International money transfers have been severely disrupted for several days in Cameroon. Some local media reports have blamed the situation on the Yaounde regime’s efforts at stifling the Anglophone uprising. However, Cameroon Concord News understands the International money transfer operators such as Western Union and Money Gram have refused to be taxed on their commissions.

Since 2015, the Cameroon finance law requires that operators’ levies on transfers be taxed. The Cameroonian representatives of these products, who strongly oppose the 2015 rules and regulations, have therefore decided to suspend the activity. A journalist with a sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report hinted that the operators have not reached an agreement with their international partners.

However, although there has been a law since 2015 and the implementing legislation has been delayed due to administrative burdens, commission fees received by local operators have never been taxed for transfers to the EU.

By Chi Prudence Asong

US President-elect Donald Trump has said American corporations that relocate abroad will be punished under his administration. Trump made the remarks on Thursday in Indianapolis, the capital of the state of Indiana, as he announced an agreement with air conditioning manufacturer Carrier to keep jobs in the United States.

“Companies are not going to leave the United States any more without consequences. Not going to happen,” Trump told workers at the Carrier plant. “They can leave from state to state, and negotiate deals with different states, but leaving the country will be very, very difficult,” he added. During his election campaign, Trump has spoken against corporations which are leaving the United States for cheaper workforce abroad in order to earn more profit, leaving many Americans jobless.

He has vowed to bring jobs back to the United States and punish those companies which refuse to do so by imposing major tariffs on their products. Trump particularly singled out Carrier, a brand of United Technologies Corporation, saying he had been trying to convince the firm not to shift thousands of jobs to neighboring Mexico.

The Republican billionaire had warned that his administration would slap tariffs on Carrier products as they were exported back to the United States. “But I called Greg (Hayes, UTC’s chairman) and I said it’s really important, we have to do something because you have a lot of people leaving and you have to understand we can’t allow this to happen anymore with our country,” Trump said as he recalled an earlier discussion with the corporation ‘s top executive.

The company said in a statement that under the deal, negotiated by Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Indian state offered Carrier $7 million in incentives over a decade, “contingent upon factors including employment, job retention and capital investment.” Pence, the outgoing Indiana governor, said the agreement will keep about 1,100 jobs in the state. “This is a great day for Indiana and it’s a great day for working people all across the United States of America.”

Trump’s campaign had been hit with so many controversies since its inception in early 2015. But the real estate tycoon still managed to stun the world by defeating the heavily-favored Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, in the November 8 election by promising to make American economy better and providing jobs to the jobless.

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The Speaker of the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has granted audience to the Operations Manager for the World Bank in Cameroon, Elisabeth Huybens today, Thursday the 1^st of December 2016.

Elisabeth Huybens was at the National Assembly to discuss the state of cooperation between Cameroon and the World Bank. During her meeting with Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, the Operations Manager for the World Bank in Cameroon hailed the country’s economic performance.

She described the economy as strong and promising in spite of the falling prices of oil and other external shocks on the international market. Belgian born Elisabeth Huybens was appointed the Operations Manager for the World Bank in Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe since July 2015.

The Cameroon government is taking advantage of the women’s Africa Cup of Nations currently going on in the country to market its poorly developed sector.   The Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, organized today Monday, a very popular ceremony in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital. Chaired by the Prime Minister and Head of Government, the event was attended by Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), under the theme “Women, Sport and Tourism: Women’s sporting events and promotion of African destinations “.

Identified in Cameroon as a sector of growth and job creation, tourism, has been set up by the CPDM led government of Cameroon as an important lever for achieving the Sustainable Development Objectives noted Bello Bouba Maïgari, the Minister of Tourism and Leisure.

However, the Cameroon tourism sector is a complete mess and continues to record a sharp decline in the number of tourists in the country since 2013. The situation has become even more pathetic with the emergence of the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram. It is in an attempt to reverse the trend that the authorities have chosen the pretext of female Africa Cup of Nations to promote tourism in a country that avails itself of a rich cultural diversity.

By Rita Akana

The Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Pim Van Ballekom has inaugurated the bank’s regional office for the Central Africa Sub Region in Yaounde. Today’s ceremony was attended by the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella and the European Union Ambassador to Cameroon, Francoise Collet.

Minister Mbella Mbella and Vice President Van Ballekom held intensive discussions prior to the inauguration ceremony. Cameroon Concord News gathered that both men examined the long standing relations between Cameroon and the European Investment Bank and identified new avenues for further cooperation.

The European Union Ambassador, Francoise Collet noted during a press briefing that there would be a massive increase in the volume and nature of financial assistance from the European Investment Bank to public and private establishments in the Central African sub region.

CRTV

The Bank of England has warned that life will turn difficult for Britain’s most vulnerable, as inflation is expected to rise due to a slump in the pound following the vote to exit the European Union. Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, said Friday that inflation was likely to surpass the bank’s official two-percent target over the coming years. Carney said that the bank was “willing to tolerate a bit of an overshoot” to avoid unnecessary employment. He added it was not the bank’s responsibility to make decisions based on uneven social impacts of higher prices. “We care a lot about distribution but we are not a political entity,” he said, according to The Independent. Carney said that around 500,000 jobs could have been at risk if the bank had not cut interest rates in August.

The pound sterling has fallen by about 18 percent since Britain’s vote to exit the EU (Brexit) in June, the lowest level in 168 years. The Bank of England has signaled it may cut interest rates again later this year. The British currency has fallen as foreign investors wait for signs of the UK’s new trading agreements with the rest of the world. Food and Drink Federation Director General Ian Wright says the cost of importing goods is rising, and businesses will have to pass these costs on to consumers or risk losses.

“If these price hikes persist, there are pretty undesirable possible outcomes: retailers put up prices, manufacturers and or retailers take the hit, or consumers lose choice,” Wright told The Times. The Bank of England’s forecast in August show inflation hitting two percent in the third quarter of 2017 and rising to 2.4 percent in the second half of 2018. Some economists predict prices will rise even more rapidly. Some expect inflation will hit three percent by the end of next year as imports of food and fuel become more expensive.

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Transport Minister, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, and his new corporate executive staffs of Camair-Co met on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 in Yaounde with officials of the Audit Consulting firm Boeing. Amid tension with the new board chair of the airline company, Mefiro Oumarou, the transport minister reportedly told the Americans that President Biya has chosen Boeing and that the plan developed by Boeing has already been validated and stressed that the new Camair- Co leaders should rally behind Boeing as soon as possible and move towards the implementation phase.

Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o did announce the release of part of the funding needed to redress the airline company. Said the minister, “I am able to tell you that FCFA 30 billion is already available for Boeing to accompany Camair-Co in the implementation of this plan.”

The hard-line position adopted by Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o has openly contradicted statements released by the President of the Board of Camair-Co, Mefiro Oumarou. Mefiro recently opined that there was need to put aside the recovery plan submitted to the President of the Republic by Boeing Consulting.

The Boeing plan hinted our informant in Yaounde will allow Camair-Co to fly to 27 destinations: 9 domestic, 13 regional and 5 intercontinental. There is a proposal to acquire new aircrafts over a period of five years by 2020. Boeing also requested the Cameroonian government to inject 60 billion FCFA in the computerization of the company and building sheds.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

Incidences of Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and Horn of Africa have been decreasing but waters off West Africa remain dangerous and criminal gangs in East Africa are still a lingering threat, according to a new report. These were some of the conclusions from a recent Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) meeting that convened 35 maritime experts to discuss the current state of maritime piracy off the east and west coasts of Africa in the runup to the upcoming African Union Maritime Summit in Lomé, Togo, later this month.

The OBP working group meeting noted that the upturn in kidnapping for ransom incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 appears to have been reduced through a combination of increased patrols by the Nigerian Navy, increased use of contracted security and a refocus of attacks away from piracy at sea and more towards inland infrastructure.

“While the waters in the Gulf of Guinea remain dangerous, regional nations are increasingly able to respond to piracy attacks through operational coordination across the zones developed through the Yaoundé process. Recent examples of these successes include the Nigerian Navy’s armed response to pirate attacks on the MT Maximus in February and the Vectus Osprey in August of this year. International actors are supporting the regional states by coordinating Maritime Situational Awareness for merchant vessels through the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT – GoG) framework,” Oceans Beyond Piracy said.

Regarding the rule of law, Oceans Beyond Piracy said there is considerable frustration that regional justice systems are still not able or willing to hold pirates accountable. “As evidenced off the Horn of Africa, the commitment to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate pirates was essential in building trust between the shipping industry and regional states as well as sending a signal of regional resolve to address the issue based on the rule of law.”

For the Horn of Africa region, Oceans Beyond Piracy said it has recorded a decline in international counter-piracy spending from $7 Billion in 2010 down to $1.3 Billion in 2015, noting that an effective deterrence has been maintained due to more cost-effective counter-piracy measures and the overall decline in pirate activity. “However, participants agreed that piracy gangs are still organized and retain the capability and intent to attack international shipping. These criminal networks are currently focused on other criminal activity, but are watching to see if conditions at sea become favourable again for piracy attacks.”

In spite of emerging maritime crises elsewhere, Oceans Beyond Piracy said international forces remain committed to support countries in the Horn of Africa/Western Indian Ocean region to deal with piracy. “It is hoped that support for operational issues can be increasingly provided by regional partners and so-called ‘independent deployers.’ It was also stressed that capacity building plans for regional forces are still many years from effectively suppressing piracy on their own.”

The international fight against piracy has seen the apprehension, prosecution, conviction and incarceration of more than 1 000 pirates. Nevertheless, Oceans Beyond Piracy has urged shipping organisations not to become complacent and to sustain deterrence.

“As commercial shipping patterns return to pre-crisis norms, there is concern that a growing number of vulnerable vessels are not following recommended procedures such as transiting through the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden. There are also clear indications that the use of armed guards is decreasing in all areas of the High Risk Area (HRA). These developments may risk creating opportunities for pirates to reassert piracy business models,” OBP said. “Shipping organizations still implore their members to remain vigilant and follow BMP4 recommendations while the HRA remains in effect.”

Culled from Defenceweb

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers will be holding an extraordinary meeting to discuss the latest market situation in Algeria. The key focus of the meeting will be a proposal by Saudi Arabia for producers to keep their oil output at January levels – what Riyadh believes will help stabilize the prices in markets.

Iran has so far rejected the call to freeze its output as unfair and emphasized that it will go ahead with its plans to increase its oil production. Nevertheless, it had made it clear that it is ready to join the plan after its output reaches 4 barrels per day.

The country had been under multiple years of sanctions that limited its oil exports to 1 million barrels per day and also barred foreign investments in its oil industry. The sanctions were lifted in January after a nuclear deal that Iran had reached with the so-called P5+1 group of countries – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – came into effect.

Reuters reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia has informed Tehran that it is ready to reduce its oil output provided that Iran agrees to cap its own output at its current level of 3.6 million mb/d over the remaining months to the end of 2016.

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