Monthly Archives: April 2025

30, April 2025

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya appoints Johnny Razack as Chair of SNI ⁰

Johnny Razack has been appointed chairman of Cameroon’s National Investment Company (SNI), following a presidential decree signed on April 25. The 52-year-old senior civil servant takes over from Geoffroy Désiré Mbock, who held the position for five years.

The SNI acts as the government’s main investment vehicle, holding stakes in companies and helping create new businesses. Razack’s nomination comes at a turning point for the institution, which was restructured last year to take on a stronger role in shaping the country’s economic and industrial strategy.

Before his appointment, Razack served as Secretary General at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, a position he had held since December 22, 2015. Over his career, he also managed government correspondence at the Prime Minister’s Office and spent several years overseeing union matters. He began his career at the Ministry of Economy in 2005 as acting head of personnel services.

Razack brings with him a solid academic background. He is a graduate of ENA Paris, part of the 2002–2004 “Léopold Senghor” cohort, which also included French President Emmanuel Macron. He also graduated from Cameroon’s ENAM in Yaoundé, class of 1998–2000, the same year as Health Minister Malachie Manaouda. A committed member of the ruling RDPC party, he also serves as a mission officer at the party’s central committee. He hails from Bénoué in the North region.

A fellow RDPC member commented that Razack’s appointment “shows the President’s trust in loyal, capable profiles to manage key pillars of the national economy.”

His nomination follows the recent reshuffle of the SNI’s board of directors. Eleven members were appointed, including Gwendoline Abunaw, Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon, and Célestin Tawamba, head of the country’s main business federation GECAM. They represent the banking and private sector, respectively.

This move is part of a broader overhaul of the SNI, initiated by President Paul Biya on July 10, 2024. The reform transformed the SNI into a public capital company with a sharper focus on investment planning. Under the new structure, SNI now plays a dual role: as a government investor and as a consulting and research body. It is fully owned by the state.

The company’s capital was raised to CFA200 billion, to be released gradually over four years. The goal is to turn the SNI into a true investment holding. Plans are already underway to open its subsidiaries to new public and private shareholders. The strategy aims to better manage the state’s holdings and help build strong national companies.

The SNI’s new responsibilities are extensive. It will now screen industrial projects from the private sector by issuing financial and economic viability clearances before the state can step in. It will also assess public companies by conducting audits, performance reviews, and diagnostics. In addition, it will help prepare and monitor performance contracts between the state and these firms.

On top of that, the SNI will now handle venture capital and private equity activities, as well as act as a stock market intermediary and asset manager.

Razack’s appointment comes with big expectations. While he is seen as a trusted and well-connected civil servant with political weight and administrative experience, some in the business community question whether he has the hands-on experience needed to run an institution now tasked with high-stakes investment operations. Others are confident that his background and network could serve him well in navigating this new chapter.

Source: Business in Cameroon

30, April 2025

Mali coup leader wins backing to be president for next five years ⁰

Mali’s military leader Gen Assimi Goïta has won the backing of key political allies to be declared president for the next five years.

The 41-year-old, who has seized power twice, was named transitional president after his last coup in 2021.

At the time he promised to hold elections the following year – but has since reneged, in a blow to efforts to restore multi-party rule in the West African state.

A national conference organised by the regime – but boycotted by leading opposition parties – has now recommended naming Gen Goïta president until 2030.

He has not yet commented on the recommendation, but the conference was seen as an attempt to legitimise his bid to remain in power.

Over the weekend, an opposition leader, Mohamed Salia Touré, told the AFP news agency that suppressing the multi-party system would be a “historic error”.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International said it denounced what it described as a “proposal to dissolve all political parties in Mali”.

The rights group’s Sahel researcher, Ousmane Diallo, said he was “alarmed by the proposition” and that such a move “would be a flagrant attack on the rights to freedom of expression and association”.

It is unclear if the conference proposes to dissolve all political parties, or only those that fail to comply with certain requirements.

The conference also recommended suspending anything to do with elections until there was peace in the country, according to a document seen by AFP.

The military government has been trying to quell jihadist violence unleashed by groups linked with the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.

Since taking power, the junta leader has formed an alliance with coup leaders in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, pivoting the region towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power France.

Gen Goïta has also withdrawn Mali from the regional grouping Ecowas over its demands to restore democratic rule. Burkina Faso and Niger have also left the grouping.

He first staged a coup in August 2020 overthrowing then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta after huge anti-government protests over his rule and his handling of the jihadist insurgency.

Gen Goïta handed power to an interim government that was to oversee the transition to elections within 18 months.

He had sought to lead that government, but Ecowas insisted on a civilian leader.

Unhappy with the performance of the civilian transitional arrangement, he seized power again in May 2021.

He was a colonel at the time, but became a five-star general last year.

Source: BBC

30, April 2025

African Union lifts sanctions against Gabon after political transition review ⁰

The African Union has lifted sanctions against Gabon, it said in a statement on Wednesday, after the central African nation was suspended from the organisation following a coup in August 2023.

A meeting of the Peace and Security Council on Gabon’s political transition “reviewed the processes and found them to be generally successful”, the AU’s Political Affairs Peace and Security department said on X.

The statement said Gabon would be welcome “to immediately resume her participation in the activities” of the AU.

Gabon was suspended when General Brice Oligui Nguema took power after overthrowing president Ali Bongo, whose family had been in power for 55 years.

Nguema pledged to hand back the oil-rich country to civilian rule after a two-year transitional period, and was elected president in April with 94 percent of the vote.

According to the new constitution, the president will lead the country with expanded powers.

The decision by the AU to lift sanctions follows a meeting last year between Nguema and Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara, in which Nguema asked for support in lifting sanctions.

The country of 2.3 million people has endured high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, and heavy government debt despite its oil riches.

Source: AFP

30, April 2025

Africa has no resource curse! ⁰

African natural resources have, for decades, triggered huge armed conflicts, giving the impression that there is a massive resource curse on the richest continent in the world.

Many reports on Africa’s unfortunate situation, most of which are written by Westerners, usually avoid pointing out that the resource curse on African countries is fuelled by bad governance, foreign intervention and unpatriotic leadership.

Most of the fighting in Africa is a distraction designed by certain Western countries for them to exploit the continent’s resources without playing by the books.

African countries have been theaters of bloody fighting because of their natural wealth. Resource-rich African countries have spent most of the last century fending off jihadist and terrorist attacks, thereby perpetuating the notion that there is a resource curse on Africa.

No, there is no such curse. Greed and foreign interference are to blame for the armed conflicts which have become the continent’s hallmark.

African governments must take control of their mines to ensure that they do not fall into the hands of terrorists and other illegal miners. Illegal mines are important sources of revenue for terrorists and jihadists.

Securing every illegal mining site will rob the terrorists of the money they need to recruit young, innocent and naive fighters. If terrorism has to be rolled back in Africa, African countries must be intentional in fighting this scourge that is destroying the continent.

African governments must be strong, they must create jobs for their young people and they must be present in every part of their countries.

African countries must stop thinking that a country is safe if the political and economic capitals are safe. Terrorists and jihadists thrive where there is no state authority.

However, African governments must also put in place transparent systems for the management of the resources. Corruption at the highest level only renders a country vulnerable.

Corruption weakens the police; it demoralizes the military and drives the continent’s best and brightest to other parts of the world where they are underpaid and underemployed.

The continent’s decolonization also implies that leaders must be selfless and young people who are conscious and intellectually alert are given a chance to fully participate in their countries’ politics.

A country ruled by old people cannot be innovative. Such a country will stagnate. African youths must be part of their governments. Today’s youths are more informed, tech-savvy, confident and bold enough to help their countries to fly into a bright and beautiful future.

The imaginary resource curse on Africa can be deleted if African leaders rule their countries like real patriots. They must be models to the continent’s youths. Where there is good governance and responsible leadership, hope and peace prevail.

Where leaders prioritize their people’s well-being over their own personal and parochial interests, there is no room for coups d’états. Coups are today being viewed as consequences of maladministration and corruption on the part of civilian leaders who have driven their people to the abyss of poverty. Their presence on the continent today simply speaks to the failure of the pseudo-democracy imposed on Africa by the West.

Source: Dr Joachim Arrey

30, April 2025

Football: Dembele goal gives PSG narrow advantage over Arsenal in Champions League ⁰

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday, with Ousmane Dembele scoring early at the Emirates. PSG controlled the game to protect their lead and head into the May 7 return leg in Paris as favourites to reach their first-ever Champions League final.

Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enrique’s side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay.

PSG will head into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7 as favourites to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan as they look to win the tournament for the first time.

But the French champions should take nothing for granted given their history of epic European collapses.

Arsenal’s first defeat in 18 home European matches was a painful blow to their own bid to win a first Champions League crown.

Mikel Arteta had labelled Arsenal’s run to the semi-finals a “beautiful story”.

The last chapter might make for frustrating reading, but they aren’t dead and buried just yet.

The Gunners had beaten holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semi-final since losing to Manchester United in 2009.

They could not replicate the swaggering display that blew Madrid away 3-0 in the first leg, despite a frenzied atmosphere as kick-off approached.

When Arsenal’s players gathered for a pre-match huddle in the tunnel, Declan Rice implored his team-mates to give everything as he roared “if we don’t have the ball we die”.

A video message from Arteta played on the Emirates screens struck a similarly rousing chord as the Spaniard urged fans to raise the roof.

But PSG had already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, after coming back from two goals down to beat Manchester City in the league phase.

Arsenal were the one English side they had failed to conquer, losing 2-0 in north London in October.

However, PSG were without the influential Dembele for disciplinary reasons on that occasion and Luis Enrique insisted his side were “more complete” seven months on.

Source: France 24

29, April 2025

US: Trump addressing rally in Michigan as he marks 100 days in office ⁰

US President Donald Trump is speaking at a rally in Michigan as he marks 100 days in office

“We’ve just gotten started,” he tells a crowd of supporters at the celebratory event

Since re-entering office three months ago, Trump has reshaped the US government with a flurry of executive actions

Earlier today in a briefing to mark Trump’s 100th day as US president, the White House criticised Amazon as “hostile” and “political”

It followed reports suggesting the online retailer will show consumers how much the president’s tariffs add to the cost of its products

Amazon says any plan to list import charges was never approved and it “is not going to happen”

Source: BBC

28, April 2025

Vatican: Conclave to elect new pope will start on May 7 ⁰

The death of Pope Francis has set in motion a centuries-old ritual to select a new pope. Cardinals will meet in a secret conclave to elect the new global Church leader starting May 7, the Vatican said Monday. Cardinals have been gathering in Vatican City since the pontiff died on April 21, but few clues have emerged as to who they might elect.

The date of May 7 was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, a source from the Holy See told Reuters.

Dozens of “Princes of the Church” from across the world have been gathering at the Vatican since the 88-year-old Argentine pontiff died on April 21.

But so far there are few clues as to who they might choose next.

Source: France 24

28, April 2025

Namibian minister sacked after being accused of rape ⁰

Namibia’s agriculture minister has been sacked after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago.

Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, local media quote the police as saying.

Hengari, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appear in court in the coming hours.

This is the first major scandal for Namibia’s first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, since she took office last month.

The statement from the president’s office did not indicate the reasons for the dismissal but said Hengari had also been dismissed from the National Assembly.

Hengari was nominated to parliament by the president to represent the ruling party, Swapo.

He is under investigations for multiple charges related to the case including kidnapping, rape and assault, local media report.

The opposition Independent Patriots for Change said Hengari’s arrest “on allegations of rape, kidnapping and forced abortion” was a “profound failure of leadership and exposes the hollowness of government rhetoric on gender-based violence”.

It said the case came against a backdrop of “widespread gender violence”, with 4,814 gender-violence cases reported last year. The country has a population of three million.

The party also criticised the vetting process, saying the president had appointed Hengari “despite a criminal investigation having allegedly been opened in November 2024”.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah last month unveiled a cabinet described as ground-breaking for female representation – with nine out 14 members being women, including the vice-president.

The 72-year-old won November’s election with a 58% share of the vote.

She is a long-term member of Swapo – which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1990 after a long struggle against apartheid South Africa.

Source: BBC

28, April 2025

Dozens of African migrants killed in US strike on Yemen ⁰

At least 68 African migrants have been killed in a US air strike on a detention centre in Houthi-controlled north-western Yemen, the armed group’s TV channel says.

Al Masirah reported that another 47 migrants were injured, most of them critically, when the centre in Saada province was bombed. It posted graphic footage showing multiple bodies covered in the rubble of a destroyed building.

There was no immediate comment from the US military.

But it came hours after US Central Command announced that its forces had hit more than 800 targets since President Donald Trump ordered an intensification of the air campaign against the Houthis on 15 March.

It said the strikes had “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders”, including senior officials overseeing missile and drone programmes.

Houthi-run authorities have said the strikes have killed dozens of civilians, but they have reported few casualties among the group’s members.

The migrant detention centre in Saada was reportedly holding 115 Africans when it was hit on Sunday night.

Despite the humanitarian crisis in Yemen caused by 11 years of conflict, migrants continue to arrive in the country by boat from the Horn of Africa, most of them intending to cross into neighbouring Saudi Arabia to find work.

Instead, they face exploitation, detention, violence, and dangerous journeys through active conflict zones, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In 2024 alone, it says, almost 60,900 migrants arrived in the country, often with no means to survive.

Earlier this month, the Houthi-run government said a series of US air strikes on the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea coast killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others. It said the terminal was a civilian facility and that the strikes constituted a “war crime”.

Centcom said the attack destroyed the ability of Ras Isa to accept fuel and that it would “begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities”.

Source: BBC

28, April 2025

Manyu Division: A new path is possible ⁰

Manyu’s underdevelopment has been a major issue and generations of Manyu citizens both at home and abroad have been seeking, albeit individually, to come up with possible solutions.

Manyu needs a facelift. It is long overdue. Its major towns and villages need development projects which will give the Division’s economy the wings it needs to fly into modernity and prosperity.

Though there is a wave of construction in the Division, there is no order in the way construction is taking place in many of the Division’s towns and villages. Town planning is still a foreign concept in Manyu and the Division’s residents are not doing much when it comes to playing by the book. Chaotic construction is playing out in Manyu, robbing the Division of its beauty.

Discipline, a key ingredient in development, is conspicuously absent in the way the people of Manyu do their things. They have embraced development but they have rejected discipline. No initiative succeeds without discipline.

Another issue ruining the Division is the people’s penchant for disagreement. Disagreement, though as old as time, has become the hallmark of the people of Manyu. Most people from this Division seem to have mercurial temperaments and the least disagreement always turns into a civil war, making it hard for any collaborative efforts to succeed. The people of Manyu seem to hold that division is strength while unity is a weakness and this unfortunate thinking is hurting the Division in a big and bad way.

Could this despicable behavior be attributed to the Division’s liberal culture, or is it because of the lack of strong political and cultural leadership? Why is it that the people of Manyu are yet to understand that there is power in numbers?

Can this solo mentality be ascribed to Western education or is it genetic for the people of Manyu Division to be only united when there are drinks and food?

Despite this gloomy picture, there is still some hope on the horizon. It is still possible for the people of Manyu Division to engineer new ways which will enable them to walk away from their solo mentality and the underdevelopment which has been stalking them like a stubborn shadow.

The new generation is different. Young men and women of Manyu descent have understood that things could be done differently. They want to work together. They want to change the Manyu narrative. They want to demonstrate that they have embraced new ways; ways which could give the Division’s economy a shot in the arm. They have seen their peers around the world making giant strides towards economic progress and financial independence. They no longer want to be mere sorry spectators of life and events in their own country. But the need sound and informed leadership which they see as the missing link.

They say the need strong, smart and determined leadership from their economic and political leaders; leaders who are conversant with global financial, economic and development trends. Leaders who can confidently shine the light for them to follow. In their view, this is the missing link which they are currently looking for and from every indication; they are looking for a small needle in a huge haystack.

In their quest for modern and purposeful leadership, young men and women of Manyu descent are looking to the Diaspora for a significant change in their Division.

They hold that with the Diaspora, the Division will be able to walk a new path. In their view, members of the Diaspora do not only have the transformative ideas which are capable of triggering economic and political prosperity, they also have massive financial resources which can create jobs for the Division’s cash strapped youths.

However, despite this optimistic view, it must be pointed out that it will take time for things to actually take shape. The Manyu mindset must change if real transformative change has to be a reality. For the Diaspora to play its investment role effectively, the people of Manyu must start seeing investments by the Diaspora not as opportunities for them to embezzle but opportunities for them rebuild their Division and to regain their confidence.

They must start seeing members of the Diaspora as investment partners and not cows that they must milk to death. A new path is possible but it must be preceded by a new and constructive mindset.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey