3, October 2019
As pressure mounts on Biya, Yaounde orders release of 300 Ambazonians 0
Cameroon’s president is freeing more than 300 separatist fighters from the country’s Anglophone regions in a bid to calm a conflict that has killed nearly 3,000 people in the past two years.
An order signed Thursday by the presidency’s secretary-general says President Paul Biya made the decision to help ensure that peace returns to the country’s Southwest and Northwest regions.
The order discontinues court proceedings against the separatist fighters but does not apply to their leaders. It says the fighters had been accused of misdemeanors.
Cameroon is holding a national dialogue this week to try to resolve the conflict but key separatist leaders refused to attend.
The fighting between the Anglophone separatists and the majority Francophone security forces has forced more than 500,000 people from their homes since 2017.
Source: AP
3, October 2019
Major Cameroon Bank Joins Morocco’s Banque Populaire Group 0
Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) acquired 68.5% of the capital of the International Bank of Cameroon for Savings and Credit (BICEC), from French banking group Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE).
BCP, a pan-African banking group, is now present in 15 African countries. The other shareholders of BICEC are the state of Cameroon (17.5%), Cameroonian private shareholders (7.5%), and the Italian bank Instituto Centrale Delle Banche Populari (1.5%).
The agreement was finalized on October 1, and BCP can now claim a presence in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).
Kamal Mokdad, director of BCP, called the move a new phase of development for BICEC.
“BICEC will benefit from the best banking practices, innovations and expertise adapted to the African market,” Mokdad said.
Customer satisfaction and promoting local talent are now BICEC’s top priorities, Mokdad added.
With their headquarters in Casablanca, the BCP group is the 6th largest bank in Africa. The consolidated net income of the group’s subsidiaries increased by 75% to MAD 857 million between 2018 and 2019.
The addition of BICEC to the BCP group is expected to have a positive impact on the group’s earnings in 2020.
Source: Moroccoworldnews