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23, December 2024

Cameroon facing worsening healthcare shortage ⁰

Cameroon’s healthcare system faces a shortage of 68,000 personnel, Public Health Minister Manaouda Malachie recently told lawmakers. This shortage, the minister said, prevents the country from meeting World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

The government official made this revelation before members of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly while defending the Public Health Ministry’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year.

Pressed by lawmakers to explain the shortage of medical staff in healthcare facilities, the minister emphasized the “need to recruit healthcare personnel in light of the scarcity of doctors and that, in accordance with the workforce management plan, recruitment is carried out with consideration of its financial sustainability for the state,” as noted in the committee’s report.

He nonetheless reassured that “efforts are being made to ensure that every locality has healthcare personnel.” Moreover, Manaouda Malachie informed the deputies that “given the sensitivity of the public health sector, a massive healthcare personnel recruitment project is underway. This will eventually significantly reduce the deficit.” However, similar promises had been made in the past.

Four years ago, in December 2021, at the same hearing, Manaouda Malachie acknowledged a deficit of 55,000 healthcare workers. He requested a budget line for the following year to “enhance the availability of quality human resources in healthcare facilities, develop a new human resources development plan, and engage in advocacy and social dialogue to improve working conditions for healthcare personnel.” Yet, by the minister’s own admission, with the current deficit of 68,000 personnel, the gap has widened by 13,000 since 2021.

According to the Cameroon Employers’ Association, Cameroonian doctors, along with teachers, are among the professional categories most likely to emigrate to Canada. An estimated 6,000 of them left the country between April and August 2024.

Source: Sbbc

23, December 2024

Martinez Zogo Murder Trial: defense challenge shifts focus to Appeal Court ⁰

The scheduled hearing at the Yaoundé military tribunal in the case of slain journalist Martinez Zogo is unlikely to yield significant progress. Defense lawyers have appealed the presiding judge’s November 11 rejection of their objections to the detention of their clients.

The appeal, filed with the Centre Region Court of Appeal, seeks to overturn Colonel Missé Njoné’s decision. Defense attorneys aim to compel the judge to reconsider procedural aspects of the preliminary investigation and judicial inquiry. If successful, the appeal could lead to the release of several of the 17 accused, including prominent businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga and former Directorate General for External Research (DGRE) head Léopold Maxime Eko Eko.

At the December 3 hearing, defense attorneys highlighted the unavailability of the contested decision. The tribunal assured them it would be forwarded to the court registry soon. However, the appeal court cannot proceed until it formally receives the case file, leaving the trial in limbo pending a ruling on the appeal.

This marks the second appeal filed by the defense since the trial began in March. In July, defense lawyers sought to compel Judge Missé Njoné to provide them with a copy of the case file. The court denied the request, ruling that Cameroonian law does not mandate the judge to share the document. Some lawyers have since appealed this decision to the Supreme Court.

In January 2023, Zogo’s mutilated body was discovered in the northeastern outskirts of Yaoundé. As director of Amplitude FM, a radio station in the capital, Zogo was known for his popular program exposing corruption among high-profile figures.

Investigations revealed that a DGRE commando kidnapped, tortured, and murdered the journalist. The revelations led to the arrest of 17 individuals, including 12 DGRE agents.

Source: Sbbc

23, December 2024

Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, 15, hits first hole-in-one ⁰

Tiger Woods’ teenage son Charlie hit his first hole-in-one during the final round of the PNC Championship – but they were beaten to the title in a play-off by Bernhard and Jason Langer.

Charlie Woods, 15, holed out at the par-three fourth to send the father-son team into the lead at the tournament, which features 20 major champions playing with a member of their family.

But it was Team Langer who celebrated a second consecutive trophy – and fourth overall – in Orlando, Florida when German Bernhard made eagle on the first play-off hole to seal the win.

“It was awesome,” Charlie said. “No one made a mistake today, so that was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.”

He added: “On top of that, I made an ace. I don’t think I can top that.”

Tiger Woods was playing in his first competitive event since the Open in July.

The 15-time major winner had back surgery for the second time in 18 months in September and conceded he was “nowhere near competitive shape” at the PGA-backed exhibition tournament.

However, he did think he and son Charlie “made a great team this week”.

“And that’s the whole joy of it, is to be out here with family and bonding and just the enjoyment of each other’s company,” the 48-year-old added.

The younger Woods was not the only player to make a first career hole-in-one on Sunday.

Some 30 minutes after Charlie holed out, Paddy Harrington – the 21-year-old whose father Padraig is a three-time major winner – aced the eighth hole.

“I’ve never hit a shot and been that excited before,” Padraig Harrington said.

Source: BBC

22, December 2024

Magdeburg: Home of English speaking Cameroonians comes under attack ⁰

The University of Magdeburg in the Federal Republic of Germany was the first renowned German academic establishment to offer management courses in English and this attracted hundreds of English speaking Cameroonians to the city of Magdeburg.

In the late 90s, the city of Magdeburg provided a rare opportunity for several Southern Cameroons freedom fighters who were asylum seekers in the small town of Halberstadt to blend with the English speaking student community in the University of Magdeburg. Magdeburg became the home of the new Anglophone Cameroon nationalism.

Today, Magdeburg’s Christmas market is a sad sight. This should have been the busiest weekend of the season, but the whole area has been cordoned off and all the stands are shut.

Police are the only people walking around the boarded-up mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.

On the pavement, red candles flicker, tributes laid for the victims.

Lukas, a truck driver, told me he felt compelled to come to pay his respects. “I wasn’t there when it happened,” he told me.

“But I work here in Magdeburg. I’m here every day. I’ve driven by here a thousand times.”

“It’s a tragedy for everyone here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator should be punished.”

“We can only hope that the victims and their families find the strength to deal with it.”

There is sorrow here – but there is anger too.

Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.

Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said “there should’ve been better security”.

“We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly.”

Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said “there should’ve been better security”.

“We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly.”

Standing at the security cordon, I heard a group of locals complaining loudly about Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.

“They are wasting our tax money, they are just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We just hear empty promises,” one man said.

“They are turning what happened here around and want to put the blame on the opposition and use it for their election campaign,” he said.

On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg’s Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching a memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.

Protesters held a banner that read “Remigration now!” – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted “those who do not love Germany should leave Germany”.

It is not clear yet what impact this attack may have on Germany’s upcoming election.

Germany has been hit by a number of deadly Islamist attacks in the past, but investigators said the evidence they have gathered so far suggests a different picture in this case.

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect appears to have been “Islamophobic”.

The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia, and his social media posts suggest he had been critical of Islam.

He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany’s far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), re-tweeting posts from the party’s leader and a far-right activist.

Reported by Cameroon Concord News and the BBC

20, December 2024

ECHO says 2.7 million in Cameroon could face food insecurity ⁰

The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) said on Monday that food insecurity in Cameroon is worsening, with over 3 million people currently affected.

In its daily flash report, ECHO cited the Cadre Harmonisé, a food security assessment framework, which found that 2.7 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity during the lean season from June to August 2025.

The lean season, the period between harvests, is typically a time of food scarcity for many households.

ECHO noted that these figures represent a 4.7% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The three regions most impacted by food insecurity are the Far North, North-West, and South-West.

The Far North region is expected to be the hardest hit, with over one million people projected to face acute food insecurity during the lean season. ECHO attributed the worsening food security situation to several factors, including unprecedented flooding in the Far North region in 2024, escalating conflict-induced violence, and rising food prices.

Source: Business in Cameroon

20, December 2024

Missing flight MH370 affair: Malaysia approves new search ⁰

The Malaysian government says it has agreed in principle to resume the search for a passenger jet that vanished ten years ago in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board.

Efforts to locate the wreckage of the Boeing 777 have sputtered over the years and hundreds of families of those on board remain haunted by the tragedy.

On Friday, Malaysia’s transport minister Anthony Loke said the cabinet approved in principle a $70m (£56m) deal with US-based marine exploration firm Ocean Infinity to find the aircraft.

Under a “no find, no fee” arrangement, Ocean Infinity will get paid only when the wreckage is found.

A 2018 search by Ocean Infinity under similar terms ended unsuccessfully after three months.

A multinational effort that cost $150m ended in 2017 after two years of scouring vast waters.

While the government has “in principle” accepted Ocean infinity’s offer, Loke said negotiations over specific terms of the deal were still ongoing and would be finalised early next year.

The new search will cover a 15,000 sq km patch in the southern Indian Ocean.

“We hope this time will be positive,” Loke said, adding that finding the wreckage would give closure to the families of those on board.

Source: BBC

20, December 2024

Letter to Camcordnews ⁰

Dear Cameroon Concord News

Help us to understand the new finance law many people are talking about. Francophone newspapers in Cameroon have spent a lot of time talking about the new taxes which will destroy Cameroonians and the economy but our own news platform has not yet shed light on this disturbing problem.

The parliament of Cameroon has been in session for weeks now and the law-makers of the country who are supposed to represent the population will be passing some new finance laws which might hurt many struggling citizens.

As ordinary citizens, we are yet to recover from the high prices caused by the pandemic. The stress and tension in the country arising from hardship are visible and many people are losing their lives due to hardship.

Cameroonians are already paying taxes but not much is seen in terms development, especially concerning the building of infrastructure.

To my knowledge, taxes are not a bad thing. They can help a country to develop. In Western countries such as France and Great Britain, many people lose huge amounts of money to the state by way of taxes. I don’t live in the West but I read a lot about life abroad.

It is true that citizens in Western countries hate paying taxes, but they do admit that taxes go a long way in positively impacting their lives.

Good roads, hospitals and schools are some of the things which make westerners to accept some of the high taxes they pay.

There is also the issue of security. Where there is security, there is a tendency for people to settle there and security usually gets financed with tax money.

Cameroonians are afraid of taxes not because they do not know what taxes could do for a country if well used. Their fear comes from the fact that Cameroon does not have good roads, good schools and hospitals but the citizens get punished every day, every year with taxes.

Taxes are not bad, what makes Cameroon’s taxes bad is the way tax revenues are used. For now, not many people back home are talking about the new taxes and high cost of living.

Like many ordinary Cameroonians, I will like the Cameroon Concord News to shed light on this new burden that will be soon imposed on Cameroonians by a government that hardly renders account.

Thank you for helping our government to understand our pain and for helping Cameroonians to understand what is in that new finance law.

Ngah Jude in Bamenda

19, December 2024

Fight against corruption: Nyenè Mawn suspends 7 frontline leaders ⁰

The Manyu Women International Association (Nyenè Mawn) has suspended seven of its front line leaders indefinitely for sowing intolerance and disunity by misappropriating the association’s funds. The action announced today by the leadership of Nyenè Mawn’s governing body against the seven was unexpectedly severe.

Nyenè Mawn stated that “recent acts of financial misconduct by Bessem Bayen, Nancy Tarkang, Evelyn Ashu, Frida Enow, Emilia Ntoh, Florence Bessong and Baphe Lurke for which all 7 have been found guilty are very serious, and have damaged the integrity of Nyenè Mawn and Nyenè Mawn’s international reputation.”

The Nyenè Mawn press release also suggested that the suspended seven members have been intimidated by the verdict.

The sanction deprives the seven members, who have been active in Nyenè Mawn ever since the association was created in Belgium from participating in any Nyenè Mawn activity. The Nyenè Mawn statement furthered that the memberships of the seven have all been frozen.

“This decision has been communicated to the concerned parties and we have been told that the 7, intimidated by this action, are planning to release on social media a statement saying they have passed a vote of no-confidence on the President-General Dr Mrs Patience Abangma. We hereby call on all Nyenè Mawn queens, all over the world not to treat as serious any vote of no-confidence statement on social media against Dr. Patience Abangma,”

“We again are asking all our members to remain vigilant and to bear in mind that only the general assembly meeting coming up in August in Paris, France will implement changes as regards to leadership positions in Nyenè Mawn.”

At the time of filing this report a statement from the seven suspended members was sent to our editorial chat forum.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

18, December 2024

IMF urges further actions after CEMAC Summit ⁰

Reacting to the outcomes of the extraordinary summit of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) on the region’s economic situation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the commitment of the heads of state while urging “further actions.” These additional efforts, the IMF stated in a December 16 communiqué, should focus on “rebuilding buffers, enhancing public finance sustainability and transparency, mobilizing non-oil revenues, and addressing debt vulnerabilities.” The organization also reaffirmed its readiness “to support the region in achieving sustainable and inclusive growth.”

The extraordinary summit, held in Yaoundé, was reportedly convened at the insistence of the IMF. The Bretton Woods institution had raised concerns about declining foreign exchange reserves in the CEMAC region. These reserves increased from 2.3 months of imports in 2016 to 4.6 months in 2023 but showed a “downward trend” in 2024, according to the Cameroonian presidency.

Observers believe the IMF’s broader aim for the summit was to encourage Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Chad to join its Economic and Financial Reform Program, which Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Congo-Brazzaville are already part of. Reflecting this objective, one of the summit’s recommendations called on “other member states to formalize agreements with the International Monetary Fund as soon as possible to benefit from its support and that of other technical and financial partners.”

Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the IMF’s Africa Department, emphasized the need for “bold actions,” particularly in improving transparency in public finances and the oil and gas sectors. He also reiterated the importance of CEMAC’s fixed exchange rate regime, which he noted “continues to serve the region well by effectively anchoring inflation expectations and reducing uncertainty associated with international trade and investment.” Selassie welcomed the renewed commitment to external sustainability, describing the summit as a pivotal step forward.

“This Heads of State Summit has laid the groundwork to advance critical discussions on regional policy assurances and on safeguarding regional macroeconomic stability,” he stated. Selassie added that IMF staff, along with national and regional authorities, are continuing discussions to align on efforts to improve CEMAC’s fiscal adjustment path, preserve external reserves, and strengthen debt sustainability.

Source: Sbbc

18, December 2024

BEAC increases liquidity injection to meet bank demand ⁰

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) conducted a new liquidity injection operation for commercial banks on December 17. This time, the central bank offered CFA220 billion, a rise of CFA60 billion compared to the previous operations on December 3 and December 10.

This increase in liquidity follows a prior reduction of 50%, when the offer dropped from CFA320 billion to CFA160 billion between late November and early December. The adjustment comes amid a renewed interest from banks in BEAC’s refinancing operations. For example, on December 3, the BEAC offered CFA160 billion, but the banks requested CFA224.8 billion. Similarly, on December 10, the entire CFA160 billion made available was taken up, yet not all banks could meet their financing needs, which totaled CFA162.8 billion.

This renewed interest in the central bank’s refinancing offers in December may be linked to increased demand for bank loans. According to banking officials, the year-end holiday season, a time of high consumer spending, often drives up demand for credit in commercial banks.

Source: Business in Cameroon