18, December 2024

MTN Group announces leadership changes ⁰

MTN Group has announced key leadership changes aimed at addressing succession, operational execution, and advancing the Ambition 2025 strategy.

Mitwa Ng’ambi, CEO of MTN Cameroon, will move to the same position at MTN Côte d’Ivoire, effective 1 March 2025, as Djibril Ouattara takes early retirement. We thank Djibril for his significant contributions to MTN, including his leadership of MTN Congo-Brazzaville. To ensure an orderly handover, Djibril will support Mitwa during her transition for a few months.

Mitwa brings over 15 years of telecom experience and transformational leadership, having served as CEO of MTN Cameroon since September 2022. She is also the Board Chairperson of Mobile Money Corporation, MTN’s fintech subsidiary in Cameroon. Prior to her role in Cameroon, Mitwa was CEO of MTN Rwanda, where she successfully led the renewal of the company’s licence and spearheaded its growth and listing on the Rwanda Stock Exchange. Previously, she held leadership positions at Airtel Tigo in Ghana and Tigo in Senegal. Mitwa’s experience and track record will add impetus to the growth and turnaround of MTN Côte d’Ivoire.

Wanda Matandela, Chief Commercial Operations Officer at MTN South Africa, has been appointed as the new CEO for MTN Cameroon, effective 1 March 2025. Wanda joined MTN in 2018 as Chief Enterprise Business Officer and drove the turnaround of this business. With over 20 years of experience, including more than 13 years in telecoms, he has held strategic roles across the FMCG and financial services sectors. Wanda serves on the boards of Supersonic (Pty) Ltd and MTN Rwanda PLC. His strong commercial and stakeholder management experience will be invaluable as he builds on the high impact and energy created under Mitwa’s leadership, bringing new capabilities and insights to drive growth in Cameroon.

Effective 1 January 2025, Mazen Mroue, MTN Group Chief Technology and Information Officer (GCTIO), will assume additional responsibilities as CEO of Digital Infrastructure (Infraco). This new role will incorporate the mobility and fibre businesses of Bayobab, along with executing our data centre strategy as we position MTN Group for growth and profitability in the development of AI across Africa. In this dual role, he will continue to report to the Group President and CEO and remain a member of the Group Executive Committee.

Since joining MTN in 1998, Mazen has held various senior positions within the Group’s regional operations in Africa and the Middle East, including CEO and COO roles across multiple operating companies. He has also served as a board member of various companies within the MTN Group. Mazen’s strong technology and operational experience, combined with his track record of delivery, positions him well to fulfil this dual mandate.

Frédéric Schepens, current CEO of Bayobab, will be leaving the group effective immediately. We thank Frédéric for his contributions and wish him success in his future endeavours.

MTN Group President & CEO Ralph Mupita extends his best wishes and appreciation to all incoming and outgoing colleagues, expressing confidence in the internal succession bench-strength of the business. He emphasises the importance of driving execution and maintaining our commitment to digital and financial inclusion priorities across our markets.

Source: Techafricanews

18, December 2024

Nyenè Mawn Financial Crisis: Leader weighs in, issues stern ultimatum ⁰

The President-General of the Manyu Women International Association (Nyenè Mawn) has called for branch and chapter leaders to be more responsible in their commitments to the association. Dr Patience Abangma issued an ultimatum to some chapter heads who reportedly withdrew money from the association’s bank account recently and hindering preparations for France 2025. The Manyu royal warned that some risk losing their membership over the next 48 hours.

Below is the Nyenè Mawn statement sent to Cameroon Concord News

Nyenè Mawn’s era of hope and unity: Leaders who receive money will see their groups banished

A very good day to all the Nyenè Mawn queens in this great family!

Our Nyenè Mawn queens all over the world are performing greatly and flying the Nyenè Mawn flag.

We witnessed that in Buea during the just ended South West Cultural Festival. Nyenè Mawn and its responsible leadership answered present and made an impact during the festival.

In Abuja the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Nyenè Mawn queens held their end of year and celebrated in grand style. We all were proud to read the Abuja festivity in the Cameroon Concord News.

In France, our queens raised the bar as they continue to prepare for our international convention this coming August.

In South Africa, Nyenè Mawn celebrations sent positive signals all over the globe that Nyenè Mawn is now a force to reckon with!

In Benin Republic meetings upon meetings are being held all in a bid to establish a proper Nyenè Mawn identity in that great nation.

In Germany, we are proud that a majority of our members are still holding up to our creed and founding principles and have blatantly refused to be drag into the mess playing out in some anti Nyenè Mawn quarters.

End of year celebrations actually started in Holland and we all are very proud that our queens in that Kingdom are keeping the faith and are supporting the planning of our general assembly meeting in France 2025.

We all should be thanking our queens in Belgium-the place of our birth! The history of Nyenè Mawn will never forget them. We are hoping to get more of their Stella Artois beer in France 2025!! But this is not to say we will also not enjoy some French wines.

In Great Britain, many are now aware that leadership is not about who wants it but it is about who can deliver it!! We thank all of our queens in the UK who have started working and preparing for the trip to France in August!

My office has not gotten any statement on the bill of health from our queens in Ireland and in the Scandinavia for reasons best known to the interim leadership we installed in those two constituencies.

My fellow queens, it was a very big responsibility you all gave me in Belgium to lead Nyenè Mawn. I shall be handing over the baton of command that you people gave me to a new leader in France.

A series of negative actions have taken place heralded by some members of my interim team. Some within my team have withdrawn money from Nyenè Mawn’s UK bank account and shared between two persons!! Others are going around sharing the proceeds Nyenè Mawn made during our maiden outing in Belgium. These are all criminal actions punishable here in European courts and these are also moves meant to destabilize us as queens of Nyenè Mawn.

After very intensive and productive discussions with all stakeholders of our association, we have decided that any Nyenè Mawn leader who receives money sent to her on lame and ridiculous reasons that the governing body has sanctioned the disbursements, shall see herself and her branch suspended from all Nyenè Mawn’s activity worldwide. Correspondingly, as your President-General, I am by this statement giving any branch or chapter leader who has reportedly receive such money to transfer it within the next 48 hours into the Nyenè Mawn bank account to avoid Nyenè Mawn’s strong punitive measures and litigation that will follow.

My dear Nyenè Mawn queens, your great end of year celebrations remains a strong message and a clear clarion call for working together. Your messages constitute what I see as a well of encouragement, of good advice, and of wisdom.

I want to thank the queens of this great Nyenè Mawn family who through their voices have invested and placed their trust in me. I intend to work with all our queens until I take a back seat in France this August.

Our queens in France have given the green light that all is now set for Paris 2025! I do sincerely believe that all in indeed ready and to me, France is providing Nyenè Mawn queens an era of hope and unity. What we will achieve in Paris will usher in an era of inclusivity in Nyenè Mawn.

I ask you therefore to be very vigilant and remain focus!! If you receive any information that disturbs you as a member of this much respected association, please call me as your leader and I will be ready to give you the right answer.

I wish to state very clearly that Nyenè Mawn is NOT holding any elections in January. Elections will only hold in August during our convention. This is what Nyenè Mawn shall do, and this is what I am committed to achieving as your National President.

Nyenè Mawn will never commit to rascality! We did not do shameful things in Belgium! We have never done shameful things ever since we left Belgium, so we are not going to do so now. We don’t have a history of being immoral mothers or queens in Manyu.

All of us are going to ensure that Nyenè Mawn as an association remains functional. I reassure you all that Nyenè Mawn will remain the best and effective Manyu women organization. Those who are investing negative energy trying to destroy our unity, I say to them history will judge you and judge you harshly.

Merry Christmas to all of you

God bless Nyenè Mawn

God bless Manyu

Dr Mrs Patience Abangma

President-General

17, December 2024

WTO commends Cameroon’s ratification of fisheries subsidy law ⁰

During the opening ceremony of the 5th annual session of the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 16, 2024, in Geneva, Cameroon officially submitted its law ratifying the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The law, adopted by Cameroon’s Parliament in June, was formally handed over by Cameroon’s ambassador, Salomon Ehet, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office, the WTO, and other international organizations in Geneva, to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

“I warmly welcome Cameroon’s formal acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, a critical step toward protecting our oceans and ensuring sustainable fishing practices,” said Okonjo-Iweala.

The WTO Director-General also emphasized the significance of this move for small-scale fishing: “As the proud host of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in 2026, Cameroon is demonstrating leadership in advancing global trade and environmental sustainability. This agreement is especially vital for artisanal fishers in Cameroon and around the world, safeguarding their livelihoods by curbing harmful subsidies and preserving marine ecosystems for future generations.”

The Cameroonian government had submitted the bill to Parliament in June 2024 to ratify the amendment to the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO, which focuses on regulating fisheries subsidies. The agreement, signed on June 17, 2022, aims to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a challenge for Cameroon’s coasts, often exploited by foreign fishing fleets.

By ratifying the agreement, Cameroon commits to providing detailed information on its fisheries subsidies and benefits from a two-year exemption period to comply with disciplines related to IUU fishing subsidies. Additionally, the country will receive technical assistance to strengthen its capacities and access to a voluntary WTO funding mechanism dedicated to this support.

Ambassador Salomon Ehet highlighted that Cameroon’s adoption of the law is “a compelling testament to governance that is both relevant and geared towards the protection of the environment in all its forms, while remaining committed to developing the maritime fisheries sector. This initiative, which aligns with Cameroon’s National Development Strategy (NDS-30), further stands as a strong symbol of the country’s commitment to hosting a successful Ministerial Conference (MC14) in 2026.”

The 14th WTO Ministerial Conference is scheduled to take place in Yaoundé from March 26 to 29, 2026.

Source: Business in Cameroon

17, December 2024

SDF leaders mobilize support for Joshua Osih ahead of 2025 presidential election ⁰

The leaders of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in Cameroon’s Centre region are calling on party militants to mobilize in support of Joshua Osih’s candidacy for next year’s presidential election. During a recent meeting of the region’s Executive Committee, it was agreed that every party member should act as an “ambassador” for Osih’s campaign. Additionally, the regional leadership is aiming to expand its ranks by recruiting new sympathizers, a move also intended to prepare for the upcoming legislative and municipal elections.

The critical question now is whether these measures will be enough to strengthen the SDF’s presence in the Centre region, particularly ahead of the presidential election. To meet this challenge, the party will need to urgently revitalize its grassroots structures. According to the December 2024 edition of the SDF newsletter, the latest Executive Committee meeting found that “most of the structures across the region’s ten departments are inactive.”

A reorganization of these structures appears to be in the works. This is not the first time the SDF has attempted such an overhaul. After disappointing results in the 2020 legislative and municipal elections in Mfoundi—Yaoundé’s most significant department—the party launched efforts to revive its activities there. However, four years later, little progress has been made, as the Executive Committee acknowledges that operations in Mfoundi remain nearly stagnant.

Joshua Osih, who hopes to run for the presidency as the head of a platform comprising political parties, trade unions, and associations, faces significant challenges. In the 2018 presidential election, Osih finished in fourth place with a lackluster result, marking a major setback for the SDF, which lost its position as the leading opposition party. At the time, the party attributed its poor performance to the security crisis in the North-West and South-West regions (Noso)—traditional SDF strongholds—where many militants were unable to vote.

Source: Business in Cameroon

17, December 2024

Douala: Sanlam and Allianz finalize merger to form SanlamAllianz ⁰

German insurer Allianz and South African insurer Sanlam officially announced their merger. The merger, which was finalized after an extraordinary general meeting of their Cameroonian subsidiaries on July 22, has created two new companies: SanlamAllianz Cameroun Assurances, which handles general insurance and is led by Olivier Malatre, and SanlamAllianz Cameroun Assurances Vie, which focuses on life insurance and is headed by Laya Sidibé.

“The insurance market in Cameroon is growing rapidly, with increasing demand for more diverse services and customized solutions. The merger between Sanlam and Allianz meets this demand by combining the strengths of two industry leaders. Sanlam brings deep knowledge of the African market, while Allianz contributes global expertise and technological innovation. Together, they create a synergy that will greatly benefit the Cameroonian population,” said Heinie Werth, CEO of SanlamAllianz.

SanlamAllianz now holds a significant position in Cameroon’s insurance market, with over CFA51 billion in revenue. More than CFA26 billion comes from SanlamAllianz Cameroun Assurances Vie, based on 2023 data. With the country’s total insurance market revenue reaching CFA272.5 billion at the end of 2023, according to the Association of Insurance Companies of Cameroon (ASAC), SanlamAllianz now controls 18.7% of the market.

The merger agreement was first announced on May 4, 2022, in a statement released on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Sanlam, Africa’s largest listed insurance group, had reached a deal to combine its pan-African operations with German group Allianz.

According to the terms of the agreement, Continental-Re, a reinsurer also operating in Cameroon, is not included in the deal. It remains under Sanlam’s ownership, as the group acquired it in 2018 after purchasing Moroccan insurer Saham.

The agreement also states that Allianz holds a 40% share in the newly formed entity, with an option to increase its ownership to 49%. The remaining shares remain under Sanlam’s control.

Source: Business in Cameroon

16, December 2024

Biya warns of disaster for Central Africa financial stability ⁰

President Paul Biya warned on Monday of “disastrous consequences” for the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa if urgent action is not taken to address their deteriorating net external reserves.

The member countries – Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo – share monetary policy and a currency with a common central bank.

Between them, they have struggled to emerge from the impact of the COVID pandemic and other external global shocks, leaving them short of foreign exchange or other assets to cover import bills and debt repayments.

They are also facing challenges domestically including a decline in oil production in five of the countries, prolonged civil conflict in Central African Republic and Cameroon, and a heavy debt burden in Gabon and default in Republic of Congo.

Biya called for more substantial actions to preserve the macroeconomic and financial stability of the region.

“According to recent data, our net external reserves have deteriorated considerably. This situation is preoccupying and calls for urgent action from us to inverse this trend,” Biya, said in his opening remarks at a summit of the leaders in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

“If nothing is done, according to various experts, we could face disastrous consequences for our countries and the subregion.”

He did not give any details of what the consequences might be or how they might be addressed, but any demands from international lenders to rein in spending by cutting subsidies or further trimming handouts could cause public discontent.

The International Monetary Fund, which is represented at the summit along with the World Bank and other partners, warned in June that the six nations needed decisive and coordinated actions to tackle fiscal and external imbalances.

The IMF cautioned that divergent economic performance and unchanged policies among the countries could threaten financial stability.

Source: Reuters

16, December 2024

Pictorial presentation of the South West Cultural Festival celebrated in Buea ⁰

People dance at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

Dancers perform at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

People in traditional dresses are pictured at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

People dance at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

Dancers parade at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

People in traditional dresses are pictured at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

Drummers perform at the South West Cultural Festival in Buea, Southwest Region, Cameroon, Dec. 15, 2024.

Culled from Xinhuanet

16, December 2024

CEMAC Summit: President Teodoro Obiang Nguema is in Yaoundé ⁰

The President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Nguema Obiang has landed at the Yaoundé Nsimalen international airport. He is the second statesman to set foot on Cameroonian soil for the summit of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was welcomed off the plane by Prime Minister Chief Joseph Dion Ngute.

The Equatorial Guinea leader is the second head of state to arrive in Cameroon for the summit.

Yesterday, Brigadier General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, President of Gabon arrived the nation’s capital Yaoundé for the extraordinary session to be held at the Palais de l’Unité.

The Gabon new strongman was also received by Prime Minister Dion Ngute, as he stepped off the plane. He reportedly passed the night at the Hilton Hotel, where he met the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman, René Emmanuel Sadi.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

15, December 2024

Abuja: Despite internal crisis, Manyu Women still cling to Nyene Mawn ⁰

Across Manyu Division and in all Manyu diaspora communities, Nyene Mawn, the Manyu Women’s International Association are holding end of year celebrations witnessing massive participation of Manyu women uniting for community development purposes.

Nyene Mawn now has a critical mandate in Manyu affairs and represents the socio-economic and cultural development initiative of Manyu women and its creation in the Kingdom of Belgium has truly typified the rise of Manyu women as a social force and their conscious pursuit of development in Cameroon.

From Mamfe the chief town in Manyu to Johannesburg in South Africa and from Abuja in Nigeria to Amsterdam in Holland, it has become customary for most Manyu Nyene Mawn women to stage end of year celebrations.

The Nyene Mawn celebration that started in Belgium has currently brought Manyu women in Nigeria including visiting Barrister Eret MaEnow from Yaoundé to Nyene Mawn’s yearly ritual in Abuja.

Speaking today in Abuja, the President of Nyene Mawn Nigeria Chief Stella Arhewoh Ntui said Nyene Mawn is fast becoming a powerful and purposeful symbol and strategy for the exercise of identity among Manyu women.

Chief Stella Ntui added that Manyu women should become active actors and agents in the Manyu public sphere.

The President of Nyene Mawn Nigeria condemned the nasty happenings in Nyene Mawn UK and called on all Nyene Mawn queens in Europe to start building bridges of friendship and to deploy their inherent talents to promote unity, peace, friendship, justice, equity and love not only in Manyu Division but in Cameroon at large.

The Abuja Nyene Mawn annual reunion also gave Chief Stella Ntui the opportunity to market the 4 point plan announced by the President-General Dr Mrs Patience Abangma and to update Nyene Mawn Nigeria on preparations for France 2025.

The Abuja Nyene Mawn end of year was a colorful, rich and intriguing display of culture including dancing and enjoying the fufu and eru meal.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Abuja

15, December 2024

The Holy Father touches down in Corsica for first papal visit ⁰

Pope Francis’ one-day visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, two days before his 88th birthday, puts a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other.

The visit to Corsica’s capital Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, will be one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italy’s borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

It is the first papal visit to the island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768 and is located closer to the Italian mainland than France.

Corsica stands out from the rest of secularized France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members.

“It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities,’’ Ajaccio Cardinal François Bustillo told The Associated Press. “There is no hostility between the two. And that is a very positive aspect because in Corsica there is no ideological hostility.”

Papa Francescu, the pope’s name in Corsican, will address more than 400 participants at the Conference on Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean, organized by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo.

The pope’s remarks will include reflections on local religious traditions, especially strongly held in Corsica, including the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Madunnuccia, which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa.

“The Mediterranean is the backdrop of this trip, surrounded by situations of crisis and conflict,’’ which is expected to be echoed in the pope’s address, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. The pope has often referred to the tragedy of migration, which he has said has turned the Mediterranean into “Europe’s largest cemetery.”

After the conference address, he will travel to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madunnuccia. Francis will celebrate Mass at the Place d’Austerlitz park, where it is said Napoleon played as a child. Around 7,000 faithful are expected. He will meet privately with Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome.

The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis’ priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasizing the “church of the peripheries.”

It is Francis’ third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe.

Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement, and last year Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy.

Source: AP