17, October 2024

Cameroon’s wage bill rises by CFA34bn in 2024 ⁰

Cameroon’s public wage bill rose by CFA33.7 billion year-on-year, reaching CFA332.6 billion by the end of March 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry attributes this increase to several factors. One is the acceleration of back-pay settlements, which reached CFA42.4 billion in 2024, up from CFA32.2 billion in 2023. Another factor is a 5% salary increase in February 2024, along with a rise in family allowances from CFA2,800 to CFA4,500 per child.

The wage bill’s continued growth, largely driven by extensive public sector hiring, has raised concerns among officials who aim to maintain fiscal stability. Since 2021, the government has been working to limit public sector recruitment. For example, automatic recruitment of graduates from teacher training schools has been discontinued.

These measures, along with efforts to clean up payroll records, are part of Cameroon’s plan to meet the public wage sustainability ratio by 2025. If successful, it would be the first time in 16 years. The target, set at 35% within the CEMAC region, reflects the ratio of state wage expenses to annual tax and customs revenues.

Source: Business in Cameroon

17, October 2024

Ambazonia Crisis: Biya regime equips troops with Turkish MPT-76 assault rifles ⁰

The Cameroon Army has enhanced the lethality of its special forces with the adoption of Turkish-made MPT-76 assault rifles.

Developed in the late 2000s for the Turkish military, the MPT-76 is often likened to the AR-15 rifle and shares visual similarity with the German HK-417.

It features a quad Picatinny rail and a retractable polymer stock, enabling compactness and improved handling.

Chambered for NATO-standard 7.62x51mm ammunition, the rifle has a 20-round magazine and a rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute.

The MPT-76 comes in three different barrel lengths, but the version used by Cameroon is equipped with a 16-inch barrel.

In addition to Cameroon, the Turkish rifles are also in service with Azerbaijan, Senegal, and Somalia.

Source: The Defense Post

16, October 2024

Biya’s Health: Air Ambulance lands in Yaoundé ⁰

A source has informed Cameroon Intelligence Report that a Luxembourg Air Ambulance, a Bombadier Challenger 605, departed on October 16, 2024 from Paris Le Bourget Airport (LBG) at exactly 12:17pm and landed in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s political capital at 5:23pm.

The source however added that it was unclear who was onboard the Air Ambulance. Other sources have just intimated that the air ambulance might be in Yaoundé to pick up another sick person as most of Cameroon’s political leaders are very sick and senile.

A source close to the national assembly has said that the Speaker, Cavaye Djibril, is also sick and might be the person the Air Ambulance will be taking to France.

The source added that the Air Ambulance took off from Paris and not from Geneva.

This is a developing story and Cameroon Concord News Group has informed its correspondents in Cameroon to work their sources for things to become clearer by tomorrow morning.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

16, October 2024

Biya’s imaginary return to Yaoundé has not occurred ⁰

The expected return of Cameroon’s president Paul Biya to Yaoundé has not occurred. Financial markets are reacting to growing concerns about his health, while several key government figures have been called to Geneva.

What happened on 13 October? In Yaoundé, Cameroon, while supporters of the Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC, the ruling party) and members of youth organisations had been discreetly mobilised to welcome President Paul Biya at the airport, the arrangements were scrapped a few hours later, with the same discretion. And with good reason: the Cameroonian president did not return to the country and is still in Europe. But where?

Imaginary homecoming

No announcement has been made about Biya’s aborted return or the reasons. But this latest development has heightened doubts about the president’s condition, after September and October saw him cancel his participation in the United Nations General Assembly, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) summit and the meeting on sustainable development in Hamburg, Germany.

Faced with rumours of the president’s death spread by a television channel close to the Ambazonian separatists and widely reported on social networks, the Cameroonian presidency and government were forced to make a public statement on 8 October, explaining that the head of state was continuing his stay in Switzerland, was in perfect health and would return to Cameroon “in the very near future”. That was a week ago.

“The head of state had never planned to return this Sunday [13 October],” said a source close to the presidency, who confirmed that no members of the presidential guard or the presidential security directorate responsible for accompanying the head of state on his travels had been mobilised for this trip. According to our sources, airport authorities were not alerted to any movement of CM-001, the code reserved for President Biya.

Budgetary emergencies

As a result, public suspicions have returned with a vengeance. According to one of the most persistent rumours, Biya has been hospitalised for at least two weeks in an ultra-secure VIP wing of the Percy military hospital in Clamart, near Paris. Cameroon’s ambassador to France, André Magnus Ekoumou, denied this to Jeune Afrique. “Paul Biya has never been hospitalised in Paris or anywhere else. He is in Geneva and in good health,” he said.

Then the influential territorial administration minister Paul Atanga Nji provoked more tension by declaring a ban on debates about the president’s condition in the Cameroonian media. In the same vein, land and property minister Henri Eyebe Ayissi announced that he would organise a day of prayer for Biya at Yaoundé’s Palais des Sports on 17 October. This was subsequently cancelled on the orders of Biya’s private office, led by Samuel Mvondo Ayolo.

These initiatives have annoyed some members of the presidential entourage, since they contribute to the climate of mistrust surrounding their boss. On 13 October, Finance Minister Louis-Paul Motaze, who is also expected in Brussels in the next few days, and Senate Vice-President Aboubakary Abdoulaye were summoned to Geneva. On 14 October, they were joined by Senate President Marcel Niat Njifenji, who had just been discharged from the American Hospital in Paris, accompanied by a delegation of three officials from the upper house.

According to our sources, these summonses correspond to a working meeting officially organised to draw up the budget, which was due to be signed by the president in early August. To make up for the delay, it must be finalised before the plenary session of the National Assembly and Senate, scheduled for November. For his part, Njifenji will have to work with his Senate colleagues from Geneva to manage some of the tensions that are threatening the upper house with implosion.

The uncertainty surrounding the drafting of the state budget is also worrying international agencies. Uncertainty about Biya’s health is affecting Cameroon’s ability to borrow as well as increasing the perceived risk of political instability.

With foreign debt repayments imminent and economic operators awaiting clarification, it looks as though the head of state preferred organising the summit meeting in Switzerland over not holding it at all. To date, Biya has no concrete plans to return to Yaoundé.

Culled from The Africa Report

16, October 2024

Biya’s Health: The power struggle is building up in Yaoundé! ⁰

It is becoming obvious that Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, will no longer rule the country as his health takes a turn for the worse.

While Mr. Biya is fighting for his life, there is a huge battle brewing in Yaoundé as different factions seek to take control of things. The king is dying but the princes are more interested in his succession.

In the event that President Biya gives up the ghost in the days ahead, his constitutional successor, Niat Njifenji Marcel, is supposed to step in to run the interim, but he too is very ill and it is being reported that he is in a deep coma. Mr. Niat has been out of the country for almost three months and it is gradually emerging that he is not responding to treatment.

In such a situation, a vacancy can be declared at the Senate and Aboubakary Aboubakar, the 63-year-old Senate Vice President, will take the reins of power and run the country for at most 120 days.

The Lamido of Rey-Bouba was invited last week to Geneva where Mr. Biya is battling for his life and was asked to resign. The ruling mafia does not want him to run the transition period. He was not allowed to see the President. He left Switzerland disappointed and devastated.

Aboubakary has no plan to resign and is not in a rush to yield to any pressure and he is sticking to his guns. The ruling mafia does not want a northerner to be anywhere close to power and there are fears that if Mr. Aboubakary runs the show, he will deploy a game strategy that will not sit well with Chantal Biya and Ngoh Ngoh. The battle lines have been drawn and the pressure is mounting.

Meanwhile, the country’s finance minister, Louis-Paul Motaze, who was called to Geneva was refused access to the ailing 91-year-old Biya. Mrs. Biya who is now restricting access to the dying President rejected Motaze’s request to see his boss.

There is a lot of political drama playing out in Geneva and Yaoundé and the French are principal architects in the break dance. Nicolas Sarkozy, a former French President, is reported to be rooting for Franck Biya and he is insisting that power be handed to the young Biya who has no place in the country’s constitution.

Several regime insiders are against Franck Biya though not many of them have the courage to openly express their minds.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the ruling CPDM is quietly planning an extraordinary congress for the end of this year. Though not many party stalwarts are talking about it, the plan is for members to choose another candidate for the 2025 Presidential Election, given that the party’s natural candidate, Paul Biya, is caught up in another battle that he might not win.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

16, October 2024

Football: Tuchel agrees to become next England manager ⁰

Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has agreed to become the next England manager.

The BBC has been told by two different sources that German Tuchel will become the third non-British permanent manager of the England men’s team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

England have been without a permanent manager since Gareth Southgate resigned following the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.

Lee Carsley, who the Football Association put in charge on an interim basis, will remain in place for England’s final two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November, with Tuchel set to formally take over after that.

Tuchel’s formal unveiling is expected on Wednesday at Wembley.

His main target will be leading England through qualification for the 2026 World Cup which takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

An approach was also made for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in the summer to see if had an interest in the role.

Tuchel is familiar with English football having managed Chelsea between January 2021 and September 2022.

The 51-year-old lifted the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup with the Blues before being sacked.

In June, the former Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager ruled himself out of the running to take over at Manchester United having met Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in France.

He won the German Cup with Dortmund and two Ligue 1 titles at PSG, including a domestic treble in 2019-20.

His last high-profile job was manager of Bayern but, after the club failed to win the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2011-12 last season, he left the position despite still having a year to run on his contract.

Neither the FA nor Tuchel’s representatives would comment publicly when approached by BBC Sport.

Source: BBC

16, October 2024

Who is killing Yaoundé taxi drivers? ⁰

Taxi driver unions in Yaoundé have raised concerns over a surge in violent attacks that have claimed the lives of several drivers. “In less than two months, we’ve lost eleven taxi drivers. Those attacking our members kill them and then use their taxis to continue working in the city,” said Mounchirou Amadou, national president of Cameroon’s taxi drivers, in an interview on public radio CRTV. Reports from drivers indicate that attackers often use knives to subdue their victims, while others have mentioned the use of chemical substances to incapacitate the drivers before committing their crimes.

During a press conference held on October 3, 2024, in the capital, union leaders called for collective action to combat this growing issue, particularly in major cities. They proposed several measures, including the systematic identification of all taxi drivers and their vehicle door numbers, as well as stronger efforts to crack down on illegal transport services. The unions also suggested reinstating a city exit permit to be issued by professional or union organizations, and the creation of a task force under the Ministry of Transport and Territorial Administration.

In May 2023, the government had already announced a set of measures to address the increasing insecurity in yellow taxis. “From now on, all owners of transport vehicles will be identified by administrative authorities, and a registry will be provided to law enforcement and unions. Additionally, vehicle owners must submit the names of their temporary or permanent drivers to the administrative authorities,” stated Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration at the time. Furthermore, on August 2 of the same year, Mfoundi senior divisional officer Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent banned taxis with tinted windows in the capital to improve visibility and safety inside transport vehicles. He also reintroduced the requirement to display door numbers on taxis to help police locate drivers in case of an attack.

Source: Sbbc

16, October 2024

Tala André-Marie celebrates 55 years of music ⁰

Music legend André-Marie Tala has announced the celebration of his 55-year musical career, dubbed “Avec Vous.” The 74-year-old artist made the announcement during a press conference held on October 14, 2024, in Douala. As part of the festivities, Tala is set to host two special performances: one on October 25 at Best Western Hotel in Douala, and another on November 1 at the Yaoundé Congress Hall.

“It will be an opportunity to connect, to share with those who love music, beautiful melodies, and particularly André-Marie Tala’s journey through his works,” the artist stated. Tala, who has an extensive repertoire spanning over ten albums, promised to revisit his greatest hits and deliver an unforgettable performance. He will be joined on stage by artists from different generations, including seasoned musicians like Prince Ndedi Eyango, Annie Anzouer, and Isnebo, as well as younger talents such as Stanley Enow, Krys-M, and Kareyce Fotso. “We’ll share emotions, and I’ll let them know that they can always count on me as long as I’m alive,” he added.

In addition to the concerts, a master class is scheduled for October 16 at La Chaumière cabaret in Douala, aimed at teaching younger generations the fundamentals of music. On October 19, a sporting event will be held at Douala’s Parcours Vita, followed by humanitarian activities at a social center in Yaoundé.

Blind since the age of 15, André-Marie Tala has turned his disability into “opportunities that, through hard work, have allowed me to be recognized around the world.” The artist, best known for his hit song Je vais à Yaoundé released in 1975, continues to seek recognition from the city he has celebrated globally.

Source: Sbbc

16, October 2024

Macron says Israel PM ‘mustn’t forget his country created by UN decision’ ⁰

Referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, Macron warned Israel’s prime minister not to forget that “his country was created by a UN decision”, a few days after the Israeli ambassador to France was summoned, and Israel repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not forget his country was created as a result of a resolution adopted by the United Nations, French President Emmanuel Macron told cabinet on Tuesday, urging Israel to abide by UN decisions.

Tensions have increased between Netanyahu and Macron with the French leader last week insisting that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to stop the conflicts.

France has also repeatedly denounced Israeli fire against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, who include a French contingent.

“Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told the weekly French cabinet meeting, referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

“Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN,” he added, as Israel wages a ground offensive against the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the UN peacekeepers are deployed.

His comments from the closed door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by a participant who spoke to AFP and asked not to be named.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL should be deployed in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu on Sunday called on the UN to move the 10,000 strong peacekeeping force, who include 700 French troops, deployed in south Lebanon out of “harm’s way”, saying Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.

Source: AFP

15, October 2024

Yaoundé: Mad rush for visas triggered by fear of Biya’s death! ⁰

There is a mad rush for visas as news of President Paul Biya’s death is becoming more certain. Yesterday, the lion man who thought he owned the world sank into a deeper coma, causing panic among his family members.

Despite assurances from the 91-year-old dictator’s ministers that the president is hale and hearty and is working remotely, many people who have benefitted from the chaos and corruption which have characterized the dictator’s time in power are applying for visas just in case violence erupts after his death.

“Many government officials who do not hold foreign passports are rushing to embassies to secure visas for themselves and their families. They are aware that the clouds are gathering and a massive storm may be headed to Cameroon,” a source in Yaoundé who saw ministers heading to the French embassy told Cameroon Concord News.

“We know that things are really bad in the country and the spectrum of anger encompasses a wide range of emotions that tells every reasonable person that revenge may be in the menu. Cameroonians are angry and years of frustration could trigger extreme violence if news of Mr. Biya’s death gets confirmed,” the source said.

“There is panic within government circles and even ordinary people are making alternative arrangements just in case Cameroon goes down such a slippery slope. Life is very challenging these days and escalating living costs are hurting many Cameroonians who cannot even make ends meet” our source added.

“We are in trouble. 42 years of misrule could create massive chaos in our country. We are praying for a smooth transition and Cameroonians should learn to forgive. We can fix our country and move on peacefully. We should not let anger destroy whatever we have built together,” the source added.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé