About soter

Posts by :

5, December 2020

The cost to repair the fire-damaged Sonara refinery in Southern Cameroons is 250 billion FCFA ⁰

The cost to repair the fire-damaged Sonara refinery in Cameroon is 250 billion Central African francs ($461.8 million).

Even before Sonara has a chance to consider this investment, it must restructure its debt, Cameroon Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou told parliament on December 1.

The official said that talks were under way with “technical and financial partners who have expressed interest in the reconstruction of this refinery. However, the finalisation of these negotiations depends on the restructuring of Sonara’s large debt,” according to local newspaper Legideon.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that Sonara’s debt was 731bn CFA ($1.35bn) as of the end of July. The IMF did say that progress has been made on restructuring.

Sonara became unable to pay its debts following the fire at the Limbe plant in May 2019. This damaged four of the 13 units at the facility. It is not yet clear which companies might be interested in rebuilding the facility, although Russia’s Lukoil has been mentioned.

Debt plans

As of September, local banks holding around one third of the debt had agreed to a process. This is based on a five-year plan of Sonara operating solely as an oil importer, the state providing a letter of comfort for the banks and a new levy to support the refiner.

Cameroon set new product prices in March. These include a 47.88 CFA ($0.09) per litre levy intended to repay Sonara’s debt. The international agency said the new price structure should generate enough revenues to pay the debt.

Should the refiner not be able to complete the restructuring, it would endanger Cameroon’s outlook. The IMF has said the country is at high risk of debt distress. Should Sonara not be able to pay the local banks, this would have a knock on impact on the country’s domestic financing ability.

The IMF also reported that Cameroon was in talks with oil traders, who also hold Sonara debt.

Source: Energy Voice

5, December 2020

Boko Haram: Nigerian governor receives Cameroonian military delegation ⁰

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on Thursday, received a delegation of the Cameroonian military at the Government House in Maiduguri, the state capital.

At the meeting, the governor tasked the Cameroonian delegation on the need for Nigeria and Cameroon to team up to defeat the Boko Haram terrorists.

The Cameroonian military delegation was led by the 4th region joint military commander, General Saly Mohammadou. He was accompanied by Commander Sector 1 Multinational Joint Task Force, General Bouba Dobekreo; Commander Fourth Gendarmerie, Brigadier General Essoh Jules-Cesar; GOC 7 Div Bridgdier, Gen. AK Ibrahim, among others.

Zulum in a statement said the Cameroonian military was in Nigeria to share experience and improve collaboration between forces of the two countries in the fight against insurgency in the Lake Chad region.

He said, “Cameroon and Nigeria, most of our people shares the same tradition and culture. Though the insecurity has affected all the countries in the Lake Chad region, all our economies have been affected. Therefore, there is need for us to come together and fight this insurgency.

“The issue of trans-border trade is very important, all of us know Banki. We are doing everything possible to reopen Banki market, we are planning to reopen Bama-Banki road. Let us support the security architectures, so that we can ensure free movement of our people.”

Source: The Punch

5, December 2020

As Yaounde Prepares First Regional Election on Sunday, Opponents Say It’s Too Late ⁰

Cameroon will hold its first ever regional election on Sunday, as President Paul Biya seeks to quell a four-year-old separatist insurgency and appease opponents who say he has neglected the provinces for decades.

Over 10,000 local representatives will vote to appoint councils in all ten regions made up of regional delegates and traditional rulers, putting into action a 1996 law that promised decentralised government but was never enacted.

Government officials say it will give the regions greater say over spending and local governance. They hope it could also end a conflict in the English-speaking west that was sparked by the perceived marginalisation of the Anglophone minority.

The ongoing conflict has killed more than 3,000 people and become the greatest threat to Biya’s 40-year presidency of the country, where the official language is French.

Critics say the election comes too late, offers only the semblance of regional autonomy, and does little to dent Biya’s power.

It could be disrupted by separatist fighters who call it a “fraud” and the main opposition parties are boycotting, meaning the councils will likely be stacked with Biya supporters.

“If it had come in 1996, maybe it could have solved the crisis. But we are no longer at that level,” said opposition politician and former presidential candidate Joshua Osih. “The demands are beyond decentralisation. People want to take care of their own territory.”

The separatist conflict began in 2016 when teachers and lawyers protested against having to work in French.

The government cracked down on peaceful marches and armed groups responded with attacks on soldiers and policemen, calling for the creation of an independent state called Ambazonia. Civilians have also been targeted in attacks each side blames on the other.

Leading separatist Cho Ayaba said they intend seize officials organising Sunday’s vote.

“We have issued an order banning the elections … and for anyone … collaborating with Cameroon in organising this fraud to be arrested.”

Source: Thomson Reuters

4, December 2020

French Cameroun: Goods train derail in Eseka ⁰

In yet another incident on the derailment history in French Cameroun, a goods train en route to Yaoundé went off the track in the Souhè tunnel yesterday December 3, 2020. The incident took place deep within Eseka.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that due to damaged rail track on the route, all services between Douala and Yaoundé got disrupted. Images posted on social media revealed that several poles were also broken in the incident. French Cameroun railway officials are now trying to clear the route.

Train derailments have become regular at Eseka and for the past four years, the town of Eseka has become famous because of the railway disaster that occurred on October 21, 2016 “officially” killing 79 people and injuring 551.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

4, December 2020

Turkish President Erdogan says France should ‘get rid of’ Macron soonest ⁰

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes France will “get rid of” President Emmanuel Macron in the shortest possible time, in his harshest remark against the French leader yet.

“Macron is a burden on France. Macron and France are going through a very dangerous period actually. My hope is that France gets rid of the Macron trouble as soon as possible,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Friday.

Turkey and France have been at odds over a range of issues, including Ankara’s dispute with Greece over sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

France has backed Athens in the maritime dispute, taking part in joint war games with Greece and Cyprus amid conflicting Greco-Turkish claims to territory in the sea believed to be rich in oil and natural gas.

Ties between the two NATO allies have also deteriorated over conflicting policies in Syria and Libya, even though they have backed and supplied militants in the two war-ravaged Arab countries.

Ankara and Paris have also traded barbs over their roles in the recent Nagorno-Karabkah conflict.

But Erdogan has grown specially bitter toward Macron over the French president’s defense of the publication of offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by a French satirical magazine.

Anger grew across the Muslim world after Macron publicly attacked Islam in defense of the publication of the derogatory cartoons.

In early October, Macron said he would not “renounce the caricatures.” He instead described Islam as a religion “in crisis” and declared war on “Islamist separatism,” which he claimed was taking over France’s estimated six-million-strong Muslim population.

His remarks sparked sharp criticism from Muslim leaders and activists from around the world, including Erdogan, who described Macron’s posture as an “open provocation.”

Erdogan later said Macron “needs treatment on a mental level.”

Source: Presstv

4, December 2020

Brexit talks hang in the balance as EU warns it can make no more concessions ⁰

European diplomats warned Thursday they have made all the concessions they can in trade talks with Britain, as Downing Street vowed to press ahead with a UK law that could undermine Brussels’ remaining trust in London.

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has been in London for six days, trying to carve out a difficult compromise with his UK counterpart David Frost and draw up a trade pact that can be ratified within weeks.

“We are at the end of a marathon, probably past the 40 kilometre (25-mile) mark. But there’s still a little way to go,” Barnier adviser Stefaan de Rynck said, during a debate at the European Policy Centre.

As the finish line nears, tempers were fraying in Brussels, with some of the EU’s 27 member states — led by France and the Netherlands — worried that Barnier would shake hands on something that in their view gives up too much ground to a country quitting the club.

An EU diplomat insisted the Europeans remain united, but warned that it was clear that Barnier “was millimetres away from the red lines” he had been given.

“I think it’s quite clear that at this moment in time that we’ve reached a point where we are so close to the limits of our mandate, that we need a movement on the side of the UK if we want to strike a deal,” he said.

“I do not have the impression that we are hours away from a deal… what has to be bridged is still quite substantial,” the diplomat added.

Negotiators are working day and night to agree on a deal in time to be ratified before December 31, when Britain will no longer be bound by EU single market rules under the terms of a post-Brexit transition.

A European source with close knowledge of the negotiations said the talks would continue on Thursday “and no doubt on Friday.”

“Everything could change at any moment,” the source said, adding that the sense of urgency was “now understood in London”.

A British government source said the EU had brought “new elements” into the negotiations. “A breakthrough is still possible in the next few days but that prospect is receding,” the source said late Thursday.

Barnier could brief EU members Friday afternoon but the meeting has yet to be confirmed, a European source said.

In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman earlier said the negotiating teams were “continuing to work hard to resolve the differences that remain.”

“Our focus remains, and will continue to be, on trying to secure a free trade agreement.”

But Number 10 also confirmed that it would go ahead next week with a plan to push through the Internal Market Bill, a draft law to govern UK business after it leaves the EU single market.

Johnson admits that clauses in the bill would breach the withdrawal treaty he signed with Brussels, and EU officials have warned that it could be impossible to ratify a trade deal if he persists.

‘Hold our nerve’

The House of Lords, Britain’s upper parliamentary chamber, stripped the offending measures — which Brussels fears breach a promise to establish a customs border in the Irish Sea — from the bill.

But the spokesman said: “Our position remains unchanged. We will overturn the Lords defeat and reinsert those clauses.”

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, on a visit to Paris, said a deal would be possible in the coming days as long as European nations “hold our nerve”.

Negotiations to determine the future trading relationship starting on January 1 are currently stalled on three key issues — fisheries, regulatory issues and governance of a future pact.

Coveney said he hoped a deal would be reached but that there would be “no further extensions” and “no extra time” beyond January 1.

But both EU member states and the European Parliament would have to ratify any accord struck between Frost and Barnier and their bosses Johnson and EU president Ursula von der Leyen.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex was in the Channel port of Boulogne on Thursday to promise French fishermen they would not be abandoned if they lose access to UK waters.

Source: AFP

4, December 2020

Biya turns his palace into a clinic ⁰

Unable to travel, 87- year- old President Biya has reportedly turned his palace into a clinic. The president is confronted by protestors whenever he travels abroad for medical treatment. So now he gets his foreign doctors to treat him in Cameroon.

Biya is suffering from a suspected cancer and has been receiving treatment at his private presidential palace in Mvomeka’a in the South Region of the country.

The French Cameroun dictator repaid his late sister who had always been loyal, by participating in her funeral. President Biya’s 102- years- old sister Bidjang Regine Ndonda died on October 31, 2020 in Yaoundé due to an illness and was buried on Friday, November 13.

It was the third time the president has held a funeral for a family member in his 38 years in office with the first and second being that of his first wife and mother-in-law respectively. But in all three cases Biya did not deliver any eulogy and the guest list was limited to only family members, including the president’s eldest son, Franck Biya.

Four years ago, Paul Biya launched the war on Southern Cameroons to suppress an uprising that led to the declaration of the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The war has taken a heavy toll on Southern Cameroons’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals and health centers including schools. Women and children are among the most vulnerable victims of the Biya French Cameroun war, but the issue has barely drawn any international response.

He has misruled the two Cameroons and as a consequence, patriotism is now in very short supply in Yaoundé. Whatever Biya wants, Biya gets as he has also successfully kept the population frightened enough! For more than 38 years, he assumed that no one will get on his way-and he is right!!

But now that his ancestors are reportedly knocking on his door, Mr. Biya the French Cameroun monarchical president has drastically reduced his outings in Yaoundé.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

4, December 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yours will be the kingdom of death ⁰

For some weeks now, many chiefs and Fons in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions have been losing sleep because of the regional elections that have been slated for this month.

The CPDM corrupt squad has been in Bamenda and Buea to demonstrate that they are campaigning for their party.

Yang Philemon, a former Prime Minister, even said that the city of Bamenda had not been taken care of just to win hearts and minds. He simply did not tell us who had neglected the city.

Of course, we all know the answer and nobody in Bamenda will be fooled by the likes of Yang Philemon who have sold their souls to the devil for a few pieces of gold and power.

The devil incarnate was trying to download his mistakes on others. For more than three decades, all Bamenda City Government Delegates have been members of the ruling party also known as the crime syndicate that has ruled the country for 38 years. Any acts of negligence must be imputed to the CPDM and its chairman, Paul Biya.

Is it not preposterous to think that Southern Cameroonians are foolish and can be easily deceived? Are the likes of Yang Philemon forgetting that the Southern Cameroons crisis that put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons was triggered by his party’s greed, corruption and incompetence? Is he forgetting that he cannot sell his story in the Southern Cameroons heartland as many bullets will reduce him to a mass of flesh?

If he wants to test his popularity, he should drive to his native Oku to sell his story of eternal corruption. The death penalty still stands and venturing into Oku will be synonymous with committing suicide.

Besides more deaths have been scheduled and he might just be on the list of those who might not see the New Year. Southern Cameroonian fighters are determined to shock the world.

Because of the upcoming elections, the country’s territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, the con man in the corridors of power, seems to be setting up chiefs and fons in the country’s two English-speaking regions for death.

Ever since news leaked that the territorial administration minister had been bribing chiefs and fons in the two English-speaking regions of the country, many of those traditional authorities have been losing sleep.

Many of them are rushing out of the two English-speaking regions to seek accommodation in Yaoundé or Douala, far away from the threats of brave Southern Cameroonian fighters who have reiterated their willingness to enforce the death penalty.

In Mamfe, the Mamfe rural council is witnessing a decline in the number of people who come to work. The presence of Victor Mengot Arrey Nkongho, the minister in charge of special duties at the Presidency, in Mamfe this week to drum up support for corrupt CPDM candidates has brought more trouble to the town.

Southern Cameroonian fighters who have been observing a unilateral truce have decided to clean up their weapons so as to remind any corrupt officials that they are ready and willing to implement the death penalty issued by the USA-based Interim Government in 2017.

But it is in Kumba that the fear of the death penalty is greater. The CPDM delegation led by the corrupt Nalova Lyonga and puffy jaws Peter Mafany Musonge could only end in Buea as they were all scared of going to Kumba where the death penalty could be easily enforced.

For the chiefs and fons who have taken money from the Yaoundé government, theirs is the kingdom of death. Southern Cameroonian fighters are on their trail and if they don’t drop off that money bag, then they may only have to explain to their ancestors why the left this planet in a haste.

Many families are still crying their loved ones and nobody in their right mind in Southern Cameroons will welcome any corrupt chiefs or fons. A corrupt traditional leader is as bad as a bad tooth that needs to be yanked very fast if the mouth must know some peace.

The oppressor cannot succeed if he does not have traitors and accomplices among the oppressed. In Southern Cameroons’ case, some chiefs, fons, ministers, mayors, senators, councils and others are the accomplices who have opted to bring pain and suffering to their people.

According to a Southern Cameroonian fighter who elected anonymity, these government accessories do not deserve to be in Southern Cameroons. They have lost their places and they clearly belong to the past.

“We cannot continue to live with these enablers. They are infidels who have decided to pollute our people’s lives. We should be taking them out one after the other to ensure that the Yaoundé government does not have accomplices among us,” he said.

“We have lost many of our people because these scums have betrayed us. We should be implementing this phase of our strategy before the years runs out. The time is now and we must make December a memorable month for the families of these people who think that they can always manipulate our people,” he stressed.

“These wretches will never walk freely on our land until our leader, Julius Ayuk Tabe, and others are set free. Our people in Manyu have succeeded to make the place ungovernable for chiefs like George TabeTando of Bachou Ntai, Edward Ako of Ossing and Ayuk Hope who fled his village over night because he could not pay an Amba levy of CFAF 1,000,000. He has been duly advised not to return and will be buried wherever he dies,” he stressed.

“This Christmas period will surely not be a good one for some families of those traitors who are hiding in Yaoundé. We have succeeded to send them into exile and they will never return to our land with their stolen wealth to tell lies to our people in the name of election campaigns,” he said.

“We are prepared to send a strong message to the enemy. We have acquired new weapons and these weapons are designed to bring death and destruction to those who have betrayed us. We are keeping an eye on those who will participate in the scam the Yaoundé government calls regional election. Blood will flow and many tears will fill our rivers and streams that are drying up,” he concluded.

While the international community might be assuming that the current lull may be the beginning of the end of the war, it must understand that things are deteriorating and many people in the country’s two English-speaking regions are still living rough.

The killing is going on and many people are still fleeing the English-speaking regions because of the intermittent and bloody violence.

The world must stop being a spectator in a game that has left many dead and displaced. More than half a million Southern Cameroonians are internally displaced, with over 300,000 thousand seeking refuge in Nigeria.

With the fighters threatening brimstone, it is clear that the days ahead will be bloody.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom and Rita Akana in Yaoundé

3, December 2020

Cameroon, Nigeria partners on Boko Haram ⁰

The Nigerian military and Cameronian Defences Forces have resolved to collaborate in border patrol and counter-terrorism operation. To clear Boko Haram from the border area.

Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj Gen Farouk Yahaya disclosed on Wednesday while briefing newsmen after the visit of the Cameronian defence forces led by Commander of Operation Emergence 4, Gen Saly Muhamadou and troops of Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTK) at the Theatre Command Maiduguri.

“This is a visit by our counterparts in the Multi National Joint Task Force (NNJTF) from Cameroonian defense forces. We had a fruitful discussion on how best to enhance our operations to end Boko Haram insurgency at our borders and within our countries,” Hahaha disclosed.

He said the meeting with the Cameroon forces was aimed at improving collaboration and synergy, as members of the MNJTF. “This is not the first time we are having joint operations that concerns our border and fight against terrorism,”Gen Yahaya said.

He said the visit would further cement the relationship between the countries in the operations against “common enemy, the Boko Haram insurgents.”

Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon are members of the MNJTF Lake Chad Commission.

Source: Sunnewsonline

3, December 2020

UN Chief says ‘’State of the planet is broken’’ ⁰

Humanity is facing a new war, unprecedented in history, the Secretary General of the United Nations has warned. The stark message from António Guterres follows a year of global upheaval, with the coronavirus pandemic causing governments to shut down whole countries for months at a time, while wildfires, hurricanes and powerful storms have scarred the globe.

“To put it simply, the state of the planet is broken. Dear friends, humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back and it is already doing so with growing force and fury,” Guterres said.

Guterres said “biodiversity is collapsing. One million species are at risk of extinction. Ecosystems are disappearing before our eyes. Human activities are at the root of our descent toward chaos. But that means human action can help to solve it”.

The Earth continued to endure a period of significant heating in 2020 according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Its provisional assessment suggests this year will be one of the three hottest, just behind 2016 and 2019.

The warmest six years in global records dating back to 1850 have now all occurred since 2015. The most notable warmth was in the Siberian Arctic, where temperatures were 5C above average.

Source: Africa News