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17, November 2017

National Assembly Fire Disaster: Cavaye Djibril watched helplessly ⁰

The National Assembly building at Ngoa-Ekelle has suffered its third fire since its construction. But that which occurred yesterday, November 16, 2017 remains the most serious.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that it took about three hours to completely extinguish the fire that broke out around 9 pm yesterday.

The fury of the flames consumed the third and fourth floors before firefighters could control the spread of the flames. The fire was reportedly turned off shortly after midnight.

Some French Cameroun MPs, including the Honorable Cavaye Yegui Djibril, rushed to the scene and watched helplessly.
After 1995 and 2013, it is the third time since its construction that the glass house at Ngoa Ekelle is attacked by fire. The Francophone dominated security agencies have opened an investigation.

By Sama Ernest in Yaounde

17, November 2017

German factions fail in initial efforts to form coalition ⁰

German political factions have failed in their initial efforts to form a three-way coalition because of disagreements over environment, business, and migration policies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had set Thursday as the deadline for exploratory talks about forming a coalition government following elections on September 24.

Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc won 246 seats; the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), 80 seats; and the left-leaning environment-friendly Green Party, 67 in those elections. There are currently 709 seats in the German legislative body, or the Bundestag.

The coalition government being negotiated is referred to as “Jamaica” because the parties’ colors match those of the Caribbean island country’s flag.

The exploratory talks of the three parties continued into the early hours of Friday. Later in the day, they announced that they had failed to find common ground to begin formal coalition negotiations.

The three parties said further talks would be postponed to Friday noon.

“We’ll continue at noon today,” said Winfried Kretschmann, a Greens negotiator and premier of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, early on Friday.

Prime Minister of the state of Baden-Wurtemberg and Green Party politician Winfried Kretschmann (L) leaves the Parliamentary Society as exploratory talks to form a new government fail, in Berlin, Germany, in the early hours of Friday, November 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The main sticking points between the groups are their different perspectives over climate, migration, and finances.

Conservative participants said some of those differences might not be resolved at all.

“I don’t know if we can resolve all the discrepancies, all the disagreements,” said Joachim Herrmann, a senior member of the CSU, the sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

Failure to clinch a deal could lead to new elections.

Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), criticized the would-be coalition partners for failing to reach a deal, telling daily Die Welt, “If the (conservative) Union, FDP, and Greens don’t reach an agreement soon, there should be new elections.”

This is a scenario none of the negotiating parties would want, for fear that the far-right AfD could make further gains after already entering the parliament in the September 24 elections.

While Merkel is perceived as a skilled negotiator, the failure to form the coalition government has already been described as her loss.

“A failure of Jamaica would be her failure,” wrote the mass-circulation German daily Bild.

Culled from Presstv

17, November 2017

President Mugabe refuses to resign after meeting generals ⁰

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has refused to cede power to the military which has seized power in the southern African country and put him under house arrest.

Generals met with Mugabe on Thursday in the capital, Harare, and made efforts to push the 93-year-old veteran to resign, sources confirmed to the AFP news agency.

Mugabe’s motorcade reportedly took the president from his home to State House to hold a meeting with the generals.

The president also held meetings with envoys from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc.

Images of the meeting showed Mugabe dressed in a navy blue blazer and grey trousers standing alongside army chief General Constantino Chiwenga who smiled and was dressed in camouflage military fatigues.

Military forces took control of Harare on Wednesday, with soldiers and armored vehicles blocking roads to the main government offices, the parliament, and the courts in central Harare.

Mugabe has been in power for almost four decades, since the former British colony gained independence from the UK in 1980.

To many Zimbabweans, he is a “war hero” and an “African icon” who played a definitive role in making the country independent.

However, his deteriorating health in recent years has triggered a succession war between his wife Grace and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The military generals are strongly opposed to Grace’s presidency, while Mnangagwa has maintained cordial ties with the military.

On Thursday, the African Union expressed concern, calling on Zimbabwe’s military to halt what “seems like a coup”.

AU chief, Guinea’s President Alpha Conde, warned that the continent “will never accept the military coup d’etat” in Zimbabwe and called for a return to the “constitutional order.”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also called for “calm and non-violence” and for the fundamental rights of Zimbabwean citizens to be preserved, a spokesman for the UN chief said.

In Harare, residents continued life as normal on Thursday, commuting, socializing and working as they ignored the few soldiers still on the streets.

The state-owned Herald newspaper in its editorial took a neutral stand by remaining loyal to Mugabe but also endorsing the military’s action.

Source: Presstv

16, November 2017

President Biya and his two kids reportedly gained admission into ENAM ⁰

The controversial results for the 2017 session of ENAM released today Thursday the 16th of November in Yaounde had the names of President Biya and his two kids; Brenda and Junior.

In one of the most unprecedented action ever taken by a Francophone government minister, the ENAM results were cancelled barely two hours after publication. Tension is reportedly mounting in Yaounde deep within the ruling Beti-Ewondo clan.

We understand a war of words had erupted between the French Cameroun Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform and the Director-General of ENAM which witnessed a delay in making public the examination results.

This item is still developing

16, November 2017

Lake Chad Basin: Germany and UNDP join forces for Integrated Regional Stabilization ⁰

The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced that they will join forces to promote stabilization efforts in the Lake Chad Basin. Under the proposed initiative, titled “Integrated Regional Stabilization of the Lake Chad Basin”, Germany will grant UNDP EUR 6,000,579 million for the implementation of a series of projects aimed at restoring livelihoods and stability to crisis-affected communities.

The grant represents Germany’s commitment to support efforts of countries in the Lake Chad Basin as they work across the humanitarian-development nexus, further sustainable recovery efforts, ensure the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and stabilize communities ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency. The objectives of the project are in line with the priorities outlined in the first meeting of the “Oslo Consultative Group for Prevention and Stabilization” held in Berlin on 6th September 2017 with strong participation of Lake Chad riparian countries.

The Boko Haram insurgency in North East Nigeria and neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, has left over 10 million people displaced as of 2017 and resulted in massive destruction of basic infrastructure, health and educational facilities, commercial buildings, private houses and agricultural assets.

The multiyear project will target at least 20 communities in the Lake Chad region in Nigeria (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States); Niger (Diffa); Cameroon (Far north/ Logone and Chari and Mayo Tsanaga); and Chad (Lac, Kanem and Hadjer-Lamis).

The main objectives of the German-funded project are to develop and launch a common, regional approach to stabilization between the four countries of the Lake Chad Basin including on cross-border management processes, prevention of violent extremism; promotion of regional stabilization by strengthening community security, local governance and peacebuilding and reconciliation; and support to reintegration of civilian militia groups, vigilantes and former fighters and those associated with insurgent groups into crisis-affected communities. Cross-border cooperation will be crucial. Therefore the project will support the cross-border dialogue of decentralized authorities and decision makers in the Lake Chad Region.

Hailing the support of Germany as he spoke on behalf of UNDP Country Offices in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, Mr. Edward Kallon, UNDP Resident Representative for Nigeria stated that “UNDP will continue to work to across the humanitarian-development nexus, in line with the vision of the UN Secretary-General, and based on the commitments reached by the Lake Chad Basin countries, in order to promote sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and resilience of communities to both external and internal shocks.”

In its first phase of implementation, the project will provide immediate employment opportunities for 10,000 youth exposed to the risk of violent extremism and ensure the reintegration of 15,000 former Boko Haram fighters, vigilantes and persons associated with armed groups.

The project, which will be coordinated out of UNDP offices in Abuja and Maiduguri, Nigeria with presence in the other three countries, is also intended to benefit 3,000,000 persons through reconciliation activities; 80,000 direct beneficiaries from stabilization activities; 2,700 former militia and vigilantes; and help reinforce the capacities of 10 local government administrations.

Overall, it is estimated that about 4,800,000 persons will indirectly benefit from the implementation of the project.

Source:UNDP

16, November 2017

Let Cameroon be Famous for Soccer, Not Civil War ⁰

Ask most people what they know about Cameroon, and the best informed may mention the national soccer team. Otherwise, the small central African country rarely makes the headlines. Yet, it deserves the international community’s attention right now, before a trickle of refugees becomes a flood; and before the dozens of peaceful protesters shot dead by security services become hundreds or thousands.

Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur should have taught us that if the world looks the other way, rather than applying diplomatic pressure on autocratic leaders, we pay a high price for peacekeeping operations and reconstruction, once the killing ends. Purely on economic grounds, prompt action makes sense. Morally, preventing ethnic cleansing and massive human rights abuses with early diplomatic intervention is also clearly the right thing to do.

In Cameroon, the grievances of the English-speaking minority, long side lined by the French-speaking majority, have boiled over. After decades of discrimination, Anglophones are calling for a fair share of economic and political power. However, the Francophone government of President Paul Biya, Cameroon’s ruler since 1982, has responded with disproportionate ferocity. Shooting church-goers as they emerge from mass, and firing at unarmed civilians from helicopters, is a sure way of inciting further unrest.

What began as a peaceful strike by lawyers and teachers for better working conditions soon became a grassroots campaign for a federal, less centralized government, giving English-speakers equal rights. But the protesters have become polarized by President Biya’s heavy-handed response. People who would have settled for a more devolved form of power are now demanding secession and the formation of an independent country called Ambazonia. Twenty thousand Anglophones have fled to neighboring Nigeria in fear of what is to come. The deaths of several gendarmes, in addition to explosions on November 12, are signs that Anglophone grievance may become increasingly violent.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission does not have a good track record on standing up against the corrupt ruling elite of developing nations. However, even they have been moved to call on the Cameroon government to ensure the equal treatment of the English-speaking minority, guaranteeing its rights of expression and assembly. The Commission urged officials to carry out an impartial investigation of “the excessive use of force by Cameroon police officers,” resulting in deaths and injuries during protests at the beginning of October.

Anglophone frustration exploded a year ago when lawyers protested that new laws were not translated from French into English; courts in Anglophone areas were forced to conduct their business in French; and they had Francophone judges who could not or would not speak English foisted upon them. The lawyers were soon joined by teachers and others from civil society. There was anger that Francophone teachers with little or no English skills were teaching Anglophone children in French.

Once a week, schools and shops close down now, creating so-called Ghost Towns. There are suggestions that some Anglophone citizens feel intimidated into cooperating with the Ghost Town protests by the more militant Anglophone activists who are pushing for separation.

Representing the more moderate Anglophone voices are the Roman Catholic bishops of Bamenda, and the moderators of Presbyterian and Baptist churches. They are calling on the government to engage in genuine dialog and to investigate attacks on civilians. The bishops warn that a volatile situation may deteriorate further. Observers believe the churches are well-placed to host any dialog which would need to include grassroots representatives if it is to be perceived as legitimate. However, until there is a unified and coherent Anglophone position, it is feared President Biya will divide and rule.

The government has disrupted civil society by suspending the internet in the Anglophone areas intermittently, and enforcing a curfew regularly. Moreover, the Francophone authorities designate activists as terrorists, akin to the Islamist Boko Haram jihadists present in west and central Africa. President Biya, said to be in denial about Anglophone grievances, ordered the arrest of journalists and opposition figures, and the reported torture of dozens of activists. According to the International Crisis Group, 40 people were killed, hundreds imprisoned, and many more are missing or unaccounted for .

Despite all this, the international community is reluctant to criticise Biya’s government because Cameroon’s armed forces are fighting the West’s war against militant Islamism. Its soldiers are engaged in a battle against Boko Haram in the Far North region of the country, where 2,000 Cameroon civilians and soldiers have been killed. The country also hosts 348,000 refugees fleeing sectarian conflict in the neighboring Central African Republic.

The United Kingdom has colonial ties with the Anglophone region, and left behind its legal and education system, as well as “Anglo-Saxon values,” according to local people. However, when pressed in Parliament, British ministers blandly encourage dialog. They urge all sides to be peaceful, as if there is an equivalence between the unarmed civilians being shot from helicopters, and the security services doing the killing.

It is not too late to apply diplomatic pressure on President Biya’s government, but it requires the international community to think one or two steps ahead, learning the lessons of past atrocities.

Source: Huffingtonpost

16, November 2017

French Cameroun heading towards a major political crisis in parliament ⁰

La Republique du Cameroun is heading towards a major political crisis in parliament. The 18 MPs and 14 senators of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), have issued a statement in which they denounced in 8 points, the socio-political situation in Southern Cameroons.

The SDF parliamentary groups in the Senate and the National Assembly slammed among other things, excessive human rights abuses, mass killings, jailing of Southern Cameroonians in French Cameroun detention centres and the plight of Southern Cameroons refugess in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The predominantly Anglophone parliamentarians say Southern Cameroonians are considered by the Biya Francophone government to be “terrorists” and the regime is killing them in their numbers. The SDF elected representatives have also pointed out that instead of an inclusive, frank and sincere dialogue, the Yaounde government has been applying the use of force to a purely political problem.

Consequently, the SDF has suspended its participation in the current session, the 4th of its kind since the outbreak of the Southern Cameroons crisis in November 2016. A member of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate who spoke to our Yaounde city reporter immediately after the SDF decision was made public condemned the SDF MPs for receiving their bonus before launching their strike action.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

16, November 2017

Zimbabwe opposition leader returns home after coup ⁰

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader and former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai has returned to the African country to following an effective coup against long-time President Robert Mugabe.

A spokesman for Tsvangirai, who is the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said he had flown back home from South Africa late on Wednesday, adding that two other former government ministers had also returned to their country from Russia.

The privately-owned NewsDay Zimbabwe paper reported that Tsvangirai was “ready to enter negotiations to form a transitional government with former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa.”

Political tensions emerged in Zimbabwe last week after Mugabe fired Mnangagwa and accused him of plotting to take power, including through witchcraft. Mnangagwa, who enjoyed the backing of the military, had previously been considered the most likely to succeed the president if Mugabe resigned or died while in power. His sudden dismissal, however, raised speculations that Mugabe was clearing the way for his wife, Grace, to take the position.

This file photo, taken on June 2, 2017, shows Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (L) with his wife, Grace (R), at the Rudhaka Stadium, in Marondera, Zimbabwe. (By AFP)

The Thursday announcement came a day after the army seized power in the country in what was described by the leader of the African Union as a “coup.”

Military forces blocked roads to the main government buildings in the center of the capital, Harare, and sought to portray it as a “bloodless transition” away from Mugabe.

Meanwhile, Reuters cites a “source” said that Mugabe and his wife and two key figures from her G40 political faction are under house arrest at Mugabe’s “Blue House” compound in Harare.

The army has also detained Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, a leading member of the G40, which is a faction of the ruling ZANU-PF party, run by the president’s wife.

ZANU-PF said in series of tweets on Wednesday that “E Mnagngawa will be president of ZANU PF as per the constitution of our revolutionary organization.”

Young women walk past an armored personnel carrier stationed by an intersection as Zimbabwean soldiers regulate traffic in Harare on November 15, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Mugabe and his wife have been on the European Union (EU)’s sanctions list along with other key figures in Zimbabwe’s ruling elite, facing travel bans and asset freezes abroad.

The Zimbabwean president has called the sanctions, by the EU and separately by the United States over rights issues “wrong,” blaming them for his government’s failure to pay its workers on time, which led to a crippling strike last year.

Source: Presstv

16, November 2017

Central African Republic: UN agrees to deploy extra peacekeepers ⁰

The United Nations will send an extra contingent of troops to the Central African Republic amid warnings that lack of international support would leave the country at a real risk of ethnic cleansing.

During a Wednesday session of the UN Security Council, member countries unanimously agreed to beef up the UN mission in CAR, which is known as MINUSCA.

The agreement came after negotiations between France, a main foreign power present in CAR, and the US, the biggest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping. That led to a 15-0 vote to extend MINUSCA mandate in Central Africa for one more year and a deployment of 900 extra peacekeeping troops to the country, as requested by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Guterres had previously warned that Central Africa was at the brink of an ethnic cleansing if the UN failed to contribute more.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre hailed the decision and said the US approval of an extended mandate was very crucial.

“The Security Council cannot afford to take the risk of allowing the CAR to relapse into a crisis in which it was mired,” Delattre said, adding, “With our American friends, the more the discussions are based on a pragmatic approach, about life-and-death issues, about effects on the ground, the better.”

France intervened in CAR in 2013 to push back Seleka rebel alliance that had toppled longtime leader Francois Bozize. However, the country has seen widespread violence since then as various groups continue to vie for power across provinces.

MINUSCA’s chief resigned in 2015 in the face of rising allegations of sex abuse against the UN peacekeepers, further complicating the situation of foreign troops in the country.

Source: Presstv

16, November 2017

The pathetic situation facing 130 Southern Cameroons pregnant refugees in Obanliku Local Government Area ⁰

Hundreds of Southern Cameroonians who fled violence are facing serious health challenges as they seek refuge in Nigeria.

Pregnant Women at Obudu Ranch Health Center, RHC

A visit to the different camps for almost a week revealed that some are pregnant women who need adequate medical attention. Others are still battling with wounds and other infections. The case of pregnant women seems to be a cause for concern. In one of the camps in Obudu Ranch, on the Obudu mountain in Obanliku LGA, some 51 pregnant women are still wondering what the future holds for them barely months to delivery. Beyond the accommodation challenges, many complained that they have not bought a single item as part of preparation to welcome their new born.

Partial View of Pregnant Women at RHC

Majority of these women we learnt, have never visited the clinic. ” Many of them came from Akwaya without cloths. Using the same loin for two or three days affects mostly the pregnant women. When we did some tests their MP was positive, ” a community volunteer nurse at the Ranch Community Health Center, Virginia Echile explained on November 11 2017.

CDC Donating Blanckets to Pregnant Women

“The predominant illnesses from patients that we receive include malaria, typhoid and general body pains. When they were trekking from Akwaya to Kigol – one of the nearest Nigerian village through forest and rivers – they developed lower abdominal pains since they are pregnant,” she said.

The medics also complained that they were running out of drugs. “Everything is almost finished. We need anti-biotics and anti-malaria drugs. We need HIV tests tools to be running their tests, pain killers and other drugs,” she explained.

“Of the 51 pregnant women, six are due for delivery this November 2017 and 8 for December. We are in serious need of delivery kits to help us manage delivery. We have run out of hand gloves, Amoxilyn, paracetamol and other pain killers. We also need more blankets so that the nursing mothers and babies do not catch cold,” added the Chief Community Health Extension Worker of the Ranch Health Center, RHC, Madame Anna Amele. The case of the 51 registered pregnant women in Obudu Ranch Camp constitutes a minute fraction of many others scattered all over the Cross River State and other areas in Nigeria.

At the Sankwala General Hospital in the Obanliku LGA, 25 year old Oneh Janet was as still struggling to sit comfortably on the bed when we arrived there. She is a sick nursing mother to two weeks old Eric. Medical officials explained that she was brought there from another hospital after her situation was witnessing little improvement. “She was fast recovering,” they said. In the nearby maternity ward, 17 old pregnant, Ayawa Valentine was just recovering from weeks of fatigue. She was brought to Samkwala with a six month pregnancy from the Ranch Community Health Center.

Janet and Her Son in Sankwala Hosp

“The way she looks they might do cesarean. She sustained serious abdominal pains as she had to trek over a long distance. When she was brought here she was not talking, nor walking. She is better now. She eats how,” Ugbe Monica, the nurse in charge explained.

Down town in the Ikom Local Government Area, Mary Chufua who said she fled from violence in Buea with a 3 month pregnancy following a manhunt for her husband was eating a cocoa pod when she complained.

“I don’t have any money to go to hospital. I have not started my prenatal consultations, ” she said. It was the same message from Ngwa Mado who is six months pregnant. A smile was on their faces after officials of the Southern Cameroons Civil Defense Cabinet, SC – CDC gave them 10,000 naira each to begin with consultation. They expressed gratitude to Southern Cameroonian Association, SCAC,Canada, that came to their aid.

Late October, it emerged from Rhema Care, one of the Humanitarian Organisations on the ground that there were two deliveries in the Obalinku area every week, while some three cases were due for operation. “In the Obanliku Local Government Area made up of Amana, Obudu Ranch, Utanga and Sankwala communities, we have close to 130 registered pregnant women. Four of them have been operated while we have six others on the cue. It has not been an easy task especially with the numerous patients who are to be operated. We are struggling to do our best with the means available, ” explained Pastor Eric Suh, the CEO of Rhema Care, November 15, 2017.

Medics at the Sankwala General Hospital raised concerns should bleeding patients be brought in.
“Their feeding and water also remain a challenge. Otherwise the other parts are strictly medical. For the medical part of the management we now have a scan machine that would help us especially in the diagnoses. Otherwise we are doing our best to ensure every other thing is normal. We discussed that together with Doctors Without Borders.

Agbokim Waterfall SC Resident
I told them that we are not prepared for surgical emergencies for people that may be brought here bleeding. If they are in numbers we would have difficulties managing surgical emergencies. But for medical emergencies. We have no problem about that. We have enough bed space, ” the Director of the Hospital , Dr Besong Ferdinand said.

Beyond the trouble affecting pregnant women, other ladies also raised complains about their other sick children, some facing serious challenges to feed them. All these complains were recorded at the Agbokim Waterfall Camp.

During a visit to the Ajassor camp in the Etung LGA, mostly made of youths, it was also revealed that there were some who were battling with wounds they sustained in violence in the Southern Cameroons. Some sustained injuries on September 22 and October 1, while others are suffering with muscular pains as a result of walking for several hours, from Mamfe to Nigeria.

Besong, Geeting Treated

“I am grateful to our brothers in Canada who are thinking about us. We are now sure that those of us who have escaped cannot be forgotten, ” said Besong Ayamba. The CDC response team rushed him to County Specialist Hospital in Ikom where the wound he sustained on his left shin as he escaped to safety was treated. They wound was fast decomposing.
There were other Southern Cameroonians who had developed skin infections and others with fractures. “We slept at the Maromba forest for almost a month under rain and sunshine. When I arrived Nigeria, I only discovered that I had developed fungi infections which is like ring warm on my legs and hands. No way to go to hospital because I don’t have any money. And the fungi itches me every day very badly, “complained Lawson Nganga who left from Kumba. Similar complains of skin infections were presented by a lady from Akwaya in Amana camp apparently resulting from poor accommodation and sleeping conditions.

Living With a fractured thigh Challenge of Paying Hospital Bills

It emerged from the different areas visited that though hospitals were doing their best they were facing difficulties with increasing bills. We gathered from medics at the Sankwala General Hospital for instance that, the bills there stood at close to 500 000 naira with more than 13 operations already carried out.

Officials of the Ranch Health Center in Obudu said part of the medical bills there were paid by the UN HCR while more than half has not been cleared. “I can assure you to continue treatment of all Southern Cameroonians. Do not stop the treatment. We are mobilizing ourselves and our people all over the world and we would eventually foot the bills, ”

the SC Executive President Sir Ekili Clarence reassured the nurses, when he was informed on November 11, that some more than 200 naira was owed the health facility by Southern Cameroonians. The CDC was up the Obudu Ranch health Center to provide warm clothing, blankets and other non-food items to pregnant women as a result of the cold weather on the mountain.

Open Defecation Needs Attention

Open defecation was an issue raised by the local community volunteers amid fears of outbreak of diseases like diarrhea, typhoid and dysentery, if measures are not urgently taken to provide the local community with toilets and proper care to the water sources.
“There is need for the implementation of Water Hygiene and Sanitation programs because open defecation is an environmental and public health challenge, ” said Pastor Eric Suh.

By Solomon Amabo, Cross River State, Nigeria