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18, October 2023

The flow of Chinese investment in Cameroon is expected to strengthen ⁰

The Cameroonian Ministry of Finance issued a note Tuesday informing of the signing of a new cooperation deal with China. The document, signed as part of a visit by Minister Louis Paul Motazé to Beijing, aims to “eliminate double taxation on income and prevent tax evasion and avoidance.”

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), double taxation, recognized as a barrier to trade and investment between countries, “arises when comparable taxes are imposed in two or more states on the same taxpayer in respect of the same taxable income or capital, e.g. where income is taxable in the source country and the country of residence of the recipient of such income.” To avoid this practice, which experts believe hampers international trade, cross-border investment, and the movement of people, states generally signs tax treaties.

National Development Strategy 2020-30

The Ministry of Finance revealed that the new agreement between Cameroon and China is the fruit of “a long negotiation process that began in 2013”. It marks “a decisive step in the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2020-30 (SND30) and towards the emergence of our country by 2035″. “Since China is one of Cameroon’s leading economic and trade partners, it was necessary to negotiate a tax agreement to remove tax obstacles to trade between the two countries, in particular the double taxation of companies operating in both countries,” the ministry explained.

Over the past two decades, China has become Cameroon’s leading customer (25.8% market share in 2021, according to the INS) and supplier (17.5% market share in 2020) as well as a leading investor. According to data contained in the 2021 World Investment Report published by UNCTAD, the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) captured by Cameroon between 2000 and 2020 is estimated at $9,026 million (CFA 5,434.3 billion), mainly thanks to China. “Between 2000 and 2014, Cameroon captured CFA 2,750 billion in foreign direct investment, including CFA 1,850 billion from China. This represents around 67% of FDI entering Cameroon”, points out a document from the Presidency of the Republic, citing UNCTAD data.

The Cameroonian government seeks through the new agreement with China to further enhance the existing level of economic cooperation with the Asian country. “This agreement will undoubtedly boost trade between Cameroon and China, and attract even more Chinese investment to Cameroon,” the Finance Ministry said.

New mining projects in the pipeline?

The signing of this tax agreement occurs at a time when the Cameroonian government is embarking on several mineral exploitation projects, many of which are of significant interest to China. One such project is the Mbalam-Nabeba mining project, a world-class iron ore deposit spanning Cameroon and Congo.

Cameroon has chosen Bestway Finance, an investment vehicle allied with China’s AustSino, to build the railroad that will make the deposit exploitable. The license to mine the deposit was awarded on August 17, 2022, to Cameroon Mining Company, also linked to Bestway Finance, which recently announced agreements with at least four Chinese companies for the project. At the Lobé iron ore deposit in Kribi, in the southern region of Cameroon, China’s Sinosteel was awarded the operating license signed on July 1, 2022.

By inking this agreement with China, Cameroon now has 15 double taxation treaties and two global multilateral agreements. On a bilateral basis, these include agreements signed with France (1976), Canada (1988), Switzerland (1990), Tunisia (1999), Morocco (2012), South Africa (2015), the United Arab Emirates (2017), Germany (2017), the Czech Republic (2023) and the six Cemac member countries. However, these agreements do not always guarantee an increase in FDI for Cameroon. For example, despite signing the agreement with the United Arab Emirates in 2017, the first investment from that country has yet to materialize.

Source: Business in Cameroon

17, October 2023

Yaoundé: National Assembly Speaker heads to France to die ⁰

Cavaye Yegue Djibril, Cameroon’s Speaker of the National Assembly, heads to France for treatment for multiple organ failure.

The speaker’s health is failing very fast and there is no hospital in Cameroon which can help the man who has helped to reduce the country to a living hell for many in Cameroon.

The government he has served for almost 60 years has not built any world-class hospital in Cameroon in decades and their recklessness is now catching up with them.

Like the Senate President, the House Speaker’s health is a major issue and many attribute it to years of alcohol and cigarette abuse.

It has been reported that Cavaye drinks dry gin in his office and he drinks directly from the bottle as if he is drinking water.

Sources close to the Speaker say he has respiratory track problems, diabetes and his heart is also threatening to fail if the old and desperate speaker does not change his ways.

Family members who are already tired of Cavaye’s social chaos and chronic alcoholism say he is a colony of diseases which may yield to the cold and waiting hands of death if something is not done and fast too.

More will be yours as our correspondence in Paris monitors the situation.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

17, October 2023

Soon and very soon Biya will be gone as victory belongs to Ambazonians ⁰

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government (IG) has said that French Cameroun will be gone soon and very soon and the Federal Republic of Ambazonia will be victorious in the final battle to liberate the Southern Cameroons homeland.

“La Republique and its consortium of criminal gangs headed by Mr Paul Biya are collapsing day-by-day,” Vice President Dabney Yerima added in a Monday meeting with members of the IG amid Yaounde’s raids on Southern Cameroons villages.

Yerima hailed the recent ghost town operation that shutdown the entire Southern Cameroons territory, saying that the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia are moving ahead on the right path toward getting to Buea.

Dabney Yerima emphasized that the IG stands by the oppressed Ambazonia people in Ground Zero and would continue its support for all Amba fighters and restoration forces.

He also encouraged Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces to resist with all their might, saying the Amba fighters who were deceived by the so-called disarmament commission are languishing in abject poverty and suffering in Francophone controlled detention centers.

More than 4000 Southern Cameroonians have been killed and thousands displaced as the Biya Francophone regime presses ahead with its military campaign against separatist forces.

By Isong Asu

17, October 2023

Russian leader Vladimir Putin arrives in China to meet Xi Jinping ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping, bolstering their relationship at a summit that will be overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war.

China this week welcomes representatives of 130 countries for a forum of President Xi’s landmark project, the Belt and Road Initiative, that Beijing is using to extend its global influence.

Putin is at the top of the invitation list, with the Russian leader on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime into international isolation.

His plane landed in China just before 09:30 am, an AFP journalist on the tarmac saw.

He is due to meet Xi for talks on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Source: AFP

17, October 2023

President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday ⁰

US President Joe Biden will pay a solidarity visit to Israel on Wednesday following the Hamas attacks, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also announced that Israel had agreed to work on civilian aid for Gaza.

Blinken spoke after meeting for nearly eight hours at the defence ministry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the top US diplomat’s second visit since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

“The president will reaffirm United States solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security,” Blinken said early Tuesday in Tel Aviv.

“Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks,” Blinken said.

Biden “will hear from Israel what it needs to defend his people as we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs,” he said.

Biden will visit Tel Aviv, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in Washington. He also announced that Biden would travel to Jordan where he would meet Jordanian King Abdullah II, Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Blinken said that the United States also secured assurances from Israel on working to bring foreign assistance into the impoverished and blockaded Gaza Strip as Israel prepares a ground offensive against the Hamas-ruled territory.

US officials said that a new US coordinator on humanitarian aid, David Satterfield, would work with Israel to develop more concrete plans.

Biden hopes to “hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hama,” Blinken said.

“At our request, the United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” Blinken said.

He said the two sides were discussing the “possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way.”

“We welcome the government of Israel’s commitment to work on this plan. The president very much looks forward to discussing it further when he’s here on Wednesday,” he said.

Biden has vowed unwavering solidarity with Israel after suffering the worst attack in its 75-year history. But he also has voiced concern about more severe proposals that could impact civilians in Gaza and earlier pressed Israel to reverse a decision to shut off water supply.

“We share Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid going entering Gaza or otherwise preventing it from reaching the people who need it,” Blinken said.

“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian aid from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it and we will work to prevent it from happening again.”

Source: AFP

16, October 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Over 875 persons forced to flee Akwaya ⁰

The situation is deteriorating in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, where separatists are demanding independence.

Armed clashes, targeted attacks resulting in killings, armed extortion, and arbitrary arrests are frequently reported.

In Akwaya subdivision of the Manyu region, over 875 persons have been forced to flee due to targeted attacks by non-State armed groups (NSAGs).

During those attacks, NSAGs killed four people, injured 25 others, and burned 33 houses and seven motorbikes.

The population in local villages and in most of the villages in Akwaya subdivision have fled either to villages in neighbouring Nigeria, to Mamfe or to nearby bushes due to the attack and continuous threats.

Increasing security incidents and blockages of major roads in the North-West caused delays or prevented the delivery of life-saving assistance.

“This also limited the mobility of aid workers and deprived some vulnerable communities of humanitarian assistance,” said a humanitarian spokesperson.

A new wave of acts of violence against humanitarian workers negatively impacted the humanitarian response, especially in the North-West.

In the Donga-Mantung division, international NGO staff returning from a field mission were stopped at an NSAG checkpoint and requested to pay for their safe return.

They were released without payment after access negotiations.

In addition, in the South-West, several enumerators collecting data for a multi-sector needs assessment were held by NSAGs for several hours before being released.

The NSAGs claimed that they were not informed about the activity.

Attacks on education continued as the educational community prepared for school resumption in early September.

The previous month, some NSAGs factions announced a lockdown to disrupt the back-to-school preparations.

Attacks on education in the North-West and South-West regions continue to deprive hundreds of thousands of children of their right to education.

Besides the siege by pro-English separatists, Cameroon is beset by an insurgency by the Islamist Boko Haram from neighbouring Nigeria.

Source: CAJ News

14, October 2023

IMF agrees funding boost, extra Africa board seat ⁰

The IMF announced Saturday member nations agreed to increase their contributions to the global lender and give sub-Saharan Africa a third seat on its executive board at its first meetings on the continent since 1973.

Boosting the International Monetary Fund’s quota resources and giving Africa a bigger voice within the institution were among the priorities of the week-long talks of the IMF and World Bank in Marrakech, Morocco.

Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, who chairs the IMF Financial Committee, said at a press conference that there was “agreement on a meaningful increase of quotas by the end of the year.”

The quotas, which are based on the size of a country’s economy, determine how much funding a nation should provide to the IMF, its voting power and the maximum amount of loans it can obtain.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga used this week’s meetings to urge members to step up funding so their institutions can better support nations hit by poverty and climate change.

The conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has raised concerns about its impact on already weak global economic growth in the wake of the Ukraine war, elevated inflation and high interest rates.

Georgieva said the agreement on quotas was “very heartwarming.”

The goal, she said, was “to make the fund strong financially in terms of our ability to step up should we be hit by yet another shock.”

Asked when the IMF will change its voting shares, Georgieva said: the “membership has agreed that this is going to be the next step and that there will be a clear pathway and plan to go there.”

Giving countries like China, which is now the world’s second biggest economy, a larger voting share has been a controversial issue.

China has a 6.08 percent share of votes compared to 6.14 percent for Japan, the third global economy.

“At some point, a revision of the IMF’s quota distribution will be inevitable,” French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in Marrakesh on Wednesday.

“But the emerging countries that will benefit from this — including China — will have to accept common rules of the game,” he said.

While voting shares were not changed, the IMF agreed to expand its executive board from 24 to 25 members to give Africa another seat.

Sub-Saharan Africa will now have three executive board members instead of two.

“I will finish with what warmed my heart the most: uniform support for a third African chair on our executive board,” Georgieva said.

“That is so important for meetings that take place on African soil,” she said.

“Despite all the difficulties I can only praise our members for finding this pathway to solidarity on which hundreds of millions of people depend.”

Source: AFP

13, October 2023

Yaoundé is accountable for sexual exploitation of Anglophone girls in Nigeria ⁰

Cameroon Concord News Group holds President Biya and his ruling Beti Ewondo political elites accountable for the unfolding sexual exploitation and harassment of Southern Cameroons girls in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Hundreds of young Southern Cameroons girls lured also to East Cameroun territory have been subjected to sexual abuse and they and many young teenage boys suffer a contemporary form of slavery.

Our cream of reporters both in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Cameroon have hinted of deeply upsetting testimonies. Our correspondent in Abuja, Engelis Okesack Besong who contributed to this report said several Southern Cameroons girls’ have been accosted and raped in Nigeria.

Engelis Okesack Besong went on to point to the high number of Southern Cameroons women raped in Nigeria, stating that the Biya Francophone regime should be held accountable for the adverse consequences and deterioration of conditions in Southern Cameroons.

By Chi Prudence Asong

13, October 2023

Burkina Faso signs agreement with Russia for nuclear power plant ⁰

Burkina Faso’s government said Friday that it had signed an agreement with Russia for the construction of a nuclear power plant to “cover the energy needs of the population,” less than a quarter of which has access to electricity.

“The government of Burkina Faso has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a nuclear power plant,” it said in a statement.

“The construction of this nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso is intended to cover the energy needs of the population,” it added.

The agreement was signed at the Russian Energy Week in Moscow which was attended by Burkina Faso’s energy minister Simon-Pierre Boussim.

The document “fulfils the wish of the president of (Burkina) Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore, expressed last July at the Russia-Africa summit during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin,” the statement said.

Russia’s state atomic energy agency Rosatom said in a statement that “the memorandum is the first document in the field of the peaceful use of atomic energy between Russia and Burkina Faso.”

It said the agreement laid the foundations for cooperation in areas including the use of nuclear energy in industry, agriculture and medicine.

Just under 23 percent of Burkina Faso’s population had access to electricity at the end of 2020, according to the African Development Bank.

Source: AFP

12, October 2023

Africa Cup of Nations: Hosts Ivory Coast to face Nigeria in group ⁰

Hosts Ivory Coast were joined in Group A by Nigeria in the draw for the Africa Cup of Nations in Abidjan on Thursday.

Fast-improving Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, who have qualified for a fourth straight edition, complete the mini-league.

Other heavyweight pairings included defending champions Senegal with five-time winners Cameroon, while Africa’s first World Cup semi-finalists Morocco face Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ivory Coast, seeking a third Cup of Nations title, will face Guinea-Bissau in the opening match on January 13 in Abidjan, the economic hub.

The Ivorian clash with three-time champions Nigeria will attract most attention among the six Group A fixtures.

Nigeria were last crowned Cup of Nations winners in 2013 in South Africa and the Ivory Coast succeeded them two years later in Equatorial Guinea.

Morocco were drawn in Group F with DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.

The Atlas Lions have won the premier African football competition only once, in 1976 in Ethiopia. Their best performance since then was finishing runners-up to 2004 hosts Tunisia.

Defending champions Senegal are in Group C with five-time winners Cameroon, Guinea and the Gambia.

South Africa will face Tunisia, Mali and Namibia in Group E while Ghana take on Egypt, Cape Verde and Mozambique in Group B.

Group D, comprising Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola, completes the line-up for a tournament that will reach a climax with the final on February 11.

Draw

Group A

Ivory Coast (hosts), Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau

Group B

Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique

Group C

Senegal (holders), Cameroon, Guinea, Gambia

Group D

Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola

Group E

Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia

Group F