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5, November 2022

World Bank Approves $497 Million in Financing to Lower South Africa’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Support a Just Transition ⁰

The World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors approved South Africa’s request for a $497 million project to decommission and repurpose the Komati coal-fired power plant using renewables and batteries. The project will also create opportunities for the affected workers and communities. This is in line with the government’s efforts to transition the country toward a low carbon development path with reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for all.

Addressing energy poverty and transitioning toward lower carbon development requires a reliable power sector to underpin inclusive economic growth. The Komati Project aims to help mitigate climate change, enhance energy security, and support economic opportunities in the Komati area. The project is aligned with the country’s Just Transition Framework, which aims to minimize the socio-economic impacts of the climate transition, improve the livelihoods of those most vulnerable, and embrace the opportunities stemming from the transition.

The decommissioning and repurposing of the Komati coal-fired plant is a demonstration project that can serve as a reference on how to transition fossil-fuel assets for future projects in South Africa and around the world. The project will provide learning experiences through a cycle of piloting, monitoring, assessing, documenting, and information sharing.

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a difficult challenge worldwide, and particularly in South Africa given the high carbon intensity of the energy sector,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Closing the Komati plant this week is a good first step toward low carbon development. We are cognizant of the social challenges of the transition, and we are partnering with the government, civil society, and unions to create economic opportunities for affected workers and communities.”

The decommissioning of the Komati coal-fired plant will result in reduced carbon emissions and improvement of ambient air quality in the vicinity of the plant. The power sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa, accounting for 41 percent of its CO2 emissions. This is due mainly to Eskom’s fleet composition. Its 15 coal-fired power plants, with an average age of 41 years, provide 38.7 GW of the country’s 52.5 GW installed capacity.

“This project is critical to our understanding of the sustainability of decommissioning, repurposing, and mitigating the socio-economic impacts for workers and communities before we scale up the move of the power sector into a low-carbon path,” said South Africa Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan. “It is part of implementing the country’s Integrated Resource Plan 2019 to gradually retire 12 GW of our old and inefficient coal-fired power fleet by 2030 and to scale up private sector-led renewables of 18 GW during the same period.”

The repurposing of the plant will enhance energy security in South Africa with the installation of a combination of 220 MW renewable energy solutions (including 150 MW solar PV solar and 70 MW wind) and 150 MW batteries, which together will help to improve the quality of electricity supply and grid stability.

Under the Komati project, the workers will be supported through a comprehensive transition plan, elaborated jointly with inputs from staff and unions. Options for the affected workers will include transfers to other Eskom facilities, re-skilling, and upskilling for deployment to the renewable energy plants.

A portion of project financing will be devoted to creating economic opportunities for local communities, which is expected to benefit approximately 15,000 people. Community-driven projects, skills training, incubation support, and business development services for new and existing micro, small, and medium enterprises are expected to create jobs in agriculture, local manufacturing, and digital technology. Activities will be carried out in coordination with local government, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

The Komati Just Energy Transition Project is financed jointly through a $439.5 million World Bank loan, a $47.5 million concessional loan from the Canadian Clean Energy and Forest Climate Facility (CCEFCF), and a $10 million grant from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).

5, November 2022

UK Energy Company to pay millions over oil bribes in Cameroon, Nigeria ⁰

Glencore Energy UK has been ordered to pay more than $ 314 million in fines after it bribed officials who worked in several African countries between 2011 and 2016. The company reportedly paid $26 million to the officials from countries like Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and South Sudan. Prosecutors stated that UK-based Glencore agents used private jets to funnel the cash that would fund the bribes.

According to a report from the UK government’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the money was used to guarantee top-grade access to larger cargoesand higher oil grades. The SFO brought the case against Glencore Energy UK and stated that the fine was the biggest that had ever been handed out for a corporate criminal conviction in the UK.

According to the SFO, between 2012 and 2015, an employee of the UK company and a representative from one of the Nigerian oil companies withdrew a total of $13.7 million in cash from Glencore’s Swiss cash bank. The cash was then transported on a private jet to Cameroon, where it was used to bribe officials in the country’s national oil and gas companies. Earlier in June, the conglomerate pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery at a London court. The judgment of $ 314 million was announced on Thursday and included fines, legal costs, and confiscation of the profit Glencore made from its bribes.

The United States Department of Justice launched an investigation in 2018 to examine Glencore’s compliance with US money laundering and corruption laws dating back to 2007. The query specifically highlighted concerns about the company’s dealings in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela. In 2019, UK’s SFO started its own investigation into the UK subsidiary of Glencore over what it stated as “suspicions of bribery” in Africa.

In a statement, Clare Montgomery, a representative for Glencore, said that the company regretted its actions.

“The company unreservedly regrets the harm caused by these offences and recognises the harm caused, both at national and public levels in the African states concerned, as well as the damage caused to others,” Montgomery said.

Source: OkayAfrica

5, November 2022

Indomitable Lions: Onana heading to World Cup one year after drugs ban ⁰

When Andre Onana plays in goal for Cameroon at the World Cup it will be exactly one year since his return from a drugs ban that he is still struggling to bounce back from.

The 26-year-old spent nine months on the sidelines after banned diuretic furosemide was found in his urine.

He took his wife’s prescription medicine, after looking for an aspirin to quell a headache, and his explanation was accepted on appeal when the ban was cut from a year to nine months.

“A stupid mistake,” he has said, although adding: “There is little humanity in football. We are obviously not allowed to make mistakes and are treated like robots. A hard lesson.”

The incident brought an abrupt halt in January 2021 to a career that was blooming at Ajax Amsterdam where he was fast establishing himself as one of the best keepers in Europe.

Onana has not played nearly enough football since.

Ajax used him sparingly on his return in November last year when it was clear he was not going to re-sign for the club, looking to run out his contract to move elsewhere.

He joined Inter Milan in the close season but played second fiddle to Samir Handanovic in Serie A while being fielded in the starting lineup in the Champions League.

It was with Ajax in Europe’s elite club competition that Onana had come to prominence, an integral part of the team that went from the early preliminary knockout rounds to the 2019 semi-finals, before a dramatic elimination by Tottenham Hotspur.

“A natural talent, an unbelievably brilliant athlete,” is how former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag described him.

Onana started out in Samuel Eto’o’s academy before moving to Barcelona’s La Masia aged 14. The Spaniards sold him to Ajax in 2015 when he was only 18 and a season later he was in the first team, going on to play more than 200 times for the Dutch giants.

His international career was slow getting off the ground with Onana turning down a call-up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals, seeking to put club before country, and missing out as the Indomitable Lions proved surprise winners.

That, however, was quickly forgiven and he has played at two Cup of Nations finals since and, once he was back from the drug ban, made some telling saves to help conclude Cameroon’s successful World Cup qualification.

Source: Reuters

5, November 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Nine health workers kidnapped in North West ⁰

Nine health workers have been kidnapped from a government-run hospital in Cameroon’s restive northwest, one of two regions where armed separatists have been fighting government troops to create a breakaway state, the local mayor said on Friday.

Acha Kennedy Ngu, mayor of the town of Batibo where the kidnapping took place, said the health workers were abducted on Thursday and were still being held. Ngu did not give further details as he was not in town when it happened, he said.

The attackers’ identity and motives were unknown.

A spokesperson for the Ambazonia Governing Council, whose armed wing – Ambazonia Defense Forces – is the main armed separatist group operating in the area, denied responsibility for the abduction.

Medical workers have been frequently targeted since Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis turned violent in 2017. Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting, with atrocities committed on both sides.

The conflict stems from perceived marginalisation of Cameroon’s Anglophone community by the French-speaking majority in the central African state.

Source: Reuters

5, November 2022

Etoudi: Succession is taboo as Biya set for 40 years at helm ⁰

Cameroon’s 89-year-old president, Paul Biya, on Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of his rise to power amid splashy ceremonies where the word on everyone’s mind — succession — will almost certainly be absent.

The Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC), which Biya founded in 1985, says it will hold “a big party” up and down the country to mark the anniversary.

The festivities will celebrate “political stability and peace — the biggest successes of these last four decades in Cameroon,” said Herve Emmanuel Nkom, a member of the party’s central committee.

At the RDPC’s headquarters in Messa district, a couple of dozen party members were busy selling caps, scarves, shirts and multi-coloured garments emblazoned with Biya’s face.

“Lots of people come by and look — we get a lot of orders,” said Sylvie Beyala, 42, a party member for 20 years, next to a photo of a beaming Biya and the slogan “Unity, Progress, Democracy.”

The crowning event on Sunday will be a “regional mega-rally” in front of city hall in Yaounde, the capital, but no word has emerged as to whether Biya himself will attend.

The anniversary bash aims to divert attention away from “the crucial question,” said Stephane Akoa, a professor and researcher in political science.

“It’s not whether Cameroon is doing well or could be doing better, but how the president is,” he said.

Biya rose to the top job on November 6 1982 after seven years as prime minister.

He is only the second president in Cameroon’s history since the central African nation gained independence from France. He is also the continent’s longest-serving leader after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who seized power in 1979.

– Wily leader –

Commentators ascribe Biya’s extraordinary political longevity to a mixture of astuteness and ruthlessness — he has a constellation of loyalists in key positions and crushes or sidelines opponents and rivals.

But his public outings, except for a few choreographed TV appearances, have become rarer and rarer in recent years, stoking speculation about his health.

Any official talk of succession is taboo, and none of the most visible figures around Biya has publicly uttered a word about entertaining any wish to succeed him.

“Ministers have fallen into disgrace just for thinking about a theoretical departure of the president,” said Aimee Raoul Sumo Tayo, a defence and security specialist on Cameroon.

“Mr. Biya has put the saying ‘divide and rule’ into practice… forces which could have challenged him for power have been unable to get organised and, even less so, unify,” said Akoa.

Even so, conversations about a successor are rife.

Those most commonly named are Biya’s son, Franck Biya, and Finance Minister Louis-Paul Motaze. The younger Biya already has a discreet following among supporters called “Franckists.”

Another name in the mix is that of Biya’s right-hand man, the presidency’s chief of staff, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

Reputed to have the backing of Biya’s influential wife, Chantal Biya, Ngoh Ngoh has been the longest-serving chief of staff in the presidency’s tenure.

He wields extensive de-facto authority through executive powers that have been delegated by Biya and, like his boss, also has his supporters in senior jobs, said Akoa.

– All-eclipsing debate –

“No (potential) candidate enjoys unanimity,” said Akoa, adding that the succession debate “eclipses all other concerns, such as strategies for health, education and infrastructure.”

The jockeying for power has been intensified by Cameroon’s weak mechanisms for handing on presidential power in an emergency, said Sumo Tayo.

If the president becomes unable to continue in office, presidential authority is handed down in the interim to the speaker of the Senate — currently 88-year-old Marcel Nial Njifenji, whose health is at least as much a concern as that of Biya.

The scenario stokes “the probability that certain parts of the army may intervene,” said Sumo Tayo.

Military leaders appointed by Biya may fear their privileges will be at threat once he exits the scene, which increases the risk of turbulence, he suggested.

Culled from AFP

4, November 2022

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya Celebrates 40 Years in Power ⁰

Cameroon’s government and its supporters are holding events this week ahead of celebrations Sunday marking President Paul Biya’s 40 years in power. Meanwhile, opposition parties are holding rallies calling for the 89-year-old Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, to change what they say are unfair election laws.

On Thursday in Nanga Eboko on the outskirts of the capital city of Yaoundé, supporters of Biya sang that Cameroon has remained one, undivided and prosperous despite the numerous challenges the central African state has faced since Biya became president in 1982.

The singing and dancing was part of week-long activities marking the 40th anniversary of Biya’s rule.

Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, or CPDM, said it dispatched party officials to towns and villages to organize conferences and mobilize more support for the 89-year-old leader who, it said, has achieved a lot for the country.

Elvis Ngolle Ngolle is one of Biya’s close collaborators in the ruling party. He says freedom is top among the things Biya should be credited for and that “every citizen can express themselves in any way they want.”

He says that under Biya’s rule, Cameroon has enhanced women’s rights and vastly improved its education system. “In 1982, we had one state university,” Ngolle Ngolle said. “Today we have more than 11 state universities and hundreds of private university institutes. Incredible in 40 years.”

Ngolle Ngolle says Biya has stayed in power this long because a majority of Cameroonians love and always vote for him.

However, opposition political parties accuse Biya of rigging elections for decades, and wanting to stay in power until he dies.

The Cameroon Renaissance Movement, led by Maurice Kamto, says Kamto won the October 2018 presidential election and that the victory was stolen from him.

Another party, the Social Democratic Front, has joined the CRM in asking civilians not to attend anniversary celebrations to protest Biya’s long stay in power.

Christopher Ndong, the CRM’s secretary-general, said Biya shows no signs of giving up the presidency and that, “Cameroonians are aggrieved because of him.”

“The opposition political parties want him to revise the electoral code, making sure the next president of this country should be democratically elected,” Ndong said. “Cameroonians now want a democratically elected president.”

Ndong said many of Biya’s supporters have resigned from the ruling party and joined the opposition CRM during the anniversary event.

The ruling CPDM acknowledges that it has some internal leadership wrangling but has provided no details.

Loic Kankeu, a lecturer of public law at the University of Yaoundé, said Biya’s absence from conferences aimed at drumming up support indicates the aging ruler is tired. He added that many CPDM supporters want Biya to leave but fear reprisals if they express their views in public.

According to Kankeu, Jean Nkuete, the secretary general of the CPDM party, acknowledged during a meeting with decentralized CPDM party structures this week that leadership squabbles are tearing the party apart. He said malaise within the CPDM is pushing supporters and disgruntled CPDM leaders in many Cameroonian towns and villages to cross over to the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement party of Maurice Kamto.

Biya’s supporters are calling on the octogenarian to run for president again in 2025 while the opposition is asking him to hand over power to a younger leader. On July 30, during a visit to Cameroon by French President Emmanuel Macron, Biya said he still has time to decide if he will run again.

Source: VOA

4, November 2022

Amba fighters attack Gendarmerie Post in French Cameroun, 2 officers injured ⁰

Ambazonia fighters attacked a gendarmerie post in Foumbot, Noun Division in the West region late on Thursday, injuring two officials and triggering a gun battle.

“As per initial reports, Anglophone separatists have attacked the Foumbot post. Two special officers are injured” the Gendarmerie Legion Commander said in a security correspondence to the National Gendarmerie Headquarters in Yaoundé.

The legion commander added that Southern Cameroons fighters were running short of logistics and are now targeting security posts in French Cameroun settlements to refuel in arms and ammunition.

The commander of the Western Gendarmerie Legion also revealed that the attack on the Foumbot post was carried out by a group led by Amba Commander She Joseph.

Cameroon government defense and security forces in the Noun Division have been placed on high alert, and vigilance has increased in the town.

It should be recalled that the West region borders the North West and that Amba fighters made an incursion into Noun Division last June and attacked the gendarmerie post at Njitapon, killing five gendarmes and taking their weapons and ammunition. In Bamboutos Division, Amba attacks are also common.

By Fon Lawrence

3, November 2022

Southern Cameroons Refugees Get Medical Support in Nigeria ⁰

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has delivered an advanced cardiac and trauma life-support ambulance in Cross River State, Nigeria, to support refugees from Cameroon in the state.

It also donated one pick-up vehicle to the state government to enhance the security of the host community and refugees in the Ogoja local government area of the state. 200 vaccine carrier boxes were also donated to complement the initial 50 distributed directly to primary health care centres in the southern Nigerian state.

The Head of the UNHCR sub-office in Ogoja, Tesfaye Bekele, presented the vehicles to Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River in Calabar, the state capital. He explained that the donation was part of UNHCR’s way of showing gratitude to the state government for the hospitality granted to the Cameroonian refugees since they started entering the state for safety.

‘The UNHCR is implementing community projects through non-governmental organisation partners to strengthen basic services such as health, water, sanitation and education to benefit both refugees and host communities,’ Bekele said.

There are over 85,000 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria at the moment, and Cross River is hosting over 50,000 refugees, majorly in eight local government areas in the state. Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions have been rocked by violence after separatists declared the independence of ‘Ambazonia’.

The fighting between government security forces and armed groups, which has lingered since 2016, started when lawyers and teachers took to the streets of Buea and Bamenda to protest the domination of French in Anglophone courts and schools. The violence has caused about 6,000 deaths and a major humanitarian crisis, with almost 600,000 people internally displaced within the Anglophone and neighbouring regions, and over 77,000 forced to become refugees in Nigeria.

Source: UNHCR

3, November 2022

Indomitable Lions: The road to Qatar ⁰

Cameroon, one of the five teams that will represent Africa at the 2022 Qatar World Cup this month is warming up, aiming at making the continent proud.

Cameroon, with its football national team Indomitable Lions is an African country lying at the junction of Western and Central Africa.

Its ethnically diverse population is among the most urban in Western Africa. The capital city of Cameroon is Yaoundé, located in the south-central part of the country.

The country’s name is derived from Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns”)—the name given by the Portuguese explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Cameroon have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on eight occasions, the first being in 1982 where they drew all three group games and finished in 17th position.

The country’s best performance at the world cup was in 1990, where they staged one of the most famous winning runs from an underdog. They made it through to the quarterfinals beating Argentina, Romania and Colombia along the way before being defeated 3–2 by England.

Rigobert Song, the national head coach of Indomitable lions of Cameroon

In 2010, they were Africa’s best hope, but they did not advance past the group stage, Cameroon qualified in 2014, and have again made it in 2022.

Did you know that

In the 2002 finals, Cameroon players were refused to wear sleeveless shirts. FIFA considered Cameroon’s sleeveless shirts to be vests but not shirts which a player is required to wear under the FIFA Laws of the Game.

Earlier on, Cameroon had worn the shirts throughout the 2002 African Nations Cup and won the title. To meet the FIFA standards, the team found a nearest shop and acquired body tight shirts with sleeves and completed their first option.

Also in 1994, when Cameroon’s famous player of all times Roger Milla played his last match against Russia.

He was 42 years and 39 days old, a record for the oldest player at the World Cup that was surpassed in 2014 by Colombia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon who was 43 years old.

Milla is also the oldest player to have scored a goal at the World Cup.

This time the team will be coached by Rigobert Song, who is also a former professional football player. Song was appointed as Cameroon’s head coach in February 2022.

Renowned for his defensive skills during his playing career, Song holds the record of the most capped player in the history of Cameroon’s national team with a total of 137 appearances.

Samuel Eto’o Fils, one of the renowned veteran football players of Cameroon

The Indomitable Lions, housed in pool G will play Switzerland, Serbia and Brazil. To achieve this, Cameroon should rely on its strong men of the moment. According to FIFA, the top scorer of the CAN 2021, Vincent Aboubakar will be the anchor of the Lions in Qatar and Zambo Anguissa, the player to watch.

Cameroon has some players to watch in all corners like Andre Onana, Collins Fai, Vincent Aboubakar, Karl Toko Ekambi and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Culled from Ktpress.rw

3, November 2022

Big increase in Cameroonians applying for US Visa Lottery ⁰

Activists in Cameroon say there has been a 60% increase in people applying for the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery. Thousands of people have been lining up at internet cafes to apply for the program, citing a need to escape a poor economy and the country’s separatist conflict.

Twenty-nine-year-old teacher Getrude Tanlaka, who is among those entering the visa lottery at a cafe in Yaounde, says she is searching for better economic opportunities.

“I just want to get out. That is why I am playing the American lottery. My family has suffered a lot and this is the time for me to take care of them,” she said. “In Cameroon, I cannot do that. I work every day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the remuneration is very discouraging, but in America it will be very easy. It is an opportunity to step out and change my life.”

Tanlaka says her mother also signed up for the lottery to increase the chances of them succeeding.

The Digital Rights Coalition, an alliance of civil society groups advocating for online rights and safety, says Cameroon’s estimated 200 cybercafes have seen a 60 percent increase in people applying for the visa lottery this year.

They say this follows a sharp dip in 2021 due to the high number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19. The State Department reports that entries to the American Visa Lottery program from Cameroon dropped to 151,000 last year — about half the number from the year before.

Now, says the coalition, many people are hoping to escape economic hardship caused by high inflation and a separatist conflict in western Cameroon, which has claimed at least 3,500 lives.

Akaba James, the coalition’s coordinator, says his organization is warning people to avoid scammers who charge money for unhelpful lottery advice.

“There are thousands of fake sites, fake people on YouTube providing advice about the DV lottery when they themselves have very little understanding of that process,” James said. “Ensure that wherever you play the lottery, you collect your receipt, and preserve it very well so that by the time the results are out, and you happen to win, then you can proceed with the filling of your visa application form, the DS 260, and then eventually getting your second notification letter and going for an interview and eventually paying your green card fee and traveling to the U.S.”

Police say some scammers have been arrested but are giving no details.

Meanwhile, some cybercafe owners have been charging illegal fees of between $2 and $7 for each electronic entry for the visa lottery.

Applications can be submitted for free at www.state.gov as recommended by the U.S. Department of State.

Jeffrey Presnell, vice consul at the U.S. embassy in Yaounde, said recently on local television channel STV that people enrolling for the Green Card Lottery must have at least a secondary education.

He also advised applicants to closely follow the rules spelled out on the document.

“Another common mistake that we see is that applicants do not include all of the members of their family. It is very sad because sometimes we see applicants that have won the lottery come and they are disqualified because they did not list all the members of their family. If you just have a fiancee, you should not list your partner on that application,” Presnell said.

He advises applicants to only list the names of legal spouses or children who live with them.

Source: VOA