Publisher/Editor: OJONG Steven AYUKOGEM. Tel: (+237) 77 07 27 79. E-mail: themedianpaper@yahoo.com
Sunday, 30 July 2017
Embezzlement at MINFI:
OusmaneMey nails four corrupt tax collectors
-The fraudsters are accused of jointly pocketing over FCFA 1
billion of revenue recovered from taxpayers
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
The minister of finance has uncovered a crime syndicate in
his ministry comprising of a well-seated network of thieving tax collectors,
who siphon recovered tax revenues into their private pockets instead of the
state treasury.
AlamineOusmanMey
on 26 July signed decisions sanctioning four members of the crime network that
are found essentially in strategic posts in the directorates of taxes and
treasury. The four croocks are alleged to have stolen state money to the tune
of about FCFA 1.3 billion.
According
to the minister’s decisions, one of the alleged fraudsters is a certain
YaoubaAmadou, a tax controller working in the Extreme North region.
Yaouba,
who was indicted for “gross misconduct and violation of professional ethics,”
has been suspended from taking part in any activities in the Finance ministry
for a period of four months.
Another
victim of Alamine’s sledge hammer is PelagieEyinga Blanche, a contract worker
in the taxation administration, who before her sanction occupied the duty post
of interin tax collector (receveur des impots) at the divisional tax centre in
Sa’a in the Centre region. Dame Pelagie was relieved of her functions as
receveur.
Kumbo water management crisis:
CPDM gov’t vindicates NsoFon, spites SDF mayor
By Gideon Wirsuiy in Kumbo
 |
| SehmMbinglo inspecting Kumbo water catchment |
In what can be interpreted as reaffirming the authority of
the Nso Palace over the SDF-run Kumbo council, the CPDM government has ruled in
favour of the palace as the de facto manager of the Kumbo water project.
Authorities
of the Supreme State Audit last week handed over the keys of the Kumbo Water
Authority, KWA, to the NsoFon, SehmMbinglo. This was at the end of an audit
they carried out on the management of the water project.
For
over a year now the management of the community water project had been the bone
of contention between the Nso palace and the Kumbo council.
But
denizens of Nso who spoke to The Median said that by handing the keys of the
Kumbo Water Authority to the Nso Palace, the government has ruled in favour of
the latter in the long-drawn altercation between the NsoFon and the Kumbo
Mayor, NjongDonatus, over who manages the water.
However,
reacting to the development, some denizens of Kumbo, supposedly loyal to the
Mayor, said the ruling of the CPDM government in favour of the Palace, could
not be otherwise giving that the CPDM party must make such overtures to the
Fon, if they expect him to help the party in its usually fruitless efforts at
wooing the populations of Nso to its camp. It is believed that for the CPDM to
gain control of Nso, the intervention of the Fon will be instrumental and
indispensable.
Yet,
whether SehmMbinglo will be seduced by this gesture of the CPDM government
cannot be known now; it will be known only later on, perhaps, in 2018 when the
electorate would be convened for the multiple elections in the country notably
council, senatorial, parliamentary, Regional and Presidential elections.
Back to school at last:
NW private higher education institutions set for lectures by
October
By Njodzefe Nestor
Private Higher Education Institutions in the North West
region have resolved to resume lectures in October 2017 for the 2017/ 2018
academic year, breaking the spiral of silence that has surrounded school
resumptions by these institutions lately.
This is
one of the resolutions made by the Association of North West Private Higher
Education Institutions, ANOWEPHEI that met in Bamenda on July 24, 2017 to
“evaluate the impact of the current socio-political impasse in the North West
and South West regions on Private Higher Education Institutions in the region”.
The
association in a declaration signed by Dr Nick Ngwanyam of St. Louis University
Institute Of Health And Biomedical Sciences (UNIHEBS) who signed on behalf of
other proprietors equally called on Administrators of Private Higher Education
Institutions in the region to commence preparations for school resumption “as
soon as possible’’.
Clamour for unpaid salaries:
Bakassi teachers take delegate hostage
Some disgruntled teachers of schools in the Bakassi
peninsula on Wednesday 26 July 2017, stormed the office of the regional
delegate of secondary education to demand the payment of arrears of their
salaries. The irate workers took the regional delegate, ApahHor Augustine and
his collaborators hostage in their office, promising to free them only upon the
payment of their accrued salaries.
According
to reports, the policemen guarding the delegation premises where overwhelmed by
the clamouring teachers, warranting the delegate to call for reinforcement from
the security hierarchy.
The
protesting teachers painted a bleak picture of their lot, saying they are made
to work under har4sh conditions in Bakassi that lacks neither basic food commodities
nor good housing and security.
Bafut Mayor bemoans poor execution of PIB projects
By Kiven Brenda
The midterm execution rate of projects from January 1st to
June30th 2017 of the Bafut rural council in Bamenda, North West region stands
at 22.7% realization, down from 29.7% for same period last year.
Out of
FCFA 598,269,079 as revised revenue and expenditure, just FCFA 135,126,329 has
been collected between this period.
This
was revealed during the midterm evaluation Council session of the council
recently.
This
picture is recurrent in most councils in the North west region. Most council
representatives are blaming this poor output on the ongoing crisis suffered in
both Anglophone regions of the country as some business persons have
reluctantly paid their taxes with some denying to pay them at all.
The
council’s local revenue stands at 47,252,114 up from 29,645,380 for 2016 since
much effort and strict measures were carried out on sand fee collection as
explained by Mayor Langsi Abel Ngwasoh in his welcome address.
Bishops reject Biya’s Bilingualism Commission
 |
| Southern Cameroonians protesting against marginalization and discrimination |
Bishops from Cameroon’s English-speaking regions have said a
new government commission to look at the rights of the country’s
English-speaking minority is not adequate to resolve what has come to be known
as “the Anglophone problem.”
The National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism
and Multi-culturalism was set up earlier in the year as part of government
measures to resolve the long-standing problem of perceived marginalization of
the minority Anglophones (who constitute 20% of the population) by the
francophone-dominated administration.
But the
bishops are saying the commission is simply fruitless.
“A
Commission on bilingualism and multi-culturalism cannot resolve the Anglophone
Problem,” said the Bishop of Kumbo and Vice President of the National Episcopal
Conference, Bishop George Nkuo.
“It should have been a commission on
Bilingualism and Bi-Culturalism,” he said, noting that such a commission would
help protect and preserve Cameroon’s bi-cultural heritage.
Cameroon’s
bilingual and bi-cultural status derived from its colonial heritage. Initially administered
as a German Protectorate in 1884, Cameroon would later be shared with France
and Britain as League of Nations Mandates after Germany was defeated in the
First World War.
The end
of the Second World War and the establishment of the United Nations saw the two
parts of Cameroon transition from mandated territories to UN Trust Territories.
In
1960, the northern part of Cameroon administered by France gained its
independence. The southern part administered by Britain as part of Nigeria was
in 1961 subject to a plebiscite in which they were offered independence by
reuniting with their francophone Cameroonian “brothers” or by remaining part of
Nigeria.
The
results showed an overwhelming desire by English-speaking Cameroonians to
reunite with the French-speaking part of Cameroon.
The “marriage” was guaranteed by a Federal Constitution that
was ostensibly meant to preserve and protect the minority Anglophones and their
colonial heritage. But in 1972 then-President AhmadouAhidjo organized a
referendum that dissolved the federation in favor of a united republic, thereby
removing the protections Anglophones enjoyed.
“That marked the start of the ‘Anglophone Problem’,” said
Professor VerkijikaFanso of the University of Yaoundé.
He said
the absence of protective guarantees meant that “the values that
English-speaking Cameroonians brought into the union were eroded.”
Fanso
said the minority Anglophones have seen their educational and legal systems
systematically chipped away by the Francophone majority.
This
has recently led to popular uprisings in the two English-speaking regions. The
uprisings were initially sparked by disgruntled lawyers and teachers protesting
the use of French in courts using the Anglo-Saxon common law tradition
(practiced in the English parts of the country) and in Anglophone schools, and
it soon boiled over to the general public, with many Anglophones calling for
outright secession.
Bishops
of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda (their jurisdiction is mostly in the
English-speaking parts of Cameroon) have said the problem is a result of the
government’s inflexibility.
Two days of mourning:
Nation pays tribute to victims of military vessel capsize
The entire nation observed two days of mourning on Friday
and Saturday, as the Minister of Defense paid also tribute to the 34 soldiers
and civilians that sank with the military carrier vessel off the coast of Limbe.
By Mercy Neba in Douala
 |
President Biya decreed two days of national mourning in honour of the departed soldiers
|
Friday and Saturday were observed as days of mourning for
the 34 soldiers and civilians who perished in the military boat, The Mundemba,
which capsized and sank off the Limbe Coast, last 16 July 2017. The two days of
mourning were decreed by the head of state, President Paul Biya.
Thus
the national flag flew at half-mast throughout the national territory
throughout Friday and Saturday, while some people wore black dresses and
avoided any form public feasting for throughout the two days.
Meanwhile,
the defense forces also dedicated Thursday and Friday as days to pay tribute to
their departed colleagues. A wake keep was organized at the military base in
Bonanjo, Douala, Thursday, while the minister of defense presided over a tribute
ceremony at the same venue Friday.
Joseph
BetiAssomo decorated posthumously both the 11 soldiers that had been recovered
from the sea waters, and the three others who survived the accident.
The
decorations followed a funeral procession that gave needed solemnity to the
event.
BetiAssomo
presided over the solemn event as inconsolable parents, children, wives, loved
ones and friends spent time wailing and sobbing in visible expression of their
desolation.
Military Tribunal:
Case against Anglophone leaders adjourned to August 31
-Prosecution witnesses unable to identify suspected
terrorists
 |
| Bar. AgborBalla keeps beard in protest against solitary confinement |
Hearing on the matter pitting Anglophone leaders, Barrister
Felix AbgorBalla, Dr. FontemNeba, ManchoBibixy and twenty five (25) others
against the state of Cameroon, will resume on 31 August 2017. The Judge of the
Yaounde Military Tribunal adjourned hearing to this date, when she suspended
court proceedings on Thursday 27 July.
The
last hearing of the matter Thursday, turned stormy and quite interesting when
witnesses for the prosecution could not identify even one of the accused
persons, except for the father of what is now known as the coffin revolution,
ManchoBibixy.
It was
the first time the witnesses were appearing in court since the case opened in
March 2017.
The
seven witnesses, all uniform officers, were presented to the court by the
commissioner of government at the military tribunal.
But
when granted the opportunity to say what they new about the events in Bamenda,
neither of the two witnesses could point at any of the 27 accused as persons
who took part in the mob action that disrupted the CPDM rally of 8 December
2016 at the Bamenda commercial avenue.
But
this was not before Lead counsel for the defense, Barrister Ben Muna had
wondered aloud why the state is sending its witnesses only now, and after the
case has been going on for almost seven
months now.
The
presiding judge, Colonel AbegaMbezoaEkoEko, upheld a motion by the councils for
the state urging Hon. JospehMbahNdam, SDF Member of Parliament to withdraw from
the defense panel of the defendants. The judge agued that MbahNdam’s status as
MP of the nation does not permit him to hold brief against the same nation.
A
visibly dissatisfied but unruffled MbahNdam accepted to withdraw, but not
before he had staged a futile protest against the motion.
“I have
been acting as one of the defense counsels in this case since it started seven
months ago and neither the prosecution nor the presiding judge has ever opposed
to my presence. It is intriguing that i am asked to leave only today. However,
I will withdraw,” MbahNdam said.
New ELECAM members sworn-in
 |
| Three new members have joined the Electoral board of Elections Cameroon |
The ceremony was witnessed by some so-called top CPDM
officials including cabinet members led by Prime Minister Philemon Yang, members
of the diplomatic corps, the Speaker of the National assembly and the President
of the National Commission for Bilingualism and Multiculturalism.
During
the event the Attorney General of the Supreme Court, Luc Ndjodo outlined the
mission of Elections Cameroon before reminding the new members of the need for
them to uphold moral integrity, a patriotic spirit and the sense of
impartiality in the discharge of their duties.
Interview
Every Cameroonian minister is a potential prisoner
- MarafaHamidouYaya
 |
| Marafa Hamidou Yaya |
MarafaHamidouYaya does not know how to stay quiet. If he is
not writing letters, he is either writing books of granting interviews. In a
recent interview French language newspaper, Germinal, the Kondengui prison
inmate delves into many hot topics including the state of Cameroon’s prisons,
his deteriorating health situation, Cameroon’s porous justice system, the
country’s poor governance record, Boko Haram’s terrorist attacks, the
Anglophone problem, amongst others. The interview makes for enriching reading.
Read on…
Good
morning, Mr. Minster. If we may ask, would you like to be referred to as Mr.
Minister or Mr. Marafa or Mr. Prisoner?
Irony
for irony, I would respond to you: I am Marafa by the grace of God; while I
became minister and prisoner by the will of one man. But Mr. Minister is
suitable for me, for I assume, with pride, the honour of having been one at the
service of my nation. Moreover, this is even more suitable because in Cameroon
the title of minister is synonymous with potential prisoner.
What is
your state of mind, your present morale after slightly above five years of
incarceration? And your state of health which has deteriorated and sometimes
caused you to consult doctors? Is there a relationship between your different
visits to hospital and your detention condition?
It is a
tough and long test for my family, my friends who support me and myself. But I
have a steel mentality and a calm conscience. As for my morale, it is sometimes
overwhelmed by a deep feeling of injustice and inner anger given that I’m in
prison without having committed a crime or an offence, and also given that I’m
maintained here despite the judgment of the United Nations, of April 2016,
demanding my release. But, very quickly, my combativeness takes precedence. My
state of mind is positive, I believe in my destiny at the service of Cameroon.
Of course, if my health so permits.
Generally
speaking, what is your appreciation of the detention conditions in Cameroon’s
prisons?
According
to the International Observatory of Prisons (IOP), Cameroon, with a detention
density rate of 296%, occupies the second position in the world just after
Barbados (302%). This rate which brings back the number of detainees to the
functional capacity of penitentiary establishments in our country masks the big
disparities according to prisons. In Kondengui and New Bell, this figure is
largely above. They are, for a prisoner, inhuman detention conditions for which
no one is prepared. Beyond moral considerations, overpopulation in prison is
also a public health problem. In fact, prisons are incubators of illnesses such
as AIDS, tuberculosis and hepatitis C. Suffice it to consider the number of
detainees infected by these viruses who leave the prison daily on permission or
after serving their various terms – a
UNAIDS report in 2007 put the prevalence rate of AIDS in Cameroon’s
prisons at 12%! – to understand that overpopulation in prison is a factor of
propagation of this illness in the country.
In
Kondengui, I have seen young people detained for months in the midst of
hardened criminals for floating bounced cheques. Upon release, some of them
become dangerous criminals and carriers of serious transmissible diseases, thus
posing as a great danger to the society. Prison is a matter for everyone.
Cameroon has to review its criminal and penitentiary policy! This goes from
criminal policy (prison must be the ultimate punishment) to the creation of
arrest houses (for accused persons awaiting judgment) and to the construction
of new detention centres.
Within
the framework of the search for solutions to improve on detention conditions, I
had proposed, in 2004, that the responsibility of penitentiary administration
be withdrawn from the ministry which I was heading and given to the Ministry of
Justice. In fact, it seemed logical to me that those who were in charge of
announcing punishments should equally be those supervising their execution. But
I realise that my proposal was in vain.
Perhaps
there should be an innovation and test of assigning the management of prisons
to private service providers.
Had you
ever imagined, before your arrest, taking into account the services you rendered
to the regime that you served loyally for many years, that you could one day
find yourself behind bars, due to the manoeuvres of the persons you served? Put
differently, were you surprised by your arrest?
I had
said it before that the Operation Sparrow Hawk was diverted from its initial
purpose which was to fight against corruption by means of an independent law,
and was transformed into an instrument of political intimidation and
scores-settling. Every minister in Cameroon, despite their reputation and
honesty, knows that they can be thrown into jail at anytime, for political
reasons disguised more or less in a legal affair. And no matter whether they
are innocent, a part of public opinion will see it as a just sanction just
because they participated in government. In my case, the famous
“you-were-a-pillar-of-the-regime” is enough to justify an expiatory sanction.
If you
make abstraction of all what has been said and written, will you understand why
you are here?
I was imprisoned
and I am being maintained in prison strictly and exclusively for political
reasons. The UNO demanded the release of Pierre DésiréEngo, he is free today.
The UNO demanded the release of Michel Thierry Atangana and Mrs. LydienneEyoum,
they are free today. Despite the demand of the UNO for my release, despite all
international calls in my favour, I remain a prisoner. Proof, if need be, that
my case is of another category.
After
the different verdicts pronounced in your disfavour, what is your view of
justice in Cameroon?
My case
was judged by three courts. First of all, the Mfoundi High Court which
sentenced me to 25 years in prison for “intellectual complicity of embezzlement
of public funds”, a crime which does not exist in Cameroon law. Then, by the
Supreme Court which annulled the judgment of the High Court and reduced my
sentence to 20 years. The decision of the Supreme Court clearly establishes
that its specialized section, before which I appeared on 17 and 18 May 2016,
had sentenced me two weeks before judging me! Finally, I was judged by the
United Nations Labour Group for Arbitrary Detention at the end of a
contradictory procedure of many months, and after the examination of thousands
of documents furnished by both state lawyers as well as mine, it made a
decision demanding my immediate release, and even a compensation for my
prejudice.
My view
of justice in Cameroon is not different from that of my compatriots or that of
the international community. In the 2016 Mo Ibrahim index…our justice system is
classified on the criterion of its independence in the 42nd position amongst 54
African countries. This saddens me, for most of our judges are of high quality
but they do not have the means to resist pressure from the Executive. But I do
not despair that some of them decide to raise their head, following the
Malagasy example.
Should
we despair for our justice system? How do we make it truly independent from the
Executive?
Has it
ever occurred to you to request presidential pardon? Why?
No.
Presidential pardon is not a right. It is granted, it is not requested for.
Recently,
you told a colleague that you are a prisoner of the system and at the same time
Mr. Biya’s prisoner. This means that it is not only because in 2011 you advised
Mr. Biya to not be candidate in the presidential election that you are paying
dearly. Do you know other persons in the regime who want your head? Could we
have an idea of these persons and their motivations?
What I
said [to your colleague] was meant to place me above these persons, be they
those who want to maintain themselves in power or those who want to accede to
it. I was calling to question the global system for which all of us are
responsible. That said, my imprisonment is clearly rooted in a context of a war
of succession which is worsened by rivalries between partisans of a status quo
who are preserving their perks, and those who, more ambitious but less
talented, have been reduced to vile expedients whose purpose is to make the
justice system an instrument to discard every serious potential competitor.
For all
the years that you spent beside the President of the Republic, in your capacity
as his close collaborator, did you fear his conception of supreme political
power?
His
manner of exercising power points to two things: on the one hand, it points to
his character – thoughtful, prudent, conservative, naturally suspicious (the
events of 1984 accentuated this trait), pessimistic as to human nature, secret,
mystical up to the point of occultism, engaging, jovial; and on the other hand
it points to institutional practice which he inherited from his predecessor and
which enabled him to subscribe to a tradition made of tribal and religious affiliations,
violent repression of anti-government manifestations, etc.
Why, in
your opinion, can his governance not permit Cameroon to take off in such a way
that foreign observers can believe that the emergence promised for 2035 is not
just a political slogan?
In
fact, the concept of Emergence, reechoed by many African countries, covers a
corpus of (10) neoliberal rules referred to as the Washington Consensus, and
which States must respect in their development plan and budget if they want to
obtain finances from the IMF and the World Bank. Emergence is less a project
than a reformulated conditionality. These rules envisage notably: the
privatization of government enterprises, the elimination of barriers to the
entrances and exits of markets, the liberalization of exchanges, etc.
So, is the project
of Cameroon’s emergence which, less ambiguously, is the Strategy for Growth and
Employment, on a good footing? “A country that is emergent, democratic and
united in diversity” is the formula that summarized the vision of the
Development of Cameroon by 2035, presented by Prime Minister Philemon Yang.
True it is that clear progress has been made in economic growth since the
beginning of the 2000s, but it can also be realized that the objectives set by
the government for the intermediary period 2010 – 2020 are already
unattainable. Be it infrastructural development (energy, buildings, public
works, transport, information and communication technology, urban and housing
development, water hygiene), modernization of the productive apparatus, or
human development (health, education, professional training). On all these
points, we are late in relation to our road map or other countries like ours
such as Côte d’Ivoire.
A
democratic country? Let’s not play with words. The recent case of Gambia
teaches us that a democratic country is not a country in which a President is
elected by a majority but one in which the citizens can get rid of him/her
without the risk of going to jail or losing their lives. Democracy implies alternation.
Peaceful alternation.
Finally,
a country united in diversity? The Anglophone crisis is very symptomatic of
progress to be made in this area.
How
will the Society of Confidence that you promise Cameroonians bring solutions to
the multitude of problems that affect them?
Only a
Cameroon that has regained confidence in itself will be able, head high, to
take this triple challenge:
1) the
challenge of economic development at the service of the real interests of the
Cameroonian people. Presently, we don’t have the least capacity to negotiate
with international institutions. We are simply playing games, we claim to
believe that their recommendations will be effective, and they claim to believe
that we are a democracy.
2) the
challenge of a true democracy. The Society of Confidence will be based on the
constitutional principle of alternation at the summit of the state, at the end
of one or two mandates – a thing that will keep our country out of voluntary
slavery.
3) the
challenge of national unity. The Society of Confidence will enable the putting
in place of a sincere decentralization policy which is the indispensable tool
of national cohesion.
Where
are you with this Society Project?
The
project is advancing. In one way or the other, I hope that the main proposals
of the Society Project will be debated during the next presidential election.
In your
recent work, “Le choix de l’action” (The Choice of Action), you write that
Cameroonians “want to believe in their future, and all that this declining
regime offers them is the tragicomic spectacle of its inaction”. Who bears the
responsibility of this inaction which is denounced at length?
Enough
of subterfuge. This inaction is the consequence of lack of goodwill of the Executive.
Why has a country which is able, in the heart of the economic crisis, to raise
500 billion FCFA to build football stadia, not made available for decades the
necessary means, which are even more modest than those raised for the next
AFCON, to construct a second bridge on the Wouri, a road and railway leading to
the North, a highway linking Douala and Yaounde, or a road linking Douala and
Lagos, whereas we can travel from Abidjan to Lagos in one day. Lack of
political will is the only explanation. Our country has become one that
suffers, and only reacts under pressure or constraint.
Curtailing old age pension:
CRTV GM announces salary cuts
CRTV General Manager broke the news to workers last Friday
26 July 2017 in a Press Release which indicates that the state-owned
broadcaster shall witness drastic salary reduction in the coming months.
The
release signed by Charles Ndongo has had diversified interpretations and is
making headlines around the country as well as on social media.
Patriotism and national dev’t:
NCSAPD launches its activities for 2017
Authorities of the National Civic Service Agency for
Participation in Development NCSAPD, have announced that some 1620 conscripts
and pioneer volunteers would be trained this year. They made the announcement
at a press conference in Yaounde last week
By Pamela NtubeMbong-Ewane
 |
| The Director General of the National Civic Service Agency, MrTaossi, talking to journalists, as the ADG, Mr Esua John listens from behind |
Some 1620 youths comprising 1000 conscripts and 620 pioneer
volunteers will be trained by the National Civic Service Agency for
Participation in Development, NCSAPD, in 2017. The announcement was made by the
Director General of the Agency, Mr. Taossi, at a press conference at the
headquarters of the Agency in Yaounde, on Friday. The press conference marked
the start of activities of the NCSAPD for 2017.
Speaking
to journalists at the press conference, the DG of NCSAPD said this year’s
training will be unique and timely because it is coming in the wake among
others of the socio-economic upheavals in the North West and South West
regions, the nefarious activities of Boko Haram in the Far North and rebel
incursions in East Cameroon.
“Our
training seeks to imbibe in the youths the spirit of patriotism, citizen
consciousness, resilience, moral rearmament and self-reliant development. Our
aim is to prepare these youths to become peer educators in the schools and
communities from where they were selected,” said Taossi, adding that the
professional and capacity building training that will be given to the pioneer
volunteers will also help them to become self-reliant developers in their
respective societies.
It
should be noted that during the 45 days of the training, the 1000 conscripts
will be edified on such courses as civic education, sports and physical
education, culture and solidarity, patriotism, peace and national integration,
first aid and civic protection, ICT and environmental conservation.
Momo Youths bracing up for Biya’s “Special Youth” Plan
By Fongoh Primus in Mbengwi
Youths of Momo Division in the North West region will soon
benefit from CFAF 102 billion “Special Youth” three-year plan promised by
President Paul Biya said in his Youth Day address on 10 February 2016.
A
delegation from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Yaounde was
in Mbengwi, Momo Division on Thursday July 27, 2017 to lay the groundwork for
the implementation of the plan.
Paul
Biya said in his Youth Day address said the plan is expected to support 1.5
million young Cameroonians aged between 15 years and 35 years, in various areas
of interest such as agriculture and digital economy".
In a
meeting with the concerned stakeholders, the team revealed that the origin of
the three years special youth plan put in place by the Head of State is to
solve the problems of unemployment, underemployment, immorality, irregular
migration, banditry, alcoholism, delinquency, lack of patriotism among others.
As
disclosed by the delegation from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education
the beneficiaries are to be accompanied in the process by youth programs such
as the National Youth Organisation, National Civic Service Agency for
Participation in Development, National Volunteering Program, National Youth
Integration Fund, PIAASI, PIFMAS, YIASP, PEA-JEUNES, PAJER-U and PARI-JEDI.
Follow-up of Kidney Patients:
B’da Hemodialysis Centre Receive Hemodialysis Kits
By Kiven Brenda
 |
| Patient on dialysis session |
Kidney patients of the Bamenda Hemodialysis center at the
Bamenda Regional hospital have received some 1000 dialyses kits from the
Ministry of Public Health. These kits are composed of devices and solutions
like syringes, the dialyzer (artificial kidney) concentrate, tubes and various
liquids that are not reusable.
These
patients who recently staged a protest over failure of dialysis machines that
resulted to two deaths, were all smiles on Monday July 24, 2017 as they enjoyed
the kits handed over to solve their problems for a period of two months as
indicated by the Director of the hospital, Kinge Thompson.
He said
this was an emergency supply and that “a huge consignment is coming that would
be able to take us through the year”.
Lobe Cooperative bank robbery:
Four suspects arrested
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
The Divisional Officer, DO of Ekondo-Titi, Edwin
NkenyaNgwana and the Lobe Brigade Commander Adjoudant Chef Ediage have in a
joint attempt arrested four out of the six suspected armed bandits that robbed
Lobe Cooperative Credit Union of FCFA 36.4 Million two a week ago. The four
arrested suspects include; Eyong Simon Kenda, the gang driver, Sarah, the Lobe
Credit Union Accountant considered as the chief organizer of the theft, the
night watchman and NguteNkwencha Rudolf, Pupils Inspector of police from the
Mutengene Police College.
According
to the Divisional Officer Edwin NkenyaNgwana when the bandits arrived the town
they started by attacking the house of the accountant, Sarah and later moved to
the Lobe credit Union Office where the doors. He revealed the doors of the
Credit union were not properly locked alongside the safe in which the money was
kept. He noted even the safe of the credit union was locked only on with a single
lock instead of two as it has always been the case.
Sources
close to the credit union revealed that they saw people around the credit union
with police uniform and as such the considered them to be police men in their
normal night patrols. We gathered that the police uniform that was used by the
bandits we gathered was provided by the pupil’s police inspector, NguteNkwencha
Rudolf, in order to fasten the operation.
The DO
revealed after the arrest of one of the suspects, Eyong Simon at his residence at
Bogongo I, he disclosed that the gang had been in his house for three days
mapping out strategies together with Sarah the Union accountant. He exposed the
said Sarah is a girlfriend to their gang leader, Tegha Gideon a native of
Bogongo.
Reporting elections:
Media practitioners schooled on peace journalism
By Doh Bertrand Nua and Boris Esono
Journalists in Kumba in Meme Division have been urged to
bear in mind the importance of peace preservation when covering elections. The
call was made on Wednesday, 26 July, by Prof. Steven Youngblood, Director of
the Center for Global Peace Journalism, who doubles as editor of The Peace
Journalism Magazine.
He was
speaking at a one day seminar to train journalists in Kumba on peace and
electoral journalism. Youngblood underscored the importance of fact-oriented,
peace-oriented, people-oriented and solution-oriented journalism as a means of
good elections coverage.
Prof.
Youngblood also edified media men on their choice of language when reporting
elections and how they can keep away their news media and they themselves from
efforts by political elite to compromise their editorial lines for purposes of
scores-settling.
He
revealed that from the exchanges he had with journalists on the field, Cameroon
seems to be a difficult media environment for effective journalism practice.
But he at once expressed the hope and optimism that after such exchanges
journalists here can be able to start adhering to the global principles that
govern peace journalism practice.
Man. United no match to Barca
- Jose Mourinho
Pre-season matches against star-studded Real Madrid and
Barcelona were good preparation for the rigors of the Premier League even as
they demonstrated the Spanish giants' superior level, Manchester United coach
Jose Mourinho said Wednesday.
With a
goal from Brazilian striker Neymar, Barcelona defeated Manchester United 1-0 on
Wednesday, handing the Red Devils the first defeat of their US Tour.
It came
on the heels of a penalty shootout victory over Real Madrid after the teams
drew 1-1 in their International Champions Cup friendly match.
In
terms of sheer talent, Mourinho acknowledged, Real Madrid and Barcelona have
the edge.
"I
think at this time, the best players are in these two clubs," he said.
"We have to accept that as a reality. For us to play against both in a
pre-season without any kind of pressure was very good for us.
"Both
played with their best team -- (it's) very, very good for us to measure against
them," he said, but added: "There is only one (Lionel) Messi. There
is only one Neymar.
New look AFCON 2019:
Blessing or curse to
Cameroon?
 |
| Lions |
Cameroon will be hosting the first edition of the tournament
that has been moved from January-February to June-July and has been expanded to
24 teams, according to new CAF decisions.
Before
the CAF symposium in Morocco, Cameroon is said to already been behind schedule
and is facing the prospect of having to pull out. Cameroon’s unpreparedness to
host the competition in 2019 was a hot topic of discussion.
This
was, however, clarified when the Minister of Sports, Ismael BidoungMpkatt, made
it clear that the nation was ready to host the continent’s prestigious jamboree
come 2019.
“I
would like to reassure national and international opinion that the Government
is fully committed to fulfilling CAF’s
specifications and, to date, no CAF mission has reported any delay in preparations,”
said the Cameroon Sports Minister, BidoungMpkatt.
With
the teams in the competition increased to 24 and Cameroon Government behind
schedule in the level of preparedness, this will lead to the Government
borrowing more money from foreign bodies in order to meet up with the standard
of hosting the event.
Cameroon
has already borrowed so much money from financial bodies abroad for these
projects. This will push the already indebted country into more debts as they
have an image to protect. According to the Government in its initial bid, the
competition was to take place in the cities of Garoua, Bafoussam, Douala and
Yaoundé.
Limbe
now benefits from the changes by being one of the cities to host the tournament
come June 2019.
With,
at least, six stadiums needed instead of four for the 2019 tournament,
competition will take place at the Omnisport Stadium in Bafoussam,
LimbeOmnisport Stadium, Roumde-Adjia Stadium in Garoua, AhmadouAhidjo in
Yaounde (ready) and the Japoma and Olembe Stadia still under construction.
However,
one of the worries for Cameroon preparedness is the construction of the two new
stadia; Olembe and Japoma in Yaounde and Douala, respectively.
The
construction of these two stadia, a dual motorway linking the economic capital
and the political capital, are all ongoing at a snail pace.
Nevertheless, the Italian Company, Piccini, that won the
contract for the construction of the 60,000-seat capacity stadium in Olembe has
reassured authorities that the football infrastructure will be ready by October
2018
Sunday, 23 July 2017
Macron’s Election, the Anglophone Problem and the Generational Question (2)
If Biya’s generation has failed, on which
generation should Cameroonians depend for their political destiny?
By EkinnehAgbaw-Ebai*
 |
On Feb 23, 1969, Paul Biya aged 36; then
Director of Cabinet at the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Culture
presided at the opening ceremony of College STOLL, Akono-Yaounde, in the
presence of Charles Odilon Roger Rousseau, then Canadian Ambassador to
Cameroon, and Gabon and Archbishop Luigi
Poggi, Papal Nuncio to Central Africa (Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo and Gabon).Biya’s
today, a 50-year old man
is still considered a youth!
|
The 39-year-old President Emmanuel Macron
has defied all the rules governing politics and is poised to remake the face
and shape of French politics. There is absolutely no reason a Macron cannot
ascend in Cameroon. The country is blessed with a large number of young people
waiting for just the opportunity to excel. But for a Cameroonian Macron to
emerge, the gerontocrats in charge must, of course, allow it. And the youth
must muster the confidence, the competence, and the courage required to take
the baton. But, too many of the old guard are deeply sunk in delinquency and
political cannibalism -destroy the youths from rising to crowd the top - to
either show good example, or create an environment conducive for youth
leadership development.
At
this critical point when the country is structurally fragile from Anglophone
separatist agitations, giving rise to negative and frightening
prognostications, Cameroon needs a new crop of leaders who are endowed with the
gift of steady application, imbued with the ability to control events rather
than drift with the tides, and who in range of vision and depth of conception,
tower above their contemporaries. Cameroon needs young leaders of iron resolve,
indomitable courage and sharp intellect with acute and exceptional sense of
history to lead this nation out of the doldrums. Such youths abound in their
numbers but are choked by a warped and corrupt recruitment process, run by
so-called “godfathers” with dubious connections and access to the corridors of
power, who think they have an exclusive right to nominate people for
appointment to all offices in the land.
Cameroon
is blessed with a vast array of highly competent, globally acknowledged
distinguished professionals; persons of honor and integrity. There is,
therefore, no reason Cameroon cannot be governed with the best hands except for
the wrong disposition of the appointer. The consideration for appointments to
high public office may be discretional to the President but Cameroonians bear
the brunt of such poor choices any time he hires the wrong set of people. That
is why his right to hire must be exercised with circumspection and great
introspection. When he makes the wrong choices, it is the nation that suffers
for it. Biya owes Cameroonians good governance as a matter of obligation and
social contract. So, his right to appoint is curtailed by the right of
Cameroonians to be well governed. Because ultimately, the Cameroonian people
pay the salary of the President and his appointees and they are the ones who
must be satisfied with their performance.
The
current Anglophone separatist agitation is partly a rejection of a system which
rewards mediocrity with the appointment of parvenus, political jobbers,
sycophants, court-jesters and opportunists who see their appointments as an
invitation to “come and chop” instead of an opportunity to serve. Anglophones
by their upbringing cannot be enthused by the hackneyed mantra that youths of
today are the leaders of tomorrow. The more serious questions to ask are: what
quality of youth? Which future? If Biya and his generation have failed, on
which generation should Cameroonians depend for their political destiny? Is it
the generation that succeeds Biya’s failed generation? Is it a generation that
has been cut off from meaningful participation in the running of national
affairs by the greed and primordial interests of the president’s generation? Is
it this generation onto whom no values seem to have been passed by older
generations? A generation that has been abused, demoralized, instrumentalised,
onto whom has not been bequeathed any moral armament to tackle tribalism and
corruption?
In
line with the spirit of collective responsibility, the young and the old are
useful for any positive transformation and development of man and society. Age
is not a hindrance to socio-economic and political development, just as the
ideas of progress are not exclusive to any generation. It depends on the
persons in question; which is why today’s youth will ignore the older generation
to their own peril. But the old guard, who see themselves as kingmakers, should
stop trying to become kings themselves. In one phrase, their role should be
that of selfless mentoring and purposeful succession management, rather than
shrewd manipulation for self-preservation and personal aggrandizement.
Whilst
a systemic failure signposts the leadership deficiency quotient of Biya’s
generation, it is also obvious some like AbdoulayeBabale, David Abouem a
Tchoyi, Garga Haman Adji, Joseph Owona, Dorothy Njeuma, PokossyDoumbe,
CavenNnokoMbele, Jean-Jacques Ekindi, Raymond Gwanyalla, turned around the
fortunes and prospects of their respective leadership spheres. That Biya has
been unable to scout the best and the brightest hands and harness their talents
to lift his administration to a commanding height of moral regeneration and
socio-economic progress is a regrettable personal failure. After many false
starts, dashed hopes, and perennially low expectation, it’s time to reset the
national agenda. And this can only be done by a new kind of leadership. Such
leadership must be driven by a sense of urgency to correct the contradictions
in the land, to infuse hope and purpose in the citizens. It is a different
culture of leadership that will galvanize the country in a totally new
direction, and place emphasis rightly on the interest of the Cameroonian
people, not the temporary occupants of high offices. Questions remain as to how
we can get the right kind of leadership at all levels.
Case against Bishops adjourned
To the station managers,
- CRTV Bamenda
- Radio Evangelium
- CBC Radio Bamenda
- Abakwa FM Bamenda
- Full Gospel Radio Bamenda
- Radio Hot Cocoa Bamenda
- Ndefcam Radio Bamenda
- Afrique
Nouvelle Bamenda
- Radio
Evangelium Kumbo
- City Community Radio Kumba
- Bui Community Radio
- Helenkrisss Radio Kumbo
Capsize of Military boat off Limbe Coast:
Two bodies found, 34 soldiers still missing
Two bodies have been found out of 34
soldiers who went missing when a military vessel capsized off the Cameroon’s
Atlantic coast Sunday, State radio, a military coast guard has reported.
Col.
Henri Belinga, commander of the coast guard sector of the elite Rapid
Intervention Battalion, BIR, told state radio, CRTV, Friday that harsh weather
and strong waves make it impossible for the rescue team to recover bodies and
the vessel.
New twist in Bafaw/Mukonje land saga:
Bafaws claim victory as Minister withdraws
six land titles from Mukonje villagers
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
 |
| Barrister Awuta, defending the Bafaws in the HTTC land dispute |
The former President of Meme Lawyers
Association, Barrister Awutah Philip Atubah who doubles as the lead counsel for
the Bafaw Traditional Council on the land dispute pitting the Bafaws and the
Mukonjes has revealed that all the six land certificates that the Mukonje
community has been brandishing around on their ownership of the parcel of land
allocated to host the administrative block of the Higher Technical Teachers
Training College, HTTTC Kumba and the parcel of land opposite the site
extending to the railway station were irregularly and fraudulently obtained.
The
legal luminary was speaking at a stormy press conference on Thursday July 20,
2017 at the Ocean City Radio in Kumba to educate the public on the position
that has been taken by government vis a vis the land crisis following the gross
violation of the laws on the situation.
Barrister
Awutah Philip Atubah went on a media offensive explaining that the Minister’s
decision to withdraw the land titles comes in line with the irregularities and
frauds noticed in the course of obtaining the six land certificates issued the
Mukonje community within three months notwithstanding the difficult and
cumbersome nature of obtaining a land certificate.
Hear him “the law provides that any person
who can show prove of the effective occupation of land before 1974 when the
land tenure ordinance came into law has a right to use such land and may apply
for a land thereon” while adding that prove of possession of the land can only
be done by showing evidence of crops planted and structures so that an
assessment is then done to see how you have developed the land before a land
certificate is been issued” clarified Barrister Awutah.
He
lamented the fact that this was never done because to him Mukonje has never
been in effective possession of the land. Barrister averred the irregularities
tie to one of the reasons why the Minister’s letter says Mukonjefrauded by
pointing to developments of third party to be theirs thereby convincing the
Kumba III land consultative board to make an assessment decision in their
favour.
He went further to explain that “another
element of irregularity which the minister pointed was the fact that the
assessment report of the Kumba III land consultative board which recommended
the issuance of land certificate came out two months after the land
certificates were already out which means the land consultative board went and
visited the land after the land certificates had already been issued.
Installation ceremony:
New Fako SDO challenged to foster peace
& security
By Boris Esono in Buea
The new SDO for Fako has been challenged to
work in close collaboration with forces of law and order to ensure peace and
security in the division. Engama Emmanuel Ledoux was also told to see to it
that schools effectively resume on 4 September, for the 2017/2018 academic
year.
Installing
the new SDO on Tuesday 18 July in Limbe, SW Governor Bernard OkaliaBilai,
charged the new SDO to fight illegal importation of fuel along the Limbe coast,
fight against criminality and banditry as well as settle chieftaincy and land
disputes.
"We
are facing provocation and sabotage from some persons who are seeking to
disturb the back to school campaign. The SDO should organize himself to make
sure that all activities go on in a peaceful atmosphere particularly the land disputes
among families and chiefs,” the Governor said.
For
his part, the government delegate to the Limbe City council, Andrew
MotangaMonjimba, pledged the support of the population of Fako to help SDO to
succeed in his duties.
Follow-up of kidney patients:
Gov’t procures 800.000 dialysis kits
Kidney patients in the country can now
force a smile and heave a sigh of relief following the procurement by
government of over 800.000 dialysis kits for the treatment and follow-up of
patients with kidney failure. The Minister of Health, Andre Mama Fouda, Friday,
handed the kits to officials of the Yaounde Central hospital dialysis centre
and those from dialysis centres in other hospitals in the country.
Rattled by damning report:
IssaTchiroma blasts Amnesty International
 |
| IssaTchiroma |
In what can easily be seen as the fiercest
criticism of Amnesty International by Cameroon authorities, the spokesperson
for the Biya regime, IssaTchiroma, has blasted the international human rights
NGO for scheming to destabilize Cameroon and of sympathizing with terrorists.
Tchiroma was reacting to accusations by Amnesty that Cameroon is committing
unacceptable war crimes and gross human rights violations in its fight against
Boko Haram.
“For
those of you who were still doubting, it is now evident that the focus of
Amnesty International’s report on Cameroon and its security and defense forces,
is the propagation of false information and findings which on seek to
destabilize Cameroon. The objectives of Amnesty’s campaign are now very clear,”
said IssaTchiroma at a press conference in Yaounde Friday.
Tchiroma
accused Amnesty of deviating from its avowed mission which is the promotion of
human rights, to that of supporting terrorism.
“Amnesty is now playing the role of an
organization for the defence of terrorists and terrorist interests in Cameroon.
Amnesty’s only aim is to weaken the morale and effectiveness of Cameroon’s
defence and security forces that are fighting Boko Haram and are inflicting the
greatest harm on the aggressor,” Tchiroma speculated.
Ecrans Noirs Festival: Documentary on Rigobert Song will not be aired
 |
| Rigobert Song |
A documentary film “Rigobert Song: On the
Frontiers of Death” will no longer be aired at the closing ceremony of the 21st
edition of the Black Screen Festival on Saturday. The film that was produced by
LéonieBwemba has been replaced.
Cameroon
Intelligence Report understands the organizers are not settled on what item to
bring in. But what we do know is that the announcement not to broadcast the
Rigobert Song documentary was made on July the 21st, some 24 hours to the
closing ceremony of the Black Screens festival.
While
no details concerning the cancellation of this film were given by the
Organizing Committee of the Black Screens, an official who requested anonymity
suggested that there were major disagreements between the delegate general of
the Bassek festival Ba Kobhio and director LéonieBwemba.
War on Boko Haram:
Amnesty bashes Cameroon for war crimes,
horrific torture
-Says suspected supporters of Boko Haram
are subjected to severe beatings, agonising stress positions and
drownings, with some tortured to death
-Highlights widespread torture at 20 sites,
including four military bases, two intelligence services facilities, a private
residence and a school
-Calls for US and other international
partners to investigate their military personnel’s possible knowledge of
torture at one base
Hundreds of people in Cameroon accused of
supporting Boko Haram, often without evidence, are being brutally tortured by
security forces, Amnesty International has said in a new report published on 20
July 2017.
Using
dozens of testimonies, corroborated with satellite imagery, photographic and
video evidence, the report titled: ‘Cameroon’s secret torture chambers: human
rights violations and war crimes in the fight against Boko Haram,’ documents
101 cases of incommunicado detention and torture between 2013 and 2017, at over
20 different sites.
“We
have repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the atrocities and war crimes
committed by Boko Haram in Cameroon. But, nothing could justify the callous and
widespread practice of torture committed by the security forces against
ordinary Cameroonians, who are often arrested without any evidence and forced to endure unimaginable pain,” said
Alioune Tine, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central
Africa.
“These
horrific violations amount to war crimes. Given the weight of the evidence we
have uncovered, the authorities must initiate independent investigations into
these practices of incommunicado detention and torture, including potential
individual and command responsibility.”
Amnesty
International wrote to the Cameroonian authorities in April 2017 to share the
report’s findings, but no response was provided and all subsequent requests for
meetings were refused.
Amnesty
International estimates that Boko Haram has killed over 1,500 civilians in
Cameroon since 2014, and abducted many others.
“Deciding the life and death of each
detainee"
Victims
described at least 24 torture methods they were subjected to. In one common
stress position, described by detainees as ‘the goat’, their limbs were tied
together behind their back before they were beaten. In another technique,
described by detainees as ‘the swing’, victims were suspended in the air with
their limbs tied behind their back and beaten.
The
overwhelming majority of victims were tortured in two unofficial detention
sites; the headquarters of the Rapid Intervention Batallion (BIR) in Salak,
near the northern city of Maroua, and a facility in the capital, Yaoundé run by
the General Directorate of External Research (DGRE), Cameroon’s intelligence
services, situated close to the country’s Parliament.
Using
architectural modelling, descriptions from former detainees, videos, satellite
images and photos, a team of specialists at Forensic Architecture havecreated a
3D reconstruction of the site in Salak and a school in Fotokol converted into a
military base.
In
Salak, there are two main cells measuring approximately 9 by 5 metres, each
containing up to 70 people. Detainees were usually tortured in an interrogation
room they called “the DGRE Room”, which is located near the office of a senior
officer. The officer was described by victims as providing orders to
interrogators, and by one victim as being able to “decide the life and death of
each detainee".
Samou
(not his real name), who was arrested in March 2016, told Amnesty International
about his interrogation in Salak a few days after his arrest:
“They
asked me to tell them if I knew members of Boko Haram. That’s when the guard
tied my hands and feet behind my back and started to beat me with an electric
cable, while throwing water on me at the same time. They beat me half to
death.”
Mohamed
(not his real name) spent six months in incommunicado detention and was
interrogated and tortured several times in Salak. He told Amnesty
International:
"The
soldiers asked us to confess. They told us that if we did not confess, they
would bring us to Yaoundé to kill us. We replied that we preferred to be killed
rather than to confess something that we didn’t know about. They beat us like
this for four days."
Presence of French and US military
personnel at Salak
The
report also highlights the presence of US and French military personnel at the
BIR base in Salak, and calls for these governments to investigate the extent to
which their personnel stationed at Salak, or regularly visiting, may have been
aware that illegal detention and torture was taking place on site.
Amnesty
International delegates have directly observed French soldiers during one visit
there, while more than a dozen former detainees held there between 2015 and
2016 said they saw and heard white, English-speaking men at the base, including
some in military uniform. This has been confirmed by photographic and video
evidence showing uniformed US personnel, some of whom are stationed there.
“Given the frequent and possibly prolonged
presence of their military personnel, the US government and other international
partners should investigate the degree to which their personnel were aware of
illegal detention and torture at the Salak base, and whether they took any
measures to report it to their hierarchy and the Cameroonian authorities,” said
Alioune Tine.
Arrest of Okadaman:
Kumba bike riders in stand-off with police
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
 |
| Irate bike riders mount road blocks demaning release of colleague |
Close to 1000 Commercial motor bike riders
in Kumba on Wednesday July 19, 2017 blocked the main highway in Kumba to
pressure security officials to release their colleague who was arrested over allegations
of being a staunch supporter of the ongoing Anglophone crisis and of advocating
the boycott of schools come September.
For
hours running, the irate bike riders blocked the Biyaavenue in Kumba which
stretches from the Kumba Water Bridge up to the central police station along
the Buea Road. They demanded the immediate release of their colleague, Atemkeng
Dylan, few minutes after he was arraigned at the Kumba press center.
According
to one of the riders, the road block was aimed to prevent the forces of law and
order from whisking their arrested colleague out of Kumba to Yaounde. The
riders insisted for hours that until their colleague is released they will not
open circulation.
The
assurance of the Meme SDO, Chamberlin Ntou’ouNdong for them to open up the
roads and allow circulation for their colleague to be release met with stiff
resistance from the bikers who almost beat up a police officer in front of the
SDO. The angry riders refused all pleas and demanded the immediate release of
their colleague.
Buea:
Suspects arrested in connection with the
murder of mother-of-three
 |
| Molua Odilia |
Mystery is still hovering around the
circumstances of the death of MoluaOdilia, a young woman aged 33 years whose
lifeless body was found in the early morning on the bitumen not far from Soppo
market in Buea. Doctors who appraised the body soon after the discovery
revealed that the lady was strangled.
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