Publisher/Editor: OJONG Steven AYUKOGEM. Tel: (+237) 77 07 27 79. E-mail: themedianpaper@yahoo.com
Monday, 23 July 2018
2018 Presidential:
28 Candidacy files submitted at Elecam
 |
| Muna Akere |
Elecam has begun scrutinizing the files of 28 candidates
for the 7 October presidential election. The 28 files represent a sharp drop
compared to the 52 that were submitted ahead of the 2011 presidential election.
Three of
the candidates are less than 40 years – Cabral Libih, Etonde Etonde and Serge
Espoir Matomba.
Two women are also hoping to be retained for the race,
while three are former ministers under Biya – Garga Haman, Adamu Ndam Njoya and
Maurice Kamto.
Six are
independent candidates while 22 are representing political parties.
One of
the candidates, Isaac Feuzeu, has already pledged his support for candidate
Paul Biya. He is among 20 other opposition party leaders who have called on
their supporters to vote for candidate Biya on & October.
Pioneer ENAM Female Board Chair Charged to Ensure Serenity
 |
| Out-going and in-coming board chairs sign hand-over books |
The pioneer female chairperson of the board of directors
of the National School of Administration and Magistracy known by its French
acronym, ENAM, Helen Feh Galega, has been charged to ensure serenity at the
prestigious institution.
Public
service and administrative reforms Minister Joseph Le issued the charge as he
faced the press shortly after presiding over the installation of Mrs Galega
into her functions, Friday July 20. The occaision was staged on the campus of
ENAM in Yaoundé.
Le said,
the new board chair must concert with the Director of ENAM, its staff and other
collaborators to ensure that, serenity reins at all times.
The
Minister averred that, the image of ENAM must be seen to be more positive on
the African continent. He said, standards must be upheld and sustained given
that the institution remains the cradle of training of top level administrative
and judicial officials for Cameroon’s public service.
Who Can Beat “the Sphinx of Etoudi”?
For Paul Biya, 85, the Difference is 7-Up
 |
| Paul Biya |
From most indications, all appears lost for the
opposition candidates, even before the campaigns begin. This is because running
for a record 7th successive campaign, and being in control of all the
institutions that have a stake in the successful organization of the vote, for
incumbent Paul Biya, the difference is clear; the difference is 7-up
By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde
The last days of last week have been marked by commotion
at Elecam. The prospective candidates for the 7 October 2018 presidential
election were submitting their candidacy files at the elections management
organ. After the file of incumbent Paul Biya was submitted on Friday by the
Dicab of the Presidency and the SG of the CPDM, it was Maurice Kamto that took
the queue. His file was brought in by the treasurer of the MRC, Alain Fogue
Tedom.
The days
that followed saw the arrival of Akere Muna of the NOW platform, Garga Harman
Adji of the ADD, Adamu Ndam Njoya of UDC, Joshua Osih of SDF, Cabral Libih of UP……..
In all, 28 candidates had submitted their files as at midnight on Thursday, 19
July 2018, which was the deadline fixed for that aspect of the process. There
were 52 candidates at this level, in the 2011 election.
One can
understand the effervescence that has gripped the entire nation before, during
and after this period of submission of candidacy files and pre-campaign. Many
candidates are already in the field doing their utmost to mobilize maximum
support from potential voters.
Maurice
Kamto for example, was in the North of the country. We hear that he had a
successful outing there. The popular support he enjoyed from Cameroonians in
this part of the country testifies to the growing strength of his party, which
appears to be shoving the SDF aside and easily taking its place as the second
political force in Cameroon. There is no denying it that the MRC has the wind
in its sails.
In the same regard, the president of the NOW platform,
Akere Muna, was in Ngoundere in the Adamawa region. Supported by some political
parties on the ground, he too succeeded to pull attention to himself during a
rally he called and which we are told, attracted a huge turnout.
For his
part, Joshua Osih of the SDF has known no rest, ever since he launched his
pre-electoral activities with a national tour, which took him around the
country and later to the Diaspora.
Everybody
is doing his best to get their messages and programs understood by whoever
cares to listen. And all the messages are full of good ideas, apart from the usual
promises.
But who
among these candidates can dare the Lion man – Paul Biya? All state
institutions including Elecam, Constitutional Council, the Army, CRTV, MINADT
etc are for him and with him. So, who can beat him?
Cameroon-Brazil Optic Fibre Link:
Camtel - 4000Km of Sub-Marine Cables Layed Already
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| Laying of the sub-marine cables is a complex process |
Yaounde, 2 July 2018: The project to connect Cameroon and
Brazil through sub-marine optic fibre cables is already coming to fruition with
over 4000km of the estimated 6000km cables already layed. This puts Brazil at
just 2000km away from the specialized CS-Recorder ship that is carrying the
cables and the technicians and engineers in charge of laying them.
The SAIL
project conceived by Camtel, is supposed to link Kribi in Cameroon to Fortaleza
in Brazil through sub-marine cables.
For over
a month now on the high seas, the engineers in charge of the project have been
busy preparing, packaging and progressively laying the sub-marine cables. The
cables comprise notably optic fibres, equalizers, as well as other branching
units.
According
to information coming from the off-shore engineers, the project is advancing
according to plane, with over 4000km of under-sea cables already layed. So far,
no incidents have been recorded. Authorities of Camtel say this is because of
the preliminary studies which had already determined and traced the 6000km path
between Kribi in Cameroon and Fortaleza in Brazil.
Satisfactory Execution of Kribi Landing Station Project
 |
| Model of the Kribi Landing Station upon completion |
David Nkoto Emane could not conceal his satisfaction upon
seeing for himself the level of progress of the works. This was more so, when
the Chinese contractors carrying out the project, told the GM they have already
done 55% of the job and reassured him that the September deadline for delivery
of the completed project would be respected.
“The
Kribi Landing Station is about the biggest structure of the kind and for the
purpose in Africa and even in the world. This is because apart from harbouring
the Cameroon-Brazil submarine SAIL cables, it will also harbor other cables
notably the 1000km long Cameroon-Nigeria cable link and perhaps cables linking
Africa and Europe,” noted David Nkoto Emane, the General Manager of CAMTEL,
during his visit to the Kribi site on 13 July 2018.
Nkoto Emane indicated that information from off-shore
reveal that over 4000km of the 7000km cable link between Kribi in Cameroon and
Froteleza in Brazil has been laid. The Camtel GM said there is no doubt that by
14 August 2018, Cameroon would be connected to Brazil through the sub-marine
cables.
Camtel Builds Giant Data Center at Zamengoe Near Y’de
 |
CAMTEL GM, David Nkoto Emane giving instructions to engineers at the Zamengoe Data Center construction site.
The General Manager of Camtel has on Wednesday, 11 July 2018, visited the construction for a vast Data Center for the national telecoms provider, situated at Zamengoe, some 30km from Yaounde.
David
Nkoto Emane undertook the visit to the DataCenter construction site to make an
appraisal of the rate of progress of the work and get assurance that the
project would be delivered in record time.
After
taking a walk around the site, Nkoto Emane expressed satisfaction with the
evolution of the project, which he says will bring multiple benefits to the
giant telecoms leader and solutions provider in Cameroon – Camtel.
The
Zamengoe Data Centre Complex will cover a land surface of 3019 m2, while the
one-floor (R+1) principal building to host the NBN2 Data Centre will occupy a
land surface of 1789m2.
The
construction work for the Center is carried out by the Chinese company, China
Shenyang International Cooperation Co Ltd, with the project owner being Huawei
Technologies Company Cameroon Limited. The maitre d’ouvrage, Camtel, benefitted
financing for the project from the China Exim Bank.
For
their part, the workers and engineers on the site were pursuing their work with
confidence and serenity despite the presence of their August Guest and project
commandeer, who is the GM of Camtel. They assured Nkoto Emane that all was
going according to plan.
“The
rate of execution of the physical infrastructure that comprises of the main building
and the energy supply and air-conditioning equipment is already at 36%. The
decking for the first floor is already done. We are about to do the decking for
the Mezzanine and the second floor. It is when we shall be through with these
that we shall begin the second phase of the work which entails the putting in
place of the data infrastructure proper,” said the project engineer, Jean
Michee Masso Ntonga, who at once assured Nkoto Emane that the first phase of
the project will be finished in the next two and half months.
Fallout of War:
Anglophone Conflict Kills Booming SW Economy
The ongoing conflict in Anglophone Cameroon is has dealt
a terrible blow to the economy of the otherwise richly endowed SW region of the
country, which has easily become the epicenter of deadly hostilities between
separatist fighters and government forces.
This
situation has been highlighted by the Buea-based NGO, Human is Right, which
noted in a release, Wednesday, that, the oil plantations of Pamol PLC in Ndian
division have been ‘deserted’, while the cocoa and coffee producing activities
in the region have been halted because the farmers have abandoned their farms
to seek safe havens elsewhere.
According
to sources close to Telcar Cocoa, arguably Cameroon’s biggest cocoa exporter,
the company’s cocoa export has dropped by about 80% due to the insecurity in
the SW region.
Human is
Right reveals that Telcar authorities have had to negotiate financially with
leaders of armed gangs just to secure their installations in enclave villages
like Ngusi and Nyasoso in Kupe Muanenguba division.
The NGO
adds that the CDC plantations and factories have not been left out in the
losses due to the crisis, with the company’s plantations in Ndian and Meme
divisions totally abandoned.
With
these two giant agro-industries (Pamol and CDC) and the cocoa exporter (Telcar)
so affected, the economy of the SW is virtually on its knees, notes ‘Human is
Right’, which adds that the burning down of CDC’s banana stocking facility in
Tiko has only made the situation worse for the company, which can now barely
sustain itself or pay its workers salaries.
Catholic Priest, Fr. Alex Sob, Shot Dead in Muyuka
By Boris Esono in Buea
 |
| Catholic Priest, Alexander Sob aka ‘Wonder Boy’, slain in Muyuka |
The former Catholic Education Secretary and parish priest
of Bomaka, Buea, has been shot dead. Fr.
Alaxander Nougi Sob popularly known as “Wonder Boy” was shot and killed in a
cross fire on Friday 20 July 2018 in Muyuka.
Reports
indicate that he had gone to visit his mother in Muyuka. But he was picked by a
stray bullet as he went out to collect something he forgot in his car.
Other reports said he was shot in a cross fire that
ensued on his way back to Buea. The reports said Father Sob was asked to do a
U-turn and return to Muyuka, but he continued on his journey. A stray bullet
caught him on the left rib as he was driving along the Muyuka-Buea road.
Sources say the shot was from the government forces.
“It
happened Friday afternoon at Muyuka. He was shot by stray bullets during a
military operation that has been ongoing in the area. He was rushed to the
district hospital but gave up the ghost during the emergency surgery,” reported
one of his colleagues.
In one
of his last homilies during a retreat with CWA women at Bojongo, Fr. Sob
advised faithful to kill fear before fear kills them.
Many
people including parishioners have expressed deep sorrow and regret about the
passing of the “spell-binding animator”, who is said to have mentored many
young Christians.
2018 Presidential Campaigns:
On Your Mark, Get Ready, Go!
By Joachim Arrey, Ontario, Canada
 |
| Joachim Arrey, PhD |
I hear the campaign season has started and Yaounde is in
deep thoughts. Southern Cameroons is causing sleepless nights. If you wear a
white shirt, never jump into a pigsty. The government did not listen and the
“pigs’ are having a great party.
There is
a wide range of candidates participating in the election. I hear even prisoners
are participating. Age is not an issue, some people say. But others argue that
nobody will let an 86-year-old pilot to fly them to their destination. The risks
are too great. Others say the situation is too tough for young hands to handle.
We, the
observers, are simply having fun. Waiting to see how it goes, after all, I am
already the governor of the southwest. Somebody just called me not long ago to
tell me that Okalia Bilai has simply left the Governor’s mansion as he cannot
stand the heat from the fighters. That’s my seat. It is now vacant.
It is
alleged that he now lives in Douala. I will continue to wait in the wings. Who
does not enjoy his people’s endorsement? Many even say there is a natural
candidate in the upcoming election. I don’t know what makes some people natural
candidates. Others say youthfulness may hold the answers to the issues tearing
the country apart.
My fear
is that 20% of the population will not take part in the election as
English-speaking region is in total chaos. The ruling party is used to
distributing food and drinks during this period. Are its supporters going to do
the same thing this time around as the violence escalates?
To the best of my Knowledge, the CPDM is banned from
Southern Cameroons and many Southern Cameroonians consider the election
foreign. It is even forbidden to wear CPDM uniforms in Southern Cameroons. This
uniform is currently going abegging.
Most
chiefs who used to act for the government have been intimidated by the fighters
on the ground and none is courageous enough to display his loyalty to the
ruling party. Some have been kidnapped and others have simply run away from
their chiefdoms. People like Chief Tabetando can no longer go to Mamfe. Chief
Ayuk Hope has fled his village as he could not pay his own contribution to the
war effort.
Many of
the chiefs in the Southwest are permanently in fear. The stress is too much for
some of them. Many are thinking of abdicating. It is even strange to see police
and gendarmes respecting ghost towns. Law and order are gradually dissolving in
that part of the country. Cameroon has always been an oasis of peace in a
desert of chaos. We, Cameroonians, are messing up our divine gift. We could have sought other solutions.
Fighting is not the answer.
Video of Summary Killings of Women and Children:
Cameroon Army is Too Disciplined for Such Acts
– Issa
Tchiroma Bakary, MINCOM & Gov’t Spokesman
Fellow Journalists,
 |
| Gov’t Spokesman, Issa Tchiroma |
The Head of State, His Excellency Paul Biya, the
Government and the entire people of Cameroon, have been shocked and outraged by
the atrocities pictured in that video, and have expressed their compassion with
the victims, and their respective families.
Certain
national and international organizations, Amnesty International in particular,
have pointed an accusing finger at the Cameroonian army.
I wish
in this regard to note that the investigations going on have not shown any
proof implicating the Cameroonian army in the incriminating acts.
At this stage, i hereby make the following observations:
1. There
exists another video with the same images, in the same scene, accusing the
military of a West African country. The government of that country has in a
statement rejected the accusations. We have taken note.
2. Meanwhile,
the facts make one point clear: The existence of two videos with voice commentaries
that incriminate two different countries implies that one of the videos was
trafficked; two exactly similar events cannot take place in two different
countries.
3. In this
context, you cannot rule out that in the future, the same video resurfaces,
incriminating other countries. There is the need therefore to be careful in
trying to accuse who ever.
4. However,
Amnesty International banked on the guns used in the video to incriminate the
Cameroonian army. An analysis of the images, it emerges that the arms used are
of the AK47 category, commonly called KALACHNIKOV, which are common in Africa,
in the hands of regular armies as well as criminal bands.
5. As for the
nicknames Cobra and Tcho-Tcho that are used in the video, they do not depict
anything about the Cameroonian army.
Imposition of Tita Fon as CPP leader:
Kah Walla Scorns Atanga Nji’s “Lowly Undertakings”
-Says the MINADT’s machiavelic manoeuvres only dishonor
Cameroon and expose the Biya regime to worldwide opprobrium
 |
| CPP leader, Edith Kah Walla leading her followers in a public demonstration |
The Cameroon People’s Party has frowned at the Minister
of Territorial Administration’s meddling in the internal affairs of the party
by designating an “illegitimate leader” to act on behalf of the party.
On
Friday in a release that was read over CRTV, The Minister had noted that due to
some internal wrangling in the CPP, Tita Fon was empowered to represent the
party.
The CPP
in a counter release has noted that there is no legal basis which gives the
Minister the right to enter into a political party's internal functioning and
decide upon the officials or legal representatives of the party …“without
administrative or legal procedure and without so much as a phone call or
communication of any sort with party officials”.
Mr.
Samuel Tita Fon designated by the Minister was excluded from the CPP Party on
March 29th, 2018 by a decision of the CPP National Council for not respecting
the party’s regulations and constitution.
“We have
received no official document in writing, nor have we been contacted by
telephone or in person by anyone from the Ministry of Territorial
Administration regarding any dispute in the CPP. In the face of misbehaviour on
the part of some of our militants who were not respecting our party regulations
and constitution, we have sent the Ministry of Territorial Administration
correspondence on the dates of February 14th, 2018 and March 19th, 2018 to
remind all parties concerned about our party constitution and regulations,” the
CPP release noted.
Four Soldiers Arrested in Connection with Killing of Women & Children
 |
| Gov’t has denied arresting four Soldiers |
Cameroon has arrested four soldiers suspected of shooting
to death two women and two children in the country’s far north where its army
is battling the jihadist group Boko Haram, two security sources told Reuters.
A video
of the incident, which has been shared tens of thousands of times on Twitter
since it emerged last week, has provoked international outcry.
Government
spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary initially described the footage as “fake news”
and said that the men in the footage, who were wearing military fatigues, were
not Cameroonian soldiers. However, he said the government would open an
investigation.
“Four
soldiers were arrested on Sunday. They are suspected of being the authors of
the executions in the video,” said an army officer in Cameroon’s Far North
region near the border with Nigeria.
A second
security source said that three of the soldiers had been transferred to the
capital Yaounde while the fourth was still being held in Maroua, the capital of
the Far North.
Anglophone Conflict Stalls PIB Projects in Meme
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
 |
| BIP Follow-up Committee members at second quarter evaluation meeting |
The ongoing Anglophone crisis has caused a marked
decrease in the rate of public investment projects execution in Meme Division
of the Southwest Region. This was one of the observations made by members of
the Divisional participatory follow-up committee for the execution of PIB
projects in Meme, during the second quarter evaluation meeting on Thursday 19
July 2018 at the Kumba city council hall.
Members
of the committee noted with dismay the paltry rate of projects executed for the
midterm that stands at 21.16%.
Chairing
the meeting on behalf of the Chairman and his vice who were unavoidable absent,
the Divisional Delegate of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development,
MIINEPAT, Moma Ignatius Anyere noted that they were still working on the
prescriptions of the chairman who recommended that projects be awarded to
courageous contractors who knew the local realities of the area and who can
brave the heat from the ongoing crisis marked by threats on persons’ lives.
While
decrying the insecurity in the region which has stalled the execution of some
projects and slowed the rate of execution of others in some parts of the
Division, Moma Anyere urged those present at the meeting to contribute
innovative ideas which can help bring development to Meme Division.
Moma
Anyere expressed the hope that the execution rate will increase before the
third participatory follow-up meeting expected to come up in October. He called
for better collaboration between project owners and contractors, saying it will
help boost projects execution.
Fallout of Anglophone Conflict:
Paltry Execution of PIB Projects in Fako Division
By Ticha Melanis in Limbe
The Anglphone crisis is taking its toll on Fako. There
has been a marked decrease in the rate of execution of public investment budget
PIB projects in Fako division and most parts of the SW region. This was the
observation made by members of the Foko divisional participatory follow-up
committee for PIB projects in Fako meeting in Limbe on Tuesday 17 July 2018 for
their second quarter evaluation meeting for 2018.
The
committee members noted with dismay the drop in physical execution of public
investment projects to 19.23% down from 22.10% at the same period last year.
The financial execution rate also dropped to 5% down from the 7.22% last year.
Speaking
at the meeting, the chairperson of the Fako divisional public investment projects
follow-up committee, Hon Etombi Gladys noted that the first quarter meeting
held in April gave an opportunity for all actors involved to mobilize and
define the terms of reference for the implementation and execution of the 2018
budget so as to achieve the goals given by the 2018 financial law.
She said
that during the first quota evaluation, the execution rate stood at 9.34% with
a 50% rate of contracts awarded at the level of the divisional tenders’ level.
Addressing
the worries of some people who doubt local development possibilities, she said
local development is their daily business, noting that looking forward to
better living conditions, communities place their hopes on the good execution
of PIB projects for which their common responsibility is engaged.
Hon
Itombi further noted that decree No 2018/366 of 20th June 2018 instituting the
public contracts code, states inter alia that municipal authorities are fully
responsible for contract award procedures in their communities.
She
blamed the late award of contracts, poor mastery of public contract procedures,
lack of collaboration amongst stakeholders and more for the slow execution of
some projects.
Briefs
Compiled by Doh Bertrand Nua in K’ba
Kidnapped K’ba City Council Planner Freed
The Kumba city council town planner recently kidnapped at
his residence in Mile one, Kumba has regained his freedom from the hands of his
abductors, The Median has learned. According to a well-placed source at the
council, Epie Nnoko was on Thursday July 19, 2018. Our source couldn’t disclose
to us the amount that was paid for him to secure his release.
He added
that Epie was immediately rushed to the Douala General hospital for severe
medical checks following the torture in went through in the hands of the
abductors. Our source further revealed Epie’s abduction by unknown persons on
Tuesday July 17 was a setup by colleagues but didn’t revealed who or for what
reason he was been setup. It should be recalled Epie was kidnapped while trying
to get some valuables from his abandoned compound at Mile one. A day after his
abduction news went viral that FCFA 5 million was demanded for his release.
Meme SDO’s Driver Kidnapped
One of the drivers of the SDO for Meme has been kidnapped
and taken to an unknown destination by unidentified persons. The driver whose
names we only got as Atango was kidnapped during the early hours of Wednesday
July 18 at his Up Station residence in Kumba. Reports we gathered from the
Ocean City Radio, Kumba have it that Atango was kidnapped while trying to
rescue his heavily pregnant goat from unknown persons who stormed his residence
and stole it.
According
to the radio, it was the second time suspected members of the ‘Ambazonia’
movement were visiting Atango; the first time his two goats were taken away. At
press time we couldn’t confirm if Atango was already freed or still in the
hands of his abductors.
Two Fake ‘Ambazonians’ Arrested in K’ba
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
Two persons have been arrested and detained at the Kumba
Central police station for impersonating as ‘Ambazonia’ soldiers and extorting
money from the population. Tebeck Mark age 28 and Agbor Thomas Junior age 38
were arrested on Wednesday July 18, 2018 and presented to the Meme SDO,
Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong.
Tebeck
and Agbor confessed to the security elements and the Meme SDO that they have
been going about threatening and extorting money from the population through
mobile money transactions in the name of the ‘Ambazonia’ struggle.
Both men
confessed to have defrauded at least 12 families while eight other families
they contacted were still to pay in. They admitted to have been feeding fat as
a result of their dubious acts.
Tebeck
Mark, the spokesperson of the group told reporters that he indulged in the
business after migrating to Kumba when their family residence in Kwakwa was
burnt down.
Rebuttal:
UBa Denies Alleged Massacre of Five Students
-Confirms One Student Was Killed
The University of Bamenda cum University of the Future
has debunked unverified media reports that five of her students were shot dead
by the military on the night of Wednesday July 11, 2018 in Bambili, North West
Region and eventually ferried to the Bamenda Regional Hospital Mortuary.
This is
contained in a press release from the University signed by the Head of
Information and Press of the Institution, Dr. Victor Cheo which however
confirms that “a second year student of the Department of Geography and
Planning by name Birili Cary Kusynyuy was shot dead by the military” that
fateful night.
“This is
contrary to an earlier report given by the BBC Radio’s Focus on Africa
correspondent Joe Sa’ah which alleged that five students of the University of
Bamenda were killed under the same circumstance” the release adds.
The
release reveals that the shooting took place at a local hotel around the
University residential area at about 8 O’clock PM and not in the hostels as
alleged in the same report.
How China is Restructuring Cameroon’s Burgeoning Digital Economy Sector
By Amindeh Blaise Atabong*
Cameroon is determined to become a middle-income country
by 2035. To achieve this lofty vision, it has elaborated a Growth and
Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) with the development of information and
communications technology outlined as a strategic priority. In its drive to
make the country a veritable tech hub and multiply by 50, the number of direct
and indirect jobs in ICT between 2010 and 2020, the government has jerked into
seriously investing in digital infrastructure.
And for
better or worse, China has been shepherding the Central African nation into its
digital future. China’s building spree of giant projects funded by Chinese
government and banks or whose execution is being carried out by Chinese
companiesis conspicuous across Cameroon.
Talk of
Chinese intervention in the country and one will readily pinpointprojects in
the likes of the Kumba-Mamfe road, the ongoing Yaounde-Douala double carriage
way, the Lom Panga, Memve’ele and Mekin hydroelectricity dams, the Yaounde
multipurpose sports complex, ministerial buildings in the capital city, amongst
others. But out of sight, the Chinese are also building Cameroon’s burgeoning
digital economy sector which had been lagging behind as compared to other
African countries due to want of network infrastructure and the high cost of
devices to consumers.
Experts
in China-Africa relations suggest Chinese intervention in the IT sector in
Cameroon is rapidly growing and has the potential to have a much bigger impact
on people’sdaily lives than the billions of dollars of conventional
infrastructure they are constructing.
Internet Backbone
Few
years ago, Chinese company, Huawei Marine, engaged in laying down high capacity
submarine optic fibre cables. Known as Nigeria-Cameroon Submarine Cable System
(NCSCS), the optic fibre cable runs from Kribi in Cameroon to the Main One
landing station in Lagos in Nigeria; which has been linking Nigeria to Europe
since 2012.The submarine cable network has a speed of 3.8Tbits/s and was put in
place thanks to a loan from the Exim Bank of China.
When the
landing station of NCSCS was being commissioned in Kribi in January 2016, the
then Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Jean Pierre BiyitiBi Essam said
“NCSCS will enable us [Cameroon] to have an alternative connection to the
world” and boost the country’s extremely low fixed broadband penetration,
estimated then at about 5 per cent.
Again,
in May 2018, Huawei Marine, partnering with China Unicom and Cameroon
Telecommunications (Camtel) began laying the 6,000km-long South Atlantic Inter
Link (SAIL) cable system from Kribi in Cameroon to Fortaleza in Brazil. SAIL
which will be the first cable system to directly connect Africa and South
America is modelled using Huawei Marine’s advanced 100G technology and will
have a capacity of 32Tbits/s once completed, officials of the Chinese company
said.
“Today,
Cameroon uses about 60 gigabits per second, making us to browse 400 times
slower than when we will be at 32 terabits per second,” says Pierre Paul
Njonga, Coordinator of Cameroon’s National Broadband II Programme. With the
Chinese-built SAIL, Pierre Paul notes that navigating the internet will be much
secure, smoother, easier and faster, bringing about economic benefits.
Huawei
has also been the Chinese company putting in place Cameroon’s lone optic fibre
backbone managed by the state-owned corporation –Camtel, across the national
territory. The optic fibre backbone has connected the different towns of the
country, universities and other public structures. Mobile telephony network
service providers operating in the country, including Orange Cameroun, MTN
Cameroon and Nexttel (Cameroonian subsidiary of Viettel), have had to rely on
it to provide 3G/4G mobile internet services to their subscribers.
Made In China
In the
last eight years, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers like Tecno Mobile, Huawei,
Itel, LG, ZTE,Oppo,OnePlus and a myriadof others have been overwhelming the
Cameroonian market with affordable smart phones, giving thousands of people the
incentive to go online for the first time. Many people have parted company with
their well-wornanalogue phones in favour of the android devices fabricated by
China.
Akoa
Paul, 43, a cocoa farmer in Muyengue; a small village on the leeward side of
Mount Cameroon, said he acquired his first smart phone in 2014. “I bought the
Chinese phone at the cost of FCFA 24, 0000 [about US$42] from the sale of my
produce,” Akoa Paul disclosed, noting that it was the first time in his entire
life he ever accessed the internet.
Cameroon
internet penetration now stands at 37.71 per cent, up from less than 1 per cent
in 2000, according to the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Board (ART).
Statistics by the regulator indicates that over 40 per cent of the close to 18
million internet users in the country get connected by phone. And the
contribution of Chinese-made phones in achieving this fast penetration rate
cannot be undermined.
The
availability of Chinese smart devices even in remote areas and the
affordability by the less privileged has been changing the lives of many,
especially in rural areas. They use it for their own sustainable development.
In Cameroon’s rainforest in the East region, locals are using cheap Chinese
smartphones to take on illegal logging and the corruption that breeds it. They
used the satellite-connected devices to harvest evidence of trees fell down in
restricted areas, and then report cases of suspicion to forestry officials as
well as the anti-graft agency.
In
addition, people in the north of Cameroon are using such phones to fight
maternal mortality and climate change, while the Chinese phones are also
serving internally displaced persons in a ‘Cash Transfer’ scheme by mobile
money implemented by the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid.
Multiple Impact
Besides
getting people connected everywhere, the ‘Made in China’ electronic gadgets
have offered hundreds of opportunities to Cameroon’s desperate unemployed
youths. Be they sales persons or repairers, the young people now have hope
thanks to the presence of Chinese smart devices in the Cameroonian market. At
Ancien 3eme; a hotspot for the sale and repair of mobile phones in the port
city of Douala, Laurent Serge EtogaEtoga tells this reporter “China has changed
my life” as he brushes through the chassis of a Chinese-made phone. “This
new-found trade saved me from engaging in the perilous journey through the
Sahara Desert to Europe,” says the young phone repairer specialized in Itel
phones.
China’s
Huawei has stamped its mark on Cameroon’s digital landscape, being responsible
for all the mobile broadband modems in the country. Otto Akama, a young techie
in the city of Buea says their devices make it easier to sign up to multiple
telecoms services. “In fact, the main thing is that their devices are
affordable,” he quipped.
Though
AchiaRolence Aka holds China has not provided any direct assistance to help
their emerging tech ecosystem – Silicon Mountain - in Buea,he however agrees
China has been a major player for the growth of the nation’s digital sphere.
“Their partnership with most telecommunications companies; providing them
hardware like modems and base stations, have eased access to internet,” Achia
reiterated. Being an alumnus of the University of Buea, the computer engineer
disclosed that the Chinese company Huawei has a programwiththe university
whereby students go to China for intensive training in IT.
According
to Wu Jing, Director of Public Relations at Huawei Cameroon, their company is
present and active in Cameroon because the country is at the heart of Central
Africa and by so has certain advantages. He also cites the talents Cameroonians
have in the use of ICTs and the support of President Paul Biyato position ICTs
as the accelerator of the economy. “Our motivation isto satisfy operators and
the final consumers,” says Wu Jing, who adds that, like other enterprises, they
are still facing many difficulties in doing business in Cameroon.
One Student, One Chinese Laptop
When
President Paul Biya described his country’s youths as “android generation” and
later thought of gifting each registered university student a laptop to enhance
learning and research, he swiftly turned to China’s Sichuan Telecommunications
Construction Engineering Co. Ltd. Even the funds to produce 500,000 laptops for
the students in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guangong Province were
disbursed by the Exim Bank of China.
Branded
PB HEV (Paul Biya – Higher Education Vision), each of the computers have an
Intel Atom Z8350, Microsoft window 10 system and office 365 software. Jacques
Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education says the gift from the Head of State
is to “assist students connect to the cyberspace to tap the latest knowledge
and enhance their studies and assure success.”
Ayeah
Gideon Gobti, a final year student of the University of Bamenda’s Higher
Teacher Training College, is one of the beneficiaries of the ‘one student, one
computer’ operation. He, like other students, says the laptop came at the right
time. “It greatly helped me in the preparation of my final year thesis. I don’t
know what I would have done without it,” Ayeahsaid.
Another
student in the Ebolowa campus of the University of Yaounde II, who elected
anonymity, said she could not have sourced about FCFA 200,000 (US$ 357) to
purchase such a laptop. Now, she uses it principally to do her assignments and
online research, while she distracts herself with it during leisure moments.
As part
of the e-National Higher Education Network project being put in place by
government, Sichuan Telecommunications Construction Engineering Company is also
taskedto construct, equip and commission nine university digital development
centers to facilitate e-learning and e-administration. The structures will
align Cameroon with international digital teaching norms, an official of the
Ministry of Higher Education said.
Thursday, 19 July 2018
Grand Master of the Order of Malta:
An Enigmatic Personality Visits Cameroon
 |
| Grand Master, Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, |
His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master,
Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, is in Cameroon for a 4-day
official visit. But Cameroonians are still wondering and asking questions about
who “The Grand Master” is, and what he represents. His presence in Cameroon is
animating debates in public and private conversations with some asking series of
questions. Public intellectual Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai for example wondered: “Is he
the witch doctor, who President Biya has invited to cast a spell on
Cameroonians and excoriate the blood and spirit of those who will be sacrificed
to ensure election victory for the Lion Man?” Another concerned observer,
George Wirnkar questioned: “An ominous title “Grand Master” for a purported
religious figure. This is no Bishop, no. Is he some kind of wizard? If he comes
in peace, fine; but if his intensions are unholy, then very likely he will come
up against the occult powers of our ancient religions. The worries expressed by
Cameroonians about the visit of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and the
timing of the visit, just when the electorate is convened for presidential
election, are interesting as they are many and varied. But who is the Grand
Master?
International Nelson Mandela Day:
Agbor Balla Wins Mandela Award for Courage, Vision &
Leadership
 |
| Agbor Balla celebrates his Mandela Award with some staffers of the Nkafu Policy Institute |
Buea-based Human Rights crusader, Barrister Nkongho Felix
Agbor-Anyor aka Agbor Balla, was on Tuesday 17 July 2018, in Yaounde,
proclaimed the 2018 winner of the Nelson Mandela Memorial Award, offered by the
Nkafu Policy Institute.
Balla
was elected for the prestigious award in preference to other formidable
nominees including Justice Ayah Paul Abine (Retired Supreme Court Advocate
General and drum-major for Justice), Bishop Andrew Nkea of the Mamfe Diocese,
Prof. Emmanuel Pondi (Vice Rector of Uni-Yao II), Arch-Bishop Joseph Kleda of
Douala, Mrs Fidel Djebba (Founder of Rayons du Soleil), Achaleke Christian Leke
(Civil society and peace advocate) and Paul Eric Kinge (Politician and Social
Activist).
“The
Nelson Mandela Award is a non political and non partisan award that recognizes
a Cameroonian who incarnates the values that President Nelson Mandela stood
for. It recognizes courageous, visionary and collaborative leadership across
all tiers in Cameroon. The Award is offered to a political leader, an activist,
religious authority, or any individual who epitomizes or fits into the ideas
and practices of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy. It recognizes an individual
who has successfully tackled vital issues of public policy, overcome
significant adversity or achieved real change for the public good.
Commentators
said it was no surprise that Agbor Balla emerged the 2018 winner of the coveted
Award, given his committed, steadfast, unwavering, non-violent and
collaborative leadership in the ongoing Anglophone struggle.
Renowned
Man of Letters, social critic and play-write, Achingale Douglas, described
Agbor Balla as not only a “fearless
freedom fighter and frontline human rights activist but the most influential
Human Rights Crusader in Cameroon for 2018.”
“This is
only a stepping stone for the great achiever and mammoth personality that is
Agbor Balla,” further remarked Douglas Achingale.
To
historian, teacher and prolific essayist, Besong Joseph, the Mandela award is
just another red-feather on Balla’s already crowded cap. “The best is yet to
come for Agbor Balla,” Besong predicted.
“This is
just the prelude; greater things are in the pipeline for this 21st century
human rights fighter,” noted Hanson Sone, who also reacted on facebook.
Sone
described Agbor Balla as “the Nelson Mandela of our time”.
A former
consultant with the United Nations Systems, Agbor Balla is the founder and lead
counsel of the Buea-based Agbor Nkongho law firm. He is also founder of the
Buea-based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA.
Balla is
reputed to have demonstrated an unprecedented leadership, advocacy and
communication skill since the unset of the Anglophone crisis in 2016.
He was
the founding president of the Consortium of Anglophone Civil Society
Organizations (Consortium for short), which advocated civil disobedience and
non-violence in the pursuit of justice, equality and freedom by Anglophones in
Cameroon.
Because
of his rather unwavering and determined stance on the Anglophone question,
Balla and the scribe of the Consortium, Dr. Fontem Neba, were tagged as
terrorists by the Yaounde regime, abducted in Buea and whisked off to Yaounde
and dumped in the Kondengui Maximum security prison, where they spent 8 months.
Ever
since he regained his freedom, Balla has continued fighting for justice and
calling for dialogue and negotiations as a means towards seeking a lasting
solution to the crisis in the North West and South West regions.
Horror in Buea, SW Region:
Miss Bright Inn Proprietor Tantoh Felix Shot Dead
 |
| Tantoh Felix Ngang: was he murdered or he died trying to save himself? |
The proprietor of the famous Miss Bright Hotel in Buea
has been killed. Tantoh Felix Ngang was
in the evening of Tuesday 18 July 2018, killed by yet unidentified persons, in
his hotel residence at Mile 18 Bomaka, in Buea, Fako Division of the South West
region.
A worker
at the hotel said nine gunmen entered the hotel which also serves as his
residence, at about 7pm on Tuesday. They asked for the proprietor but he told
them the proprietor was not around. Unfortunately, it was at the same time the
proprietor was emerging from his residence attached to the back of the hotel.
He probably had heard the noise outside, the worker recounted.
“Are you
the director of this hotel?” the gunmen asked Tantoh on seeing him. “No, i am
only lodging here,” replied Tantoh. “Show us to your room,” the guys ordered.
The
worker recounted that Felix Tantoh led the guys up to his residence and the story
is what you and i know today.
The
worker said when minutes later, at about 8pm, they went up to check for their
boss, they saw only the sleepers he was wearing but they could not find him.
After a thorough search, they found his body lying on the ground some 8 meters
beneath the window, behind his residence.
For now
it is not known whether Tantoh was strangled and thrown out of the window, or
he died as he tried to escape through the window.
Sources
said no bullet wounds were found on Tantoh’s body. But he had some bruises
behind his head.
It is
also not known who the gunmen were and why they came for Tantoh, especially as
they did not collect any money or valuables from him.
It is
speculated that the killers might have been sent by Tantoh’s business rivals.
It emerged that Tantoh won a fcfa 1 billion contract only thesame day that he
was killed.
A man
who was lodging in the hotel and who saw from his balcony what was happening,
was locked up in his room and dispossessed of his money and telephone, we
learned.
Woman Who Murdered Singer Jailed for Life
Yolanda Saldivar, who was convicted on Monday of
murdering the Tejano music singer Selena, was sentenced today to the maximum of
life in prison with no possibility of parole for 30 years.
Asked by
the judge, Mike Westergren of State District Court of Nueces County, if she had
anything to say before the sentence was imposed, Ms. Saldivar, 35, said,
"No, sir," then hung her head and began to cry.
The
chief prosecutor, Carlos Valdez, said afterward that the jury had sent a
message that "this type of behavior will not be tolerated in an organized
society."
Ms.
Saldivar's lawyer, Doug Tinker, said after meeting privately with the jurors,
"They told me they thought she was guilty and should get life."
The jury
of six men and six women, which deliberated for two hours before convicting Ms.
Saldivar of first-degree murder, took nine hours over two days to decide on the
sentence. At the start of the trial the defense exercised its option under
state law to have the jury, rather than the judge, decide the sentence, which the
judge could not reject or modify.
Although
Texas has the death penalty, it did not apply because Selena's killing lacked
the sort of aggravating circumstances that would have made it a capital crime
here.
In final
arguments in the trial's sentencing phase on Wednesday, the defense urged the
jury to consider probation, the minimum sentence for a person like Ms. Saldivar
with no criminal record.
"No
one benefits from sending Yolanda Saldivar to prison," said her lawyer,
Mr. Tinker, adding that his client was "horribly remorseful."
Obituary
Akwaya MP, Hon. Chief Igelle Elias Dies of Undisclosed
Illness
 |
| Hon. Chief Igelle Elias |
The Member of Parliament for Akwaya constituency is no
more. Hon. Chief Igelle Elias Terhemen died on Saturday, 14 July 2018, at the
University of Jos Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Sources say he died of an
illness.
His
death is the second for an MP from the SW region, after that of Hon. Arthur
Ekeke Lysinge of the Buea Urban Constituency.
Hon.
Igelle was the traditional ruler (Ukpam) of Bagundu village in Akwaya
sub-division.
He
entered parliament in 2013 for his first mandate. Before his election to
parliament he worked at the SW governor’s office in Buea and later as Finance
Controller of the Cameroon GCE Board.
Hon.
Igelle was a graduate of the department of journalism and Mass Communication of
the Buea University and a diplomate of treasury management from the higher
school of administration and magistracy, Enam, Yaounde.
2018 Presidential elections:
Biya Upbeat about 7th term amidst violence
 |
| The U.S. State Department on Monday condemned the release of a video appearing to show soldiers in Cameroon killing two women and their kids, among others. |
As President Paul Biya, 85, prepares to run for a seventh
term as president, foreign governments and human rights organizations are
increasingly sounding the alarm on growing violence between French and English
speakers in the country.
Biya
announced that he would seek a seventh term as president on Friday, having
clocked 36 years as the nation’s head of state in which most of the country,
but not those in government, have experienced a significant economic decline.
Should Biya win the election, he will be 92 years old by the time his latest
term ends.
Another significant issue with Biya’s rule is that he
does not live in Cameroon for much of the year, preferring Switzerland to his
own country. The New York Times noted this week that Biya has spent 4.5 of his
36 years in office abroad, even though his country faces major economic
challenges, regular terrorist attacks on the part of neighboring Nigeria’s Boko
Haram, and growing strife between francophone and anglophone Cameroonians.
According
to Voice of America, few doubt that Biya will be able to keep power, given that
his announcement of his intent to run triggered almost immediate support from a
variety of smaller parties unaffiliated with his ruling Cameroon People’s
Democratic Movement.
Specifically,
one minority party leader reportedly endorsed Biya because he “is the right
person and the real person to handle the anglophone problem.”
Protests
have been ongoing in Southern Cameroons, the English-speaking part of the
country, since November 2016. Anglophones complain that the government gives
favorable treatment to those who speak French and have largely ostracized
English speakers from society. Among the complaints have been the failure of
the government to translate laws and important documents into English and the
imposition of French in schools where most speak English, despite both French
and English being official state languages.
Biya’s government has responded to protests largely with
violence, triggering the rise of a secessionist movement to establish a new,
English-speaking country called Ambazonia. Biya himself has promised to take
“all measures” to end the uprising
The
violence in Southern Cameroons made headlines again this weekend with the
surfacing of a video on social media appearing to show government soldiers
killing two women and two children, one an infant. The NGO Amnesty
International confirmed last week that it had “gathered credible evidence” that
the men in uniform in the video were indeed soldiers acting under Biya’s
authority. Biya’s government has denied that the video shows state actors,
calling it “fake news.”
“Extensive
analysis of the weapons, dialogue and uniforms that feature in the video,
paired with digital verification techniques and testimonies taken from the
ground, all strongly suggest that the perpetrators of the executions are
Cameroonian soldiers,” Amnesty International concluded.
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