol officer to the young miscreants, cautioning them repeatedly.
After successful separation in Tunisia:
Siamese twin Davis and Daryl are doing fine
A set of conjoint twins, Davis and Daryl born on 27th August 2015 in the Banso Hospital in the North West Region has been successfully separated in a hospital in Tunisia.
The twins were evacuated on 8th September 2015 to Tunisia thanks to the intervention of Cameroon’s First Lady Chantal Biya.
The Director General of the Cartagena Clinic where the twins were operated upon, Dr Boubaker Zakhama indicated that the two boys are in good health.
He made the confirmation during a press conference in Tunisia which brought together the team of experts who worked on the twins.
A set of conjoint twins, Davis and Daryl born on 27th August 2015 in the Banso Hospital in the North West Region has been successfully separated in a hospital in Tunisia.
The twins were evacuated on 8th September 2015 to Tunisia thanks to the intervention of Cameroon’s First Lady Chantal Biya.
The Director General of the Cartagena Clinic where the twins were operated upon, Dr Boubaker Zakhama indicated that the two boys are in good health.
He made the confirmation during a press conference in Tunisia which brought together the team of experts who worked on the twins.
10 things couples should never forget doing together
True love lasts forever, doesn’t it? Well, at least the majority of people believe so. However, it is not only the love itself that makes a relationship work for years; it is also about the people and what they do to make it work.
Just being together and being in love may be enough for the first year, but then you will need to try harder. Here are some things for couples to do in every stage of their relationships.
1. Go on dates
Whether you’ve just started dating or have been married for years, it is always great to go out together. Dress up and go to a restaurant, to the theater or just for a walk around a park.
If it is true love, you’ll always have something to talk about, from how both of your days were, to the deepest thoughts and feelings.
2. Travel together
Nothing brings people closer than traveling. You make plans together, you see new exciting views, you get great memories to remember for years and, most importantly, you overcome difficulties together.
With age, people tend to travel less, finding many excuses not to go far away from home. Don’t be those people! Travel to a new place every year; that will definitely be beneficial for your relationships.
3. Do things together
It is very important to spend quality time together, whether you prefer watching TV together, working out, taking cooking or dancing classes, going for a walk or just staying up all night talking. The most important thing is to enjoy each other’s company.
Just being together and being in love may be enough for the first year, but then you will need to try harder. Here are some things for couples to do in every stage of their relationships.
1. Go on dates
Whether you’ve just started dating or have been married for years, it is always great to go out together. Dress up and go to a restaurant, to the theater or just for a walk around a park.
If it is true love, you’ll always have something to talk about, from how both of your days were, to the deepest thoughts and feelings.
2. Travel together
Nothing brings people closer than traveling. You make plans together, you see new exciting views, you get great memories to remember for years and, most importantly, you overcome difficulties together.
With age, people tend to travel less, finding many excuses not to go far away from home. Don’t be those people! Travel to a new place every year; that will definitely be beneficial for your relationships.
3. Do things together
It is very important to spend quality time together, whether you prefer watching TV together, working out, taking cooking or dancing classes, going for a walk or just staying up all night talking. The most important thing is to enjoy each other’s company.
Voting opens for 2015 African Footballer
The five candidates for the 2015 BBC African Footballer of the Year have been revealed during a special live launch broadcast in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Algeria's Yacine Brahimi, the 2014 winner, is on the shortlist along with Gabon's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ghanaian Andre Ayew, Senegal's Sadio Mane and Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast.
The winner will be decided by African football fans, who have until 18:00 GMT on 30 November to vote for their choice.
You can either vote here or by sending an SMS from your phone to +44 7786 20 20 08:
Text 1 for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Text 2 for Andre Ayew
Text 3 for Yacine Brahimi
Text 4 for Sadio Mane
Text 5 for Yaya Toure
Standard international text rates apply, please check with your service provider. Texts are limited to one text per mobile phone number. Click here for full terms and conditions.
The winner will be announced on Friday, 11 December between 15:30 and 16:00 GMT during a special live broadcast on both BBC World News and BBC World Service, with the BBC Sport and BBC Africa websites also carrying the announcement.
Three of this year's shortlist, which was voted for by journalists from 46 African countries, have previously won the BBC award - Ayew in 2011, Toure in 2013 and Brahimi.
Aubameyang makes the shortlist for the third year running, while Mane is on it for the first time.
Striker Aubameyang, 26, finished as Borussia Dortmund's top scorer last season before creating German records in 2015-16.
In October, he became the first man to score in the first eight matches of a Bundesliga season, with his first 17 competitive games resulting in 20 goals - a run that included back-to-back hat-tricks.
The year has had plenty of highs for Ayew, but February's Africa Cup of Nations final reduced the 25-year-old to tears as the Black Stars lost to Ivory Coast.
Algeria's Yacine Brahimi, the 2014 winner, is on the shortlist along with Gabon's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ghanaian Andre Ayew, Senegal's Sadio Mane and Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast.
The winner will be decided by African football fans, who have until 18:00 GMT on 30 November to vote for their choice.
You can either vote here or by sending an SMS from your phone to +44 7786 20 20 08:
Text 1 for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Text 2 for Andre Ayew
Text 3 for Yacine Brahimi
Text 4 for Sadio Mane
Text 5 for Yaya Toure
Standard international text rates apply, please check with your service provider. Texts are limited to one text per mobile phone number. Click here for full terms and conditions.
The winner will be announced on Friday, 11 December between 15:30 and 16:00 GMT during a special live broadcast on both BBC World News and BBC World Service, with the BBC Sport and BBC Africa websites also carrying the announcement.
Three of this year's shortlist, which was voted for by journalists from 46 African countries, have previously won the BBC award - Ayew in 2011, Toure in 2013 and Brahimi.
Aubameyang makes the shortlist for the third year running, while Mane is on it for the first time.
Striker Aubameyang, 26, finished as Borussia Dortmund's top scorer last season before creating German records in 2015-16.
In October, he became the first man to score in the first eight matches of a Bundesliga season, with his first 17 competitive games resulting in 20 goals - a run that included back-to-back hat-tricks.
The year has had plenty of highs for Ayew, but February's Africa Cup of Nations final reduced the 25-year-old to tears as the Black Stars lost to Ivory Coast.
Alan Nyom’s poor showing:
Periodic civic education imperative for Indomitable Lions
By Che Samson, former indomitable lion and Kumbo Strikers skipper
In the late 70s and early 80s, local derbies such as Canon Vs Tonnere, Union Vs Dynamo or PWD Bamenda Vs Camark Bamenda used to bring together football enthusiasts in large numbers (from 20 to 50.000 spectators). The players were amateurs, but the quality of football they exhibited gave spectators total satisfaction. Professionalism is all about skills and (tech, tactient jorland physical) aptitude. Ndoumbe Lea Francois, Emana, Eyobo, Ewunkem, Njipe, Dr. Ekwe, Maranga or Ngoh Franklin never played football out of Cameroon, but I am of the opinion that they were true professionals in the execution of their “footbalistic” duties.
Those who were not opportune to watch these players live were served with radio commentaries every Sunday evening, by Zachary Nkou, Peter Essoka or Abel Mbengue in the program sports and music. These players were regarded as true heroes in their local teams especially the few who were privileged to be called to the national team. Today, players, the so called professionals, reject calls to wear the green, red, yellow mythical colours of the national team. Sacrilege indeed!
Who is a professional?
Since football has seized being a hoppy or part time leisure activity, many are those who will do anything humanly possible to be on the vantage end of the multibillion companies. Parents pay exorbitant tuitions to see their siblings through football academies and possibly place them in Europe and Asia where they sign juicy professional deals. The question most observers ask is whether those playing their trade in the diaspora are better than those playing the local league. Being a local players commoves nothing g from your intrinsic value as a footballer Njanka Beaka and Joseph Cyrille Ndo’s participation in Mondial 98 in France, buttress this point. Answering a call from your national team makes you a professional. The contrary makes you a football liliput and non-starter. How can Alan Nyom spit on the confidence placed on him by Volke Finke and later Alex Belinga? He abandoned colleague Lions in Belgium a forth night ago during their camping to play the eagles. He has done the same in Paris. In both cases he left after collecting his equipment’s. I recall my first pre-selection in December 1997 under coach manga Onguene. During the first training at the Ombe Sport Complex, I developed goose pimple just putting on the training kits of the lions. Not to talk of my first official game with the lions. Greet H.E. Joachim Chisano of Mozambique before the game and the pre-match frenzy and post-match euphoria that ensued up till date is one of the most eventful days in my 44 years of existence on planet earth. I wish Zock a Koung Martin was still playing football (a team mate with Fovu FC in 2001). Coach Njonkep Bonaventure will have an idea of what I am trying to say here. Zock was such a fine right full back that could leave you non-envious of Geremi Njitap or Dani Alves. So this leads me to ask the question: Allan Nyom who?
Niger 0-3 Lions:
Coach Belinga up to a good start
Winning against Niger today 0-3, interim coach Alexandre Belinga is reassuring Cameroonians that he is the man of the situation.
The victory has put the pressure on the opponents though the Lions still need to win at home for Belinga to dream of staying longer at the helm of the team.
On his appointment, Fecafoot Executive Committee said Belinga would be under observation during the two games after which a decision would be taken.
Winning against Niger today 0-3, interim coach Alexandre Belinga is reassuring Cameroonians that he is the man of the situation.
The victory has put the pressure on the opponents though the Lions still need to win at home for Belinga to dream of staying longer at the helm of the team.
On his appointment, Fecafoot Executive Committee said Belinga would be under observation during the two games after which a decision would be taken.
Monday, 9 November 2015
Low-key celebration:
 |
| Paul Biya |
“Epervier” dries up funding for anniversary
The celebration of President Paul Biya’s 33rd anniversary in power on 6 November was void of the usual pomp and fanfare. Ministers and GMs who used to sponsor the celebration from their official coffers have become reticent, perhaps because of the arrest and imprisonment of their colleagues; they did not throw any money around this time.
By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde
The pomp and fanfare that usually characterizes events marking the anniversary of President Paul Biya’s ascension to power on 6 November was not seen this year. The celebration this year was low-keyed, if at all there was any.
Apart from a semi marathon and a gala night organized at the CPDM secretariat at Yaounde the Confrence Centre in the evening of Friday, all was calm in the capital city throughout the day with people going about their day’s business as usual.
No CPDM militants were seen singing and dancing on the streets of Yaounde as has been the case in past years.
Even though we learnt that the chief celebrant, President Paul Biya, had ordered for a low-keyed celebration, the state broadcaster, CRTV however, made the anniversary their top story for the whole of last week; they brought back reminiscences of Ahidjo’s resignation on 4 November 1982 and how Biya peacefully took-over on 6 April of that year, ushering in a new dawn of rigour and moralization.
Commentators said if there were no celebrations throughout the country, the reasons are not far-fetched: the populations have become fed up with the regime, they see no reason to celebrate.
Others said even if the regime doesn’t have the blessing of the masses, people would still have drunk and danced if provision was made for these as it used to be in the past.
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