Monday 23 July 2018

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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
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
The General Manager of Cameroon Telecoms, Camtel, has expressed joy and satisfaction with the rate of progress of works at the construction site of the structures to host the Landing Station for the Cameroon-Brazil Sub-marine Cable, SAIL Project, in Kribi. This was during a visit he paid to the site last week.
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

Front page


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.