Forty-three gold diggers died in abandoned mines in Cameroon in the first 10 months of last year, a watchdog group said Wednesday.

Source: The Citizen

The border between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea has been sealed for nearly two weeks due to the alleged coup attempt against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. Merchants on the border say the closure is costing them business.

It is a relatively quiet atmosphere here at Kiossi, a town in southern Cameroon that borders Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The town is normally a conduit for farm produce, beverages and other goods being trucked across the borders.

But Cameroonian businessman Fidele Kemmengne says activity has been at a standstill since the border was sealed. And Kemmenge himself has been stuck in Equatorial Guinea for nearly two weeks.

He says when they were returning from work on December 24 at about 4 pm, they discovered that the military from Equatorial Guinea had blocked entry into their country. He says they thought it was a temporary move to control the huge number of people crossing over for end of year festivities, but adds that authorities have not reopened the border since then.

Cameroonian food merchant Abdou Fayou is waiting for the border to reopen so his trucks can come back for more supplies.

“There is nothing coming [from] the Equato Guineans because they have the problem of security. No passengers from the 23rd [of December] to now,” Fayou said.

Equatorial Guinean businesswoman Falamu Fatouma says the border closure is preventing her from making deliveries.

She says since the border was sealed on December 24, she has not been able to do business and the goods she provides to her customers are perishing and she will not be able to refund their money.

FILE -This file photo taken on June 24, 2013 shows Teodorin Obiang Nguema, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, arriving at Malabo stadium for ceremonies to celebrate his 41st birthday.

Coup fears

On December 29, Equatorial Guinea said it had arrested people on the border in possession of rocket launchers, rifles and a stockpile of ammunition. It said the men planned to destabilize the government of President Theodoro Obiang, who has led the country since 1979 and is the longest-serving leader in Africa.

Cameroon said it arrested 40 heavily-armed men on the border and has strengthened security along the 290-kilometer boundary.

Felix Nguele Nguele, governor of Cameroon’s south region, says Cameroonians should be vigilant as soldiers are there to assure their security and safety in case of any attacks.

He says the military has taken measures to rigorously check movements on the border between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and surveillance measures have been intensified. He says there is an alert of insecurity from neighboring Equatorial Guinea but that authorities are assuring the population that the situation is under control.

Obiang, who is 75, was elected to a fifth seven-year term in 2016 in polls the opposition said were rigged in his favor.

His country is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest oil producers, but a large proportion of its 1.2 million people live in poverty. In 2004, mercenaries attempted to overthrow Obiang in a coup thought to be largely funded by British financiers. Last week, Obiang said a war is being prepared against his regime, allegedly because of his length of time in power.

Source: VOA

9 people have been killed following the collapse of a gold mine in the East region of French Cameroun. The tragedy occurred in Ngoura, a district in the Lom-and-Djerem Division headquartered in Bertoua.

The commune of Ngoura, bordering the Central African Republic is hosting a sea of gold prospectors mainly of Cameroonian and Central African nationalities.

According to the Francophone dominated security service in Bertoua, the bodies of the 9 victims were found, identified and handed over to their respective families. They will be buried in the coming days.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

Flames razed down the Mamfe Main Market last night in an attack which the local residents say was staged by Francophone security forces stationed in the town.

We gathered that electronic shops, barber shops, groceries and butcheries were burned down in the inferno. Although the cause of the fire is not known, traders have added their voices to those who claim the fire was manmade and a deliberate action to stifle the Manyu economy.

Cameroon Concord News contacted the Mamfe police commissioner who hinted that authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the fire in the market where traders lost property worth millions of Francs CFA.

An aide to the mayor of Mamfe told Camcordnews that “We cannot establish the exact value of property burnt down but the traders have lost goods worth millions.”

The fire which began around 12:00 midnight affected over 100 business persons. Some traders have reportedly blamed the security forces who have been deployed to the town center for not responding quickly to the emergency.

By Peter Ndip in Mamfe

The Minister of Transport, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o has authorized the General Express Voyage interurban transport bus company to resume its activities. The information is contained in a press release made public on Monday, 27th November 2017. According to the document, the three months suspension of transport activities imposed on the company following a ghastly accident on October 25th 2017 has been exceptionally reduced to one month.

The reason for the reduction of the administrative sanction as justified by the document is that fact that the Ministry of Transport is satisfied with corrective measures taken by General Express Voyage following a general audit carried out in the various terminals of the company that revealed several short comings.

The release indicated that the company acknowledged the existence of deficiencies and immediately proceeded with corrective measures as prescribed by the Ministry of Transport. The promptitude and compliance lead to the reduction of the sanction.

As the interurban transport company resumes, business as usual, the Minister of Transport has warned its officials to be more rigorous and vigilant in the management of their activities. He insisted that all transporters of good and persons should strictly respect traffic regulations.

Government’s commitment to tirelessly fight against road insecurity was reiterated with a call for civic behaviour and high sense of responsibility of all road users to sustainably curb road accidents in Cameroon.

Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o lauded the spirit of dialogue and franks collaboration that prevails between the Administration and professionals of the transport sector. The lifting of the ban comes at the eve of the end of year festive season marked by massive movement of people between regions which is one of the biggest business seasons for interurban transport companies.

Source: CRTV

Hotels and restaurants in the Fako State that are usually sold-out during this festive period are barely running at 1% since the beginning of the Southern Cameroons crisis.

The French Cameroun Ministry of Tourism recently reported that the tourism sector in the Fako constituency has lost 15 Billion CFA francs due to the socio-political crisis.

This is explained by the fact that tourism structures like hotels and restaurants are experiencing a drastic drop in patronage. Typically, more than 300,000 tourists visit Fako annually. But with the crisis, the figure has barely reached 2,000.

The situation is true for the entire Southern Cameroons tourism industry with employers forced to put their staff on technical leave.

By Fru James, CCN

During a forum that was boycotted by the Heads of State of Gabon and Congo-Brazaville recently in Chad, the CEMAC zone leaders decided that Douala, the economic metropolis of Cameroon will now host the headquarters of the regional stock exchange of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

This is one of the main decisions taken by the heads of state of the subregion, gathered at N’Djamena in Chad at the recent extraordinary summit of CEMAC.

“Considering the issue of the merger of regional and national value exchanges, the conference decided to set the headquarters of the regional financial market regulator in Libreville and that of the regional stock exchange in douala,” read the final statement.

The Conference of Heads of State designated the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) as Central Depository.

In addition, the heads of state decided to unlock 1.7 billion CFA francs. This money will finance a police force to monitor the borders follwoing the lifting of all border checks for all citizens of the 6 countries.

By Chi Prudence Asong, CCN

The General Express travelling agency suspended for three months is now attempting to change its name.The intercity travel agency was suspended by the Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, following a traffic accident on the 23^rd of October 2017 on the Yaoundé-Douala Highway that claimed the lives of 15 people and injured several others.

Barely some few days after the decision to ban the company was made public, images have emerged from the Douala bureau of two workers, one of whom is on a General Express bus, posting a new inscription “Defotso”.

Observers have concluded that the management of General Express have decided to rename their agency- a common practice among travel agencies suspended by the Francophone dominated government.

By Sonne Peter with files from Cameroon Info.Net

Latest performance figures show that Dangote Cement continues to maintain its large share of Nigeria’s domestic cement market, accounting for 65 percent of the Nigerian market volume, while other African plants’ volumes went up by 7.5 percent to 7.0 mta.

These results are coming as the company’s board announced changes to the leadership of the company, with Onne Van der Weijde stepping down as Chief Executive Officer at the end of 2017, having completed three years in this position.

He would be returning to his home country, The Netherlands. Van der Weijde will be appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Dangote Cement PLC, with effect from 1st January 2018.

In the meantime, Engr. Joseph Makoju, Honorary Adviser to the Chairman and former MD of WAPCO/Lafarge, will be acting MD/CEO of Dangote Cement PLC. The Cement company which had in the past months expanded its operations across Africa, the latest being the coming on stream of the 1.5 mta integrated cement plant in Mfila, Republic of Congo, posted some growth figures.

According to the unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the Mfila plant which began operations last month has almost doubled the size of the cement sector in the country. The Congo plant brings to 10 the number of Dangote Cement plants across Africa.

Further analysis of the results indicated that the company recorded strong volumes in Senegal, Ethiopia and Cameroon. In the nine months under review, the 1.5 mta clinker grinding facility in Douala, Cameroon sold approximately 938 kt of cement, indicating an increase of 16.4 percent on the 806 kt sold during the same period in 2016.

Dangote Cement Ethiopia increased sales by 16.8 percent to nearly 1.7 mta in the first nine months of 2017 representing capacity utilization of approximately 88 percent. The cement plant in Pout, Senegal sold 1.0 mta of cement in the period under review, up by 21.7 percent on the comparable period of 2016. This represents almost 89 percent capacity utilization at the factory.

Van der Weijde, speaking on the results, said, “Our Pan-African operations are performing strongly with excellent sales growth in Cameroon, Ethiopia and Senegal. We are consolidating our success across Africa and have just commissioned our 1.5Mta factory in Congo, the tenth country in which we have established operations.”

“In our key operations in Nigeria we have significantly improved our fuel mix and this has helped increase margins across the Group. It is especially good for Nigeria because most of the coal we are using is mined in our own country”.

Source: Ripples Nigeria

The Francophone governor of the Buea Province of Southern Cameroons, Bernard Okalia Bilai, signed a second order yesterday in connection with the Southern Camerons crisis. This so-called decree prohibits “all entry and exit” in the Region. Beyond the fact that this part of Ambazonia is thus cut off from the entire Southern Cameroons and neigbouring La Republique du Cameroun , the Buea Province still has a strong military presence with French Cameroun soldiers parading the streets.

On Monday, October 2, 2017 in the early hours, elements of the police and the gendarmerie, those of the army and the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) were already posted in the streets and main round abouts. Identity checks have also been erected and in a systematic way that all those who are not in possession of their national identity cards (CNI) are questioned.

As of September 28, 2017, in order to maintain French Cameroun dominance of the territory in his command, the Governor signed a first order that prohibited any movement in the Region. This order  was to stifle the October 1 celebrations that were held successfully throughout Southern Cameroons.

Two days after October 1, the signs of the Southern Cameroons independence day celebrations remain very visible. In Molyko- Buea, for example, one can still see enormous rocks and piles of shards of bottles lying on the roadway.

By Rita Akana, CCN