3, July 2023

Douala: Six crew kidnapped from Panama-flagged cargo vessel ⁰

A Panama-flagged general cargo vessel was boarded by criminals last Friday at the Douala anchorage in Cameroon, resulting in six crewmembers being kidnapped, according to maritime security consultancy Ambrey.

The vessel was approximately 0.8 nautical miles offshore at the time and had a 1.84m freeboard. The ship remains in the anchorage.

The waters around the Gulf of Guinea have become a hotspot for piracy in recent years with multiple attacks reported by Splash in the first half of this year.

Source: Splash 247

2, July 2023

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s continued stay in Kondengui, a sweet lesson of resistance and sacrifice ⁰

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government says President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s continued detention in the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaoundé is teaching every Southern Cameroonian the sweet lesson of resistance, sacrifice and martyrdom.

Dabney Yerima said on Thursday that the occupied Federal Republic of Ambazonia has over the last six years been defending itself against French Cameroun, CEMAC and French aggression and will continue to do so until Southern Cameroonians get to Buea.

“Restoration forces are planning a massive self defense operation beginning October 1 to end the illusion of those who had a fixation about the defeat of Ambazonia” Yerima added.

Vice President Dabney Yerima emphasized that Amba fighters have succeeded in making great progress in the hit-and-run strategy implemented by the Interim Government.

Despite the confusion created by some so-called Southern Cameroons front line leaders in Europe and the US, the Ambazonia Interim Government has managed to turn into a solid power bloc and become the only hope for the marginalized people of Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

30, June 2023

UN Security Council votes to end Mali peacekeeping mission ⁰

The UN Security Council on Friday ended a decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali, whose military junta has aligned with Russia and demanded the withdrawal of the international force battling jihadists.

Bowing to the principle that peacekeepers need the consent of the host government, the Security Council voted unanimously to start immediately winding down the mission despite fears by Western powers of new instability in the troubled nation.

The vote came two weeks after Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop stunned the Security Council by calling the UN operation known as Minusma a “failure” and urging its immediate end.

Mali’s relations with the United Nations have deteriorated sharply since a 2020 coup brought to power a military regime which also severed defense cooperation with France, the former colonial power.

The junta instead has rallied behind Russia and brought in the Wagner Group, the ruthless mercenaries involved in a mutiny against President Vladimir Putin last week.

“We deeply regret the transitional government’s decision to abandon Minusma and the harm this will bring to the Malian people,” senior US diplomat Jeffrey DeLaurentis told the Security Council.

But he said that the United States voted for the resolution as it agreed with the logistical timeline for the withdrawal, which is set to be complete by the end of the year.

Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, said the authorities in Bamako were seeking to take “full responsibility” for security and that Russia “will continue to provide comprehensive support to Mali for normalizing the situation.”

Under the resolution led by France, the peacekeepers will cease their main activity from Saturday and focus on a departure by the end of the year.

The peacekeepers will still be empowered to protect against “imminent threats of violence to civilian” in areas surrounding them.

Deadly and costly

Minusma has been the most costly mission for the UN, at $1.2 billion a year, and 174 peacekeepers have died since its creation in 2013.

Despite tensions with the junta, the UN mission had widely been expected to be extended until the Malian foreign minister’s intervention. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier in June had proposed renewing Minusma but streamlining its activities.

In a report, Guterres acknowledged shortcomings but called the mission “invaluable.” He noted that several countries in the region saw extremist groups as an “existential threat” whose violence could spill over and wanted to strengthen Minusma.

With 13,000 troops and police in Minusma, its termination will be a Herculean task with the United Nations needing to take away equipment, helicopters and armored vehicles.

“Securing the constructive cooperation of the Malian authorities will be essential to facilitate the process,” said a spokesperson for UN peacekeeping operations.

While the withdrawal was a given, the timeline was the focus of heated negotiations in recent days, according to diplomats.

Mali, with the backing of veto-wielding Russia, had pushed for Minusma to leave as quickly as possible, while some other nations feared that even six months was too rushed.

Richard Gowan, an expert at the International Crisis Group, said that UN officials feared that Wagner will simply take over Minusma facilities once the mission is completed.

Julie Gregory of the Stimson Center said the end of the mission could have a dire effect on civilians.

“It’s likely that violent extremists will take the opportunity to increase violence” with a potential for increased confrontation with national forces, especially in the north,” Gregory said.

Russia has insisted that its paramilitary forces will continue to operate in Mali and other African nations, notably the Central African Republic, despite the aborted mutiny of the Wagner Group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Russia had long insisted that Wagner was a private group but acknowledged after the rebellion that it had been directly funding its overseas operations, which have been widely criticized by the West and human rights groups.

“Ultimately it is for the Malian transitional authorities to choose its partners,” said James Kariuki, Britain’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations. “But let’s be clear: the Wagner Group, whether operating autonomously or under direct control from Moscow, is not the answer — in Mali or anywhere else.”

Source: AFP

30, June 2023

Yaoundé: Minister accused of corruption wants Biya to stand for re-election ⁰

Health minister Manaouda Malachie currently under investigation by the Special Criminal Court over alleged involvement in a huge Covid-19 corruption scandal has organized a meeting calling on the 90-year-old President Paul Biya to stand for re-election, two years before the next polls are due.

The move interpreted by many political commentators as a cunning manoeuvre by the politician from the Far North has also generated a lot of under-the-table talk in the nation’s capital, Yaoundé.

Investigators have been sending out new summons as part of a probe into the alleged embezzlement of IMF funds given to Cameroon to help with its Covid-19 response. Health minister Manaouda Malachie is among those on the list.

As part of the inquiry into the management of Covid-19 funds, judges at the Special Criminal Court have also issued Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh with a summons. However, his high-level contacts within the security apparatus are currently offering him protection.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Rita Akana in Yaoundé

30, June 2023

Pope Francis says Ukraine war seems to have ‘no end’ ⁰

Pope Francis said on Friday there was no apparent end in sight to the war in Ukraine as his peace envoy wrapped up three days of talks in Moscow.

“The tragic reality of this war that seems to have no end demands of everyone a common creative effort to imagine and forge paths of peace,” the pope told a religious delegation from the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Vatican said in a subsequent statement that the pope’s envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, had finished his consultations in Moscow, where he had met one of President Vladimir Putin’s advisers, Yuri Ushakov, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.

“(The visit was) aimed at identifying humanitarian initiatives, which could open roads to peace,” the statement said. It added that further steps would be taken, but gave no details.

Source: France 24

30, June 2023

FIFA reveals social justice armbands for women’s World Cup ⁰

FIFA revealed eight different armbands highlighting social causes that sides will be able to wear at the women’s World Cup as world football’s governing body seeks to avoid a row that erupted at last year’s men’s World Cup.

Captains from a number of European countries, including England and Germany, planned to wear a “OneLove” armband in rainbow colours in Qatar in support of LGBTQ rights.

However, they abandoned that stance after being threatened with sporting sanctions just days before the tournament kicked off.

The armband had widely been viewed as a symbolic protest against laws in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.

The “unite for inclusion” armband for the women’s World Cup is similar in style to the one outlawed with the words alongside a heart shape in rainbow colours.

Other causes highlighted include gender equality, ending violence against women, hunger and the rights of indigenous people.

Captains will be able to wear a different armband for each match corresponding to the cause being promoted or support one cause for the entire tournament.

“Football unites the world and our global events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have a unique power to bring people together and provide joy, excitement and passion,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino

“After some very open talks with stakeholders, including member associations and players, we have decided to highlight a series of social causes – from inclusion to gender equality, from peace to ending hunger, from education to tackling domestic violence – during all 64 matches at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

The women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, begins on July 20.

Source: AFP

29, June 2023

Scandal: New Limo and new residence for Ayang Luc creates tension in Yaoundé ⁰

The so-called fifth personality of the state, Ayang Luc wants to increase his fleet of cars by purchasing a 120 million FCFA limo for his ceremonial outings.

To satisfy this need, described by many political commentators in the nation’s capital as”folie des grandeurs“, the Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, requested the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, to finance the acquisition of the limo.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the all-powerful Ousmane Mey blatantly refused to comply and in a correspondence on June 20, 2023 told Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh to seek the approval of President Paul Biya.

The Ousmane Mey letter has further fuelled the debate on who actually has legitimate authority deep within the ruling CPDM crime syndicate.

Just last month, the 76-year-old President of the Economic and Social Council, Ayang Luc signed an agreement with a Yaoundé-based company for the construction of a new residence for him and his family at a projected cost of two billion FCFA.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

29, June 2023

Madonna in hospital due to ‘serious bacterial infection’, tour postponed ⁰

Madonna is recovering after falling ill with a “serious bacterial infection” that landed her in an intensive care unit for several days, her manager Guy Oseary said in a statement Wednesday.

“Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care,” he said. “A full recovery is expected.”

Oseary said the 64-year-old pop icon’s “Celebrations” tour, due to start July 15 in Vancouver, Canada, was postponed until further notice.

The New York Post’s Page Six website said the pop star was taken to a hospital in the city after becoming unwell.

Her global, nearly sold-out tour was billed as paying homage to Madonna’s more than four-decade long career, and according to her website boasted 84 concert dates.

Stops in the United States were to include Detroit, Chicago, Miami and New York, the city where her storied rise to superstardom began.

She was then slated to continue in Europe, with dates in London, Barcelona and Paris, as well as four dates in Mexico City.

The Grammy-winning megastar behind classics including “Like a Virgin” has asserted incalculable influence over her stellar career as one of music’s top stars.

In his statement on social media, her manager vowed to provide more information when available, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.

In 2020 Madonna underwent hip replacement surgery following an injury sustained on her “Madame X” tour.

‘Material Girl’

Born in 1958, the Catholic-educated artist headed to New York in the late 1970s with just 35 dollars in her pocket.

She scraped a living through everything from nude modeling to selling donuts.

Her first big single was “Everybody” in 1982, followed by a string of hits including “Lucky Star,” “Borderline,” and “Holiday.”

The 1984 release of “Like A Virgin” propelled Madonna onto the international stage.

She followed up in 1985 with another disco anthem, “Material Girl.”

Madonna hospitalized for several days, tour postponedThe early 1990s saw her don infamous pointy cone-shaped bras on her “Blond Ambition” Tour in 1990.

She also released a racy book called “Sex,” filled with photographs of sexual acts that was released to accompany her 1992 album “Erotica.”

In the late 1990s her music took off in a new direction, thumping to a new dance-flavored beat on her multi award-winning 1998 album “Ray of Light.”

In 2003 she grabbed the showbiz world’s attention by clinching pop princess Britney Spears in a lingering kiss on stage at that year’s MTV Music Video Awards.

And she still displays the provocative streak for which she is both beloved and notorious.

In January, news dropped of her forthcoming tour in a video nodding to her 1991 documentary “Truth or Dare.”

In the clip, the Queen of Pop plays the classic sleepover game with fellow celebrities, all with risque undertones.

“I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” she said when announcing the tour.

Source: AFP

29, June 2023

CNPS joins Africa Finance Corporation as shareholder ⁰

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has two new shareholders, including Cameroon’s public pension fund, the CNPS. The Pan-African Corporation announced the news on June 20, 2023.

“We warmly welcome CNPS and SBM Capital Market Securities as investors in AFC. This step is evidence of AFC’s role as a preferred partner for infrastructure investment on the continent, to deepen economic integration, enable import substitution, and develop Africa’s manufacturing and industrial capacity,” commented Samaila Zubairu, CEO of AFC.

While the investment’s amount and the stake acquired by the CNPS are yet to be known, the move should, according to the pension fund, help it achieve its goal of bringing its annual return on financial investments to around XAF40 billion by 2026. “For the next five years, we intend to double the [financial investment income from 2021],” said CNPS boss, Alain Olivier Mekulu Mvondo Akam, in an interview with Cameroon Tribune, a state-owned newspaper. He referred to the increase in return on investments from only XAF7 billion in 2017 to XAF20.5 billion in 2021.

Last year, gains from financial investments stood at XAF24.2 billion, thus up by 18% YoY, according to official data from CNPS. They are expected to increase further in 2023 following CNPS’s recent participation in the capital of Chanas Assurances Vie, another public pension fund investment. CNPS has joined the insurance company’s shareholding alongside the National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH), the state’s entity responsible for oil and gas exploration and production. These two state-owned enterprises have also recently offered to buy the assets of British investment fund Actis in ENEO, Cameroon’s power utility.

Established in 2007, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is a pan-African financial institution that addresses the continent’s infrastructure deficit.

Source: Business in Cameroon

29, June 2023

Yaoundé: Treasury earns CFA51 billion in tax revenues from Guinness deal ⁰

The Cameroonian public treasury earned 51 billion FCFA from taxes during the acquisition of Guinness Cameroon by the French group Castel. This comprises 36 billion FCFA from capital gains tax and 15 billion FCFA from registration fees, according to Cameroon’s Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana.

The official revealed this to the parliament on June 23, 2023, while answering concerns voiced by one of the deputies, Daniel Ngalle Etongo, who feared Castel’s domination of the local market (80%) and the deal’s impact on consumers (price hike). The deputy also feared that the transaction violated antitrust laws. In response, Minister Atangana said the acquisition was in line with the Central African Economic Union’s common market rules.

“Notwithstanding the strengthened dominant position of the acquiring company, the acquisition of Guinness Cameroon SA by the Brasseries et Glacières Internationales SA (BGI, parent company of the Castel Group) is in line with the common market rules within the Central African Economic Union. This is subject to the involved companies’ adherence to the commitments they have made,” Atangana said.

Investment program

“This acquisition operation was not within the national jurisdiction of the State of Cameroon but fell exclusively under the Community Council of Competition and the CEMAC Commission. It is now up to Cameroon, in perfect understanding with the CEMAC Commission, to ensure strict compliance with the commitments made, particularly in terms of planned investments in production tools, expansion and improvement of the distribution network, preservation and creation of jobs, and consumer rights protection. The Ministry of Commerce has ensured this, especially as beer is one of the products whose prices are subject to prior approval,” he added.

Announced on July 14, 2022, by both brewers involved, the purchase of Guinness Cameroon by Castel was approved on March 28, 2023 by the CEMAC’s Competition Community Council.

The CFA300 billion includes a 200 billion FCFA investment program to boost Guinness products in Cameroon over 5 years. This involves building three new production lines in Yaoundé, Garoua, and Bafoussam. These lines will have an annual production capacity of 2.1 million hectolitres. The details were revealed to the press on December 13, 2022, by Stéphane Descazeaud, MD of Société anonyme des boissons du Cameroun, a local company controlled by Castel. The Cameroonian government will see to it that these commitments are implemented.

Source: Business in Cameroon