Headline News

29, October 2022

Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh using Biya acolytes to avoid arrest ⁰

State prosecutors of the Special Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the all-powerful Secretary General at the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh following his refusal to appear before judges on October 18.

Ngoh Ngoh was summoned “physically” on October 18 by investigators to be interviewed in the context of “Covidgate”, a scandal following several cases of misappropriation of public funds and overcharging, documented by a report of the Chamber of Auditors.

Cameroon Intelligence Report now understands the Biya acolyte is presently using his high-level contacts within the security apparatus to avoid arrest.

An aide to the so-called Minister-Secretary General believes that the Special Criminal Court procedure is akin to “harassment” aimed at weakening the head of state’s main collaborator in order to push President Biya to “get rid” of him.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

29, October 2022

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Cholera outbreak kills over 270 ⁰

Cameroon Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie on Thursday said Cholera has spread to eight of Cameroon’s 10 regions including the Center region, killing 272 people since October 2021.

Manaouda told a press briefing in the capital city of Yaounde that as of Oct. 20, 12,952 people were known to have been infected.

Efforts were underway to stop the disease from spreading but people needed to observe basic hygienic rules and go for treatment immediately if they noticed symptoms, the minister stressed.

On Wednesday, health officials in Southwest where the highest number of deaths and cases had been recorded, began vaccinating children in schools against cholera as part of nationwide measures to curb the disease.

Officials blamed poor sanitation and hygiene conditions for the spread of the epidemic.

Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterised in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.

Source: Xinhuanet

29, October 2022

French Cameroun: Army forced to retreat against Boko Haram ⁰

In the night of 21-22 October, jihadist militants managed to take control of the Cameroonian army’s advanced post in Djibrilli, on the border with Nigeria. The attack has rekindled debate over cuts to military spending in the fight against Boko Haram.

Africa Intelligence reported that recent appointments within the Cameroonian army show that the Biya Francophone regime in Yaounde has made the battle against Ambazonian fighters its military priority. But this high-risk restructuring has depleted resources in the north, where Boko Haram jihadists are now in control.

By Rita Akana with files

28, October 2022

Football: Ronaldo still capable of being prolific for Man Utd ⁰

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag believes Cristiano Ronaldo is still capable of scoring over 20 goals a season despite limiting the 37-year-old’s game time so far this season.

Ronaldo was dropped from the United squad for last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea after refusing to come on as a substitute four days previously in a 2-0 win over Tottenham.

The performance against Spurs was hailed as the best of Ten Hag’s reign so far and further evidence that United are a better team without the presence of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

But Ronaldo made a goalscoring return to the starting line-up for Thursday’s 3-0 Europa League win over Sheriff Tiraspol.

The Portuguese now has three goals in 13 appearances in all competitions this season.

But Ten Hag did not rule out the prospect of him matching his 24 goals last season.

“It’s up to him,” said Ten Hag. “But I think when you collect all the chances he creates, the team creates for him in the last weeks, you see he’s still capable to get in the right positions and I know he’s still capable of finishing them so it’s possible.”

Ronaldo has made just two Premier League starts under Ten Hag with the vast majority of his minutes coming in the Europa League.

But the former Ajax boss rejected the suggestion he is using Europe’s second-tier competition as a way of giving Ronaldo the time on the pitch he craves.

“I don’t have a Europe team and I don’t have a Premier League team,” Ten Hag added.

“I look to the opponent, what we need against such opponent. Now I have to focus on West Ham United for Sunday.

“Then we will pick the team to start but also to have plan B or plan C in the pocket to win that game.

“That’s what we need finally, to win games, and therefore we not only need 11 players, we need the whole squad.”

After a disastrous start to his time in charge, there have been positive signs of United’s improvement under Ten Hag in recent weeks.

But they have often failed to make their dominance of the game count in the scoreline in a run of two wins from their last five league games.

“To develop the team takes time,” said Ten Hag. “You can’t go from zero to 100.

“You have to construct it from downstairs – you need the foundation before you go to the top, to the roof.

“Unfortunately it takes time and I don’t have time. I’m really the most impatient, but I have to be. It’s quite clear.

“Now we have to do also more on developing our attacking game but also that’s the most difficult part so it takes even more time.”

Source: AFP

27, October 2022

Ireland Men’s Under-17 qualifies for the Elite Round of the UEFA European Championship ⁰

The Republic of Ireland Men’s Under-17s have qualified for the Elite Round of the UEFA European Championship qualifiers following a 1-1 draw with Norway in Sarpsborg this evening.

Nickson Okosun’s first-half strike cancelled out Fanuel Temesgen Tewelde’s opener but Ireland can thank Waterford’s Jason Healy who saved a second-half spot kick to keep the game level . That save earned the point required for Ireland to advance to the next stage of the competition and puts them in the draw for the Elite Phase in December.

Ireland went into the game knowing if they avoided defeat they would qualify for the next stage. After soaking up early pressure from the hosts, Norway were eventually able to breach the Irish backline.

Norway pressed Ireland high and forced an error that led to Fanuel Temesgen Tewelde finding the corner with a finish in the 29th minute.

But this sparked Ireland into life and seven minutes later Bohemians’ Okosun was able to take advantage of hesitancy in Norwegian defence and goalkeeper Daniel Sætren and deliver a composed finished from the edge of the area into an empty net.

The teams would go in at half-time all square and it was Norway pushing to regain their lead in early stages of the second half.

But the crucial point in the game came in the 68th minute when the hosts were were awarded a penalty.

Jake Grante was adjudged to have tripped Gustav Nyheim and the spotkick was given. Walle Egeli’s powerful low penalty was superbly saved by Healy who denied the striker down to his left.

Healy then immediately set-up a counter attack led by Cory O’Sullivan but the Norwegian defence were able to snuff out the danger in time to keep the game level.

With Belarus needing a win and a significant swing in goal difference both teams knew they would advance to the next stage and neither goalkeeper faced too much pressure and the game ended 1-1.

Norway: Sætren, Bjurstrøm, Heredia-Randen, Børset, Kvale, El-Abdellaoui (Thorvaldsen, 84), Jatta, Temesgen Tewelde (Nyhammer, 84), Nypan, Kjølstad Nyheim, Walle Egeli

Republic of Ireland: Healy, Babb, Grante, C. O’Sullivan, Mackey, Turley ©, McGrath, Okosun, Orazi (Melia, 83), Mooney (Razi, 70), Akachukwu

Referee: Jan Machálek (Czechia)

UEFA European Under-17 Championship Round One results

Thursday, October 20 | Republic of Ireland MU17 4-0 Armenia MU17

Sunday, October 23 | Republic of Ireland MU17 2-2 Belarus MU17

Wednesday, October 26 | Norway MU17 1-1 Republic of Ireland MU17

Culled from The FAI

27, October 2022

Yaoundé’s political spin on the arson attack on St. Mary parish Nchang ⁰

The arson attack on St. Mary parish in Nchang Village some few kilometers from Mamfe, the chief town in Manyu Division still shrouded in mystery, has fueled angry reactions among Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora.

The people of Cameroon are entitled to know what happened in Nchang, and the circumstances in which the Roman Catholic clerics were abducted and then released in far away Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The authorities in Yaoundé are legally and morally obliged to probe the matter without fear or favour and douse the raging flames of anger with justice and accountability.

However, it now seems Yaoundé is maintaining a kind of silence of the lamb as fingers are pointing at senior Cameroon government officials for being responsible for the attacks on Roman Catholic clerics in Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon Intelligence Report will make public our findings this weekend in an investigative report: The Kidnapping of priests of the Mamfe Diocese and matters arising!!

Be the first to know!! Stay with the Cameroon Concord News Group

27, October 2022

Football: Barca, going, going, gone ⁰

Barcelona exited the Champions League at the group phase for the second season running on Wednesday, a 3-0 home defeat by Bayern Munich rubbing salt in the wound after their fate was sealed 700 kilometres away.

Inter Milan beat Viktoria Plzen at San Siro before kick-off at Camp Nou, ensuring Barcelona would drop into the Europa League again despite their lavish summer expenditure on Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and other players.

With the club 1.3 billion euros ($1.31 billion) in debt at the end of 2021, Barcelona president Joan Laporta pulled “palancas” — levers — all summer long, like a Las Vegas slot machine, until he had cashed out the 865 million euro jackpot he was looking for.

In came those star names, plus a raft of other signings including Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso, as coach Xavi Hernandez and the board revamped their squad, hunting for instant success.

The cost of their deals was 49 percent of their production arm Barca Studios sold to Socios and Orpheus Media, raising 200 million euros, and 25 percent of their La Liga television rights for the next 25 years sold to US investment firm Sixth Street across two deals, for around 665 million euros.

Enthusiasm soared in Catalonia and attendances rose after the disillusionment of last season, with 84,000 at Camp Nou on Wednesday, despite the improbability, and quickly, impossibility, of the Bayern match being anything beyond an exercise to salvage some pride.

Change has come slower than Barcelona hoped for in Europe and their only win in five group stage matches was over Viktoria Plzen. The Czech minnows’ defeat by Inter left Barcelona with the ignominy of being able to watch in the dressing room as their fate was sealed even before they took to the pitch.

“We didn’t compete today, being knocked out before the game affected us,” Xavi said.

“It was a difficult group and everything went against us. It was cruel.”

Swatted with ease

The elimination did not dampen the atmosphere at Camp Nou, which was one of the finest in a long time, in stark contrast to what the supporters were watching on the pitch.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was injured but Barcelona did not manage to trouble his replacement Sven Ulreich even once. Bayern swatted Barcelona with ease, with goals from Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard, and Xavi admitted it.

“It was a beating, a tough blow, a huge disappointment,” said the coach.

“They were a lot better than us. In Munich, we were better, but we weren’t today. It’s not hard for me to say it, Bayern were better in many ways. We were not enough in a footballing sense.”

For all their certainty they now had a squad that could compete in Europe, this curtailed campaign was a reality check.

Xavi admitted earlier in October that if the team did not win anything this season then he would likely be sacked, despite his rich playing history with the club and some improvements since his arrival as coach.

“We have a team that can win titles, that’s what I think,” said Xavi. “(After the Clasico) my phone was filled with messages of support, it was like a family member had died. This is Barca and there are no transition seasons.

“We had half of last season to get things in order. The president said there would be consequences and maybe first of all for me. If we don’t win titles then another coach will come in and try.”

Financially the club could lose around 20 million euros in prize money for failing to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, as they had budgeted for, as well as potential income from ticket sales and broadcasting. That would be offset by any Europa League revenue and not having to pay out some bonuses for European success in players’ contracts.

Still, after the heavy summer expenditure, another humiliating early exit rankles. Despite Lewandowski’s supreme form in La Liga, he failed to net in either match against Bayern, his former side.

For all the spending, it was homegrown left-back Alejandro Balde who shone brightest against the Bavarians, a nod towards the other path that debt-ridden Barcelona could have chosen.

Source: AFP

26, October 2022

World Bank: Currency Depreciations Risk Intensifying Global Food, Energy Crisis ⁰

The shrinking value of the currencies of most developing economies is driving up food and fuel prices in ways that could deepen the food and energy crises that many of them already face, according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook report.

In U.S. dollar terms, the prices of most commodities have declined from their recent peaks amid concerns of an impending global recession, the report documents. From the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 through the end of last month, the price of Brent crude oil in U.S. dollars fell nearly 6%. Yet, because of currency depreciations, almost 60% of oil-importing emerging-market and developing economies saw an increase in domestic-currency oil prices during this period. Nearly 90% of these economies also saw a larger increase in wheat prices in local-currency terms compared to the rise in U.S. dollars.

Elevated prices of energy commodities that serve as inputs to agricultural production have been driving up food prices. During the first three quarters of 2022, food-price inflation in South Asia averaged more than 20%. Food price inflation in other regions, including Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, averaged between 12 and 15%. East Asia and the Pacific has been the only region with low food-price inflation, partly because of broadly stable prices of rice, the region’s key staple.

“Although many commodity prices have retreated from their peaks, they are still high compared to their average level over the past five years,” said Pablo Saavedra, the World Bank’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions. “A further spike in world food prices could prolong the challenges of food insecurity across developing countries. An array of policies is needed to foster supply, facilitate distribution, and support real incomes.”

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, energy prices have been quite volatile but are now expected to decline. After surging by about 60% in 2022, energy prices are projected to decline 11% in 2023. Despite this moderation, energy prices next year will still be 75% above their average over the past five years.

The price of Brent crude oil is expected to average $92 a barrel in 2023—well above the five-year average of $60 a barrel. Both natural gas and coal prices are projected to ease in 2023 from record highs in 2022. However, by 2024, Australian coal and U.S. natural-gas prices are still expected to be double their average over the past five years, while European natural gas prices could be nearly four times higher. Coal production is projected to significantly increase as several major exporters boost output, putting climate-change goals at risk.

“The combination of elevated commodity prices and persistent currency depreciations translates into higher inflation in many countries,” said Ayhan Kose, Director of the World Bank’s Prospects Group and EFI Chief Economist, which produces the Outlook report. “Policymakers in emerging market and developing economies have limited room to manage the most pronounced global inflation cycle in decades. They need to carefully calibrate monetary and fiscal policies, clearly communicate their plans, and get ready for a period of even higher volatility in global financial and commodity markets.”

Agricultural prices are expected to decline 5% next year. Wheat prices in the third quarter of 2022 fell nearly 20% but remain 24% higher than a year ago. The decline in agricultural prices in 2023 reflects a better-than-projected global wheat crop, stable supplies in the rice market, and the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine. Metal prices are projected to decline 15% in 2023, largely because of weaker global growth and concerns about a slowdown in China.

The outlook for commodity prices is subject to many risks. Energy markets face significant supply concerns as worries about the availability of energy during the upcoming winter will intensify in Europe. Higher-than-expected energy prices could feed through to non-energy prices, especially food, prolonging challenges associated with food insecurity. A sharper slowdown in global growth also presents a key risk, especially for crude oil and metals prices.

“The forecast of a decline in agricultural prices is subject to an array of risks,” said John Baffes, Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Prospects Group. “First, export disruptions by Ukraine or Russia could again interrupt global grain supplies. Second, additional increases in energy prices could exert upward pressure on grain and edible oil prices. Third, adverse weather patterns can reduce yields; 2023 is likely to be the third La Niña year in a row, potentially reducing yields of key crops in South America and Southern Africa.”

Concerns about a possible global recession next year have already contributed to a sharp decline in copper and aluminum prices. A Special Focus section of the report examines the drivers of aluminum and copper prices and explores implications for emerging market and developing economies that export these commodities. Prices will likely remain volatile as the energy transition unfolds and demand shifts from fossil fuels to renewables, which will benefit some metal producers. Metal exporters can make the most of the resulting opportunities for growth over the medium term while limiting the impact of price volatility by ensuring they have well-designed fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, the report highlights.

26, October 2022

Mamfe Diocese: Bishop Abangalo urges prayers of thanksgiving for release of captives ⁰

The Diocese of Mamfe has directed that prayers of thanksgiving be said for the release on Saturday of nine people who were abducted in September from a local parish.

The nine were released Oct. 22.

“I urge each of you to pray a decade of the rosary in thanksgiving to God for the safe release of our brothers and sisters who were kidnapped,” Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo of Mamfe said in an Oct. 23 statement to the diocese.

“I am sincerely grateful to all those who joined us in this collective effort in praying for the safety and release of our brothers and sisters,” he said, adding: “Words will only do scant justice in expressing my sentiments of gratitude to all those who collaborated with us in the process of negotiating for their safety and release.”

On Sept. 16, unidentified gunmen attacked St. Mary parish in Nchang, in Cameroon’s Southwest Region. Nine people were abducted and buildings on the parish premises, including the church, were burned down.

The attackers kidnapped Father Elias Okorie, Father Barnabas Ashu, Father Cornelius Jingwa, Father Job Francis Nwobegu, Father Emmanuel Asaba, Sister Jacinta C. Udeagha, Nkem Patrick Osang (an assistant catechist), Blanche Bright, and Mme. Kelechukwu.

In his statement announcing their release, Abangalo said: “Permit me to use this opportunity to commend your collective efforts at prayer.”

“I seize this opportunity, once again, to condemn the act of desecrating the church, in the strongest terms possible, and to decry the need for the enhancement of human dignity.”

“Taking away the freedom of our fellow brothers and sisters in order to make money at all cost is inhuman and should be desisted from whoever engages in such,” the Cameroonian bishop said.

“For those who make utterances — categorical or implicit — which fuel such actions, I suppose it is time to rethink your approach and ensure that the dignity of the human person is upheld in every way possible,” he added.

The release of the nine abductees came days after a video emerged on social media showing them asking Abangalo to secure their release.

On Oct. 24 Abangalo announced that a Mass of thanksgiving for the release of the captives was to be said the following day at the cathedral in Mamfe.

The arson attack on St. Mary parish is one of the latest incidents in the context of Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis.

The crisis is rooted in conflict between the English- and French-speaking areas of Cameroon. The area was a German colony in the late 19th century, but the territory was divided into British and French mandates after the German Empire’s defeat in World War I. The mandates were united in an independent Cameroon in 1961.

There is now a separatist movement in the Southwest and Northwest Regions, which were formerly the British Southern Cameroons.

Unrest in Cameroon has been ongoing since 2016, when the country’s Anglophone community began protests to demand the return of federalism.

Secessionist militants in the English-speaking region of Cameroon have also sought violence against government forces and began attacking military troops in 2017.

Source: CNA

26, October 2022

Kidnapping for ransom on the rise in French Cameroun ⁰

Since 2013, communities in Cameroon’s Far North Region have suffered attacks from the violent extremist group Boko Haram. The divisions of Mayo-Tsanaga, Mayo-Sava and Logone-et-Chari have been hardest hit. The terror group has also been responsible for several kidnappings, most recently in the Lake Chad communities of Tchika (in August) and Kofia (in September).

But other groups besides Boko Haram are increasingly kidnapping people, according to research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Association Sembe in the North and Far North regions. Perpetrators include former shepherds and criminal gangs comprising Cameroonians, Nigerians, Nigeriens and Chadians. The kidnappers live in the bushes and mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border and team up with local accomplices who act as informants.

The phenomenon has continued for over a decade, with trends worsening in the past four years. One interviewee said: ‘About 60 cases have been recorded, and a lot more go unreported as most families prefer not to raise the alarm when their loved ones are in captivity.’

People are generally reluctant to involve the authorities in finding their relatives. In most cases, they fear their family members will be killed if the government or security forces become involved, so they negotiate privately with the kidnappers. Families also doubt the security forces’ ability or commitment to free their loved ones safely. Vigilantes are sometimes called on to help but lack the appropriate weapons to confront the criminals.

Kidnappings are more frequent in the dry season when communities are accessible. The attacks often occur late at night. Armed groups of about four to 10 attackers storm houses, sometimes firing shots in the air to dissuade residents from resisting. Many victims are taken across the border into Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic or kept in Cameroonian hideouts.

The research shows that subdivisions like Bourrha, Hina, Mogode and Mokolo are the most affected in the Far North. In Cameroon’s North Region, the Touboro subdivision is the hardest hit, with over a dozen cases reported from January to October 2022.

The most targeted villages are situated in rural areas with little or no state presence, including police, gendarmerie or military. It takes time for information to reach the security forces when incidents occur.

The ransom amount demanded depends on the status of the victim or their family and ranges from 1 million CFA francs to tens of millions of CFA francs. Male family heads are often the prime targets, but women and children are also taken.

Negotiations take days, sometimes weeks, with gangs upping the pressure and threats to obtain the ransom. They use well-planned tactics to cover their tracks, including regular changes of hideouts in or outside Cameroon. Victims are usually released unharmed once the criminals’ demands are met, but some are injured if their families delay paying the ransom.

In places where Boko Haram’s terror attacks are rife, kidnapping by criminal gangs is almost non-existent. These include Moskota, Tourou, Kolofata, Amchide and Fotokol, among others. However Boko Haram seeks to expand into new areas, as is happening in Nigeria, so communities cannot afford to be complacent.

Efforts have been made to address the problem. On 3 August, the gendarmerie uncovered a gang of male and female kidnappers in Ngong in Cameroon’s North Region after the abduction of a four-year-old girl. In June, gendarmes arrested 10 people responsible for several incidents in Badjengo. In the same month, the Rapid Intervention Battalion secured the release of eight hostages in Touboro. The security forces’ success and restoration of order were credited to their close collaboration with local authorities.

While Boko Haram takes hostages not just for ransom but to use as recruits, suicide bombers, labourers and brides for fighters, economic gain remains the primary motivation for the ongoing kidnappings.

Before Boko Haram, highway robbers terrorised border communities in the North and Far North regions. But the terrorist insurgency has made the areas more volatile. Criminal groups now have access to more sophisticated arms, and some have adopted Boko Haram’s modus operandi. Security forces are more likely to be deployed where Boko Haram attacks are high, leaving other border villages with little or no protection. This makes them fertile ground for criminal gangs.

The increase in kidnapping networks could see Cameroon’s security situation degenerate further. The more money these groups make, the more powerful they become, with the potential for staging further high-profile attacks. The lucrative nature of kidnapping could attract recruits to the gangs and enable them to equip themselves better.

ISS research shows how Boko Haram and bandits team up in Nigeria to carry out criminal activities, including kidnapping. The proximity and coordination between these groups in Cameroon mean the same could happen there.

Kidnappings are causing untold hardship in border communities already suffering from poverty and the effects of climate change. Insecurity has also fractured community life, as villagers have become more suspicious of one another.

More police, gendarmes and military posts are needed across border communities. At the same time, civilians and law enforcement must collaborate to share information and build mutual trust. Authorities need to tap into existing community-centred approaches to enhance vigilance and tracking capabilities. And those accused of abductions must be arrested and prosecuted.

Building the socio-economic resilience of communities is also essential to help them resist the lures of bandit groups.

Culled from ISS Africa