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29, June 2016

At graduation ceremony: Buea IVTC Director says vocational training promotes economic growth ⁰

The Intensive Vocational Training College Buea has graduated its joined 35th, 36th, and 37th batches of trainees amidst high unemployment rate in Cameroon. The graduation ceremony took place on Friday June 24, 2016 in Buea, Fako division of the South West Region. The over 400 graduates were trainees of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 academic years pending graduation from the vocational training center.

In an effort to promote the training of bilingual secretary ship as a major tool to emergence, the government of Cameroon through the Employment and Vocational Training Ministry created six (6) public vocational training centers nationwide. The Intensive Vocational Training Centre, IVTC, Buea is the lone English center in Cameroon with five others spread across the country. The director of the center Becky Effoe Limunga revealed that vocational training promotes positive work ethics and enhance economic growth which is a prerequisite to gainful employment, asserting that, it was a golden opportunity for the public and employers to make material use of the facilities and training programs offered.

The South West Regional delegate for Employment and Vocational Training urged the students to meet up with contemporary challenges of the professional. The students were schooled on computerized accountancy, bilingual secretary ship and other lucrative courses. It is a one year training program upon which the trainee is issued an academic diploma.

Cham Victor Bama (Cameroon Concord News)

29, June 2016

Cameroon says over 20 billion of ill-gotten wealth revovered ⁰

Alfred Etom, is the Coordinator of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, a body operating within the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) In a recent conversation with Cameroon Tribune, he speaks of the National Anti-Corruption Commission 2014 report! He says over 20 billion FCFA has been recovered.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s 2014 Anti-Corruption Status Report unveils fabulous sums of State funds embezzled. How much of these embezzled funds have been recovered?

Alfred Etom: Let me first recall that this report does not only contain activities carried out by the NACC, but also by other ministries and institutions with the aim of fighting corruption. In 2014, the Special Criminal Court recovered more than FCFA 7 billion. More than FCFA 3 billion was recovered by the Supreme Court. The Council for Financial and Budgetary Discipline also recovered more than FCFA 3 billion.

Vote holders were fined to the tune of FCFA 70 million, while NACC recovered FCFA 6 billion this year. So, nearly FCFA 20 billion of ill-gotten funds have been recovered since 2014. Specifically, the funds were recovered on the national territory. Although the process of recovering ill-gotten wealth hidden abroad is complex, it is ongoing.

Does this indicate an evolution in the recovery of embezzled State’s assets?

Alfred Etom: Yes, because Cameroonians are more and more cooperative. At the beginning, it was not easy, but they have noticed that we are committed. Once NACC is after you, we do not give up until we have the expected results. Now that we have developed our visibility, Cameroonians have a greater tendency to trust us. And this trust is motivation for us to keep working. This also accounts for the results achieved so far.

What are some of the challenges in this task?

Alfred Etom: One of the challenges we have to overcome is that we do not have regional branches. For us to carry out an effective fight to downscale corruption, we have to be close to the population. When people send us their tip-offs, it takes time for NACC to react just because we are far from them. It slows down the process and frustrates those who report corruption cases.

The report also talks of only 27 per cent rate of implementation of Regional Anti-Corruption Action Plans. What is your take on this?

Alfred Etom: The 27.3 per cent was in 2014. Then, we thought there was no real will to tackle the issue of corruption in the regions for many reasons. One of the reasons is that Regional Inspectorates of Service were not well-equipped to carry out anti-corruption actions, initiatives and investigations. Secondly, there was also lack of will to combat corruption because they thought that NACC only fought against big corruption, which is wrong. The third reason is that they themselves fed on corruption. It is difficult for somebody who feeds on corruption to fight corruption. Ever since, the situation has improved to about 30 per cent today. Things have improved.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Cameroon Tribune

28, June 2016

28 killed and 60 injured in a gun and bomb attack in Istanbul Ataturk airport ⁰

At least 28 people have been killed and 60 more injured in a gun and bomb attack in Istanbul’s Atatürk international airport.

Late on Tuesday night, two terrorists blew themselves up as security forces were trying to block their progress into the airport.

According to Turkish officials, police forces started firing at suspects when they tried to pass the international terminal’s entry, before the security check.

Presstv

28, June 2016

Minister of Foreign Affairs tells parliament Biya is examining the issue of dual nationality ⁰

The National Assembly has adopted two more bills in the ongoing 2nd Ordinary Session. The first bill authorizes the President of the Republic to ratify the agreement between the Government of Cameroon and that of Italy on the reciprocal exemption from the obligation to holders of diplomatic or service passports to obtain short-term visas.

This agreement was signed in Yaounde on the 17^th of March 2016 and that governing undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities in Cameroon. Before the adoption of bills, the House Chamber debated on the bills with the bill on visas exemption between Cameroon and Italy attracting more questions from the Members of Parliament to the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella.

MPs raised issues such as the issuance of diplomatic passports to all members of the National Assembly, poor treatment of Cameroonians including those with diplomatic passports in some countries and dual nationality for Cameroonians abroad amongst others. Minister Mbella Mbella explained that the issuance of diplomatic passports is regulated by the Vienna Treaty on Diplomacy which does not provide for diplomatic passports for MPs.

While stating that the issue of dual nationality is being examined, the Minister also announced that plans are underway for other agreements to be negotiated with some other countries like China and Germany on visa exemption for short-term stay. The second bill defended by the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey clarified MPs on the functioning of the Douala Stock Exchange and measures such as the increase in the number and capacity of the Custom Administration to live up to expectation within the framework of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.

It emerged that the bill on regulating undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities in Cameroon seeks to establish a legal framework in pursuant to Section 4(2) of Law No. 99/15 of 22 December 1999 to establish and organize a financial market.

28, June 2016

No more secrecy about handling and treatment of patients with HIV in Cameroon ⁰

The decision by the Minister for Public Health to systemize the screening of all patients who turn up for consultations in all public hospitals for their HIV status has raised quite some dust within the national healthcare community. Even if the Minister did not say it directly, it will virtually be compulsory to obtain the status of each patient reporting for any health problem. This move is revolutionary by the fact that all the secrecy about the handling and treatment of patients with HIV infections will henceforth be removed, making it easier to know who carries the virus and those who do not and in so doing better manage the situation because of a better knowledge of the situation and the availability of statistics.

One must sincerely observe that strategies to fight HIV/AIDS have not been very successful seen from the little impact various initiatives have had in the final result. The desire to keep patient’s condition private by preventing them from stigmatization has not helped matters at the end of the day. Policy makers cannot do effective planning because they do not have the necessary statistics on which to build a robust strategy. This is because for too long many citizens have been left to go about without even knowing their condition while carriers of the virus, unknown to them continue to spread it simply because they were not aware.

As long as the HIV/AIDS management chain was not opened up and continued to be run in near secrecy, results, especially the mass positive results expected, could never be attained That is why even with very efficient systems and information campaigns, the scourge has continued to develop in disturbing proportions. Moreover, an early discovery of one’s serology status will help manage the condition and obviously prevent the virus from developing into more disastrous condition of AIDS with its multifarious accompanying afflictions.

Early detection can also help minimize costs, especially for the dispossessed segments of the population from within which many cases of infection are registered. Many Human Rights groups will obviously jump into the scene to condemn violation of privacy. But the gravity of the situation posed by the growing spread of HIV/AIDS and, above all, the need to preserve the health of Cameroonians from the scourge of this killer disease justify the government decision. The population must, in its own interest, adhere to this salutary initiative which will certainly have an immediate impact on the management of the disease.

Cameroon Tribune

28, June 2016

Tears as Cameroonian media gurus are told National Anti-Corruption Commission boss earns a monthly salary of 7 million FCFA ⁰

Dieudonné Massi Gams, the CPDM President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) has made public his salary to the media. The Biya chosen man of God made the revelation on Monday, June 27, 2016 in Yaounde, the nation’s capital. The president of CONAC earns a monthly salary of 7 million FCFA (10,671.43 euros). Dieudonne Massi Gams boasted in front of journalists shedding tears when the amount was revealed that “My salary is seven (7) million FCFA per month for me not to be corrupt.”

The salary of Pastor Dieudonné Massi Gams, is 193 times higher than the guaranteed minimum wage which is set at 36,270 FCFA since July 2014 in Cameroon—– a CPDM privilege to the so called man of God but an injustice in a country where the applicable average wage is between 80 and 100 thousand FCFA. In addition to his salary, Rev. Dieudonné Massi Gams, has huge benefits, which he blatantly refused to disclosed to the press. Cameroon Concord News Yaounde city reporter who contributed to this report observed that, “Rev Massi Gams has no reason to envy some ministers who officially earn less than 800 000 FCFA per month, but the bribes exceed the limits of the imaginable”.

We gathered intelligence that the state takes care of his phone expenses, housing allowance, several vehicles for child and wife including fuel cost. The servants and guards including his many drivers loaded at the residence of the President of the CONAC are also paid by the Cameroonian tax payer. Despite these advantages granted by the CPDM crime syndicate to CONAC, corruption in the country is increasing at alarming proportion with some agents of CONAC including its leadership regularly quoted in local press for bribery and corruption scam.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai (Cameroon Concord News Group)

28, June 2016

Former Ghana International defender replaces Doctor Khumalo at Kaizer Chiefs ⁰

John Paintsil, former Ghana international defender has been appointed the new assistant coach of Kaizer Chiefs, a South African Premier League club. Painstil will work with head coach Steve Komphela.

The former defender of the Black Stars of Ghana who announced his retirement from the beautiful game last week replaces Doctor Khumalo.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Brexit: An increasing number of Britons rushing to apply for Irish passports ⁰

An increasing number of Britons are rushing to apply for Irish passports to be able to remain EU citizens after Britain voted to leave the bloc on Thursday, officials say. “Following the UK referendum, there has been a spike in interest in Irish passports in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and elsewhere, although there has been some exaggeration of demand,” Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan said in a statement on Monday.

On Friday, a spokeswoman for the UK Post Office, tasked with handling passport applications, said that there has been a surge in the number of Irish passport seekers from Britain. “We have seen an unusually high number of people in Northern Ireland seeking Irish passport applications, though we do not have exact numbers or a breakdown by branch,” the spokeswoman said.

Those Britons with an Irish parent or grandparent and those, who were born in the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland, are entitled to an Irish passport. According to statistics, there are approximately six million people of Irish ancestry living in Britain. Being an EU citizen offers Britons a number of advantages. They can enjoy free movement rights, seek employment in other EU states without having a work permit, use public healthcare facilities across the bloc and benefit from welfare and other rights.

Thursday’s vote result has sent shock waves through the political and economic sectors both in the UK and in Europe. It has even led people to run a petition to call for a second referendum as a number of those, who voted to leave the bloc, have changed their minds. In Northern Ireland, post offices have run out of application forms and the Irish embassy in London has filed more than 4,000 passport inquiries in comparison to the 200 it usually receives on a normal day, according to a diplomatic source.

According to Flanagan, “The increased interest clearly points to a sense of concern among some UK passport holders that the rights they enjoy as EU citizens are about to abruptly end.” He warned that the sudden and unnecessary increase in applications would significantly increase pressure on turnaround times at passport offices. The spike even prompted a member of Northern Ireland’s largest Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, to ask the government in Dublin to open a passport office in Belfast to meet the soaring demands.

Following the release of the vote result, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation. “Britain is leaving the European Union but we must not turn our back on Europe or the rest of the world,” Cameron said on Monday during the first parliament session since the Brexit vote.

Presstv

27, June 2016

Amid pressure from the US, Presidents Sassou Nguesso and Kabila hold talks ⁰

Denis Sassou Nguesso, Head of State of Congo – Brazzaville and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo held secret talks today in Oyo, a town in the department of Cuvette in Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon Concord News has learned. The two dictators reportedly addressed issues related to political developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in view of the conduct of the presidential election scheduled for this year.

Both leaders are under immense political pressure from the United States of America. Denis Sassou Nguesso’s electoral victory is strongly opposed by the Congolese opposition including pressure from the US justice system which has convened Antoinette Sassou, wife of the Congolese president, on Monday in Washington to be heard in an open investigation for unpaid debts of around one billion euros.

President Joseph Kabila close associates have been targeted by US sanctions, the most recent case being that of General Célestin Kanyama, Commissioner General of Police, whose bank accounts have been frozen abroad. The senior official is also forbidden to travel outside the country.

Opponents of President Sassou Nguesso; Makaya Paulin and Jean Marie Michel Mokoko have all been imprisoned. While President Kabila’s former Governor, Moses Katumbi, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison in a land dispute.

Anang Valerian (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Kumba: 5 killed and many injured in Fiango accident ¹

Five people have been reportedly killed in an accident in Kumba, the chief town in Meme Division in the South West region. Cameroon Concord News gathered from police sources that the brakes of a caterpillar failed at Hill Top as the road construction machine was descending to Fiango. With no warning system on board the caterpillar, it eventually crushed many people on bikes before the driver succeeded to direct it to a building hosting a popular hotel known as K-Town Hotel in Fiango.

Five people were killed on the spot and many others seriously injured. Some of the wounded cases have been transferred to hospitals in Buea and Douala. Life will never be the same again for a little girl of about 8 yrs who had her legs chopped off in the accident. At the time of filing this report, our correspondent in Kumba reported that some of the victims have died at the Kumba General Hospital.

Cham Victor Bama (Cameroon Concord News Group)