In prelude to the 2016 World Blood Donor Day to be commemorated on June 14, this year, the National Blood Transfusion Program on June 7, 2016 in Yaounde organised a session to train some 20 media practitioners on the right information to diffuse to the public as far as blood donation is concerned. During the training, it was revealed that blood donation is a voluntary act that should be practiced by everybody.

The Permanent Secretary for the National Blood Transfusion Program, Dr Appolonie Noah Owona  said when listening to the radio as well as reading newspapers, one gets the impression that media practitioners do not have sufficient knowledge on blood donation which is different from blood transfusion. In Cameroon, Dr Noah Owona explained, the first problem of blood transfusion is blood donation. She stressed that there is need for all stakeholders to know that they have to sensitise the population to know that their blood is needed.

Besides an equipped infrastructure for blood transfusion, she said there is need for blood which should come from people in the society. That is why the media is important in letting the population know that they need to donate their blood. She stressed that blood is not sold in Cameroon. But for blood to be qualified for transfusion, that blood needs to be tested. As such, the money people give to have blood transfusion is that which is used to qualify the blood for transfusion.

She argued that this money is quite minimal as compared to that which is given in developed countries. An administrator at the National Blood Transfusion Program, Stephan Assako said the problem of blood transfusion is serious as some 400,000 blood banks are needed each year in the country and few people are ready to give their blood. Thus, the program needs to organise its system through a special communication strategy which will encourage citizens to cultivate the habit of freely donating their blood after every three months.

Cameroon Tribune

Health authorities in Yaounde the nation’s capital have banned the sale of roast chicken following the outbreak of bird flu at the Mvog Betsi district. The decision prohibiting the sale was made public on May the 26^th 2016 by the Prefect of Mfoundi.

Unconfirmed reports say several grilled chicken traders had their goods seized by a special force under the direct supervision of the prefect of Mfoundi as part of the fight against the bird flu. We gathered that some petty traders witnessed the seizure of up to 300 chickens by the Sub-Prefect of the Yaounde II district.

Cameroon-info.net

4 people were killed on Monday June 6, 2016 following a violent storm that rocked the Mayo- Oulo district in the Mayo- Louti Division headquartered in Guider in the North Region.

Strong winds followed by a heavy down pour hit the city and caused extensive damage. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the storm greatly shattered the sub-prefecture and the gendarmerie post including several houses in the Mayo – Oulo.

CIR

Samuel Lifanda and co-accused paid the amounts they were accused of embezzling before the matter came to court. The former Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council, Samuel Ebiama Lifanda, reportedly a Pentecostal church pastor, is once more enjoying the air of freedom following his release on May 27, 2016, from detention in the Kondengui-Yaounde Maximum Security Prison by a decision of the Special Criminal Court, SCC. Lifanda was set free alongside Casimir Nyime Lyonga, the then Technical Head for Urban Affairs and Priso Simon Mokosa, ex-Service Head for Urban Affairs – all with the Limbe City Council.

Attempts on June 4, 2016, to reach Samuel Lifanda on phone were cut short by the wife who said he was not ready to talk to the media. Entreated to say when she thought her husband could be available, she retorted that she did not know and quickly hung up. Another family member would not say if Lifanda was now back with the family in Limbe or was still in Yaounde as rumoured. According to a source at the Yaounde-based Special Criminal Court, Lifanda and the two others were jointly accused of embezzling about 67 million FCFA, being funds from undue waivers he granted for building permits.

The former Government Delegate was responsible for most of the sum, with Nyime and Mokosa accused of embezzling relatively smaller amounts. The SCC judicial source said the three suspects were released in accordance with the presidential decree setting up the SCC, with the approval of the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals before the matter got to court. The advantage at this level, our source pointed out, is that the offence will not be entered into Lifanda’s criminal records; unlike those who are charged to court and later released after reimbursing the amounts they embezzled.

Samuel Ebiama Lifanda, Casimir Nyime Lyonga and Priso Simon Mokosa, were on June 10, 2015, remanded in prison custody after appearing before an SCC Examining Magistrate on charges of embezzlement and mismanagement. The former Government Delegate was on February 6, 2009 replaced by Andrew Motanga Monjimba. He was appointed to the position in 1998, replacing the late Henry Njalla Quan, the pioneer Government Delegate to the then Limbe Urban Council.

Cameroon Tribune

The former Deputy Secretary-General at the Presidency was decorated posthumously with the medal of National Order of Valour before being interred in his native Ndekwai village on June 4, 2016. All roads led to Mamfe, Manyu Division of the South West Region over the weekend as the nation paid last tribute to one of its illustrious sons, Prof. Peter Agbor Tabi who died on 26 April, 2016 in Paris, France. Not even the scorching sun could deter thousands of mourners from all the corners of the country to converge on the ceremonial ground in Mamfe for the official burial of the late Minister, Deputy Secretary-General at the Presidency of the Republic.

Present and former cabinet ministers, members of the Senate and National Assembly, South West Administration, ministers of God, traditional rulers, CERAC women, CPDM party supporters and the general public witnessed the official burial ordered by the Head of State in honour of his former close aide.  The official ceremony began with the arrival of the representative of the President of the Republic, Minister, Secretary-General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh at the Mamfe ceremonial ground. The casket bearing the mortal remains of Prof. Agbor Tabi was thus brought in by Police officers draped in the national colours amidst solemn music from the military band. A college of clergymen officiated the ecumenical service during which they prayed for the repose of the soul of late Prof.

Agbor Tabi and implored God to comfort the bereaved family. The four eulogies that marked the funeral ceremony delivered by the family head, the South West Chiefs’ Conference, the deceased son and the representative of the Secretary General of the CPDM Central Committee, all attested to the sterling qualities of devotedness, humility, loyalty, hardworking and love for his community.

In a highly emotional speech, the representative of the Head of State described Prof. Agbor Tabi (his former teacher at IRIC) as a man of conviction, values and responsibility who served his nation with diligence and commitment. “In him, we have lost a prominent figure in Cameroon administration, a senior statesman and a patriot,” Ngoh Ngoh stated while adding that the Head of State held Prof. Agbor Tabi in a very high esteem and was deeply touched by his demise. He recounted efforts by the President of the Republic to save his life.

On behalf of the President of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh posthumously decorated the late former Director of IRIC, Rector of University of Yaounde I, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Deputy Secretary General at the Presidency with the medal of National Order of Valour. Meanwhile the Head of State’s condolence message was read and handed to the family by the Senior Divisional Officer of Manyu, Peter Tieh Ndeh.

Cameroon Tribune

A tug of war has erupted between the general manager of the National Press and Publishing Company, SOPECAM and the chairman of the company’s board of directors. Marie Claire Nnana, by extrapolation the publisher of Cameroon Tribune is no stranger to controversy and has recently hinted that only the head of state, President Biya would be allowed to arbitrate between her and the board chairman Joseph Le, who also moonlights as the Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic. Both CPDM elites have engaged in a remote standoff ever since the Cameroonian dictator traveled to Europe for a private visit.

Cameroon Intelligence Report was reliably informed that the SOPECAM boss reportedly blocked all moves taken by the chairman to convene a board meeting citing a decree that was signed by President Biya on May 2016 ordering a new configuration of the board. Our source at SOPECAM revealed that the all powerful Marie Claire Nnana has regularly argued that the old board has outlived its usefulness. A view not accepted by the Biya acolyte, Joseph Le.

Our informant added that the chairman announced a board meeting on the same day that the general manager was en route to the Republic of South Africa. Madam Marie Claire left standing instructions that the hall reserved for board meetings should remain closed until she returns.  She is yet to pay sitting allowance for the last council session that held under very difficult circumstances with some board members observing that her action is complete contempt and insubordination.

The crisis recently took a dramatic u turn when Chairman Joseph Le sacked the Chief Finance Officer, Olinga Biyo’o who refused to pay the sitting allowance on instructions from Marie Claire Nnana and replaced him with Ngane Gustave Leopold, a civil administrator.  Cameroon Tribune has blatantly refused to publish the full text signed by the chairman. In its Friday edition, the national daily made public part of the Joseph Le decision on the new appointments of the Technical Director and the Sales and Marketing managers.

Sama Ernest in Yaounde

Cameroon, Chad, Niger and the Philippines are to receive Cessna 208B Grand Caravans from the United States, configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. On 9 May, the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Centre awarded two contracts for the conversion of the Cessna 208Bs. The first was to L-3 Communications Corporation – Communication Systems West in Salt Lake City, Utah, which will produce the ISR equipment and spares. The deal is worth $14 185 927, with an initial $7 000 673 released at the time of the award. Contract completion is anticipated by 30 September 2017.

The second contract, worth $39 983 647, was awarded to North American Surveillance Systems of Titusville, Florida, and covers modification of the aircraft and integration of ISR capabilities, together with training and field support. Contract completion is expected by 30 September 2019. An initial $19 751 000 was released at the time of the award. Financing for both contracts comes from Fiscal Year 2016 counter-terrorism partnership funds.

The contract announcements, posted on the US Department of Defence website, did not indicate how many aircraft will be delivered to each country. The US military in September 2014 awarded Cessna a $13.67 million contract to provide three Grand Caravan EX aircraft to Niger, Kenya and Mauritania in support of counter-terrorism operations, but it is believed this contract is unrelated to the existing one. L-3 Communications Systems West also received a $31.2 million contract in 2014 to add intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the three Cessna 208Bs. Work was due to be completed in September 2015.

The United States has donated a number of Caravans to African countries in support of peacekeeping and counter-terror operations. The Niger Air Force received two donated Cessna 208Bs in July 2013, but configured for transport tasks. In June 2014 the US government donated two new Caravans to the Mauritania Islamic Air Force to boost its capacity to conduct patrols to counter maritime crimes and regional terrorist groups. Another recipient of Caravans from the United States is Uganda, which received two aircraft on 16 March 2015, to support the Ugandan contingent battling al Shabaab militants in Somalia. The aircraft, worth $15 million including spare parts and training, were donated by the US Department of Defence.

Defenceweb