Cameroon Concord News Group made some key points to the ruling CPDM crime syndicate when the disgraced Minister of State in charge of Transport Edgar Alain Mebo Ngo’o announced that renovation work had been completed at the Douala International Airport.

We asked if a neutral government body had gone to inspect the work done at the Douala International airport. What was replaced during the one month period of work? How much did it cost the Cameroonian task payer?  Was the Minister of Transport Edgar Alain Mebo Ngo’o ready to vouch for the safety of the airport? And we concluded that with regard to that operation and money spent, the nation needed an independent assessment.

We told the world that the same was true with the national carrier Camair-co. But because the French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya heads a government that no one takes responsibility, no one apologize and no one resigns, Yaoundé kept on appointing new managing directors of Camair-co. To be sure, Louis-Georges Njipendi Kouotou successfully became the seventh managing director of Camair-co in recent times. 

Louis-Georges Njipendi Kouotou and six others grounded the national carrier. Camair-co ever since President Biya and his Beti Ewondo kinsmen and women took over became short of viable planes. The situation grew from bad to worse and forced to travel by road for want of available Camair-Co aircraft, three French Cameroun government ministers ended up in a river. The accident again placed the national carrier’s management in a bind.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has grounded aircraft all around the world, Yaoundé has been actively seeking a consultancy firm to help it to develop the country’s civil aviation industry destroyed by President Biya and his gang.

Recently, Camair-co managed to get back in the air with a plane hired from Ukraine but our senior economic reporter in Douala confirmed late on Monday that Camair-Co’s future is sealed: the government is making plans to privatise 51% of the national carrier.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

During the extraordinary general meeting held on December 16, 2020, the shareholders of Messapresse ruled in favor of the premature dissolution and the liquidation of the company which is the main newsagent in Cameroon. This decision follows a suggestion submitted by the administrative board during a meeting held barely a month earlier (November 30, 2020).

According to the official release published in that regard, the decision was prompted by the losses (estimated at XAF1.3 billion) being accumulated by Messapresse for six years now. This decision occurs barely one (1) year after the newsagent restarted distributing local newspapers in September 2019. Indeed, two years earlier, the company had stopped distributing such newspapers after French group Presstalis (the majority shareholder in Messapresse) decided to withdraw from the distribution of Cameroonian newspapers, 80% of which it claims are unsold. 

When Messapresse decided to relaunch the distribution of local media, it did so without the expertise of Presstalis (that supplies it with foreign newspapers distributed in Cameroon). Also, some news companies had launched their distribution networks (after Messapresse stopped the distribution of local newspapers in 2017). They include state-owned media Cameroon Tribune and various private media. For Messapresse’s management, these distribution networks also contributed to the dissolution decisions.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The United Kingdom and Cameroon have today secured an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that ensures mutual continuity of trade.

An agreement has been reached to roll over current EU-Cameroon trading arrangements from 1 January 2021.

The deal allows businesses to trade freely as they do now, without any additional barriers or tariffs, and provides a foundation to extend our trading relationship in future.

Total UK trade with Cameroon amounted to £200 million in 2019.

Top goods imports to the UK from Cameroon in 2019 were in fruit and nuts, mostly bananas (£27 million) and wood and wood products (£25 million). The UK market accounts for 12% of total exports of bananas from Cameroon and this agreement will maintain tariff-free market access to the UK. It also guarantees continued market access for UK exporters, who sold £51m in goods to Cameroon in 2019.

Minister for International Trade Ranil Jayawardena said:

The United Kingdom is committed to supporting developing countries by encouraging growth through trade. The preferential terms for their key exports, such as bananas, will support jobs and economic development in Cameroon, and make sure British consumers get the products they want.

Culled from www.gov.uk

The effects of the unfavourable economic situation in Southern Cameroons continued to be felt on customs revenue with declines of 39.3% and 93.8% respectively in the Southern Zone (excluding SONARA) and Northern Zone.

This is contained a 2019 report released by the Cameroon Customs Department. The report also pointed out that the Southern Cameroons crisis has impacted the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and Cameroon and has greatly affected trade between Nigeria and Cameroon.

According to the customs administration, the crisis is disrupting Nigeria’s imports from Cameroon such as rice, cocoa, eru, rubber, maize, cassava and plantain tubers, as well as chilli peppers including mangoes while Cameroon’s import of spare parts and electronic products has also been brought to a standstill.

The Cameroon Customs report also noted that trucks no longer circulate freely, especially on the Bamenda-Enugu trade route.

The customs authorities indicated that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), implemented since 04 August 2016 which provides for the dismantling of tariffs between Cameroon and the European Union has also led to tax losses of CFAF 7.7 billion in 2019 against CFAF 4.3 billion in 2018, an increase of 78%.

As a reminder, this agreement enshrines the opening of the Cameroonian market to 80% of imports from the European Union in three stages corresponding to three groups of products.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

MTN deployed 4.5G in the city of Abidjan to meet rising connectivity demand in the economic capital, while Orange Cameroon increased the speed and capacity of its LTE-A network.

Ecofin Agency reported, MTN’s announcement was made in the commune of Marcory. The operator said 4.5G boasts speeds up to 200Mbps, enabling customers to download a 15-minute video in seven seconds instead of 20 to 30 seconds.

Hyacinthe Seka, MTN Ivory Coast chief technical officer said the technology was launched first in Ivory Coast’s economic capital due to high demand for faster and reliable internet connection, and expansion of 4.5G to other locations will come soon. The construction of the operator’s 4.5G network was financed partly by the CAF40 billion ($74.4 million) in CAPEX the company made during this year, although did not detail how much exactly went into this project.

Orange Cameroon said its ‘4.75G’ LTE-A service was boosted in parts of Cameroon, this service was launched in January this year in a number of locations including: Douala, Yaounde, Mbankomo, Sangmelima, Mbalmayo, Ngaoundere, Bafia, Garoua-Boulai, Bandjoun, Bangangte, Ferme-Suisse, Mbanga, Yop and Mengbwa.

It was developed in conjunction with Finnish vendor Nokia and Orange, both began a major regional rollout of 4G LTE in 2018 to upgrade Orange’s RAN and to enhance mobile internet services, reported TeleGeography’s’ CommsUpdate.

Orange Cameroon chief engineering and network development officer, Abdallah Nassar, told TelecomTV the company trialed ‘fixed broadband’ 700MHz LTE service for enterprises, preparing for launch next year.

Culled from Developing Telecoms

A container ship owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S was attacked off the West African coast, prompting the company to warn of a rising risk from piracy in the area.

The Maersk Cadiz was boarded by “criminals” on Saturday at about 2:30 p.m. Nigeria time while traveling from Tema in Ghana to Kribi in Cameroon, Maersk said in a statement. Nigerian naval ships have arrived to help the vessel, which can transport the equivalent of as many as 4,500 twenty-foot containers.

All 21 crew have been confirmed as safe, and the vessel has been secured, a spokeswoman for Copenhagen-based Maersk said. The ship was carrying cargo when attacked.

The boarding of the Maersk Cadiz follows an attack on another Maersk container ship near the West African nation of Guinea in February. That vessel, known at the time as the Maersk Tema, was owned and operated by two German companies.

The West African coast overtook Southeast Asia last year as the worst area for reported piracy and kidnappings at sea, with the number of seafarers seized rising by more than 50%, according to a study. Despite a global decline in piracy in 2019, attacks have continued in the Gulf of Guinea this year, especially off Nigeria’s coast.

“We are very concerned about the increased security risk from armed attacks on merchant vessels in the area,” Maersk Chief Technical Officer Palle Laursen said in a statement. “The risk has reached a level where local governments and the international community must take action to deal effectively with an unacceptable situation.”

The Maersk Cadiz was built in 2013 and sails under the Singaporean flag.

Source: Bloomberg.com

Cameroon has joined the list of countries to formally ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, one month to the commencement of trading, the African Union Commission’s (AUC) Trade Commissioner Albert Muchanga announced today.

“The Republic of Cameroon became the 33rd AfCFTA State Party following the deposit of its instrument of ratification this 1st December, 2020,” Ambassador Muchanga said on his Twitter handle.

Cameroon’s decision comes after Lesotho and Tunisia submitted their own instruments on 27 November, leaving only 21 countries yet to ratify the treaty. They are Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Libya. The others are Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

The AfCFTA agreement entered into force on 30 May 2019 after the treaty was ratified by 22 countries — the minimum number required under the treaty — out of the 54 that agreed to be members of the bloc. Eritrea is the only country which has yet to make any commitment to the continental body.

Trading was earlier scheduled to start on 1 July this year but it was postponed for six months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AfCFTA provides the opportunity for Africa to create the world’s largest free trade area with the potential to unite more than 1.2 billion people in a $2.5 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development. It has the potential to generate a range of benefits through supporting trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment and poverty reduction.

The ECA through its African Trade Policy Centre has been working with the AU to deepen Africa’s trade integration through the effective implementation of the agreement by supporting the AfCFTA ratification process through policy advocacy.

The ECA is also assisting the member-states to develop national strategies for the implementation of the AfCFTA in partnership with the AUC, International Trade Centre (ITC), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and a selection of independent trade experts with the financial support of the European Union (EU).

Source: Modern Ghana

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

The city of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon hosts the largest mall in Central Africa. Already the public is keen on discovering the Douala Grand Mall.

The ultra-modern edifice is built on 40,000 m2 of which 18,000 m2 of commercial space is dedicated to entertainment, leisure and shopping.

“The shops are there, everything is in place. Really, I think it’s great for a first time in Cameroon, especially in Douala in our city. Really, it’s very warm and it’s very good. It really makes me happy’’, Honoré Tcheutchoua, Douala resident said.

Douala Grand Mall, which looks like a museum and an airport, will be home to 160 shops, supermarkets, amusement parks and cinemas. 300,000 visitors are expected every month, according to the promoters’ forecasts. The project cost 122 million euros.

“We are targeting the second phase of this project because phase two, which still includes a hotel and an office space, is still part of the complex. We have estimated that in its overall scope, we will generate around 4,500 direct and indirect jobs in all specialties,” Mathurin Kamdem is the promoter of the Douala Grand Mall.

Wearing a mask is mandatory, as measures are taken to curb spread of Covid-19. And the city municipality has also taken measures to limit environmental pollution due to the tons of waste that could be generated by the activities on this site.

The 2-tier Douala Grand Mall, which combines commerce and entertainment, has thus revolutionized retail trade in Cameroon.

Our Cameroonian correspondent, Lambert Ngouanfo reports that ‘’according to the promoters, this large shopping Centre has enabled the injection of 46 million euros into the local economy, through equipment purchases and payment of services. The Cameroonian State, which supports this project for private economic operators, plans to achieve a filling rate of at least 80% by the end of the year’’.

Source: Africa News

The government of the central African country of Cameroon has announced a strategic merger of Société de développement du Coton (Sodecoton) and Cotonnière Industrielle du Cameroun (Cicam) to boost the country’s cotton textiles industry. The merger is part of the government’s 2020-30 National Development Strategy, which includes revival of the leather sector.

Sodecoton organises the production and marketing of cotton in Cameroon, while Cicam specialises in the manufacture of 100 per cent cotton loincloths and towels.

Within the framework of the National Development Strategy, the government aims to increase the country’s cotton production to 600,000 tons a year by 2025.

The strategy also aims to increase the volume of local cotton use by the domestic industry to 50 per cent by 2030. The cotton will be used for making apparel, particularly sportswear, and is expected to meet around 50 per cent of Cameroon’s clothing demand.

The garments produced using at least 60 per cent of local cotton will be supplied to the military, police and other government departments, according to Cameroon media reports.