Politics

4, April 2017

Congo-Kinshasa: Ghost town affects main cities ⁰

A general strike called by the opposition to force Congolese President Joseph Kabila to share power has slowed business activities in the country’s four biggest cities. “We’ve followed the call … because we are suffering greatly. Let him (Kabila) quit power, he has finished his mandate, we want no more of him,” Mamie Biamba, a resident of the capital Kinshasa, told AFP on Monday.

The central square — Place Victoria — in the usually teeming city of more than 10 million people was almost empty in early morning, with police posted on key arteries. The strike also hit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s second city, Lubumbashi, as well as eastern Goma and the central cities of Mbuji-Mayi and Kananga. But it was business as usual in Kisangani in the northeast and Mbandaka in the northwest.

An umbrella alliance of parties, known as the Rassemblement (Movement), had urged people to stop work in protest at Kabila’s failure to implement a power-sharing deal signed on December 31 and to appoint a prime minister from the opposition. The president’s constitutional mandate expired last year at the end of his second five-year term. His unwillingness to enable elections and step down led to protests in September that left some 50 people dead.

At 8:00 am (0700 GMT), shops and service stations remained closed in Kinshasa and public transport was scarce, with people walking from their homes in eastern working-class districts to their workplaces in the city center. The situation was similar in distant Lubumbashi, according to witnesses in the country’s mining capital, about 1,570 kilometers southeast of Kinshasa.

“One shop in five is open,” a resident told AFP, while a bank manager stated that work had slowed down and several of his staff had failed to show up. “I was almost alone on the roads and I charged high fares,” taxi driver Nyembo Muyumba said in Lubumbashi. But some people voiced indifference to the strike call, which followed pressure on Kabila by the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union to abide by the December deal.

“We’re not concerned by appeals from politicians. Our problem is to find something to feed our children, send them to school,” said Albertine Bulanga, who sells maize in a Kingasani market. “Life has become unbearable for the little people like us while they (the politicians) have cushy lives.

Presstv

4, April 2017

Prof. Maurice Kamto says the Anglophone Crisis needs quick solutions for a “soothed united Cameroon” ⁰

Prof. Maurice Kamto, leader of the MRC party has said that the peaceful resolution of the Southern Cameroons problem is a political test for living together in Cameroon. The former cabinet minister added that the Anglophone problem is one of the urgent political problems demanding quick solutions for a soothed united Cameroon.

Speaking on Monday in Yaoundé, the much respected Francophone political elite revealed that there was the existence of a “black cabinet” created by the Yaoundé regime to neutralize him. “Since my departure from the cabinet and my accession, for the first time in my life, to a political party, the MRC, there is at the heart of power a Black Cabinet that works with determination for my exclusion from political competition by all means. I say by all means! “.

Maurice Kamto continued “This black cabinet has long searched, but in vain, in my management of public affairs and embarked on a scandalous affair on my scientific reputation and has mounted and maintained in public opinion a smoky public procurement case worth 14 billion CFA francs.”

During the Monday press conference, Maurice Kamto strongly criticized the international community, which, according to him, “does not care of the fate of the Anglophone Cameroonians being many of whom have been raped and killed and hundreds abducted and detained in Francophone jails.”

“Cameroonians no longer trust the international community with its electoral observers who have never helped the establishment of the electoral truth in Cameroon and whose conclusions are known in advance, because they are always the same: the elections were generally satisfactory, we are told each time, “says Kamto.

The MRC leader pointed out that the method applied by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government in the management of the Anglophone crisis – made up of repression, mass arrests and arbitrary detention, militarization of disputed areas, the use of unbridled anti-terrorist law against unarmed citizens – is a “break-in” and a general rehearsal of what will be implemented in 2018 presidential elections.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

3, April 2017

South Africa: Zuma may face another no-confidence vote ⁰

South African President Jacob Zuma may face another impeachment as the country’s parliament speaker says she would consider requests from opposition parties to hold a new no-confidence vote against the embattled leader. Parliament Speaker Baleka Mbete said Sunday after cutting short a trip abroad that an impeachment may be held against Zuma following his decision last week to sack South Africa’s popular finance minister.

Mbete said in televised remarks that the request for the no-confidence vote was submitted to her by the centrist Democratic Alliance (DA) and the ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters Party (EFF). The two parties have asked the speaker to reconvene the parliament and hold an urgent sitting on the issue. Mbete is also the national chairperson of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Her new announcement shows how she and senior members of the ANC disagree with Zuma’s removal of Pravin Gordhan.

Gordhan attended a memorial for an anti-apartheid activist on Saturday and called on the ANC supporters to mobilize against Zuma. Previous no-confidence votes against Zuma have failed as his ANC party, which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in the 1990s, dominates the parliament.

However, Gordhan’s removal, which badly affected the markets, seems to have clearly undermined Zuma’s leadership in the ANC. More elements within the party are joining the opposition in calling for Zuma’s removal from power.

Even Zuma’s deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said that he disagreed with the decision to sack Gordhan, arguing that the move could downgrade South Africa’s credit ratings. The Communist Party, a key ally of ANC, also said Friday that “Zuma must now resign.” Zuma has lost a great deal of his popularity over the past years over a string of missteps and scandals.

Presstv

2, April 2017

Trump administration stacked with millionaires, who’s combined net worth exceeds $12 billion ⁰

Households in 86 percent of entire counties across the US that voted for President Donald Trump last year earn less income annually than the combined worth of 27 staffers that work for the Trump administration, a report has revealed. Financial reports released by the Trump administration indicate that 27 staffers who currently work for the US president are worth a combined $2.3 billion in properties, investments and huge salaries, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

How much is $2.3 billion, the report explains: “Here’s one way to look at it. Consider the amount of money earned in any county in the country in a year — the number of households in each county times the average household income in the county. In 80 percent of the counties in America, every household combined earns less than $2.3 billion per year.”

In counties that voted for Trump, however, that figure is even higher, the report adds, explaining that “in 86 percent of Trump counties, the total amount of income earned in a year is less than $2.3 billion.” The report further notes that based on 2011 to 2015 five-year estimates from the US Census Bureau, the average annual income in the aforementioned counties stood at $2.1 billion.

Only 8 percent of Trump-voting counties have a cumulative annual income greater than the $3.9 billion Trump himself in worth, as estimated by the financial Forbes magazine, and only two percent earn more annually than the $10 billion Trump claims to be worth. Most counties have small populations — which further explain why, cumulatively, they do not earn as much in income annually. The counties that tend to beat the $2.3 billion in annual income, tend to be the ones that include large cities.

Consequently, a map of where incomes beat the Trump staff’s net worth looks like an electoral map: “Swaths of counties that earn less each year than those 27 people are worth and a few pockets, mostly on the coasts, that are exceptions,” according to the report. It adds that the data – in a broader sense – “reinforces the disconnect between the Trump team and the voters Trump likes to highlight.” A lot of very wealthy people work in the White House. A lot of other houses scattered across the US are relying on those millionaires to boost their own incomes.

Meanwhile, financial disclosures from dozens of top White House officials released Friday night also reveal an administration stacked with millionaires, who’s combined net worth exceeds $12 billion. The filings shed new light on the business webs and conflicts held by a number of Trump’s top aides and advisers when they entered government.

Among the wealthiest members of Trump’s White House are his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, the heir to a vast real estate business, and his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs. The filings detail the investments, salaries and assets of Trump’s senior staff, opening the personal finances of as many as 180 administration officials to public scrutiny. Trump himself, whose personal wealth is believed to be in the billions, is not included in the releases.

Presstv

31, March 2017

Germany, France pledge stronger ties after Brexit ⁰

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for stronger ties with France in order to ensure the European Union’s future a day after Britain triggered the formal process of leaving the bloc. Steinmeier visited Paris on Thursday on his first foreign trip as president since he was elected last month. He met French President Francois Hollande to discuss the path forward after the Brexit vote.

“I’m glad that the Germans and the French are ready to keep moving forward side by side,” he said in a joint statement with Hollande. “Whether we want it or not, Germany and France will have to assume a greater responsibility … to build Europeans’ hopes,” Steinmeier added. For his part, Hollande said the two countries needed to move forward “arm in arm” to create “the Europe of tomorrow”.

Hollande warned against “the trap of nationalism” that EU counties faced, adding that the members needed to show greater commitment to EU solidarity. The two European heavyweights are encountering new challenges after Britain’s exit from the European Union. On Thursday, Hollande told UK Prime Minister Theresa May on behalf of the 27 remaining EU member states that the conditions of the Brexit must be settled.

“First, we must begin discussions on the modalities of the withdrawal, especially on the rights of citizens and the obligations arising from the commitments that the United Kingdom has made,” Hollande told May on phone. After the conditions is settled, “we could then open discussions on the framework of the future relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union,” he said, according to a statement released by the Elysée Palace.

Downing Street, however, said it believed negotiations between London and Brussels regarding the Brexit and the conditions for future cooperation between Britain and the EU bloc “should take place in parallel.” May wrote in articles published in several European newspapers on Thursday morning that she wanted the UK’s new relationship with the EU to ensure the region’s security remained intact.

Presstv

31, March 2017

Tony Blair in Togo as Lomé seeks Commonwealth membership ⁰

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted by the anti-war movement for war crimes committed in Iraq paid a short visit yesterday Wednesday in Lomé and was received by President Faure Gnassingbé. The Communication Directorate of the Togolese presidency revealed that Tony Blair was accompanied by a high level delegation.

Last February, Togo received a Commonwealth delegation and the country is diversifying its partnerships and considering becoming part of the Commonwealth. It is expected that the presence of a former British Prime Minister in Togo will help to advance the process.

The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization created in 1949 and is composed of states traditionally made up of former territories under British rule. The Commonwealth has evolved into countries with a sense of peace, freedom and commitment to the values of democracy, human rights, good governance and respect for the principle of non-interference.

Togo’s desire to join the Commonwealth is not new, as the country had submitted its application in 2014. The accession process is continuing and accelerating. The influence of English in the world, especially in the business, is one of the strategic arguments that has pushed the German and French colony to seek membership into the Commonwealth.

By Chi Prudence Asong

30, March 2017

UK prime minister triggers Brexit process ⁰

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has triggered the formal, two-year process of withdrawing Britain from the European Union (EU), likely to be the most complex London has held since World War Two. Launching the process of Britain’s exit from the EU, popularly known as Brexit, was announced by the prime minister on Wednesday at the UK Parliament, after more than 40 years of membership in the bloc.

On behalf of May, British Ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow hand-delivered a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels to officially notify the EU of Britain’s decision to withdraw from the bloc. The six page letter invoked Article 50 of the EU Treaty, the mechanism for starting Britain’s divorce process. In her speech to Parliament, which was planned to coincide with the letter’s delivery, May urged the country to come together as it embarks on a “momentous journey.” “The Article 50 process is now under way and in accordance with the wishes of the British people, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union,” she said. “This is a historic moment from which there can be no turning back.”

Brussels is expected to deliver its first response to London on Friday, followed by a summit of EU leaders on April 29 to adopt their own guidelines, possibly taking weeks before formal talks start. The United Kingdom held a referendum last June in which Britons voted by a 52-48 percent margin to leave the EU, the first member state ever to do so. However, there is a chance that the Brexit negotiations will break down and the UK will be forced to exit the EU without any deal in place. The EU is determined to preserve its own unity and has said that any Brexit agreement must not encourage other member states to leave the bloc.

Although Britain as whole voted to leave the EU, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the bloc. The Brexit referendum has prompted nationalists in Scotland and Northern Ireland to call for a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. There is broad consensus among economists that Brexit will have a prolonged effect of the British economy and will ultimately diminish output, jobs and wealth to some degree. Many business leaders are also concerned about May’s decision to leave the EU single market, a free trade area of 500 million people, fearing its impact on jobs and economic growth.

Presstv

29, March 2017

Trump’s funding request for wall, military must wait ⁰

US President Donald Trump’s funding request for building a wall on the Mexican border as well as military activities has to wait by later this year, Senate Republican leaders say. Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt argued Tuesday that the new president’s supplemental funding request would complicate the spending bill lawmakers already have to deal with.

The US government could face a shutdown as its funding is due to expire on April 28. “We have the FY17 defense bill,” said Blunt, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, at a leadership press conference.

Democrats have vowed to bar any legislation, involving a funding for the construction of the wall, which the Republican president used to promote on the campaign trail.

“All of the committees, the leaderships of the House and Senate, are working together to try to finalize the rest of the FY17 bill,” Blunt said. “My guess is that comes together better without the supplemental.”

The statement ran against Trump’s request for a supplemental spending bill. According to South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, “The border wall is probably not a smart investment.” While campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, the then-GOP candidate vowed to make Mexico to pay for the wall rather than American taxpayers

Presstv

27, March 2017

SDF accepts federalism ⁰

The so-called main opposition party in Cameroon, the Social Democratic Front declared over the weekend that the party was in favor of federalism-a demand formulated by the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. The SDF declaration was made during a National Executive Committee meeting that held on Saturday in Nkolfoulou in Soa in the outskirts of the nation’s capital.

The SDF believes that federalism could allow the country to emerge from the serious socio-political crisis in which it has been plunged since November 2016, the date of the beginning of the Southern Cameroons uprising led by teachers and lawyers in Anglophone Cameroon.

Under the guidance of Chairman John Fru Ndi, the SDF had advocated for federalism ever since 1997. The leadership has also proposed the opening of a frank dialogue as the only way forward towards resolving the Anglophone crisis. The Social Democratic Front stated in the Nkolfoulou resolution that the Biya Francophone regime should release the detained leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and follow with the immediate restoration of the Internet, whose cut has paralyzed activities in West Cameroon.

The idea of federalism has been rejected by the consortium of criminal gangs running the country. In a speech to the nation, Paul Biya, pointed out that the idea of federalism was divisive. For Biya, Cameroon is “One and Indivisible and will remain so.”

By Sama Ernest

27, March 2017

Joe Biden says he could have easily defeated Donald Trump ⁰

Former US Vice President Joe Biden is remorseful about his decision not to run in last year’s presidential election, claiming that he could have easily defeated Donald Trump. During a speech at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, Biden said he only needed to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination in order to win.

“I had planned on running for president and although it would have been a very difficult primary, I think I could have won,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe not. But I thought I could have won.” “I had a lot of data and I was fairly confident that if I were the Democratic Party’s nominee, I had a better than even chance of being president,” Biden continued.

“But do I regret not being president? Yes,” he said. “I was the best qualified.” Biden, a favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination, announced his decision to not run for the White House in October 2015, cementing former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s standing as the front-runner.

The popular vice president, who lost his son Beau to cancer in May 2015, said back then that he was not emotionally prepared to take on the battle and that it was too late for him to enter the race. Trump proceeded to pull off a historic victory against Clinton last November. Biden has famously criticized Trump for posing a “threat to our democratic process.”

He once said that the billionaire Republican “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth that he’s now choking on because his foot’s in his mouth along with the spoon.” Biden made the headlines again last October, when he invited Trump to a high school-style fight. “The press always asks me don’t I wish I were debating him,” Biden said of Trump back then. “No, I wish we were in high school—I could take him behind the gym. That’s what I wish.”

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