The accountant of the National Social Insurance Fund, Patrick Hervé Bessala has openly accused his general manager, Alain Noël Olivier Mekulu Mvondo Akame of wanting to involve him in the falsification of documents relating to the payment of social benefits for the financial year 2016.

In a correspondence dated May 2017 and copies sent to the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Finance and to the Ministry of Higher State Control, Patrick Hervé Bessala reported to the Chairman of the Board of the National Social Insurance Fund that : “Mr. President, following the May 23rd session of the Board of Directors of the National Social Security Fund (CNPS), in which I took part, I hereby express my deepest disagreement as to the wording of the resolutions adopted at the end of that session, as reflected in the drafting of the minutes by the secretariat and made public by the General Manager of CNPS [Mekulu Mvondo] “.

Patrick Hervé Bessala further pointed out in his letter the numerous deficiencies and inconsistencies in the financial statements presented as well as by mentioning a request made by the board of directors to the general manager with a view to setting up an ad hoc committee to assist the accounting officer in the production of the accounts for the financial year 2016.

Patrick Hervé Bessala also did accuse the GM of CNPS of obstructing, in particular, the concealment of the constituent elements of the assets of the National Social Insurance Fund, “on fraudulent payment by the authorizing officer of the expenses of the organization in place of the accounting officer and his refusal to transmit the employment accounts and supporting documents of the sum of 68 billion FCFA made available to him in order to pay social benefits for the financial year 2016 “.

The GM (seen here on photo attached to this report) Alain Noël Olivier Mekulu Mvondo Akame has been solicited to have his version of the facts. The GM instead directed news reporters to his communication services, which revealed that this conflict is not the first of its kind and is related to the character of legal bigephism that governs the financial position of the fund.

Source: CIN

The Prime Minister and Head of Government, Philemon Yang has opened the so-called first-ever Cameroon Diaspora Forum. The forum began on the 28th of June 2017 in Yaoundé. The three-day forum is taking place under the theme, “Cameroon and its Diaspora, acting together for the development of the nation.”

Chairing the opening ceremony on behalf of the Head of State, the Prime Minister called on Cameroonians in the Diaspora to take advantage of the investment incentives instituted by President Paul Biya in 2013 to make Cameroon a destination of preference for investors.

Prime Minister Philemon Yang also exhorted participants to exchange expertise in crucial domains including health, education, agriculture, culture and technology. The event is an opportunity to lay bare investment opportunities especially for investors from the Diaspora, the aim being to boost the country’s economy more so as this group contributed 0,7% of the country’s GDP in 2009. However, the forum is actually being attended by French speaking Cameroonians seeking cheap funding from the CPDM regime.

Source: CRTV

The beautiful hotels and bazaars of Buea used to be bustling with Anglophone Cameroon Diaspora community enjoying the great Fako constituency and the South West sun. But after more than seven months of political turmoil that has rocked Southern Cameroons including the rapes, extra judicial killings and numerous arrests orchestrated by Mayor Ekema Patrick, Southern Cameroonians are staying away and travelling to other African countries for their holidays. Even the sea resorts in Limbe have all been affected by the actions taken by the Biya Francophone regime to combat the ghost town operation instituted by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.

The numbers of Southern Cameroonians traveling home to Cameroon from Europe and the US are down by almost three quarters, leaving restaurants abandoned, hotels closed and businesses struggling. Fako Division attracted thousands of Southern Cameroonian tourists when compared to other Southern Cameroon counties. The average number of nights West Cameroonians from abroad are spending in the country in the last seven months also went down by 67.2 per cent according Cameroon Concord News Group findings.

Our chief economic reporter say there is a high risk of French Cameroun state terrorism in Buea and Bamenda against any Anglophone visiting the territory. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium recently advised against all but essential air travel via the Douala and the Yaounde- Nsimalen international airports. Buea was completely deserted today Monday the 26th of June 2017. Francophone plain cloth police officers and hundreds of Secret Service men and women are now active in Fako Division including the Bamenda metropolis.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo’s government, keen to maintain desperately-needed income from visitors, has been reluctant to admit any security problems against Anglophone Cameroonians but many Southern Cameroonians including foreigners remain unconvinced. A recent audio conversation that involved Mayor Ekema Patrick and a Southern Cameroonian citizen will do little to allay concerns about safety in Buea and by extrapolation, the entire Southern Cameroon territory.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Cameroon Concord News

740 bags of cement, (37 tons), have been destroyed in Douala. The cement was manufactured in a workshop located in Bonaloka, a popular district in the Douala metropolis. It was produced using a mixture of sand; with poor quality cement rejected by the main cement producing companies and was sold throughout the national territory.
The manufacturers of the fake cement were putting the resulting mixture (powder) in new bags bearing the names of the companies operating in the cement industry. They were sold on the market at the applicable official prices- between 4 600 FCFA and 4 700 FCFA in 8 of the 10 regions and between 6,000 and 6,500 CFA francs, in the Far North and North.
The fraudulent chain was uncovered by elements of the Second Gendarmerie legion in Douala, alerted by some concerned citizens. The stock was immediately destroyed on Friday, but there is no evidence that there are no other false cement manufacturing plants in a country where the bodies responsible for verifying products and trademarks are stuck in corruption and poor governance.
In a book titled “50 questions to understand”, the Cameroonian lawyer, Christian Dudieu Djomga, explains that counterfeiting was affecting all imported products and all brands in Cameroon.
By Fru James
Cameroon Concord News

The Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousman Mey has announced a nationwide campaign to control the effective payment of automobile taxes through civil responsibility insurance.

The campaign according the announcement begins today the 1^st of June 2017. The control comes after the merger of payment at the treasury alongside insurance policies. Drivers will be expected to present valid insurance attestations to control agents as justification for the payment of the automobile stamp duty.

The campaign is in conformity with article 598 of the general taxation code which warrants automobile stamp duty to be collected through insurance companies during subscription or renewal of automobile insurance policies.

 Vehicle and motorcycle owners who are still to obtain the civil responsibility insurance or automobile stamp duty for the 2017 fiscal year have been urged to do so or face sanctions. The sanction ranges from fiscal penalty of 100%, a fine and the impoundment of the vehicle.

Source: CRTV

A well-placed source has hinted Cameroon Concord News that the Francophone Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey reported a burglary in his ministerial department that took place between Thursday the 11^th and Friday the 12^th of May to the police.  A security agent who confirmed the incident observed that the alleged burglars made away with several hundreds of millions of CFA francs including several documents classified as “top secrets” in the offices of the Minister and His private secretary.

Camcordnews understands the robbery took place without any breaking-in, an act that raises many questions. A highly placed civil servant at the ministry who spoke to our undercover reporter said many people have been seeking to know if Minister Alamine Mey and his secretary share offices with third parties or whether it is a job ordered by some “rogues” in Etoudi.

A journalist with the state radio and television who contributed to this report also noted that the perpetrators of the alleged burglary are not in the populous neighborhoods of Yaoundé city but are all lined up in the corridors of the Ministry of Finance.

By Sonne Peter

Cameroon Concord News

The African Development Bank has launched a program to promote Public Private Partnership (PPP) Development program in Central Africa. The program on infrastructural development opened in Yaoundé on Monday the 8th of May 2017.

The Director of the African Development Bank for Central Africa, Dr. Ousmane Dori presented numerous financial constraints, faced by African governments. He also noted the importance of exploiting the Public Private Partnership model.

Participants also reflected on other options that can help cover the cost of insufficient infrastructure such as roads, buildings, electricity. Phillippe Genoux, a PPP Consultant said the model will facilitate the financing of projects relieving governments from huge burden.

CRTV

Thousands of Southern Cameroon workers have boycotted celebrations to mark the International Workers’ Day.  Labor unions in Anglophone Cameroon have often demand better working conditions from La Republique du Cameroun and are presently seeking an independent state of West Cameroon. The International Workers’ Day, also known as the May Day, is marked on May 1 every year.

The rallies around the globe have sometimes turned violent as clashes erupt between people and police forces. The Bamenda city of Southern Cameroons was the scene of such rallies today Monday, when a group of pro La Republique workers attempted to defy a ban by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and march to celebrate the day. The Consortium authorities have banned labour day celebrations in Southern Cameroons.

In Buea, CPDM workers assisted by security forces from French Cameroun made their way into the ceremonial ground backed by the controversial mayor and governor of the South West region and staged a pro government event.  Kumba was also the scene of boycott, with a handful of civil servants gathering at the BICIC junction pretending to be celebrating.

Manyus and Moghamos including the Balis also held rallies in their respective administrative units carrying banners that read, “For an Independent Southern Cameroon State.”

By Rita Akana

Camcordnews

Gwendoline Abunaw Nzo-Nguty is the new Executive Director of Ecobank. After a long experience in finance the Cameroonian now finds herself at the head of the bank.

 In 1998, Gwendoline obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Banking and Finance from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Later in 2003, at the London Metropolitan University in England, she received an MBA in Finance and the Barclay’s Bank Award.

Gwendoline Abunaw began her professional life in August 1998 as an information analyst at the Credit Administration Department at Standard Chartered Bank in Cameroon until August 2001. She returned from London in 2003 and joined Ecobank Cameroon for the first time as Account Manager in the Department of Large Enterprises for a year.

In 2004, she became an account manager at Citibank. Through her hard work and determination she became manager of the senior accounts. A position she held until January 2011. In February 2011, she joined Ecobank Cameroon this time as Director of Large Enterprises. Gwendoline Abunaw was appointed to the Board of Directors of Ecobank Cameroon in May 2014 and was confirmed as Director of Grandes Enteprise for Cameroon and the Cemac area.

This rich financial pathway was rewarded in July 2015 by a promotion as deputy general manager of Ecobank Cameroon. Less than two years later, Gwendoline Abunaw is now the lead of this financial institution in her country.

Source: MAG WP

President Biya has finally joined forces with his kinsman, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o the Minister of Transport and gotten rid of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Camair-Co Mefiro Oumarou. The emergency Camair-Co board meeting yesterday in Yaounde recorded a dramatic and an incredible turnaround situation.

State radio and television including other independent media sources announced the sacking of the general manager, Ernest Dikoum and later on information was made public that he was retained by members who attended the Hilton Hotel forum in Yaoundé. The Biya Beti Ewondo surprise came where it was least expected.

Mefiro Oumarou, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, was disembarked only eight months after his appointment and was replaced by Louis Georges Njipendi. The latter appointed by presidential decree, was immediately installed by Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, Minister of Transport. Thus, in the quarrel between the former Board Chairman and the Minister of Transport over the management of the recovery plan of Camair-co, Paul Biya decided in favor of the Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o.

By Chi Prudence Asong