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20, January 2025

US: Trump in Capitol to be sworn in as 47th US president ⁰

Donald Trump has arrived at the Capitol to be sworn in as the 47th US president.

Trump’s incoming administration indicates he will declare a “national emergency” at the US-Mexico border, along with a host of other executive actions – which will be announced later today

Ahead of Trump entering office, Biden issues pre-emptive pardons for several figures “threatened with criminal prosecutions”, including Dr Anthony Fauci and officers who testified over the Capitol riot

Earlier, Trump attended a church service alongside some of the most powerful tech moguls in the world – Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Apple’s Tim Cook

The inauguration, ceremony which is traditionally held outside the US Capitol, has been moved indoors due to a forecast of freezing temperatures with a wind chill of -13C (9F)

Source: BBC

20, January 2025

Minister Ngoh Ngoh attends opening of Brenda Biya’s Cosmetics boutique in Yaoundé ⁰

Brenda Biya, daughter of President Paul Biya, has officially launched her cosmetics boutique in Yaoundé’s Bastos district.

On Saturday 18 January 2025, Brenda Biya inaugurated her high-end cosmetics store in the heart of Cameroon’s capital. The shop, called ‘Bree Cosmetics’, offers a wide range of beauty products.

The inauguration ceremony was well attended with the Secretary General at the presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh also answering present.

‘I worked really hard on this project,’ says Brenda Biya in a promotional video about the opening of her boutique in the Bastos district of Yaoundé.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

20, January 2025

Biya’s continued stay in power: Bishop of Yagoua comes under attack ⁰

The President of the National Assembly Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has launched a scathing attack on the Bishop of Yagoua, who in a homily on 1 January 2025 denounced the inertia of the corrupt CPDM government in Yaoundé.

‘Even a devil should first take power in Cameroon and then we’ll see’, Bishop Barthelemy Yaouda of the Diocese of Yagoua said.

His Lordship the Bishop of Yagoua used the figure of speech to indicate that it was time for President Paul Biya to make way for someone else.

‘We’re not going to suffer any more than this. We’ve already suffered. The worst is not going to come. Even the Devil should first take power in Cameroon and then we’ll see.”

Cavaye Yeguie Djibril was visibly ‘touched’ by these remarks and has gone on the offensive against the Holy Roman Catholic Church lecturing a pro Biya audience on the notion of the devil and stating that it is imperative to summon Bishop Barthelemy Yaouda to Rome.

‘Catholics should summon that bishop to Rome to show us the devil. Otherwise, it means that all Catholics are saying the same thing. No one has yet seen the devil. Even pagans have never seen the devil. Nobody has ever seen the devil, only this bishop knows where the devil is’, said Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril.

Cavaye’s childish outburst shows that the prelate’s homily is making waves inside the Unity Palace this election year.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

20, January 2025

French Cameroun: Martinez Zogo remains unburied 2 years after assassination ⁰

For 728 days, the body of Martinez Zogo (photo), the radio host whose remains were discovered on January 22, 2023, about 15 kilometers northeast of Yaoundé, has remained at the Yaoundé Central Hospital morgue.

According to his family’s lawyer, Calvin Job, a funeral is currently impossible. “Martinez Zogo’s body is a piece of evidence. In this sense, the court needs it,” Job explained following the January 13th hearing.

The trial, which began at the Military Tribunal in March 2024, has been plagued by significant delays, as highlighted by Job. He criticized the repeated postponements, stating, “This slow pace also hinders the burial process.”

The family has formally requested the release of Martinez Zogo’s remains for burial. However, military justice officials maintain that returning the body is premature, as explained by Christophe Bobiokono, a journalist and editor of Kalara, a publication specializing in judicial news. Bobiokono noted that the body must remain available for further investigation. “A new autopsy might be necessary at any time, as the cause of death could be contested,” he explained.

Bobiokono emphasized that some defendants may dispute the murder charges against them. “This could necessitate another autopsy to confirm or refute the assassination allegations,” he added, concluding that “the investigation remains incomplete.”

Ten months after the first session, procedural issues continue to dominate the hearings, with substantive debates yet to start. Martinez Zogo’s family has expressed frustration with the prolonged process, eager to conclude the trial so they can properly mourn. “We are awaiting the final verdict so they can release the body for burial. We have customs. As long as he [Martinez Zogo] remains in the morgue, we cannot perform the necessary rites,” Crescence Moungou, the late journalist’s elder sister, told Equinoxe TV in 2023.

Seventeen individuals were arrested and charged following the discovery of Martinez Zogo’s body. Among the accused are 12 agents from the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE), including Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, the former head of this powerful intelligence agency. The military tribunal is handling the case due to the involvement of military personnel, gendarmes, and police officers.

According to Bobiokono, who is also a member of the Human Rights Commission, all costs associated with preserving Martinez Zogo’s body are being covered by the military justice system.

Source: Sbbc

18, January 2025

There are reasons why Anglophones believe Biya is a loud sounding nothing ⁰

A huge influx of French speaking Cameroonians coming back every December into the country from Germany, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, UK and the USA and a swelling desire for infrastructural development as seen in English speaking countries such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya is now spelling the end for the 42 year-old Biya regime.

While Mr Paul Biya may have no intention of stepping down before this year’s presidential election as demanded by prominent Roman Catholic Bishops or giving up the chairmanship of his ruling CPDM party, change in Cameroon is now inevitable.

It has long been a French Cameroun’s policy to make English speaking Cameroonians feel inferior and marginalized in a union they voted to join via a UN sponsored plebiscite in 1961 and the French government in Paris has been helping them! France is happy when Francophones control everything in Cameroon and they also do not want Anglophones to have authority over their own internal affairs.

English speaking Cameroon political leaders have all along pursued a strategy of cozying up to hostile French Cameroun leaders including the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya, in the hope that a united and prosperous bilingual Cameroon will emerge in Africa.

But while Francophone Cameroun political elites have never taken any significant measures towards building a united, strong and democratic nation fully integrated in the African Union, Biya and his backers in Paris have actually strengthened his legitimacy and absolute rule over the Republic of Cameroon and for forty-two years, the President of Cameroon has virtually been living in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

There are a lot of signs that French Cameroun under Biya is continuing its failed policy of assimilation of English speaking Cameroonians and, even with the present armed conflict in Southern Cameroons, the regime in Yaoundé is only following directives from Paris.

During a televised conversation with business tycoon Mo Ibrahim in France, Biya made it public that the French policy of assimilation has failed woefully in Southern Cameroons. But the French puppet is still not interested in abandoning the cuvee-type policy. Consequently, Southern Cameroonians over the last seven years have taken very resolute actions by increasing additional economic pain on the French backed Francophone regime in Yaoundé.

Biya and his Francophone political elites think that the only way to achieve victory over Southern Cameroonians is to buy time like what Nigerians did with Biafra. But this is not working!

Nigeria justified their continued acquisition of Biafra as a tribe within the federation. But British Southern Cameroons was already a nation before reunification with La Republique du Cameroun.

Recent developments in Yaoundé are very alarming. The reality is that no French Cameroun political leader is really serious about solving the Anglophone problem. And this denial is slowly but surely giving birth to a new state-the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

If you follow the propaganda in Yaoundé, it seems that everything is working for the 92-year-old President Biya and his men and that Cameroon is prosperous. But looking at the reality, the Biya regime is indeed a Francophone crime syndicate. The bones have a French structure, but the flesh has already turned English.

The number of French speaking Cameroonians sending their children to Anglophone schools in Southern Cameroons and to English speaking countries such Ireland, Nigeria, the UK, South Africa, Canada and the United States is increasing every year. In the next decade, Cameroon will be an English speaking country. Biya and his men are all aware but are simply deceiving their French supporters in Paris.

Take a look at the French speaking millennial generation of the so-called CEMAC region grouping Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville, Central African Republic and Chad, they are the only ones deep within the African continent who have grown up with computers and there is a boom of English learning. And they are no longer interested in watching Bel Mondo, Bernard Tapie content or even the French Ligue 1 football competition. They are only interested in Nigeria movies, music and comedies. To be sure, the eyes of the new generation of French speaking Africans whether in Burkina Faso, Mali or Niger are not on this nonsense French ideological machine, but on material things. And even though Macron wants to stop it with a pro Nigeria stance, the French can’t stop this future in black Africa.

Change is coming to Francophone Africa and their militaries or security forces cannot halt this process because the new young forces are demanding it. Biya is a finished man and the people around him except his wife Chantal Biya and the Minister-Secretary General at the presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh are all in their 80s! So power is no longer in the hands of the ruthless and merciless generation. Today, the young generation knows that if they stand up, there will be no crackdown! But they are waiting patiently for the demise of the butcher of Yaoundé which is coming soon and very soon and they will be brave enough to go to the streets and celebrate.

From every indication, Cameroon is Biya’s family business and there are some people in the military, the National gendarmerie and the police force who are thinking wrongfully that the Biya dynasty should go on and on. But Southern Cameroonians have come to the conclusion that the final change in the Republic of Cameroon will be the collapse of the Biya’s nonsense machine this 2025 presidential election.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

18, January 2025

Samuel Eto’o crowned as “Ntumfyon” ⁰

In a ceremony rich in tradition and emotion, Samuel Eto’o, the iconic former captain of the Indomitable Lions and current President of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), was crowned “Ntumfyon” by the traditional rulers of the North West region.

This title in the North West is an exceptional recognition of leadership and impact on society.

The ceremony was held in the heart of the ancestral lands of the North-West, with traditional dances, songs and rituals to consecrate Samuel Eto’o as an ‘Ntumfyon’.

Ever since he was elected president of FECAFOOT, Samuel Eto’o has focused his energy on reforming football in Cameroon, with a particular interest on young talent and creating opportunities for local communities. This new title reinforces his stature as a visionary leader and a unifying figure in Cameroon.

With this new distinction, Samuel Eto’o continues to make history, not only as one of Africa’s greatest footballers, but also as a true cultural icon and a symbol of hope for future generations.

By Fon Lawrence

17, January 2025

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 1 killed, 6 injured in Bamenda clash ⁰

At least one person was killed and six others injured on Thursday afternoon in a clash between government troops and Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Bamenda.

The exchange of fire occurred in the neighborhood of Bamenda, chief city in the North West region as the Francophone dominated military repelled an Amba infiltration attempt, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“They attacked a military outpost at Ntabessi. Our brave forces fought back and opened fire. It was then that stray bullets killed a civilian and injured six others. Our forces are pursuing them to their hideouts,” the official said.

A separatist insurgency has been going on in Cameroon’s two anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017. Armed separatists attempt to secede from the largely French-speaking Cameroon and create an independent nation in the regions.

By Fon Lawrence with files from Xinhuanet

17, January 2025

Another CPDM baron has died in Yaoundé aged 85 ⁰

Professor Pierre Titi Nwel, a member of the Electoral Council (Elecam) has died aged 85.

Cameroon Concord News understands that Professor Titi Pierre passed away late on Thursday 16 of January 2025 in Yaoundé.

He was expected in Douala today Friday 17 January 2025 to begin a tour of ELECAM’s rigging facilities in the Littoral region.

Pierre Titi Nwel was born on 1 November 1940 in Matomb a district in the Nyong-et-Kéllé Division in the Centre region some 65 km south-west of Yaoundé. He held a doctorate in sociology from the University of Paris-X (Nanterre).

He worked at the Ministry of Education from 1973 to 2012 and has held a number of international consultancy positions.

By Rita Akana

16, January 2025

Global Economy Stabilizes, But Developing Economies Face Tougher Slog ⁰

Developing economies—which fuel 60 percent of global growth—are projected to finish the first quarter of the 21st century with the weakest long-term growth outlook since 2000, according to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report. Even as the global economy stabilizes in the next two years, developing economies are expected to make slower progress in catching up with the income levels of advanced economies.

The global economy is projected to expand by 2.7% in both 2025 and 2026, the same pace as in 2024, as inflation and interest rates decline gradually. Growth in developing economies is also expected to hold steady at about 4% over the next two years. This, however, would be a weaker performance than before the pandemic—and insufficient to foster the progress necessary to alleviate poverty and achieve wider development goals.

The World Bank’s analysis is its first systematic assessment of the performance of developing economies in the first quarter of the 21st century. It finds that, during the first decade, developing economies grew at the fastest clip since the 1970s. Yet progress ebbed after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09. Global economic integration faltered: as a share of GDP, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into developing economies are at about half the level of the early 2000s. New global trade restrictions in 2024 were five times the 2010-19 average. As a result, overall economic growth dropped—from 5.9% in the 2000s to 5.1% in the 2010s to 3.5% in the 2020s. Since 2014, with the exception of China and India, the average per capita growth rates of income in developing economies have been half a percentage point lower than that in wealthy economies, widening the rich-poor gap.

“The next 25 years will be a tougher slog for developing economies than the last 25,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. “Most of the forces that once aided their rise have dissipated. In their place have come daunting headwinds: high debt burdens, weak investment and productivity growth, and the rising costs of climate change. In the coming years, developing economies will need a new playbook that emphasizes domestic reforms to quicken private investment, deepen trade relations, and promote more efficient use of capital, talent and energy.”

Developing economies are more important for the global economy than they were at the start of the century. They account for about 45% of global GDP, up from 25% in 2000. Their interdependence has also grown: more than 40% of their goods exports go to other developing economies, double the share in 2000. Developing economies have also become an important source of global capital flows, remittances, and development assistance to other developing economies: between 2019 and 2023, they accounted for 40% of global remittances—up from 30% in the first decade of the century.

As a result, these economies now have greater sway on growth and development outcomes in other developing economies. For example, an increase of 1 percentage point in the GDP growth of the three largest developing economies—China, India, and Brazil—tends to result in a cumulative GDP boost of nearly 2% in other developing economies after three years. Those effects, however, are only about half the effect of growth in the three biggest economies: the United States, the euro area, and Japan. The welfare of developing economies, in short, is still strongly tied to growth in the big three advanced economies.

“In a world shaped by policy uncertainty and trade tensions, developing economies will need bold and far-reaching policies to seize untapped opportunities for cross-border cooperation,” said M. Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Prospects Group. “A good start would be to pursue strategic trade and investment partnerships with the rapidly expanding markets of other developing nations. Modernizing transportation infrastructure and standardizing customs processes are critical steps to cut unnecessary expenses and foster greater trade efficiency. Finally, sound macroeconomic policies at home will fortify their capacity to navigate the uncertainties of the global outlook.”

Over the next two years, developing economies could face serious headwinds, the report notes. High global policy uncertainty could undercut investor confidence and constrain financing flows. Rising trade tensions could reduce global growth. Persistent inflation could delay expected cuts in interest rates. Yet the global economy could also do better than expected—especially if its largest engines, the United States and China, manage to gain steam. In China, additional stimulus measures could boost demand. In the United States, robust household spending could result in stronger-than-expected growth, with beneficial effects for developing economies.

The report argues that developing economies have many options to improve their growth prospects, despite the headwinds. With the right policies, these economies can even transform some challenges into significant opportunities. Addressing infrastructure needs, speeding up the climate transition, and improving human capital can improve growth prospects while also helping to achieve climate and development goals. All countries, meanwhile, should work together to strengthen global trade governance, with the support of multilateral institutions.

Source: World Bank

16, January 2025

Former Secretary General at the Presidency David Abouem à Tchoyi dies aged 81 ⁰

The former Secretary General at the presidency of the republic David Abouem à Tchoyi has died at the age of 81.

The renowned civil administrator, who was governor of the South West and North West provinces died Wednesday 15 January 2025 in Yaoundé.

Family sources said Mr Abouem had lost consciousness. He collapsed and was pronounced dead at his home. His family believes the cause of death to be a heart attack.

David Abouem à Tchoyi was an outstanding administrator and politician not just of his generation but for generations far before who possessed extraordinary charm and a common touch which endeared him to so many in both French and English speaking Cameroon.

For many years David Abouem à Tchoyi was an incredibly significant figure in Cameroon who worked tirelessly and fought fearlessly for the country that he loved. He was last seen in public on 10 January 2025 at the ceremony to present New Year’s greetings to President Paul Biya at the Unity Palace.

Abouem à Tchoyi was born on 15 January 1944 in Kribi, a seaside town and port in the South Region. He did his primary education in his village in 1950.

He completed his secondary education at the Collège Évangélique de Libamba from 1957 to 1964. He then enrolled at the University of Yaoundé, where he obtained a law degree in 1967, before entering the National School of Administration and Magistracy (Enam) and graduated in 1969. He also studied at the IIAP in Paris.

At the Ministry of Territorial Administration, he became Head of the Coordination Department, Director of Territorial Organisation and Secretary General on 31 August 1972.

He had a meteoric rise in the Francophone dominated Cameroon system and he successively held the following positions:

Secretary General at the Ministry of Planning and Regional Development, Secretary General at the Ministry of the Economy and Planning, and Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office from 17 July 1975.

On 8 September 1976, he was appointed Governor of the North-West region, before holding the same position in the South-West region. On 4 February 1984, he was appointed Secretary General at the President of the Republic. From 24 August 1985 to 21 November 1986, he was Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He was also a member of the National Commission for Bilingualism and Multiculturalism.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai