Sunday 21 August 2016

Kumbo water crisis gets ugly



-Soldiers stationed at stragegic areas of Kumbo town to preempt brewing uprising
-Undaunted, SehmMbinglo orders his subjects to disconnect water pipes and consume free water
By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda
Fon of Nso, SehmMbinglo reassuring his subjects that the gov’t
cannot take ownership of their water
Efforts to resolve the Kumbo water crisis which has for over one year now seen Kumbo Council and Kumbo Water Authority KWA on one hand and NSODA and the Fon of Nso on the other, disembowel themselves in a gory public spectacle over who should manage, appear to be far from over as the Fon of Nso HRH SehmMbinglo has declared that the water should be consumed free of charge.
                He made the declaration on August 19, 2016 at the courtyard of the palace in the presence of curious subjects reportedly defying a prefectoral order signed on August 18, by the SDO of Bui, NzekiTheophile banning any public gathering.
                The order we learnt was motivated by a call from the Fon of Nso to his people to assemble at the palace for them to address the water problems and to plan how to celebrate the life of Prof Fonlon who gave the water to Nso people.
                Worthy of note is the fact that prior to the declaration, there was heavy military presence in some strategic areas in Kumbo.
The heavy deployment The Median understands was in a bid to prevent a 1991 scenario where a locally orchestrated campaign led to the forceful expulsion of SNEC from Kumbo in October of 1991.
                In a rare public outing that saw the Fon speak directly to his people without an interpreter (contrary to what tradition demands), HRH SehmMbinglo instructed his people to buy pipes and install water in their houses, free of charge, and called on those who have meters to remove all of them and bring to the palace.

After umpteenth admissions scandal:



Ayah Paul weeps for Cameroon, calls for closure of ENAM
-Says stuffing the public service with handpicked, unqualified and academically weak Cameroonians is not only dangerous but produces untold repercussions for the country’s economy
By Akoson Raymond, PAP National Secretary
Chief Justice Ayah Paul
The Cameroon media was awash last week with news of the publication of scandalous results of the 2016 Entrance Examinations into the School of Administration and Magistracy ENAM. However, what took away sleep from the eyes of the leadership of PAP is how such scandalous recruitments can further plunge the economy of Cameroon.
                But as you are well aware, the PAP is ready and determined more than ever before to always point out the pitfalls and the excesses of the Biya regime and to advice its actors through such regular publications. This explains our belated reaction.

Facts that speak
                After going through the official results signed and published by the Director General of ENAM, Mr. Linus Toussaint Mendjana on 10 August 2016, PAP spots a number of glaring cases of unscrupulousness, double-dealing, fraud, misconduct and crimes:

1. The Case of a certain ATANGANA Joseph Yanick
                ATANGANA Joseph Yanick’s name appeared on two separate lists for the same cycle; it appeared on the list of those who had ‘successfully passed’ the Entrance Examination into the General Administrative Division (name number 26) as well as on the list of those who were ‘successful’ for entrance into the Economics and Finance Division (name number 11).
                PAP is aware that the written part of ENAM for entrance into the different divisions for a particular cycle (Cycle A or B) takes place concomitantly. How could Mr. ATANGA Joseph Yanick have been successful at some exam he didn’t sit for?

2. Children of the Governing Elite favoured
                While president Biya advised the youths of Cameroon to try their hands in agriculture, his friends and aides prefer otherwise – to get their children into ENAM through unorthodox means. A careful perusal of the list of ‘successful’ candidates reveals surnames of children and close relatives of the high and mighty in Yaounde. They include inter alia:

- Abate Edi’iAurelleManuella, ranked No. 1 in alphabetical order in the General Administration Section, naturally links to John Abate Edi’i, current Governor of the North Region;
                - Abba Ali comes second and could quickly be related to the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Relations with the Assemblies, Amadou Ali;
                - BetiAssomo Estelle Melissa is the daughter of the current Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Defence, Joseph BetiAssomo;
- Bidoung Yves Kevin is a relative of the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Pierre Ishmael BidoungMpkatt;
                - MebeNgo’o Alain Didier Serge following a CPDM explanation simply resembles that of the Minister of Transport Edgard Alain MebeNgo’o.

Seen as a traitor in CEMAC sub-region:



Yaounde puts up weak, unconvincing defense of EPAs with EU
By Rachel NtubeNgwese in Yaounde
IssaTchiroma
Negotiations for  favorable terms of trade for Cameroon in the global market has finally been resolved with the signing of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) between Cameroon and the European union to enable local products to access the European markets custom free. After the creation of the world trade organization which eliminated preferential trade relationship between specific countries, economic partnership agreement were introduced by western countries to enable developing countries who wish to establish specific terms of trade with the European union and other economic groupings such as the American growth and opportunity act(AGOA) to negotiate a partnership agreement.

For uplifting one of theirs:



Mbororo community begs Biya to stay on beyond 2018
Mbororos in the North West region have expressed unreserved gratitude to President Paul Biya for appointing their son, Dr Manu Ibrahim Nformi, as Charge de Mission at the Prime Minister’s Office
By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda
Dr. Manu Ibrahim, Charge de Mission at the PM’s Office
Mbororos in the North West region have addressed a motion of thanks and support to President Paul Biya following his appointment of their own Dr. Manu Ibrahim Nformi as Charge de Mission at the PM’s Office. They have also plebiscited President Biya as their sole and unique candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. The motion was echoed during a highly attended ceremony in Bamenda on Saturday 6 July 2016.
                The Mbororos also credited President Paul Biya for the peace and security that reigns in Cameroon likewise his policy of balanced development which they say has given even the minorities like them a chance to contribute in nation building.
                Addressing the crowd that turned out for the event, Dr Manu Ibrahim thanked Paul Biya and PM Philemon Yang describing his appointment as a “golden opportunity to serve the nation”.
                He exhorted his Mbororo brothers and sisters to shun inferiority complex and embrace hard work and education.
                “Your level of education and your honesty can earn you the position you deserve, not relationships,” Dr. Ibrahim Nformi noted, appealint to his brothers and sisters to live peacefully with their neighbors and to “remain bound together and be each other’s keeper”.

From bull dog to Ngong dog:



Chicken-hearted SW politicians have killed SWELA
-Prince NdokiMukete
One-time national scribe of SWELA, Prince NdokiMukete has indicted some “chicken-hearted, self-seeking” SW politicians and civil servants of killing the once vibrant and proactive regional pressure group
By Johnson Batuo in Kumba
Former SWELA Scribe and current chairman of the Kumba Traditional Council, Prince NdokiMukete, has blamed South West politicians and civil servants for the near demise of the South West Elite Association SWELA. 
                Speaking to the press recently, the 70-year old veteran journalist said ever since these pseudo-politicians infested SWELA and took confortable seats within its ranks in the late 1990s the association has gone comatose and has become somewhat of a “ngong dog”.
                 “It is unfortunate that SWELA that was once the sole voice and pride of the South West people has been arrogated by the wrong people……pseudo-politicians and civil servants who have killed the once vibrant and powerful association.”
                Prince NdokiMukete laments that these Yaounde barons are so chicken-hearted that they cannot pressure the powers that be with the problems of the people of the South West region.
                “Because these civil servants and pseudo-politicians are so beggarly and overly ego-centric they cannot stake their careers and jobs; as a result they have killed SWELA. Today the South West region cannot make her voice heard, even as other regions are pressuring government and grabbing huge chunks from the national cake.      
                As the countdown to SWELA’s silver jubilee in October 2016 narrows, it is hoped that Prince NdokiMukete’s diagnosis will be revisited and given due attention that is if there must be a revival of SWELA.
It should be recalled that no sooner was SWELA created in 1991 at the behest of its emblematic protem chairman, the late Kumba-based Barrister, A.T. Enaw, than it took centre stage in the political arena of Cameroon. SWELA rapidly became one of the most powerful pressure groups in the country, mounting pressure on the Yaounde regime about the problems of the South West people and making lead stories in both Francophone and Anglophone newspapers and radio.

Nigerians in Kumba rise up against their leader



By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
Nigerian Union members protesting with placards
The First Assistant SDO for Meme, EpolewaneVerklinMbua has expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment with the protest match carried out my members of the Nigerian union in kumba against their Union president, Mr. Augustine Nwafor on Monday August 8, 2016. She was speaking at the conference hall of the SDO’s office while addressing some fifteen members of the protest faction and the present executive body of the Nigerian Union.

As 2018 approaches:



K’ba CPDM goes into coma, as SDF musters strong
By Johnson Batuo in Kumba
Despite the putting in place of permanent committees to oversee party activities at the base and the appeal by party hierarchy for love, concord and militantism to reign, the reality on the field in Kumba point to disgust, rancor and bitterness within the ranks of party militants and especially the leadership.
                According to a top CPDM militant of the Meme 1A section of the party, who pleaded for anonymity, the present managers and forerunners of the party led by section president, Lawson Tabota.k.aNjala, are still sleeping and wallowing in an orgy of self-glorification that breeds inaction. The source lamented that the CPDM party in Kumba has virtually gone moribund, and only a miracle and perhaps the usual rigging maneuvers of old can give the party victory in the fast approaching 2018 elections.
                Talking about the militants, the source noted that they are dispersed like sheep without shepherds as nobody knows what’s on the agenda. Militants, the source maintained, have lost hope and are already thinking of political alternatives to bury their political lives because they believe their political future with the CPDM is bleak.

Deplorable Tombel-Kumba road:



CPDM MP suggests manual labour as solution
-Hon. Bob NgujedeNgole also urged the populations along the Tombel-Kumba stretch to stay glued to the CPDM party if they want lasting solutions for their problems
By Mesumbe Eric Ekiti
Hon. Ngujede Robert Ngole encouragingcommunity work in Etam village
The Member of Parliament for Tombel Hon. Ngujede Robert Ngole has called on communities along the Tombel-Kumba stretch of road to throw their weight behind the ruling party and its chairman to ensure meaningful development. He made the call during a tour of the villages along the 33 km stretch that separates Tombel in KupeMuanenguba from Kumba in Meme.
Stopping successively at Mile 20, Ebonji and Etam during the tour, the MP, who was in the company of the Divisional Officer for Tombel Sub Division, Nyam Leonard Njowun encouraged the populations to ‘manually’ maintain the portions of the road passing through their villages and asked them to support the CPDM as he re-echoed party slogans
                Though he acknowledged it was not yet time for political campaigns, Hon. Ngujede urged the youths to actively participate in the football competition he launched in the area and enjoined them to support President Paul Biya.
                “We must learn our lessons. We have to support President Paul Biya. He has the key to all the taps and when he opens, water flows. We all have to come out as CPDM militants because it is the ruling party that has the resources to develop any community,” Hon Ngujede told the thousands of people who were working at different spots on the Tombel-Kumba stretch which many say had been long abandoned.
                The MP encouraged communities to continue regular manual maintenance on the road, while awaiting a permanent solution from the state. He added that working on the road was a mark of service to humanity.

Briefs




By TichaBizel-Bi Mafor, student on internship
Girl escapes rape
Audrey, 17, should be thankful to God that she was not raped last Wednesday. Invited by a friend to meet him at Carrefour Bastos in Yaounde on that fateful day, she was whisked off in a car to a destination she claims not to know. Without knowing where they were heading to she did not bother because her friend was among. They ordered for a bottle of whisky and coke. She agrees having drunk a limited quantity of whisky diluted with coke. After taking a sip of her drink she felt like going to the toilet and asked her friend to accompany her. On her return, she completed her drink and lost consciousness. Audrey beliefs drug was dropped in a glass while she was in the toilet. Luckily for her, her friend took her home save.

Man flogs his wife for theft
A man by name PartrickEssomba has accused his wife of stealing the sum of 250,000 FCFA from the bedroom of their AwaeEscalier home in Yaounde. According to Essomba, his wife stole the money because he refused to give her the 50,000 FCFA that she requested three days earlier to enable her solve some personal problems. Essomba says he suspected his wife had stolen the money when he noticed that the money he kept in their conjugal room had disappeared. Even though the wife denied ever taking the money, Essomba would not believe her. Disappointed and furious Essomba started raining deadly blows on his wife. It took the intervention of neighbours to save the woman’s life.

Divided we fall:



Manyu union in Kumba tearing apart
By Johnson Batuo in Kumba
Less than two months after over 500 men and women of Manyu extraction under the canopy of the Manyu Elements Cultural Association MECA Kumba branch, gathered in Kumba, Meme Division to rebuild their past, forge a better future and put in place a new executive, disgruntled factions have surfaced challenging the gathering and rejecting the elected bureau led by Hon AgborNduku John Eret from Eyumojock sub-division as president.
                The other exco members include Bawak Martin, Barrister Andy Tabi and Lawson BakiaTabot from Mamfe central, Akwaya and Upper Bayang subdivisions respectively as vice presidents. The positions of treasurer, financial secretary, secretary general, organizing secretary, social secretary, women affairs and cultural affairs were evenly distributed among the four subdivisions that make up Manyu division. Meanwhile Mbu Johnson Batuo of Calvary Goodnews radio, Prince ObenAgbor of ocean city radio kumba and Ashu Manfred of the star Newspaper were chosen as communication secretaries.
                Challenging the legality of the elected bureau on multiple fronts, the disgruntled group noted with anger that the said bureau is a ‘kangoroo executive founded on no legitimate grounds’.
                Buttressing their point, the disgruntled critics complained that the assembly that put the new executive bureau in place did not have a quorum. Besides, no roll call was conducted to establish the exact number of participants especially given the known numeric strength of Manyu elements in Kumba and its environs. They said those who participated cannot be said to have represented the aspirations of the wider majority of Manyu elements in Kumba.

These long-serving General Managers of state corporations…




 Article 47 of the law of 22 December 1999 pertaining to the general statutes of public establishments and companies of the public and para-public sector specify that directors general and, if need be, their assistants have a maximum of nine years to occupy their respective positions. However, it is most surprising that President Paul Biya who promulgated this law has refused to respect it to the letter. He allows many of these DGs to exercise their functions for as long as possible for reasons best known to him alone. In the following analysis, we take a look at four of such personalities, one of whom has been in his post of responsibility for as long as 23 years!

AdolpheMoudiki, DG of SNH

AdolpheMoudiki, DG of SNH
AdolpheMoudiki, the all-powerful director general of the National Hydrocarbons Corporation, SNH, has been in that enviable position since 1993! This means that for 23 uninterrupted years, he has been at the helm of the state corporation that manages Cameroon’s oil and which, to a very large extent, strategically ensures the economic and even political stability of the country.
                Although the hand of age is now playing tricks on him, to the extent of rendering his physique rather groggy, he remains a key figure in the Biya administration as he has an unquestionable influence on some very important decisions of state.
                Moudiki literally acts for the most part behind the scene, but his influence was greatly felt by the general public when, in his capacity as the SNH boss, he supplied most of the funds (out of the state budget) for the purchase of the presidential plane as well as the yatch christened Rio del Rey.
                It also filtered out to the public that it was this illustrious son of the Littoral region who vehemently opposed the appointment of his closest collaborator, Bernard Bayiha, as DG of Chantier Naval of which the SNH is the biggest shareholder. It should be recalled that after the former minister of Transport, Robert Nkili, had recommended Bayiha for that position, President Paul Biya signed a decree appointing him. However, AdolpheMoudik raised a strong argument to the effect that his collaborator’s presence by his side at SNH was absolutely imperative. This caused President Biya to replace Bayiha with Alfred NforgweiMbeng as DG of Chantier Naval.
                Indeed it takes only a dinosaur of Moudiki’scalibre to cause the President to budge in this manner!

YaouAïssatou, DG of SNI
                Commonly referred to as the “Iron Lady” of the Biya administration, YaouAïssatou has been manning the National Investment Corporation, SNI, since 2003. However, even before her appointment to that post of responsibility, she had worked in the corporation for long years. She actually joined it on 3 November 1975 as deputy director of finance. 
                On 4 February 1984, barely 15 months after Paul Biya took office as President of the Republic, she was appointed minister of Women’s Affairs. A few years later, she became minister of Social and Women’s Affairs.
                She was later to be dropped from government after serving as minister for more than 15 years. Nevertheless, on 18 May 2000, the president of the women’s wing of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (WCPDM) resurfaced at SNI, this time as the assistant treasurer of the house. On account of her discretion and near anonymity in this position, little was said about her in public.
                YaouAïssatou began making headline news again when she was propelled to the topmost position at SNI in 2003. However, she had some tense moments when she was suspected of mismanaging public funds and was convoked a number of times for quizzing at the special criminal tribunal. Sources say the suspicion came not because she truly manifested financial rascality but rather owing to her alleged closeness to MarafaHamidouYaya.
At one point in time, she was the longest-serving member of government. Who knows if she will end up being the longest-serving DG of a state corporation too?

KupeMuanenguba politics:



Tombel wants her own MP
Militants of the CPDM party in KupeMuanenguba III section, Tombel sub-division, have reminded President Paul Biya of their old-time request for a separate parliamentary constituency for the metropolitan sub-division.
                The militants made the call in a motion of support they addressed to the president during a joint section conference of CPDM KupeMuanenguba III, Tombel, in the Tombel town hall on Saturday, 21 July 2016.
                Tombel CPDM militants argued that not only has the population of Tombel become too big, its brother town Bangem is too far off thus making the allocation for micro projects paltry and insignificant to finance any meaningful development projects in the two communities.

Reward for honest hard work:



Biya confirms Charles Mekanya as Pamol GM
Pamol GM, Chief Mekanya Charles Okon
There was total jubilation in the estates of Pamol PLC in Lobe last week as President Paul Biya confirmed the Interim General Manager, IGM, Chief Mekanya Charles Okon as GM and also appointed South West Governor, Bernard OkaliaBilai as the new Board Chair of the giant agro-industry.
By DOH Bertrand Nua in Lobe
President Paul Biya has appointed new persons to head the Board and management teams of Pamol Plantation PLC. By virtue of the presidential instruction, SW Governor Bernard OkaliaBilai now becomes the new Board Chair of Pamol. He replaces Chief Itoh who was dropped. Also, the Interim GM Chief Charles MekanyaOkon, was confirmed in office as GM, while Chief Asanga Aloysius was appointed as the Assistant GM, AGM.
                The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henri EyebeAyissi disclosed the presidential instructions to Board members of Pamol during an extra-ordinary board meeting on 10 August 2016 at the company chambers. 
                The landmark and historic board meeting also witnessed the presence of the CPDM parliamentarian for Ndian, hon. Meboka, Senator MbellaMoki Charles, Traditional chiefs of Ndian Division and a cross section of the population of Ndian Division.
                Installing the newly appointed officials, Minister Henri EyebeAyisi exhorted them to ensure fruitful collaboration so as to continue to keep the company afloat.
                Minister Eyebe used the occasion to especially congratulate the new GM, Chief Charles MekanyaOkon for the wonderful job he and his collaborators have being doing to keep Pamol going despite the difficult realities of the times and which has merited for him the renewed confidence and trust of the head of state.

Fighting Wildlife criminality:



Two chimp skulls traffickers jailed in AbongMbang
Chimp skulls at wildlife office
Two people have been sentenced by the AbongMbang Court of First Instance for trafficking in skulls following their arrest and trail that lasted two months.
The case against the two was called up by the Abong Court of First Instance on August 9, 2016 and the accused were found guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment and ordered to pay fines and damages amounting to over four million CFA francs. The Charges brought against them included illegal possession, circulation and killing of chimpanzees that is a totally protected wildlife species.  13 chimpanzee skulls were found in their possession during an operation carried out on June 8, 2016 by wildlife officials of the Upper Nyong Divisional Delegation with the support of the Gendarmerie..
                After reading out the sentence, the judge took some time to explain to the convicted traffickers the meaning of the ruling saying you have been sent to serve a prison sentence of four months and he equally explained the financial punishment to them. The two moody-faced convicts stood staring at the judge as he read out the sentence. One of them wore a white shirt on shorts while the other had a grey shirt on slim trousers. They had been dragged to court that morning, handcuffed with other inmates who trekked the short distance that separated the AbongMbang prison from the court premises

Hair-dresser dies mysteriously in Fiango Market



By Johnson Batuo in Kumba
A beautician in the Fiango Market whose names The median got only as Fomo Beatrice was Sunday 7 August 2016 discovered dead in a football field behind the Fiango market.  The Median gathered that the woman from Bafang in the Western region reported for business on Saturday 6 August.
                We further gathered that after Beatrice opened her business place for the day she was invited to share a drink by another woman who had just set up her business. Upon arrival we gathered she was offered a tot of whisky which she turned down.  She was later forced to recant her decision, when the other women present scolded her for being jealous of the other woman’s progress. 

Divided we fall:



Bangantes in K’ba agree to disunite
By Johnson Batuo in Kumba
Members of the Bangante Community in Kumba on Monday 8 August 2016 stormed the gendarmerie post in Kosala to obtain the release of some of their members detained by the gendarmes, The Median has gathered.
                The detained members of KumbaBangante family meeting were on the orders of the Divisional Officer of Kumba II arrested while attending their family meeting on Sunday 7 August, we learned.
                The reason for the arrest was linked with a leadership tussle between the incumbent president of the meeting and his predecessor Mbachu Jacob Kay, who is also Meme IB CPDM section president.
                On Sunday 31st July, the Kumba II DO allegedly went to the Bangante Family meeting in Kumba II and suspended six of its members said to be loyal to the incumbent president whose names this reporter was unable to obtain by press time.

19 year-old girl killed by falling tree branch



By Johnson Batuo in Kumba
A girl resident at MbalangiMuyuka subdivision who scored five GCE Advanced Level papers in the 2016 session of the Cameroon General Certificate Examination died in the Kumba District hospital on Wednesday 3 August 2016 after being hit in the head in the farm by a falling tree branch.
                The girl about 19 years and whose names The Median got as Elivé Emilia reportedly met her ordeal as she went to the farm.  This reporter could not obtain the person who accompanied the young girl to the farm or what she went to the farm to do.  One thing certain is the fact that she was hit in the head by a fallen tree branch.

Education For All:



K’bo Council reassures students with hearing impairment
Hires sign language teachers for GBHS Kumbo while promising hard times for persons who discriminate against students with other disabilities
By Njodzefe Nestor in Kumbo
Kumbo Mayor, NjongDonatusFonyuy
With just a few weeks to the beginning of the 2016/2017 academic year, Kumbo Council has made education of children with disabilities in the Kumbo municipality especially those with hearing impairments accessible by recruiting a sign language teacher for GBHS Kumbo.
                This move by the council is good news to children with hearing impairments in Kumbo Municipality who graduated from inclusive primary schools like the CBC’s Integrated School for the Deaf (ISFD) in Mbingo and have been prevented from furthering with their secondary education because of lack of schools with a Sign Language Teacher.

World Indigenous Peoples Day:



Mbororos told to give priority to education
By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda
NW Regional President of MBOSCUDA
Within a backdrop of critical education gaps that exist between indigenous peoples and the general population in Cameroon, Mbororos of the North West region have been advised to give “education a chance”.
                This call featured predominantly during celebrations to mark the 22nd edition of the World Indigenous Day that took place in Santa, NWR under the theme, “Indigenous People and their right to education”.
                During the celebrations, challenges that the Mbororos have been facing such as farmer/grazer conflicts on land usage, scarcity of pasture for cattle and poor infrastructures of cattle markets were identified as stumbling blocks to effective Mbororo insertion in society.
                Speaking at the ceremony, North West Regional Delegate of Social Affairs  MrMotsou SAA Josie Raymond encouraged the Mbororos to know their rights and use them for their development and be active people in the development of their communities and Cameroon as a whole.
                On his part, the representative of the Divisional Officer for Santa, Mr. Pekeleke Emmanuel said the Mbororo people are a very important part of the Cameroon population, deserving equal rights in all spheres of life, like any other Cameroonian.
                He encouraged the Mbororo people to join the moving train of development, by sending their children to school while encouraging parents to cater for the educational needs of their children especially females and avoid sending them for early marriages.

Towards better professionalisation of higher education



By Rachel NtubeNgwese in Yaounde
The professionalization of higher education in both public and private institutions in the country has taken centre stage in Yaoundé as stakeholders lay the framework for a smooth takeoff of the new academic year.
                The minister of higher education professor Jacque Fame Ndongo who pilots the Plan Special Jeune designed by the head of state to ensure the integration of youths in to the global economy has taken yet another step geared towards the realization of this objective.
                A partnership accord between the ministry of public works and the ministry of higher education was signed in Yaoundé to ensure that Cameroonian students in both public and private higher professional institutions of learning can be directly integrated to supplement the labor force necessary for the realization of public contracts such as roads and other construction works.
                Signing the agreement, the minister of public works Emmanuel NganouNjoumessi appreciated the initiative which according to him will provide a suitable platform for students to perfect the knowledge acquired in the classrooms and to bring them into direct contact with professional challenges well ahead of time. In this regard, interested students will be granted the opportunity to undertake capacity building programs at long or short term depending on the students’ schedule and the available projects.

Joao Havelange, the unlikely Godfather of African football



Joao Havelange, the former Fifa president who has died at his home in Rio de Janeiro aged 100, could be regarded as the unlikely godfather of African football.
He famously owed the developing world for his presidential election in 1974 - and despite the allegations of corruption that mired his career towards the end of his life, he is credited with huge globalisation of the game.
                The canny sports administrator had done his maths on the voting system, realising that he needed to court Africa and Asia in order to win - an insight lost on his main rival in the leadership contest for football's world governing body.
                The Brazilian came to power on the back of African votes - which then accounted for nearly a third of the total - primarily because his predecessor, Englishman Stanley Rous, had alienated the continent through his unremitting support for apartheid South Africa.
                His standing was greatly boosted by the three World Cups Brazil won under his control as Brazilian Sports Confederation president, and the former Olympian adroitly exploited the issue and pledged to kick out South Africa if he took control.
                There were other promises to the continent as well: An expanded World Cup, new youth tournaments and, among others, developmental help.
                So, after his election, it was time to give back.
With Rous out of the way, Havelange dealt with South Africa fairly swiftly, expelling the country from Fifa in 1976, a ban which lasted until 1992, as the end of apartheid neared.
                He also introduced junior tournaments - handing Tunisia the first hosting rights, in 1977, for what is called the Under-20 World Cup today.
                Eight years later, he ensured Africa had the same representation as Europe and South America in the Under-17 World Cup, in contrast to the senior World Cup, as the tournament launched in 1985.
                He was slightly hamstrung with his World Cup offer despite overseeing vast global expansion - having partnered with Horst Dassler, the son of the Adidas founder and the father of sports sponsorship.
                With the help of improving television broadcast technology and football's hugely attractive lure for sponsors, the pair greatly enhanced football's global reach, Fifa's coffers and - as has been well documented - those of Havelange too.

Cameroonian defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto signs for Metz




Cameroonian Benoit Assou-Ekotto has signed a one-year deal with newly-promoted French Ligue 1 side Metz.
The 32-year-old left-back joins as a free agent after a short spell with rivals St Etienne last season.
                Assou-Ekotto, who has 28 caps for the Indomitable Lions, comes in as cover for the injured MatthieuUdol.
                "The experienced defender will strengthen a position troubled by the long-term absence of Matthew Udol," Metz said on their website.

Sunday 7 August 2016

Front page


AU Elections Postponed:

 Churchill Monono, Maurice Tchuente still hopeful
- Initially scheduled for July 2016 in Kigali Rwanda, the election was postponed to January 2017
By Ayukogem Steven Ojong in Yaounde
 Churchill Monono
The elections for the president and commissioners of the African Union AU Commission have been postponed to January 2017. Initially planned to take place in July 2016, the elections were postponed after over 20 African countries abstained from the voting. The countries boycotted because they did not consider the three candidates contesting for the position of President of the commission convincing enough.
                Prior to the election the countries of the ECOWAS block had sent a letter to the AU Commission suggesting that the election be postponed and that the process be left open for new candidates for the position of president of the commission.
                The ECOWAS countries asked for the postponement so that they could have time enough to present a West African candidate for the position of president of the commission in the person of former Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs, AbdoulayeBathily, who is presently heading the UN Office for Central Africa. Also a university professor, Mr. Bathily is said to present more solid credentials than all the three candidates that had initially lined up to compete for the AU Presidency.
                Apart from the West Africa candidate, the East African block is also withdrawing their initial candidate, Ugandan-born Mrs. WandiraKazibwe, to replace her with the more competitive and substantive former Tanzanian President JakayaKikweke.
                Notwithstanding the pedigree of the new candidates from East and West Africa, Cameroon is still supporting the Equato-Guinean candidate for the AU Presidency perhaps out of sub-regional solidarity.                                                         Yet, knowledgeable observers say it is unlikely the Equato-Guinean candidate will sail through in January 2017.
                If this happens it will only be comforting for the Cameroonian candidates racing for different commissioner positions. This is because of the 10 available big jobs in the AU Commission including that of President, Vice President and eight Commissioners, only two are open for grabs by each of the five regional blocks.
               
Prof. Maurice Tchuente 
However, latest reports from Kigali indicate that the number of aspiring Cameroonians has dropped to four, down from the initial eight. The candidates include Prof Maurice Tchuente (for the position of Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology); Churchill Ewumbue-Monono (for  Commissioner for Political Affairs); Francois EkokoEkanga (for Rural Economy and Agriculture) and Dr. Mrs. Justine DiffoTchunkam for Social Affairs.
                The candidates that were dropped include Victor Emmanuel Djoumatchoua who was eyeing the Vice Presidency of the Commission; Paul NjukangTasong who wanted the position of Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Emmanuel Edou who aimed for Peace and Security. 
                It should be understood that because the incumbent Commissioner for Trade and Industry is a Chadian woman who is seeking reelection, only one position is left for the other Central African aspirants including the four Cameroonians still in the race.                                                                What’s worse, the incumbency of the Chadian woman only compromises the chances of the lone Cameroonian woman, Mrs Justine Diffo, whose candidature may just be for ambiance. 

AU election was postponed because of a blockage


- Lejeune MbellaMbella, Minister of External Relations
What appreciation can you make of the last summit of heads of state of the African Union in July in Kigali, Rwanda?

Lejeune MbellaMbella, Minister
of External Relations
My first sentiments are that of satisfaction because of the wonderful organization done by the Rwandan Government that I had the opportunity to congratulate on behalf of the Head of state H.E. Paul Biya. The Rwandan authorities provided all it took to make the summit to be successful and without incidents. Then the cleanliness of the city of Kigali impressed all the delegations. The rapid reconstruction of the town in so short a time has given the Rwandan people a sense of nationhood and has enabled them to quickly forget the tragic events of 20 years ago, to concentrate on the development of their country. Concerning the summit itself, I hasten to hail the Chadian authorities under whose presidency the Union was placed, for respecting the decision taken in June 2015 to rationalize the agenda of the summit to include only the most important and very strategic issues. That was exactly what happened in Kigali and which permitted the heads of state to examine the most pressing issues affecting the continent. Permit me to also congratulate the participants for the frank and intense debates, some of which produced the historic decisions reached, even though I must say that all the objectives set out for the summit were not met.

The Summit did not witness the renewal of the executive bureau of the Commission. Can we talk of a failure?
I wouldn’t say it was a failure but rather a simple postponement, and which is provided for by the texts. Even though, the ideal should have been the quick and effective putting in place of the new executive of the commission, to avoid an extension of the latency that usually characterizes activities during the pre-electoral period and the ambiance at the end of the mandate of some executive members of the commission. True, the scenario that we witnessed was not what we had wished, particularly in a context where the AU needs to rapidly put together all the means, including human resources, to enable it to effectively put in place the 2063 Agenda, which demands that every minute is exploited positively to guarantee success. Unfortunately, because of the absence of consensus, non of the three candidates from South, Central and East Africa vying for the post of president of the commission obtained the requisite 2/3 of the votes (that is 36 out of the 54 states in the Union). Even the Botswanese candidate who was the unique candidate in the 7th round of voting could still not get the minimum votes required. So we had no option than to postpone the election to January 2017 and also leave the list of candidates open. The postponement extends to the aspirants for the different commissioner positions, who cannot be designated before the election of the president of the commission. It also permits the West African countries that were at the centre of the stalemate, owing to their request weeks prior to the election, to have the opportunity to also present their candidate in the person of the Senegalese, AbdoulayeBathily, whose candidature was already advertised during the Kigali summit.

Political home-coming:

PAP Veepee takes Mundemba by storm
Shortly after the PAP relaunch by the National President AYAH Paul Abine last month, the new National Vice president, Anita Besumbu hit the road to her native Ndian division. She was given a red carpet reception by PAP Mundemba Executives. She used the opportunity to explain against the wild rumours that AYAH had compromised.
                “AYAH Paul will never go back to his vomit”, charismatic Anita lashed out amidst thunderous rounds of applause. She continued, “AYAH’s presence at the Supreme Court is his right to serve the people of Cameroon. Remember he’d taken the oath of office to render justice to all manner of people without fear or favour. CPDM must stop this nonsense! Biya has no money to pay civil servants – you, the Cameroonian people pay AYAH Paul, not Biya”.
                It is noteworthy that the former SDF mayor of Toko Council (a municipality near Mundemba) was present and beckoned on madame Vice President to work with PAP towards grabbing the Toko Council at the upcoming municipal elections.

500.000 laptops wahala:

University students boycott ‘Thank You’ march for Paul Biya
By TichaBizel-Bi Mafor, UB Journalism student on internship
Each university student will own a laptop
Less than 500 students from Universities and other Institutions of Higher Learning took part in the march that was organised in Yaounde on 3 August 2016, to express thanks and praises to the Head of State President Paul Biya for offering laptop computers to university students.
                Intended to be a popular and hugely attended event, the march turned out to be a flop, as it failed to witness the expected popular participation of students.
                The about 500 students drawn from universities and other higher institutions in Yaounde and towns as far as Bamenda in the North West region, marched from the Yaounde Conference Centre to the 20th May Boulevard where they were urged to cluster together so that pictures taken should give the impression of a successful and well-attended event.
                The students carried placards bearing beautiful messages to the president of the republic. They also read out a motion of thanks and support to the head of state, hailing him for his “fatherly gesture” and for all other programs he has initiated towards empowering the youths of Cameroon including notably the recent FCFA 102 billion-worth ‘Special Program for the Emergence of the Youths’.
                The document bearing the motion of support was handed to the SDO of Nfoundi for onward transmission to the president.
                Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher Education, Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo, who was the brain behind the demonstration march, did not bother to come over to the May 20 Boulevard to address the students perhaps out of disappointment. He was represented by Prof. AboyaEndongManase, the director of university solidarity and dialogue in the ministry of higher education.

Message to the youth:

Maurice Kamto evokes propaganda in Biya’s laptops
Dear young compatriots,
Maurice Kamto: Accept the 
laptops but don’t be fooled
At this holiday period when you are cherishing beautiful projects of life, I wish you a peaceful stay in your respective families, after a laborious academic year. At the same time I exhort you to get ready, after a well-deserved rest, to face the next academic year with even more enthusiasm.
                Your personal efforts and the important sacrifices made by your parents to ensure a good education for you translate themselves into the results that we know. For three decades now neither the advanced state of decrepitude of infrastructure nor the strategic insufficiency of Cameroon’s educational system has daunted the strong will to succeed amongst the great majority of you. In general as in technical education, or in the domain of professional training, you have braved many challenges, with diverse fortunes.
                I congratulate those of you who succeeded in your exams. To those of you who did not have the expected results, my advice is that you should not be discouraged, for perseverance always ends up paying.
                I deplore the continual reduction of the purchasing power of your parents, who, at the same time, witness the increase of the cost of your education. Parents of young school goers can remember the hoax of free education pompously announced by the Government a few years back. The reality is that free education is illusory: education of all types has never been as expensive in Cameroon as has been the case during the past twenty years. For example, for computer courses in Government institutions, school children are asked to pay fees without which they are thrown out; here they are asked to bring realms of paper, toilet rolls, etc. Those are some kinds of taxes that are not prescribed by any legislative or regulatory text. The “minimum package” is a ghost project at every back-to-school period and leads to all sorts of illegal trade as soon as it is made known.
                Within public and private educational institutions, your parents endure the torture imposed on them by the chronic malfunctioning of PTA (Parents/Teachers Associations). Worse still, endemic corruption and all sorts of undeserved privileges are bedeviling the educational institution. Admission into such institutions, especially government ones, is very expensive. Government officials at all levels are conscious of this, but everybody adapts to it.

Ayah’s PAP react to Biya’s laptop bait

-Says the Fcfa 75 bn for Biya's 500,000 mini laptop computers could provide at least 6,000 jobs with a salary of 100,000 frs per month for a period of ten years!
Justice Ayah Paul: Biya is using
the laptops as a bait
The Minister of Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo signed communiqué No. 16.000/MINESUP/CAB/nn on July 26, 2016 explaining Biya’s regime’s “Plan SpecialeJeunes”. China’s Sichuan Telecom Construction Engineering Co. Ltd has been contracted to supply 500,000 mini laptop computers to university students. This will gulp some FCFA 75 Billion of borrowed money from China’s EXIM Bank.

PAP amongst other issues, pick the following:

1) The government failed to inform the Cameroonian people of the interest rates of the loan that the country shall incur within the 20-year period. We ask that such figures be made known immediately;

2) Such a venture is not only a very bad investment, it is also a complete waste of resources
                Much as computers are vital for research and other academic work, PAP believe that, this does not beat urgent priority projects on Cameroon’s development totem pole such as fighting the scourge of unemployment, provision of potable drinking water to every household, mechanising agriculture, putting meaning to ‘free primary education’ etc.
                Talking about combating unemployment,75 billions can do a lot! Go also, to our state budget line by line and cut back on fuel, out-station allowances and other reckless spending such as entertainment. Put all of these together and create factories across the country that would finish our raw materials … create a name for the country as a manufacturing hub in the region.
                And by the way, in case this embarrassment of a regime didn’t know, 75 Billions could provide six thousand jobs for youths with a monthly salary of 100,000 frs for the next ten years.
                The bidding process to pick Sichuan Telecom Construction Engineering Co. Ltd is mired in mystery and constitutes a very bad deal for Cameroon.
                At the press conference of Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo, he brandished a sample of the said computers. It emerged that what the government intends to supply are only mini laptop computers.                             The Intelligence Unit of PAP contacted seven major laptop manufacturers in China’s leading manufacturing city of Shenzhen  and requested for Pro forma Invoices (PI) for 500.000 pieces of the highest grade mini laptop computers with each having a warranty of 2 years. Lo and behold, the prices ranged from 52 dollars (29,350 Fcfa) to 79 dollars (46,373 Fcfa) per piece
                The arithmetic mean of the prices is 65.5 dollars (38,448.5 Frs). So, if government is buying 500,000 laptop computers for a whopping 150,000 Frs per piece, it is either she has been duped or some minister(s) have inflated the prices four fold.

Buea Paramount Chieftaincy Succession:

Who is Prince Robert EsukaLifafal’Endeley?
-Why the Royal Family chose him as their candidate to succeed the late Paramount Chief of Buea?   
With infos from Mokunda Palace, Buea town    
Prince Robert EsukaEndeley: Will he become
the “Na’mbellaLifafa, Chief Endeley V?
Prince Robert EsukaMbellaLifafaL’Endeley, the chosen but yet-to-be-proclaimed successor of the Paramount Ruler of the Bakweris, the late HRM Nakuve Chief Justice Samuel MokaLifafal’Endeley, was born in Buea, on July 20th 1975. He is the last child of Iya Fanny EbenyeEndeley née Njoh and the late Prince Hon. Dr. Emmanuel MbellaLifafaEndeley (1916-1988). Prince Esuka’s father, Dr. EML Endeley was the first medical doctor in Cameroon and the first Premier of the British Southern Cameroons. He was also the Pioneer President of the Grand Fako Section of the CNU party under President AhmadouAhidjo; Pioneer President of the Grand Fako Section of Paul Biya’s CPDM, and Pioneer CPDM Parliamentarian for Fako Division.
                It is in record that Prince EsukaEndeley’s father was the entitled successor to the throne as the eldest son of late H.R.M. Matthias LifafaI’Endeley (Chief Endeley II), and also as a nephew of the late H.R.M GervasiusMbellaI’Endeley (Chief Endeley III).
                Before his demise in 1988, during the Interregnum, Prince Robert Esuka’s father shared in the royal family’s resolve that succession be not by the Will and Testament of the predecessor but a prerogative of the surviving family. This norm favored his younger brother the late Nakuve Chief Justice Samuel MokaLifafaEndeley (Chief Endeley IV) to succeed their Uncle GervasiusMbellaI’Endeley (Chief Endeley III) in objection of the latter’s last Will and Testament of 20 August 1976.
                Prince Robert EsukaMbellaLifafaI’Endeley (last son of late Dr. Emmanuel MbellaLifafeI’Endeley), who is to be elevated to Chief Endeley V will also be succeeding his Uncle, the Nakuve Samuel MokaLifafaI’Endeley (Chief Endeley IV), who reigned from 1991 to 2015, and who similarly succeeded his Uncle, GervasiusMbellaI’Endeley (Chief Endeley III), who reigned from 1925 to 1982.
                Chief Endeley III succeeded his brother Matthias LifafaI’Endeley (Chief Endeley II) who sat on the throne from 1917 to 1925, and who had succeeded his father, Endel à Likenye (Chief Endeley I), who reigned from 1896 to 1913. Chief Endeley I succeeded his brother, the Great KuvaLikenye, who ruled from 1883 until his demise in 1895.

Buea Paramount Chieftaincy Saga:

NjohLitumbe vindicates the Kingmakers
- Says it is the prerogative of the royal family to select the new chief by virtue of Bakweri customs and tradition; the traditional council has nothing to do in matters of chieftaincy selection.
By Ajongakou Santos in Buea
MolaNjohLitumbe: Traditional councils
have no place in chieftaincy selection

Veteran Chartered Accountant and acclaimed ‘living encyclopedia’ of Bakweri history, customs and traditions, MolaNjohLitumbe has urged members of the Buea Town Traditional Council to stay out of the process of selecting a new chief to replace the late Paramount Chief, Nakuve SML Endeley IV of Buea. According to MolaLitumbe, the opinion of the traditional council is inconsequential in chieftaincy matters this because the traditional council is constituted essentially with people chosen out of the royal realm.
                Speaking recently on LTM television’s prime time program, Town Crier, MolaNjohLitumbe said that in Bakweri land and by virtue of Bakweri customs and traditions, when the chieftaincy stool is declared vacant as a result of death, incapacity or destitution of the chief, it is the elders from the households that constitute the royal family who sit in conclave and select a successor. The successor so chosen is then presented to the public.
                Quizzed as to the role of the traditional council in the chieftaincy selection process, MolaNjohLitumbe retorted: “no, no, no, the traditional council has no business in chieftaincy matters.”
                The patriarch explained that the traditional council is appointed by the chief to help him in such matters as the development of the village, peace keeping and any other functions duly assigned to it by him.
                “How then can the traditional council that is appointed by the chief give its opinion on who should be the chief,” MolaLitumbe wondered aloud, emphasizing that the chief in Bakweri land is supposed to be a pure-breeding, blue-blooded son of the soil, and not just any body claiming to have royal blood.
                To buttress the point further, NjohLitumbe explained that in those days it was very common to find Bakweri men having several wives. And when this was the case it was possible for some of the wives to make children with the servants (nchindas) of the palace. This was because the man in question could not always meet with and satisfy all his wives all the time.
                Because there was no guarantee that all the children born to the man are his biological children, the decision for who should be the successor when the man dies had to be taken by his siblings, not outsiders. This is because it is believed that only the late man’s brothers can easily know, from phenotypical evidence may be, who among his children carries the family blood,  

Free flow of goods:

Cameroon-EU Trade Partnership Accord goes operational
The free exchange of goods between Cameroon and countries of the European Union is now a reality this after the Economic Partnership Accord with the EU went operational on 4 August 2016. But while government authorities say it is a blessing to the country, critics contend that Cameroon economy stands to lose and badly so.
By Essan-EkoninyamEku in Douala
The MINEPAT, Louis Paul Motaze,
signed the EPA for Cameroon
Thursday, 4 August 2016 has gone down the annals of history as the day when the Cameroon – European Union (EU) Partnership Accord goes into force. It was expected some 14 years ago when negotiations for the accord began, that other countries of the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, would all qualify for the accord at the same time. But that was not to be. As it stands, Cameroon is the only country in the sub-region that has done so.
                By Cameroon qualifying for the accord, it means that customs duties on some products coming from EU countries will be dropped, for a transitory period up till 2023. This has to do with three groups of products. The first comprises consumer goods, raw materials as well as some equipment. They include industrial and high technology machines coming from Europe such as computers, sewing machines, engine saws, cranes, medication, medical equipment, chemical products, seeds, textbooks, etc. The liberalization of goods of this group will be done within four years beginning from the first year of the liberalization.
                The second group of products consists essentially of heavy equipment such as tractors, goods transportation vehicles, industrial and electrical machines, raw iron, steel and metallic products, etc. These ones will be liberalized after nine years.
                For its part, the third group of products comprises private vehicles and machines as well as food products that are neither manufactured nor transformed in Cameroon. Such goods will be liberalized after 15 years.
                However, these tax exonerations will exclude some products that will enable Cameroon to protect its agricultural and industrial market which the country considers sensitive. Thus in the food sector, Cameroon will continue to transform some products locally such as food pastes, chocolate, mineral water, soft and alcoholic drinks, tobacco, and meat. In the textile sector, there is wool and some other types of clothing. In the wood sector, products such as wooden or plastic furniture are exempt from these exonerations.