23, July 2017

DR Congo: One fifth of mining revenue ‘goes missing’ ⁰

Anti-corruption campaign group Global Witness says 20% of mining revenue in the Democratic Republic of Congo, $750m (£576m) over the last three years, has failed to reach the country’s treasury.

“For years revenues have leaked from Congo’s mining sector into offshore shell companies. Now we can see that even revenues paid to government bodies in Congo are going missing before they reach the treasury,” says Global Witness Senior Campaigner Pete Jones.

Global Witness says this the money is going missing due to corruption and mismanagement.

The government has previously denied allegations of corruption in its mining sector.

Despite being Africa’s top copper producer and the world’s largest supplier of cobalt, DR Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Source: BBC

23, July 2017

Nigerian camp hit by air strike ‘was not marked on maps’ ⁰

Nigeria’s air force accidentally attacked a refugee camp in January because the site was not marked in its maps, the military told the Reuters news agency.

Reuters adds that the investigation into the mistake found that the air force saw people gatehring in the area on satellite footage and assumed they were Boko Haram Islamist militants.

An official told the BBC at the time that 115 people were killed by the air attack on the camp in Rann which the army mistook for a base for Boko Haram militants.

All humanitarian sites should be marked on military maps in future, the investigators said.

Source: BBC

23, July 2017

Bakassi Peninsula: Here is how to lay claim to another Cameroon island ⁰

A leader of the Bakassi community has accused the Nigerian government of failing to relocate residents of the peninsula to a new island he said was recently discovered. The paramount ruler of Bakassi Local Government Area, Cross River State, Etim Edet, said the government was “foot-dragging” on the matter. He said the island, called Dayspring, was good for the habitation of the mainly fishing Bakassi population, displaced after the peninsula was ceded to Cameroon in 2008.

But he said the government had abandoned the Bakassi people. Mr. Edet, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, said the people of Bakassi were forced to live at the mercy of the Cameroonian government because of the neglect by the Nigerian government. “We are a forgotten people,” he said.

Mr. Edet was reacting to the reported maltreatment and killing of Nigerians in the Bakassi Peninsula by Cameroonian Gendarmes. Ninety-seven Nigerians were said to have been killed recently by the gendarmes because of a dispute over N100, 000 boat levy. But Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said Wednesday that there was no evidence of such killings.

“Nigeria isn’t protecting her citizens,” said the paramount ruler in an angry tone. “This thing cannot happen to American citizens…. I consider it a national scandal. “It’s not fair. It is wrong the way Nigeria is treating us.” Mr. Edet said some of the people in former Bakassi, including himself, hurriedly left Cameroon in 2006 despite the Greentree Agreement because “we knew this was going to happen”.

The Greentree Agreement, which paved way for a smooth transfer of sovereignty of the peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon, states that “Cameroon shall not levy in any discriminatory manner any taxes and other dues on Nigerian nationals living in the Zone”. The agreement, signed in 2006, also states that Cameroon shall respect the right of Nigerians living in the peninsula to continue with their agricultural and fishing activities.

Mr. Edet confirmed that the N100, 000 that the people of former Bakassi were asked to pay as levy was responsible for the current crisis in the area. “They agreed to pay on condition that they would be allowed to fish freely,” he said. “They are not used to paying such exorbitant taxes.” On the number of casualties, the paramount ruler said, “One or two people died, so the rest decided to run away.

“About 189 arrived Ikang in Cross River. Some ran to the coastal communities in Akwa Ibom.” He said the problem of Bakassi could only be solved if the people are resettled properly in such a way that their means of livelihood is guaranteed. He said he and his people had discovered an island – Dayspring Island – that is suitable for their habitation, but that the Nigerian government was foot-dragging on resettling the people.

“My people have been in camps under dehumanising conditions for more than 10 years now,” the paramount ruler said. “We are victims of a reckless political game.” A former senator from the state, Florence Ita-Giwa, also spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on the latest development in the former Bakassi. She said the Bakassi issue remained unsolved because the Cross River State government and the people were not united on it.

“Those gangsters in Cross River State keep using people’s lives for politics. If they had developed a place for them, those people would have come back from Cameroon since,” the former senator said. “They wouldn’t have stayed long enough in Cameroon for them to be sacked. “For 10 years we’ve been crying. I am now vindicated.” Mrs. Ita-Giwa said she was reluctant to come home to help her people because of the threat to her life. She said she was however hopeful the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would do something about the Bakassi situation.

Source: Premium Times

22, July 2017

China donates meteorological systems to Cameroon ⁰

The Government of Cameroon is now equipped with 23 new weather stations worth over CFA one billion. The meteorological equipment is a donation from the Chinese Government. Receiving the package on behalf of Government on the 21st of July 2017, the Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o lauded the excellent relations between Cameroon and China.

He opined that the weather stations will be helpful in various sectors of the country including livestock, agriculture, air and land transport including environment and defense. The Director of Meteorology at the Ministry of Transport, Philippe Richard detailed the content of the package as having 15 manual and 8 automatic meteorological systems.

Philippe Richard observed that the equipment were excellent in data collection and will be used for forecasts. This, he noted, will help inform on natural disasters like floods and drought which are frequent in some parts of the country.

Philippe Richard added that the 23 weather stations will be spread across 23 divisions in the country to ascertain better weather forecasts. The Ambassador of China to Cameroon, Wei Wenhua was present during the ceremony at the Ministry of Transport.

Source: CRTV

22, July 2017

Putin says ‘undecided’ on standing for president in 2018 vote ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has not yet decided whether to stand for re-election in 2018, promising not to change the constitution so as to allow him to keep on running for Russia’s political leadership indefinitely.

“I have not decided yet if I should continue my work in this capacity. I will see. The election will take place in 2018. There is still time ahead of the election race. We will see,” Putin said during a Q&A session with school children at a school in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.

The 64-year-old Russian leader first became president in 2000, before most of the audience in the Friday program was even born. In 2008, he concluded his second term in office after winning another term in the 2004 election, and became Russia’s prime minister for a second time under President Dmitry Medvedev from 2008 to 2012.

Presidential terms were extended from four to six years in 2011, only a year before Putin emerged victorious in the presidential race. The next election is scheduled to be held in March 2018, and the Russian leader, who has dominated Russia’s political landscape for the past 17 years and boasts massive popularity ratings, is widely expected to seek to secure another six-year term in office.

Putin stepped down in 2008 as the president of the Russian Federation in order to avoid a constitutional ban on running for a third consecutive term. Some political commentators at the time suggested that he could change the constitution so as to allow himself to stay on as president for a third consecutive term. Some still say he might pursue changing the constitution to run for another term after 2024. The Russian leader, however, has ruled out the possibility.

“I had an opportunity, I was even asked to change the constitution at some time. I did not do it, and I don’t intend to do it in the future. Everything is written in the constitution,” Putin said.Back in December last year, Forbes named Putin the most powerful man on the planet for the fourth consecutive year.

Source: Presstv

21, July 2017

Petit Pays launches Greatest Comeback tour in USA ⁰

He spoke of his deep remorse after it emerged he had shied away from a live television broadcast in Cameroon. And yesterday Petit Pays aka Rabbi Rabba took a further step to rebuild his international image by revealing that Peur dans la cite would have a prominent place on his latest tour.

From his headquarters in the US, Petit Pays and Les Sans Visas announced the dates of their greatest comeback tour that could earn them millions of US dollars. Turbo announced earlier today that he will be on stage in the US, Canada and Europe in a tour that will feature all his hits plus songs and that of Les Sans Visas.

But it was the revelation that the Les Sans Visas will be travelling with him that raised eyebrows at yesterday’s press briefing with the Cameroon Concord News Group. Attached here is Petit Pays’s schedule for the “Greatest Comeback Tour” that involves a presentation in Cameroon:

JULY 22nd, 2017: ATLANTA – BUI FAMILY UNION CONVENTION
JULY 29TH, 2017: TORONTO, Canada
August the 5TH: Bafoussam, Cameroon
August the 12th: ESSEN, GERMANY (Live Band)
August the 19TH: CALGARY, CANADA
August the 26th: Ottawa, Canada
September, Saturday the 16TH: MONTREAL, CANADA (Live Band)

By Soter Tarh Agabw-Ebai
Cameroon Concord News

21, July 2017

White House spokesman resigns ⁰

White House spokesman Sean Spicer has resigned, barely six months after US President Trump gave him the post. It is now evident that America needs credible liars and that Spicer was not fit for the job.

According to The New York Times, Spicer stepped down on Friday after Trump appointed Anthony Scaramucci his new communications director.

Trump requested that Spicer stay on, but he declined to do so and told the president that hiring Scaramucci was a big mistake, the Times reported. Spicer is a former spokesman and strategist from the Republican National Committee.

Camcordnews Desk with files from Presstv

21, July 2017

Douala: Money looted by CPDM barons is returned to Cameroon ⁰

The so-called Circle of Friends of Cameroon, CERAC has officially handed over a renovated Deido District Hospital to the Biya government. The ceremony was presided over by the General Coordinator of CERAC, Linda Yang, personal representative of the First Lady, Chantal Biya on Wednesday the 19th of July 2017.

The wife of the Prime Minister, Linda Yang stated that the Deido District Hospital was renovated and re-equipped to improve on health care services. The General Coordinator of CERAC added that Chantal Biya and the association are committed to reduce infant and maternal mortality to the barest minimum. It is an open secret that the ladies are using money looted from state owned companies and from the treasury.

According to Dr Pierre Mintom, Director of the Deido District Hospital, the assistance come at a time when the hospital faces many difficulties. The now refurbished health facility received 29,116 patients in 2016. It has only 12 specialized medical practitioners,16 generalists and 104 nurses .

The Regional Delegate, Fritz Ntone Ntone expressed gratitude to CERAC for the assistance which he considered was a new beginning for the hospital . The Minister of Justice, Laurent Esso, Secondary Education boss, Jean-Ernest Ngalle Bibehe and the Governor of the Littoral, Dieudonnè Ivaha Diboua added their voices to that of the population to express gratitude to CERAC.

Source: CRTV

21, July 2017

UK: Labour leader more popular than Prime Minister May ⁰

A new poll shows that British Prime Minister Theresa May’s approval rating has hit a record low, with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn overtaking her for the first time. According to the survey compiled by Ipsos MORI for the London Evening Standard newspaper, only 34 percent of respondents said they approve of May’s leadership, while 59 percent expressed their disapproval with her minority government.

This is the lowest approval rating ever recorded for any modern-day prime minister immediately after an election. The poll also revealed that 44 percent of adults are satisfied with Labour leader Corbyn, only one percentage point less than those who are dissatisfied. Over one thousand adults across the UK participated in the poll.

“The turnaround in Mrs. May’s ratings is unprecedented in our previous data on prime ministers – from a historic high at the start of the campaign to a historic low just one month after an election, while also seeing her position among her own party supporters weakening and Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign surge continuing,” said Head of political research at Ipsos MORI Gideon Skinner.

“Having said that, she still has the edge as most capable PM among over 35s,” Skinner added. May’s rating has plummeted over a number of her policies, including social care and school funding. May’s Conservatives were enjoying a record surge in April in the polls when she opportunistically called for a snap election in hopes of getting an increased majority that could have strengthened her position before going into two years of intense negotiations with the European Union about Britain’s departure from the bloc.

However, May’s election gamble spectacularly backfired. British on June 8 voters dealt her a devastating blow, wiping out her parliamentary majority and throwing the country into political turmoil. Corbyn’s Labour, meanwhile, picked up dozens of seats. According to another poll released earlier this month, the Labour Party took an eight-point lead over the Conservative Party. The YouGov poll put Labour on 46 percent and the Conservatives on 38 percent.

Source: Presstv

20, July 2017

Clashes between herdsmen, farmers kill 33 in Nigeria ⁰

At least 33 people have been killed in clashes between cattle herders and farmers in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state, a police chief says. Two days of violence between herders and farmers erupted on Sunday in Kajuru village, 50 kilometers outside the city of Kaduna, state police commissioner Agyole Abeh told AFP on Thursday.

“A total of 33 people were killed in the violence between Fulani herdsmen and farmers,” said Abeh. “The violence started when some villagers attacked a young Fulani man and his father, which led to the death of the young man after he was admitted in hospital.” The victim’s kinsmen gathered from nearby settlements and launched a reprisal attack on the village, killing six men, said Abeh.

In response, the youth from the farming communities “mobilized and went into the bush attacking and burning Fulani settlements they could find”, he added. “Our men were contacted but before they could deploy, the attackers had killed 26 people, mostly women and children and injured several others.”

Security personnel have since been deployed to the area to maintain peace. Nigeria’s Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has ordered reinforcements in Kaduna state following the clashes. He condemned what he said were the “needless deaths” and expressed frustration with the security challenges in southern Kaduna.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Osinbajo promised to ensure that the “perpetrators of these dastardly acts” would be identified and brought to justice. Southern Kaduna has seen a spate of deadly clashes between the predominantly Christian farmers and Muslim Fulani herders, a historically nomadic people who graze their cattle on the land.

Originally, the clashes were over land and water rights disputes. But ethnicity and religion have been playing a larger role in the conflict after post-election violence in 2011 that saw hundreds of Muslims killed and forced to flee the area.

Without a national strategy in place to address the conflict, tensions between herdsmen and farmers have not subsided, and tit-for-tat killings have become common. Experts blame a heavy-handed, militarized response by the government, and incendiary comments from political and religious leaders for fanning the flames of animosity.

(Source: AFP)