Briefs

Compiled by TichaBizel-Bi Mafor, intern

New Governor for BEAC

                Former Chadian Minister of Finance has been appointed the new Governor of the Bank of central African states, BEAC. Abba TolliMahanat, nephew of Chadian strongman Idriss Derby Itno, was designated by the Heads of State of the CEMAC region during their 27th Extra-Ordinary Summit on 30 July 2016, in Malabor, Equatorial Guinea.

                Abba TolliMahanat replaces the Equato-Guinean, Lucas AbagaNchama who has come to the end of his mandate as governor.

                Cameroonian born DieudonneMevouEkou, also the nephew of the Cameroonian President, Paul Biya, was appointed the Vice-Governor.

The two officials will take office in January 2017.

Cameroon wins Award for Online Business Registration

                The government of Cameroon has won a prize for its breakthrough in online business registration. With its ‘my business.cm, Cameroon scored 7 on 10 beating 18 other countries to emerge first in the e-registration category. A certificate of “Highest Appreciation” was awarded to the Minister of Small and Medium Size Enterprises, Laurent Serge EtoundiNgoa, during the Global Economic Forum organized by the United Nations Organisation on 18 July 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.

                The ranking for the Award is jointly done by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD and the Global Entrepreneurship Network of the US State Department.

                Minister EtoundiNgoa presented the award to Prime Minister Philemon Yang at the Star Building on 26 July 2016. The minister hailed the PM for instructing reforms in business registration in a bid to improve the business environment.

North West Councils:

NW councils prioritize participatory dev’t

After signing co-financing partnership with the 34 councils in the North West region, the National Community Driven Development Programme, known by its French acronym as PNDP officially launched Phase III of its projects in the NW region on July 26, 2016.

                In a ceremony at the Bamenda Congress Hall presided at by the Governor of the North West Region, Adolf Lelel’Afrique, the National Coordinator of PNDP, Marie Madeline Nga and the  North West PNDP Coordinator Bruno Daniel Nkanjo drilled Mayors of the 34 councils who are the prime beneficiaries on the key components of Phase III of PNDP projects.

                A release from PNDP says Phase III of the project aims amongst other things at strengthening the capacity of councils in the management of public funds and in the participatory development process to guarantee the provision of quality socio economic infrastructure.  

                Speaking during the ceremony, the National Coordinator of PNDP, Marie Madeline Nga said thanks to the successful implementation of Phase I and II of their projects, “mayors are becoming increasingly aware and knowledgeable of the development of their communities and the management of bigger resources.

AIDS-Free Summer Holiday:

FECACRICKET ends two-week training camp

-Begins 2016 Joint Cricket Domestic League and Cup of Cameroon Tourney

By Rachel Ntube in Yaounde

Cricket Camp

The Cameroon Cricket Federation, Fecacricket, on Thursday, 4 August 2016 ended a two-week Summer Holiday Training Camp in Yaounde with the distribution of jerseys and the award of certificates and prizes to participants.

                The closing ceremony at the Mervick Bilingual High School play ground here also witnessed a series of mini cricket matches organized among the participants in the training camp. The participants were young students and pupils selected from secondary and primary schools in and around Yaounde.

                During the ten days the young cricketers underwent drilling to build their skills in different aspects of the cricket game such as batting, bowling, fielding, wicket-keeping, scoring and umpiring.

                “Apart from keeping the pupils and students busy during this Summer Holiday, the two-week camp also falls in line with our policy for continuous detection, training and development of young cricket talents in the country,” said Solefack James, a Cricket Developer working with the Cameroon Cricket Federation, who noted that the talents so detected and trained will later join the existing cricket clubs in the country with the hope of becoming professional cricketers in the future, why not!

                Participants at the training said they had had a fulfilling time and that the training was worth their while.

Female CAN 2016:

Mama Fouda confirms readiness of hospitals

By Rachel Ntube in Yaounde

Andre Mama Fouda

As the country advances with preparations for the hosting of the forth coming Female African Nations Cup, various sectors involved in the process have been hastening their steps to catch up with the September deadlines fixed for the final handover of projects. The health sector has not been left out.

                To ensure full medical coverage of the event, the technical and material capacities of public hospitals have been reinforced to enable to meet expected standards. Emergency units with qualified staff especially in host towns like Limbe and Yaoundé have been mobilized to this effect.

                Assessing the work done so far the minister of public health, Andre Mama Fouda said the health sector is fully prepared to host the event. He was speaking in Yaoundé last week alongside the minister of sports and physical education while receiving two new fully equipped medical ambulances acquired to ensure mobile medical coverage on e play grounds and the transportation of emergency cases to hospitals.

Rio 2016:

Obi Mikel to captain Olympic Green Eagles

Nigeria's Olympic football team will arrive just hours before their opening Rio 2016 match after being delayed because their plane was too small.

They had already been held up in Atlanta, USA, because of a problem with the payment for their flight.

                "The players were uncomfortable with the size of the plane," team media officer TimiEbikagboro told BBC Sport.

                He said they would leave on a bigger plane and arrive in time for kick-off against Japan (01:00 GMT Friday).

                "The [Nigerian] government stepped in," he added.

                "The players have been assured of adequate medical care on the plane. It's been challenging but most importantly we will be ready for the first game."

                Their flight is set to depart at 1200GMT for the seven-hour flight to Manaus, where their Group B opener kicks off just 13 hours later.

                The squad had originally been stranded in Atlanta because of a problem that seemed to be caused by money having to go through different bank accounts and currency conversions.

At 21, David Beckham was a star player (& still looked like a goofy teen)

Born in London in 1975, David Robert Joseph Beckham decided at a young age that all he really wanted to do when he grew up was play soccer.

                With a pair of diehard Manchester United fans for parents, the young Beckham was able to play to his heart’s content, earning the title of Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990 and signing on to Manchester United as a trainee the following year.

EURO 2016:

Mourinho blasts Ronaldo’s “overload of emotion” before final whistle

Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions towards the end of the Euro 2016 final have been brought back to light, and not everyone appreciated what the Portuguese superstar did.

                Taken out after a knee injury earlier in the match, Ronaldo couldn’t help himself as the clock wound down, gesturing wildly like a coach alongside manager Fernando Santos. Some appreciated the show of leadership, but others weren’t impressed.

                Former Portuguese international Antonio Simoes told Portuguese media that Ronaldo’s ego shone through his actions, and Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho agreed.