Cameroon’s Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Joseph Lé, has recently authorized a series of recruitment competitions for the public sector. A total of 1,210 positions are available for 2024, marking a nearly 50% decline from the 2,235 positions opened in 2023. This reduction comes after the number of openings surpassed 2,000 for the first time since 2021.

“This adjustment reflects specific personnel needs expressed by administrations in line with their organizational frameworks, aligned with the objectives of the National Development Strategy (SND30),” explained Minister Joseph Lé during a press conference held on June 21, 2023, in Yaoundé.

Since 2021, the government has been tightening public sector recruitment to control the state’s unsustainable wage bill. From 2012 to 2021, the payroll ballooned from CFA706.1 billion to CFA1,080.1 billion, according to Ministry of Finance data. In the 2024 budget, under review by parliamentarians, it is expected to reach around CFA1,500 billion.

To curb the growth of this wage bill, the number of recruits into the Cameroonian public sector dropped sharply from 5,411 and 5,179 positions in 2019 and 2018 respectively, to just 1,536 in 2021.

Source: Business in Cameroon

At least one Cameroonian soldier was killed and four others were injured after terrorist group Boko Haram attacked a military outpost in the country’s Far North region, local and security sources said on Friday.

The attack occurred overnight into Friday in Tourou locality. The militants ambushed gendarmerie officers at the outpost, leading to a confrontation with government forces. However, the terrorists managed to burn four motorcycles and an ambulance, as well as steal weapons and ammunition, a military official in the region said on condition of anonymity.

The injured soldiers are currently receiving treatment at a local hospital, and additional troops have been deployed to the area for a manhunt.

Boko Haram has been active in the Far North region of Cameroon since 2014, and they continue to pose a threat by launching ambushes against both soldiers and civilians.

Source: Xinhuanet

President Paul Biya has authorized a legal procedure to involve the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the Glencore corruption case, local media outlet Eco Matin reported on June 14, 2024. A source at the Ministry of Finance confirmed the report but provided no further details.

The specifics of the request authorized by Biya remain unclear. However, the case, which was previously settled with the SFO in May 2022, saw the Swiss commodities trader Glencore plead guilty and agree to a nearly $400 million fine. Overall, Glencore committed to paying $1.5 billion to the governments of the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

Moreover, Glencore agreed to various penalties in Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of Congo, totaling over $210 million. In Cameroon, the case drew significant media attention, with the National Anti-Corruption Commission closely monitoring developments.

The National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH), managing oil on behalf of Cameroon, stated in May 2022 that it did not recognize the allegations and had contacted US and UK authorities to understand the basis of these claims.

Glencore admitted that between 2006 and 2014, one of its subsidiaries used $21 million, at least in part, to bribe Cameroonian government officials in oil transactions involving public or semi-public entities, namely SNH and SONARA. The company acknowledged making a $67 million profit from these illicit transactions. Details on how the case has progressed within Cameroon’s justice system are scant. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) claimed to be handling the matter, and the Special Criminal Court, responsible for corruption and embezzlement cases involving public officials, was involved, but no public updates have been provided.

Between March 2017 and June 2019, Glencore purchased 8.1 million barrels of oil from Cameroon, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. In 2021, the company bought 137,808 barrels.

It remains uncertain whether President Biya’s decision aims to identify internal culprits or further investigate the extent of corruption beyond the periods acknowledged by Glencore. Future developments will shed more light on the case.

Source: ecofinagency

At least five children have died in Cameroon’s Far North region following heavy rains and flood that struck Diamare division of the region, according to local authorities.

“The return of the rains has just caused in the space of 48 hours five deaths by drowning of children ranging in age from seven to 12 years old,” Jean-Marc Ekoa Mbarga, prefect of Diamare division, said in a statement late Thursday.

“This particularly lamentable and embarrassing situation requires of parents and the entire social strata an imperative awareness,” Mbarga said in the statement, urging parents to check and control the movement of their children as the rains persist.

Cameroon’s meteorological center has warned of “continuing turbulent weather,” saying that heavy rains with high winds may continue to hit the region where torrential rains have caused devastating consequences in the past.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon’s Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, has terminated the contract awarded to the Cameroonian consortium Precocam/ETS Sentinelle for the paving of the 24-km Pont de la Mape-Carrefour Mwoumban road. The decision, signed on June 3 and made public on June 10, 2024, cited the consortium’s failure to make adequate progress in the construction, which is part of the larger Banyo-Mayo Darle-Nyamboya road project (147 km) on National Road 6 in the Adamaoua region.

The CFA4.9 bn contract awarded following an emergency national tender in 2022 was terminated due to the consortium’s insufficient progress on the project. At the time of termination, the overall progress was estimated at 19.5%, according to the Ministry of Public Works.

“The contracting authority terminated the contract with Precocam/ETS Sentinelle after several warnings and reminders under existing regulations. A provision of 4,990,673,318 CFA francs VAT included had been allocated in the public investment budget to cover the costs related to the paving of this section,” explained the Ministry’s communication department.

Following the termination, Precocam/ETS Sentinelle will be ineligible to bid for any new public contracts in Cameroon for two years. Additionally, performance and advance payment guarantees provided by the consortium will be mobilized as per regulations, the Ministry of Public Works stated.

This marks another contract revoked from a Cameroonian company within less than a year. Before Precocam/ETS Sentinelle, companies such as Bofas, Super Confort, and the consortium Wambo and Gege Business Sarl have also lost road construction contracts in the country since late 2023.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Fon George Ngwashi Ndikum II, the Fon of the Akum Kingdom in the North West region of Cameroon has died.

The Fon 89 was the leader of North West’s Akum ethnic group and an influential traditional ruler.

The Fon ruled the Akum Kingdom popularly known as “Small London,” for 66 years.

His Majesty Fon George Ndikum II of Akum was enthroned on January 7, 1958. He successfully kept the originality of the rich Akum culture throughout his reign.

The Akum Palace has reportedly thanked the people of Cameroon for their continued prayers and support in this most difficult time.

Yaoundé has not commented on whether Fon Ndikum will be accorded a state funeral – normally reserved for states men and political leaders.

He will lie in state in the royal palace beside the Santa Motor Park, about 15km from Bamenda according to family sources.

Throughout his 66 year-reign he was a strong advocate for preserving the Akum cultural identity.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files

Cameroon Concord News Group has written to Reporters Without Borders over the treatment of its staff correspondents by members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) covering the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

In a strongly worded statement, the Editor-In-Chief of the Concord Group stated that Besong Eunice Nchong and Alain Agbor Ebot including Cameroon Concord’s Bamenda and Buea city reporters were assaulted and threatened by elements of Cameroon’s elite force.

The Concord Statement to Reporters Without Borders also said that seven of its staff had been made to flee the country to Europe and North America.

Besong Eunice Nchong and Alain Agbor Ebot have continuously faced death threats from plain cloth security officers supporting the brutal regime in Yaoundé.

During a recent press conference in Yaoundé, Alain Agbor Ebot reportedly spoke of the ruckus in Cameroonian football and the rift between the Cameroonian FA and the Ministry of Sports and received a veiled threat from the head of protocol in the Sports Minister’s cabinet that “You are skating on thin ice. We advise you to err on the side of the government if you want to continue to practice this profession in Cameroon.”

Cameroon Concord News Chairman and Editor called on Reporters Without Borders to criticize such unacceptable behavior and to address instances of repression by the 42 year-old Biya regime against English-speaking journalists.

The Republic of Cameroon is among the world’s top oppressors of journalists and free speech.

The Minister of Communication was heard murmuring privately that all English-speaking media outlets operating outside of Cameroon are enemy media and their reporters inside Cameroon will not be safe.

By Alain Tabot-Tanyi

According to French publications, Law Enforcement News and the Parisien, a Cameroonian colonel has claimed diplomatic immunity in Paris, France after being accused of raping his daughter while in the country on military orders. This colonel is reportedly the assistant defense attaché to Paris from Cameroon.

On May 26th, 2024, the stepmother of the 16-year-old victim called police after the child complained of vaginal pain and after she admitted her father had raped her, this incident being the third time.

On May 27th, 2024, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office called the suspect, who immediately claimed diplomatic immunity. Over the past week, the French Foreign Ministry has been in contact with the Cameroonian Foreign Ministry and is reportedly in talks to remove the colonel’s diplomatic immunity so the Paris Prosecutor’s Office can act.

The child was placed in a temporary home, but immediately ran away, her current whereabouts are unknown, and the Cameroonian embassy has not released a statement.

France has, perhaps, the strongest European relations with Cameroon and was the first nation to recognize sovereignty in 1960.

Source: Atlas News

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a Cameroonian national for allegedly collecting at least P4 million in exchange for fake dollar bills at a hotel in Makati.

Members of the NBI Cybercrime Division posed as investors to apprehend Khan Fonkam, who allegedly promised to convert fake US dollars into real currency using a chemical process.

The NBI agents recovered the fake US dollars in Fonkam’s hotel room.

The scheme, known as the “black dollar” scam, involves convincing victims to pay money for chemicals purportedly needed to convert counterfeit currency into real dollars.

The suspect’s arrest stemmed from the complaint of a victim, who reported that Fonkam gave him a suitcase of fake money in exchange for P4 million.

The NBI said the victim met Fonkam through social media.

“The agreement was to split the amount, with each of them getting $2.5 million. The victim shelled out P4 million to buy the chemical,” Van Homer Angluben, executive officer of the NBI Cybercrime Division, said.

Fonkam is being held on charges of estafa and illegal use of false treasury bank notes.

Source: The Philippine Star

President Paul Biya has ratified two financing agreements totaling €79.11 million (about CFA52 billion). The deals aim to support the implementation of the Hydro-Agricultural Development Project covering 15,280 hectares in the Mbéré, Vina, and Faro-et-Déo departments in the Adamaoua region. The first agreement, valued at €76.23 million (around CFA50 billion) is a buyer credit and the second, worth €2.89 million (nearly CFA1.89 billion), is a commercial credit. These deals were concluded with the British group Standard Chartered Bank on January 30 in Yaoundé.

This financing is part of the three-year Emergency Plan to Accelerate Economic Growth in Cameroon (Planut), specifically focusing on territorial development. It marks the initial phase of an ambitious program to develop 35,000 hectares of cultivable land in Cameroon. The project, to be technically implemented by the Spanish company Incatema, involves constructing irrigation systems for extensive cultivable areas, building 100 kilometers of roads, establishing several production units, and procuring various agricultural equipment.

Additionally, the project includes conducting a financial study to ensure youth employment and facilitate the marketing of agro-pastoral products. Besides enhancing food security, this initiative is expected to boost the country’s economic growth, as outlined by the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Territorial Development. It also aligns with Cameroon’s commitments in combating climate change, including its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

In the medium term, the project aims to enhance the capacities and productivity of a national agriculture resilient to climate change. Long-term objectives involve developing a smart second-generation agriculture, combining structural transformation and environmental preservation. Furthermore, it aims to “give stronger impetus to the government’s import-substitution policy, aimed at producing more to meet domestic demand and reduce imports,” according to Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey.

Source: Business in Cameroon