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Military coups: Yaoundé hosting Francophone lawmakers

29, May 2024

Military coups: Yaoundé hosting Francophone lawmakers 0

Francophone lawmakers from about 30 African states are meeting in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, to find a solution to the political instability in French-speaking African nations — including a string of recent coups, security threats and popular discontent. The lawmakers say among the solutions to the growing crisis are dialogue, a return to democratic principles and an end to foreign influence.

The 150 lawmakers, members of the African region of the Parliamentary Association of the Francophonie, or APF, say many Francophone African countries have suffered deep political and economic instability and security threats.

Within the past four years several former French colonies in which France continued to wield political influence experienced military coups or takeovers, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Gabon and Chad.

The group says besides military takeovers French-speaking African states also have a record of long serving leaders.

Cameroon President Paul Biya has ruled for 41 years. Theodoro Obiang Nguema from neighboring Equatorial Guinea has been in power for about 45 years and Denis Sassou Nguesso has ruled the Republic of Congo for 38 years. Nguesso first came to power in 1979 and served until the 1992 election when he finished third. He took power again as a militia leader after a four-month civil war in 1997 and has been president since then.

Canada-born Francis Drouin is the president of the Parliamentary Association of the Francophonie.

Speaking in Yaounde on Wednesday, Drouin said young people in French-speaking African countries complain that political instability remains high, and civilians are disgruntled because their freedoms are suffocated by long serving leaders and military governments. He said poverty, the absence of democracy and security threats plunge civilians into suffering and misery.

Drouin says the region’s youths yearn for the freedom to participate in decision-making.

Lawmakers attending the conference said Senegal distinguishes itself as an example of democracy after the country’s March 24 presidential elections, in which incumbent President Macky Sall was defeated by 40-year-old Bassirou Faye, whom the lawmakers say is a young man with new perspectives.

The lawmakers say France’s influence on its former African colonies is a source of concern among young leaders who want to take control of their national issues.

Djelassem Donangmbaye Felix is a political analyst and coordinator of A New Day, one of Chad’s opposition political parties. He is critical of the presence of French troops in former French colonies. He spoke to VOA via a messaging app from Chad’s capital N’djamena Wednesday.

Djelassem said French troops present in Africa either protect leaders loyal to France or destabilize governments that stand against France’s overbearing influence. He said that is the reason Chad’s opposition and civil society in December 2023 asked France to immediately withdraw troops who arrived in the central African state after being ordered to depart neighboring Niger by that country’s military junta.

Niger officials accuse France of failing to resolve the security crisis that has killed thousands and displaced millions across Niger.

Djelassem said French troops stationed in Chad have never assisted Chad’s government to fight armed groups and rebels destabilizing the central African state.

France has not responded to the accusation. But in March, Jean-Marie Bockel, French President Emmanuel Macron’s envoy for Africa, said after a meeting with Chad’s President that France will keep its troops in Chad. He said the troops will assist in fighting jihadists in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Angola and Sao Tome and Principe are attending the conference as observers. The lawmakers say permanent dialogue with military leaders and long serving rulers can pave the way for improved political, economic, social and cultural lives in French- speaking African countries.

Source: VOA

International mining convention opens in Yaoundé

24, May 2024

International mining convention opens in Yaoundé 0

The Cameroon International Mining and Exhibition Convention opened on Thursday in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé.

The three-day event, now in its fourth edition, aims to promote sustainable investment in the mining sector in Central Africa with Cameroon as the hub, according to the country’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, the organizer of the event. The gathering attracted mining professionals and officials from Africa, Europe and Asia.

While presiding over the opening ceremony, Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute said Cameroon has significant mineral resources that are largely underexploited.

Cameroon is seeking to transition from a country with mining potential to a mining-producing country, and is initiating reforms to attract investment, Ngute added. “Measures have been taken to encourage semi-mechanized artisanal mining at the expense of inactive exploration licenses. By 2023, Cameroon had launched four industrial mining projects. In 2024, this approach will continue with four additional projects.”

In 2019, Cameroon announced that it had discovered 300 new mineral mines across the 10 regions of the country.

Source: Xinhuanet

US Secretary of State says Israel offensive on Rafah would not eliminate Hamas

13, May 2024

US Secretary of State says Israel offensive on Rafah would not eliminate Hamas 0

An all-out Israeli offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah would provoke “anarchy” without eliminating Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, as Washington stepped up a pressure campaign against such an assault.

Separately, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized Washington’s concerns about an offensive in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi.

“Mr. Sullivan reiterated President Biden’s longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah, where over one million people have taken shelter,” a White House readout of the phone call said.

It said Hanegbi “confirmed that Israel is taking US concerns into account,” but did not elaborate.

Israeli bombardment in the eastern parts of Rafah have already sent 300,000 Gazans fleeing.

The United States and other countries, as well as top UN officials, have warned that a full-out assault on Rafah could have a disastrous impact on the refugees driven there by fighting elsewhere in Gaza, many of them living in desperate conditions.

Israel has said it is attempting to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

But Blinken, when asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether the US concurred with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israeli forces had killed more civilians than Hamas militants since the war began, replied simply, “Yes, we do.”

Blinken said a full-scale invasion could come “potentially at an incredibly high cost” and that even a massive assault on Rafah was unlikely to end the Hamas threat.

“Israel’s on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left, or if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and probably refilled by Hamas,” he said.

Blinken also confirmed that the hold President Joe Biden has placed on weapons to Israel — as the US continues pressing it to better protect civilians and avoid an all-out invasion of Rafah — is limited to 3,500 “high-capacity” bombs.

He said the United States was continuing to press Israeli leaders to provide a plan for Gaza once the war is finally over, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’ve been talking to them about a much better way of getting an enduring result.”

The US diplomat said Hamas militants had already returned to certain areas of northern Gaza that Israel had “liberated.”

Source: AFP

Russia: President Putin set to replace Shoigu as defense minister

13, May 2024

Russia: President Putin set to replace Shoigu as defense minister 0

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a surprise new defense minister, nominating civilian Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics, for the job more than two years into the Ukraine war, the Kremlin said.

Putin wants Sergei Shoigu, defence minister since 2012 and a long-standing ally, to become the secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council, replacing incumbent Nikolai Patrushev, and to also have responsibilities for the military-industrial complex, the Kremlin announced on Sunday.

The changes, certain to be approved by parliamentarians, are the most significant Putin has made to the military command since sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what he called a special military operation.

The shake-up gives Shoigu a job that is technically regarded as senior to his defence ministry role, ensuring continuity and saving Shoigu’s face.

Putin’s defence chief Shoigu survived Wagner’s challenge – but for how long?

Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s General Staff and someone with a more hands-on role when it comes to directing the war, will remain in post.

Sergei Lavrov, the country’s veteran foreign minister, will also stay in his job, the Kremlin said.

The appointment of Belousov, a civilian official known for his economic decision-making rather than battlefield knowledge, is the biggest surprise.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, told reporters that the change made sense because Russia was approaching a situation like the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when the military and law enforcement authorities accounted for 7.4% of state spending.

That, said Peskov, meant it was vital to ensure such spending aligned with the country’s overall interests, which was why Putin now wanted a civilian with an economic background in the defence ministry job.

“The one who is more open to innovations is the one who will be victorious on the battlefield,” Peskov said.

The change is also likely to be seen by an attempt by Putin to subject defence spending to greater scrutiny to ensure funds are effectively spent after a Shoigu ally and deputy defence minister was accused by state prosecutors of taking a bribe.

Source: Reuters

il y avait quoi avant: Camair-Co continues to buckle under debt pile

8, May 2024

il y avait quoi avant: Camair-Co continues to buckle under debt pile 0

Camair-Co continues to face a debt burden of XAF124 billion Central African francs (USD203.7 million), making it the second most indebted state-owned enterprise in Cameroon, according to the country’s latest monthly public debt review.

Released on April 25, the report by Cameroon’s public debt management committee (Comité National de la Dette Publique – CNDP) and national debt recovery fund (Caisse Autonome d’Amortissement – CAA), viewed by ch-aviation, reveals that Camair-Co carried XAF62.4 billion (USD102.5 million) in domestic debt and XAF61.6 billion (USD101.2 million) in external debt by March 31, 2024. The highest debt, of XAF652 billion (USD1 billion), is shouldered by national oil refinery Société Nationale de Raffinage (Sonara).

Unprofitable since its incorporation in 2006, the technically bankrupt national carrier was among four state-owned enterprises that were placed under performance contracts in 2023 as part of government efforts to improve the viability of public enterprises under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The government of Cameroon is currently implementing a USD689.5 million Economic and Financial Programme for 2021-2024 supported by the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

The financial strain on the fiscus has led to discussions of privatisation. The possibility of listing Camair-Co was mentioned in a report last year by a technical committee tasked with rehabilitating state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In 2020, President Paul Biya instructed the government to develop a restructuring plan to revive the carrier and sell 51% to a strategic private investor. However, the state-run enterprises rehabilitation commission (Commission Technique de Réhabilitation des Entreprises du Secteur Public – CTR) emphasised that before any divestment Camair must clean up its balance sheet and improve its financial standing. Efforts to address this include a restructuring and revitalisation plan, supported by the presidency since September 2020.

Meanwhile, the airline is wet-leasing three Embraer jets to resume regional routes later this month, to Cotonou Cadjehoun in Benin and Pointe Noire and Brazzaville in Congo.

Source: ch-aviation

Kenya: Helicopter crash kills defense chief and nine senior officers

18, April 2024

Kenya: Helicopter crash kills defense chief and nine senior officers 0

Kenya’s defence chief and nine other senior military officers died in a helicopter crash on Thursday, President William Ruto announced.

“Today at 2:20 pm, our nation suffered a tragic air accident… I am deeply saddened to announce the passing on of General Francis Omondi Ogolla,” Ruto told reporters, adding that nine other officers were also killed while two survived.

He said the Kenya Air Force has dispatched an air investigation team to establish the cause of the crash, which took place in Elgeyo Marakwet county, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi.

“A distinguished four-star general has fallen in the course of duty and in the service of the country,” Ruto said, announcing three days of mourning from Friday.

Source: AFP

Cameroon doctors flee to Europe, North America for lucrative jobs

18, April 2024

Cameroon doctors flee to Europe, North America for lucrative jobs 0

The state of health care in Cameroon is a source of growing concern, with thousands of doctors fleeing the central African country for lucrative jobs elsewhere, especially in Europe and North America, according to officials.

The number of people, including doctors, acquiring passports and applying for visas has increased by 70 percent, officials say. In addition, 75 percent of the 1,000 doctors that Cameroon’s government trains each year are leaving.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health reports that several hundred doctors are enrolled in what members of the profession see as lucrative schemes to emigrate to Canada. Also, the number of health workers, including doctors, applying for the U.S. government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, is rising.

The Cameroon Medical Council, an association of doctors, says the doctor-patient ratio in Cameroon has sunk to one doctor per 50,000 people, instead of the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of one doctor per 10,000 patients. The group reports that the doctors are fleeing to escape hardship, poor pay, difficult working conditions and unemployment.

Doctor Peter Louis Ndifor, the council’s vice president, said it is unfortunate that Cameroon trains but does not recruit thousands of its doctors. He spoke to VOA via telephone from Buea, an English-speaking town in southwestern Cameroon.

“The number of registered doctors on the roll[s] of the Cameroon Medical Council is about 13,000, but we have 5,000 to 6,000 doctors in Cameroon presently,” he said. “Doctors quitting Cameroon is an eloquent testimony that doctors are in discomfort, doctors are in distress.”

Cameroon says it currently needs at least 30,000 health workers, including doctors. The country is facing attacks from Boko Haram that have left more than 36,000 people dead, a separatist crisis that has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced about 750,000 others, and the spillover of sectarian violence from neighboring Central African Republic.

The Cameroon Medical Council says the central African country in 2013 launched a program to train about 1,000 doctors in order to improve the doctor-patient ratio, which was then one doctor per 17,000 patients.

However, the government recruits less than 100 doctors each year due to financial constraints, officials say. Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health says it expected privately owned hospitals to recruit a majority of the doctors upon graduation from medical school, but hospitals owned by individuals, communities and churches also recruit less than 100 doctors each year.

Even when recruited, the doctors say they are paid about $100 per month in private hospitals and about $220 per month in government hospitals.

Jathor Godlove, 29, is an unemployed doctor. After seven years of study at the faculty of medicine of Cameroon’s University of Bamenda, he says hardship is forcing him to consider leaving the country.

“I find myself being very restrained and restricted in my capacity to help my family,” he said. “I even have some peers who venture out of medicine because they see that as a medic, when you get somewhere to offer your services, they will tell you they want to pay you 50,000 [Central African CFA] francs a month [around $80 U.S.], which is very funny. Some of them have families, when they find themselves in such situations, they see better opportunities abroad. I think you can’t blame them.”

He says poor working conditions — including the lack of hospital equipment and poor pay — are pushing nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians to join doctors in leaving Cameroon for Europe and North America.

However, some medical staff members who have not been able to travel out of Cameroon offer voluntary services in hospitals like in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest Region.

Doctor Denis Nsame, director of the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, says unemployed health care workers outnumber health workers hired by the government.

“At the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, out of 600 staff, only 146 are state-employed staff, and we consult on average 45,000 patients per year, carry out about 1,900 surgeries per year, we have deliveries [of babies] close to 250 to 300 every month,” Nsame said.

The Cameroon Medical Council says that some health workers, including doctors, at times go several months without pay. Many of the health workers count on donations and consultation fees from well-wishers and patients to make a living.

In a message to Cameroonian youths last February 11, Cameroonian President Paul Biya said young people’s growing desire to emigrate is increasingly a cause for concern. He said Cameroonians should be patriotic and serve their homeland because the country is facing difficulties and leaving is not a solution.

Doctors and other health workers say the president, if he wants to curb emigration, should improve their living conditions and hospital equipment.

Source: VOA

South Africa: Jacob Zuma barred from running in May general election

28, March 2024

South Africa: Jacob Zuma barred from running in May general election 0

Former President Jacob Zuma has been barred from running in South Africa’s general election in May.

The country’s electoral commission, or IEC, has not given a reason.

However, his 2021 conviction, and jailing, for contempt of court would appear to disqualify him.

His backing of the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party has been seen as a possible threat to the governing African National Congress (ANC), which has suspended Mr Zuma.

The 81-year-old served as president from 2009 until 2018, when he had to step down because of corruption allegations.

Mr Zuma’s new party is named after the ANC’s former military wing, and he sees himself as the true heir to the governing party’s revolutionary roots.

The ANC had wanted South Africa’s electoral body to deregister MK but this request was rejected on Tuesday.

Mr Zuma has been leading the MK party’s campaign and was the first name on their candidate list, but the electoral commission received objections to him potentially becoming a member of the National Assembly.

Rather than voting directly for a president, South Africans elect members of the National Assembly. The head of whichever party gains a majority then becomes the country’s leader.

“In the case of former President Zuma, yes, we did receive an objection, which has been upheld,” said electoral commission head Mosotho Moepya on Thursday.

“The party that has nominated him has been informed,” Mr Moepya told journalists.

Mr Zuma has until 2 April to appeal against the decision.

The former president received a 15-month prison sentence in 2021 for contempt of court and the constitution says anyone who has had a prison sentence of longer than 12 months is not eligible to run for election.

Mr Zuma is also facing charges of corruption over a multi-billion dollar arms deal from the 1990s, when he was vice-president.

The IEC said that the ruling did not prevent the MK party from taking part in the 29 May poll, News24 reports.

For the first time since the start of the democratic era in 1994, the ANC’s vote share could fall below 50%, according to several opinion polls. The MK party is seen as popular in Mr Zuma’s home region of KwaZulu-Natal.

Source: BBC

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Bishop George Nkuo says God is ‘close to the broken–hearted’

19, February 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Bishop George Nkuo says God is ‘close to the broken–hearted’ 0

In a heartfelt homily on Sunday, Bishop George Nkuo of Kumbo in Cameroon reminded the faithful of God’s constant presence and care in times of trouble amid a new spat of violence.

He urged all parties to renounce violence and seek peace in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, where a secessionist uprising has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions since 2017.

“No more bloodshed in our land. No more violence in our land. No more hatred in our land,” the bishop said.

His message on February 18 came in the wake of attacks on February 11, Cameroon’s National Youth Day. Suspected separatists carried out these attacks on students in Nkambe, leaving one student dead and over 40 wounded.

They detonated an improvised explosive device as students marched past, killing 14-year-old Cherish and injuring several others. Armed men, also suspected to be separatists, marched into a Catholic Church in Jakiri, in the Kumbo Diocese. They ordered Christians out of Mass, accusing them of using a church service to celebrate Youth Day.

February 11 is celebrated in Cameroon as a Youth Day. However, historically it is the day Cameroon’s Anglophones – the part of Cameroon initially administered by the British before independence – voted in a 1961 plebiscite to gain independence by joining the already independent Republic of Cameroon, which is the part of the country initially administered by the French. The two entities then formed a Federal Republic of Cameroon, which only lasted for a decade.

The federal system was dissolved in favor of a unitary state. The Anglophone minority has long felt marginalized and subjugated by the Francophone-dominated administration in Yaoundé. Therefore, Feb. 11 has been a date that separatists love to hate. As one separatist put it, it was the day Anglophones were “packaged, sold and delivered.”

Impeding the celebration of that day in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions is part of a larger strategy for separatists to undermine state sovereignty as they seek separation from the country and the creation of a new state called Ambazonia. The fighting, now in its seventh year, has resulted in the loss of at least 6,000 lives, according to the International Crisis Group. Over a million people have been forced to flee from their homes.

Nkuo said that despite the escalating violence, God remains a permanent presence in the lives of the people.

“God is close to His people, He is close to the broken-hearted especially in times of difficulty,” the bishop said.

“We worship a God who is close to those who are weak. We worship a God of Peace, a God who does not tolerate any form of violence, a God who has called us to have deep respect for the dignity of every human person. It is a God who has ‘conquered every form of darkness with the light of the risen Christ,” he said.

Lemnyuy Cherish Bongeh, the lone-girl killed in the Nkambe blast, had initially escaped fighting in her native Kumbo to the economic capital Douala, where she continued schooling. However, her father preferred that she return and relocate to the relatively peaceful Nkambe. The Feb. 11 attack would shatter that peace.

“What has happened cuts a deep wound into my heart,” Cherish’s father said, asking that his name not be used.

The murdered girl’s classmate gave one of the bidding prayers, painting a gory picture of what has been going on in the two English-speaking regions.

“Merciful Lord, for over seven years now, we have known no peace. The blood of the innocent, especially young people, has been shed in many places in our country. You are our only hope. Hear our prayer and grant us peace,” the student said.

“Show compassion to the people of Nkambe in their sorrow,” Nkuo said.

In a February 14 statement, the bishop condemned “in the strongest terms” the Youth Day attacks.

“We strongly condemn and denounce any form of violence perpetrated during public and spiritual gatherings and within the sacred spaces of Churches and Hospitals,” Nkuo said. “We condemn in the strongest terms this heinous and senseless attack on innocent civilians during the Youth Day celebration in Nkambe.”

The bishop said the violence meted out on innocent civilians “shatters the very core of our moral fabric and calls for our collective condemnation.”

He said disrupting a Eucharistic celebration “not only violates the sanctity of these institutions but also undermines the values of compassion, empathy, and respect that lie at the core of our faith.”

“The Mass is a sacred and solemn occasion where the faithful gather to worship, seek spiritual nourishment, and strengthen their relationship with God. Such disruptions not only disrespect the sanctity of the Mass but also infringe upon the rights and freedom of religious expression,” Nkuo said.

“God’s house should be a haven of peace, where all can come together in reverence and unity,” he said.

The bishop cited international humanitarian law, which makes places of worship and other religious sites “sanctuaries where worshippers feel safe to practice their faith, sanctuaries of peace, healing, and solace for all individuals seeking comfort and divine intervention.”

He called on Cameroonians to stand united “against this brutality and affirm our commitment to peace, justice, and compassion.”

“We must stand together in denouncing such atrocities and demand that every child be granted the right to live in safety, peace, and dignity,” he said.

Nkuo appealed to the warring parties to “give peace a chance” by engaging in sincere dialogue.

“Let us pray for the victims and their loved ones, offering solace, support, and strength during this difficult time,” the bishop said.

Source: Crux

Protests in Senegal turn deadly as political crisis deepens over election delay

10, February 2024

Protests in Senegal turn deadly as political crisis deepens over election delay 0

Senegal’s political crisis deepened as a second person died Saturday in increasingly violent protests against President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone upcoming presidential elections.

A 23-year-old man died Saturday after being shot during clashes in the capital Dakar, two of his relatives told AFP, while a 22-year-old student died Friday in the northern town of Saint-Louis in still uncertain circumstances.

“The international and regional community must bear witness to the excesses of this dying regime,” said presidential candidate Khalifa Sall (no relation).

Modou Gueye, a market vendor, took “a live round to the stomach” on Friday in the Colobane neighbourhood of the capital Dakar, said his brother Dame Gueye, 29, who was with him at the time.

His brother-in-law Mbagnick Ndiaye said he succumbed to his injuries Saturday morning.

Authorities have yet to confirm Gueye’s death, but videos posted to social media suggest there were others injured as well.

In Saint-Louis, Alpha Yoro Tounkara died on the campus of Gaston Berger University where he was studying geography, and a hundred of his classmates held an all-night vigil for him.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement denying that security forces had operated within the university campus.

Reputation in question

Anger has mounted since President Sall last week postponed until December a presidential election scheduled February 25. The postponement came hours before official campaigning was due to begin.

Protests were held across the country Friday and police made wide use of tear gas to keep crowds away from a main central square in Dakar, also closing main roads, rail lines and major markets.

Reporters Without Borders said at least five journalists were targeted by police in Dakar.

Senegal’s democratic record on the line as presidential vote delay sparks crisis

A new round of protests are planned for Tuesday.

Sall said he postponed the election because of a dispute between parliament and the Constitutional Council over potential candidates who were not allowed to stand, and has said he wants to begin a process of “appeasement and reconciliation.”

The postponement has been criticised by the United States and European Union. Senegal’s parliament backed the move after security forces stormed the chamber and removed some opposition deputies.

Parliament also voted to keep Sall in office until his successor takes office, which is unlikely to be before early 2025. His second term was due to end April 2.

The crisis has called into question the West African country’s reputation for democratic stability in a region beset by military coups.

Source: AFP

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