8, June 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Two Amba commanders surrender in Fundong ⁰

Two separatist commanders surrendered to the Cameroonian army in the country’s restive Anglophone region of Northwest Wednesday, according to the army and local officials.

The militant commanders known as Felix Kibam, alias “general show,” and Benard Kuh, alias “Oga Landlord,” handed themselves over to the gendarmerie in the Fundong locality of the region early Wednesday.

The National Gendarmerie said they were “safe” and “being taken care of.”

Since the beginning of this year, several senior leaders of separatist forces have given up fighting with the government.

In May, 18 separatist fighters surrendered at a blow in Southwest, one of the restive Anglophone regions.

There has been fighting between government forces and separatist fighters in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017 after separatists made a bid to create an independent nation in the regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

8, June 2023

Biya Beti Ewondo Regime: Contract awards surge, but execution rates fall behind ⁰

The Public Investment Budget (BIP) in Cameroon was executed at 74.56% in 2021, according to the National Committee for Monitoring the Physical and Financial Execution of Public Investment. Compared to 2021, when the rate was 74.99%, this makes a decline of 0.43 pts.

While the execution stagnates, the commitment (contracting) rate for these projects has improved significantly, rising from 81.41% in 2021 to 92.07% in 2022, an increase of more than 10 points. The Committee attributes the slow execution rate to several factors, including delayed project development, abandoned sites due to payment issues, sluggish implementation of jointly-financed projects, inadequate ownership of implementation procedures, and the security crisis in certain regions.

By region, the North and Adamaoua have the highest execution rates, at 91.5% and 87.8% respectively. Despite the security crisis in the Anglophone regions, the execution rate in the Northwest was 87.86%, compared with 73.6% in the Southwest. The worst performer in terms of physical execution remains the Central region, with a rate of 65.76% of project executed by the end of 2022.

Source: Business in Cameroon

8, June 2023

Pipeline Palaver: Chad’s Ambassador returns to Yaoundé ⁰

Chad’s ambassador to Cameroon, Djidda Moussa Outhman (pictured), returns to Yaoundé today after he left his position on April 20 due to “a dispute over the Cameroon-Chad pipeline”. This good news announced by Ibrahim Adam Mahamat, spokesman for the Chadian Foreign Ministry, marks the official end of the dispute.

As a reminder Tensions started between the two partners after the Chadian government, in an April 20 statement, expressed its dissatisfaction with the recent developments in the management of the pipeline. The country found it unfair that the Cameroonian national hydrocarbons company (SNH) and the British Savannah Energy signed an agreement under which SNH will acquire 10% of Savannah Midstream’s (subsidiary of Savannah Energy) shares in Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (Cotco). N’Djamena said this agreement reflects a new rapprochement between Cameroon and its “enemy,” especially since they pledged in their agreement to “support each other”.

The agreement particularly triggered Chad’s anger, insofar as, through the deal between SNH and Savannah Energy, Cameroon implicitly recognizes the British junior’s ownership of the Chadian oil assets purchased from Exxon Mobil. N’Djamena has therefore nationalized the assets in question to halt the deal. N’Djamena is also criticizing the Cameroonian authorities for failing to issue a no-objection to the Cemac Competition Council to facilitate the acquisition of Petronas’ assets in Chad by the Chadian oil and gas corporation (SHT). This transaction will enable Chad to take control of Cotco, with 53.7% of the capital.

The SNH-Savannah Energy deal

On April 26, 2023, Cameroonian President Paul Biya sent the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic (SGPR), Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, to N’Djamena to hand over a sealed envelope to General Mahamat Deby Itno. “We have talked with Chadian authorities. All the issues have been addressed and the misunderstandings cleared up,” the envoy said, suggesting that the situation was already under control. On May 11, 2023, the Cemac Competition Council gave the green light for the deal between SHT and Petronas, thus confirming that Cameroon had finally issued a no-objection. Four days later, the then President of the Cemac Commission, Daniel Ona Ondo, signed the decision authorizing the deal.

However, the Cemac authorities’ approval is subject to a series of commitments to be made by the Chadian party to ensure that its dominant position does not harm the interests of the other parties involved. Indeed, Cemac authorities demand that part of the Chadian shares in Cotco be transferred to Cameroon. According to reliable sources, the details of this transaction were discussed during a recent mission to Yaoundé led by Gali Ngothé Gatta, Minister Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic of Chad. The mission focused on the deal between SNH and Savannah Energy and ways to avoid triggering a new crisis with Chad, whose intention is to expel Savannah Energy completely from Cotco’s shareholding.

Source: Business in Cameroon

7, June 2023

Football: Messi announces move to Inter Miami after exit from PSG ⁰

Lionel Messi will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, the player said Wednesday in interviews with Spanish media, choosing the United States as his next destination over a Barcelona reunion or blockbuster deal to play in Saudi Arabia.

The Argentine forward, 35, has spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, playing his final game for the club on Saturday, after moving from Barcelona in 2021, where he spent the majority of his career.

Messi said that he did not want to have to wait for Barcelona to find a formula to be able to sign him given their financial situation — they were unable to keep him before his move to PSG, leading to a tearful departure.

“I was afraid that it would happen again,” Messi told Spanish newspapers Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo.

“I’ve taken the decision that I am going to Miami, I don’t have (the deal) 100 percent sealed or maybe there’s something left to do, but we decided to continue our path there.

“(I decided) to leave Europe, it’s true that I had offers from another European team but I didn’t even think about it because in Europe, my idea was only to go to Barcelona.

“After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it’s time to go to MLS to live football in a different way and enjoy my day to day life more.

“Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to win, and to do things well, but with more calm.”

Messi is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and is expected to earn the individual accolade once more after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December 2022.

The football world was eagerly awaiting Messi’s decision after PSG confirmed this week the playmaker, widely considered the best player in the history of football, was departing.

Inter Miami, co-owned by former England international David Beckham and founded in 2018, sacked coach Phil Neville last week with the team bottom of the Eastern Conference — with Argentine Javier Morales taking over on an interim basis.

The romance of a Barcelona return and prospect of eye-watering riches in Saudi Arabia fell by the wayside as Messi opted to join MLS, with sun-soaked Miami a city he has holidayed in on previous occasions.

Some reports say key MLS sponsors including sportswear brand Adidas and Apple TV, who own the league’s domestic broadcasting rights, may be contributing to his deal.

Source: AFP

7, June 2023

Cameroon: Banana exports hit lowest point in May, since January 2023 ⁰

Cameroonian banana exporters shipped 12,558 tons of fruits in May 2023, according to data provided by the sector group Assobacam. This is the worst level since the beginning of the year, after the 18,101 tons in January, 16,185 tons in February, 19,227 tons in March, and 13,928 tons in April.

The situation is mainly due to Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP), whose banana exports fell by 16% from 11,336 tons in April 2023 to 9,761 tons in May. But despite this sharp drop, the local subsidiary of Compagnie Fruitière de Marseille remains the market leader, with 77.7% of the overall exported volumes.

On the other hand, the state company Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) saw a slight improvement with shipment reaching 1,968 tons in May compared to 1,803 tons the previous month (+8%). Minor player Boh Plantations’ volumes also grew by 5% over the period, official data showed.

Source: Business in Cameroon

7, June 2023

US: Former Vice President Pence announces presidential run ⁰

Mike Pence announced Wednesday his entry into the 2024 United States presidential election, as the former vice president goes up against his ex-boss Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

The evangelical Christian is scheduled to appear at a campaign launch event the same day in the early-voting state of Iowa — joining an already crowded field that includes Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s closest competition.

“Today, before God and my family, I’m announcing I’m running for president of the United States,” he said in an online campaign video.

Pence’s announcement comes two days after papers filed with the US Federal Election Commission showed he had formally entered the race.

“I believe in the American people, and I have faith God is not done with America yet,” the 64-year-old wrote in a tweet accompanying the video.

“Together, we can bring this Country back, and the best days for the Greatest Nation on Earth are yet to come!”

Pence honed his reputation as an unstintingly loyal vice president who stuck with Trump throughout a scandal-plagued four years in the White House, and brought the religious right into the tent.

But he became a pariah in Trumpworld after rejecting the Republican leader’s demands that he overturn the 2020 election in his role as president of the Senate.

Berated constantly by Trump after Joe Biden’s election victory — and even heckled at a conservative conference with chants of “traitor!” — Pence continued to praise the tycoon in public.

That changed after Trump’s torrent of false claims of election fraud led to a mob chanting for Pence to be hanged at the US Capitol.

Pence announced his presidential run a day after former New Jersey governor Chris Christie joined the contest.

Former governors Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson are also in the race, while North Dakota’s chief executive Doug Burgum is also due to announce on Wednesday.

Polls show Trump as the overwhelming early front runner, regularly posting leads on DeSantis in excess of 30 points. None of the other candidates is achieving double figures.

But the former president is facing multiple criminal investigations into his personal and professional conduct that have already yielded dozens of felony charges in New York.

Source: AFP

7, June 2023

Yaoundé: Journalists Say Suspensions Are Sign of Government Crackdown ⁰

Journalists in Cameroon say the government’s indefinite shutdown of a radio station and suspension of four reporters is a sign of a growing crackdown on the country’s news media. The government says it is trying to stop the spread of hate speech, while journalists say officials want to retaliate against criticism of President Paul Biya.

Bruno Bidjang, host of the popular program on Vision 4 TV called “Club d’Elite” has said on his program that he will continue exercising his profession to the best of his ability without fear.

However, Cameroon’s National Communication Council, an organ created by the government to regulate the media, imposed a one-month suspension on Bidjang for hosting guests who the government says used hateful language on his program.

The NCC said Bidjang was warned several times, but he continued inviting such guests on the program.

The council this week also imposed suspensions on a radio station and three other media practitioners for broadcasting offensive or hateful content.

NCC President Joe Chebongkeng Kalabubse said these journalists and media outlets propagated hate speech and xenophobic language.

“We have noticed that we can nip the problem in the bud by encouraging journalists to be more professional,” Kalabubse said. “We want to encourage journalists to be as professional as possible. We will not hesitate to sanction them if they falter.”

Kalabubse said he has informed Cameroon’s minister of territorial administration, Paul Atanga Nji, to make sure that journalists who do not respect the order are punished, and media organizations that continue to broadcast are permanently closed.

Nji said he has instructed police and local government officials to force the journalists to respect the sanctions.

“The media men should know that they have the moral obligation to comply by respecting these decisions taken for the common good,” Nji said. “Because if we are in a state of law and we don’t respect the laws of the republic, then we are walking towards a jungle, and Cameroon is not a jungle. We should use liberty of expression to construct and not to destroy. So, I want to tell the media men that they have the obligation to comply. If they don’t comply, we will accompany them to comply by force.”

But journalists in Cameroon say they are victims of increasing oppression. They say the government clamps down on media that hold contrary opinions to state actions.

The Cameroon Journalists Trade Union said the NCC was set up by Biya to defend his interests and crack down on journalists who oppose his rule.

The trade union said senior state functionaries and military officials who are accused of corrupt practices ask the NCC to suspend reporters — a charge the NCC denies.

The government said hate speech propagated through the media has become rampant since the disputed 2018 presidential election.

In addition, some French-speaking host communities accuse English speakers displaced by the separatist conflict in the west of being separatist fighters or sympathizers.

Cameroon’s minister of territorial administration said local media that do not stop guests in debate programs from asking communities to rise against one another will be punished. Journalists who anchor such programs will also be punished, the government said, though it has not outlined any punishment.

Cameroon has more than 600 newspapers, about 200 radio stations and 60 TV networks, yet producing independent and critical reporting is still challenging, according to Reporters Without Borders.

In its 2023 World Press Freedom Index, the organization said Cameroon is one of Africa’s most dangerous countries for journalists, since they operate in a hostile and precarious environment.

Source: VOA

6, June 2023

World Bank says global economy on precarious footing amid high interest rates ⁰

Global growth has slowed sharply and the risk of financial stress in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) is intensifying amid elevated global interest rates, according to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report.

Global growth is projected to decelerate from 3.1% in 2022 to 2.1% in 2023. In EMDEs other than China, growth is set to slow to 2.9% this year from 4.1% last year. These forecasts reflect broad-based downgrades: growth projections for 70 percent of EMDEs and nearly all advanced economies have been downgraded.

“The surest way to reduce poverty and spread prosperity is through employment—and slower growth makes job creation a lot harder,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “It’s important to keep in mind that growth forecasts are not destiny. We have an opportunity to turn the tide but it will take us all working together.”

Most EMDEs have seen only limited harm from the recent banking stress in advanced economies so far, but they are now sailing in dangerous waters. With increasingly restrictive global credit conditions, one out of every four EMDEs has effectively lost access to international bond markets. The squeeze is especially acute for EMDEs with underlying vulnerabilities such as low creditworthiness. Growth projections for these economies for 2023 are less than half those from a year ago, making them highly vulnerable to additional shocks.

“The world economy is in a precarious position,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President. “Outside of East and South Asia, it is a long way from the dynamism needed to eliminate poverty, counter climate change, and replenish human capital. In 2023, trade will grow at less than a third of its pace in the years before the pandemic. In emerging markets and developing economies, debt pressures are growing due to higher interest rates. Fiscal weaknesses have already tipped many low-income countries into debt distress. Meanwhile, the financing needs to achieve the sustainable development goals are far greater than even the most optimistic projections of private investment.”

The latest forecasts indicate that the overlapping shocks of the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the sharp slowdown amid tight global financial conditions have dealt an enduring setback to development in EMDEs, one that will persist for the foreseeable future. By the end of 2024, economic activity in these economies is expected be about 5% below levels projected on the eve of the pandemic. In low-income countries—especially the poorest—the damage is stark: in more than one-third of these countries, per capita incomes in 2024 will still be below 2019 levels. This feeble pace of income growth will entrench extreme poverty in many low-income countries.

“Many developing economies are struggling to cope with weak growth, persistently high inflation, and record debt levels. Yet new hazards—such as the possibility of more widespread spillovers from renewed financial stress in advanced economies—could make matters even worse for them,” said Ayhan Kose, Deputy Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. “Policy makers in these economies should act promptly to prevent financial contagion and reduce near-term domestic vulnerabilities.”

In advanced economies, growth is set to decelerate from 2.6% in 2022 to 0.7% this year and remain weak in 2024, the report says. After growing 1.1% in 2023, the U.S. economy is set to decelerate to 0.8% in 2024, mainly because of the lingering impact of the sharp rise in interest rates over the past year and a half. In the euro area, growth is forecast to slow to 0.4% in 2023 from 3.5% in 2022, due to the lagged effect of monetary policy tightening and energy-price increases.

The report also offers an analysis of how increases in U.S. interest rates are affecting EMDEs. Most of the rise in two-year Treasury yields over the past year and a half has been driven by investor expectations of hawkish U.S. monetary policy to control inflation. According to the report, this particular type of interest rate increases is associated with adverse financial effects in EMDEs, including a higher probability of financial crisis. Moreover, these effects are more pronounced in countries with greater economic vulnerabilities. In particular, frontier markets—those with less developed financial markets and more limited access to international capital—tend to see outsized increases in borrowing costs; for instance, sovereign risk spreads in frontier markets tend to rise by more than three times as much as those in other EMDEs.

In addition, the report provides a comprehensive assessment of the fiscal policy challenges confronting low-income economies. These countries are in dire straits. Rising interest rates have compounded the deterioration in their fiscal positions over the past decade. Public debt now averages about 70% of GDP. Interest payments are eating up a rising share of limited government revenues. 14 low-income countries are already in, or at high risk of, debt distress. Spending pressures have risen in these economies. Adverse shocks such as extreme climate events and conflict are more likely to tip households into distress in low-income countries than anywhere else because of limited social safety nets. On average, these countries spend just 3% of GDP on their most vulnerable citizens—well below the 26% average for developing economies.

6, June 2023

Yaoundé: Biya receives six new ambassadors ⁰

90-year-old President Biya has received six new ambassadors at the Unity Palace in Yaoundé. The Monday 5th June 2023 ceremony involved heads of diplomatic missions who came to present their credentials to the Cameroonian dictator.

Among the six who performed the diplomatic ritual were Corinna Fricke, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Cameroon, the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Christian Dennys-Mcclure, Martin Strub, the Ambassador of Switzerland, Filipo Scammacca Del Murgo, the Ambassador of Italy, Nozomu Takaoka, the Ambassador of Japan and Anindya Banerjee, the High Commissioner of India to Cameroon.

The six diplomats presented their credentials to Mr. Biya, in a solemn diplomatic ceremony that sealed their appointment as representatives of their countries to Cameroon.

By Rita Akana with files

6, June 2023

The Holy Father in hospital for check-up ⁰

Pope Francis visited a Rome hospital for a medical check-up on Tuesday, according to Italian media, just over two months after he was hospitalised with bronchitis.

The 86-year-old pope arrived at the Gemelli hospital’s geriatric unit for tests at 10:40 am (0840 GMT) and left again at 11:20am, according to ANSA and AGI news agencies.

Neither the Vatican nor the hospital was immediately able to confirm the news to AFP.

Francis was forced to take a day off at the end of last month with a fever, which the Vatican secretary of state blamed on tiredness.

The pope does not have public audiences scheduled on Tuesdays. His general audience at the Vatican was confirmed for Wednesday, according his official schedule.

Tuesday’s check-up was a planned one, the Repubblica newspaper said, citing a Vatican source.

The pontiff was undergoing specialised scans, it said.

When Francis was hospitalised at the end of March the Vatican initially said in a one-line statement that he had gone into the Gemelli for health checks that were previously scheduled.

It later emerged that he had been rushed in after suffering breathing difficulties.

He was diagnosed with bronchitis and stayed in hospital for three nights, before returning to the Vatican to preside over Easter services.

Asked how he felt, he quipped with a big smile, “I am still alive!”

Francis, who has been the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics for a decade, has suffered increasing health issues over the past year.

He has persistent pain in his right knee as well as sciatica, and his hospital stay for bronchitis sparked widespread concern.

Just in time

It also fuelled speculation over his future.

Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, who died in December, quit in 2013 due to failing health.

For about a year, the pope has had to rely on a wheelchair due to recurring knee pain he has said cannot be treated through surgery.

Asked about his health in an interview with US Spanish-language network Telemundo broadcast in May, Francis said it was “much better”.

“I can walk now. My knee has been mending. I could hardly walk beforehand. Now I can. Some days are more painful than others,” the pope said.

Francis added that doctors had caught his bronchitis infection just in time.

“If we’d waited a few more hours, it would’ve been much more serious. But I was out (of hospital) in four days,” he said.

Despite his health issues, Francis continues to travel widely.

His next planned trip is to Lisbon on August 2-6 to attend World Youth Day.

But the pope acknowledged in July 2022 that he needed to slow down.

“At my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church,” he said then.

“Or, alternatively, to think about the possibility of stepping aside.”

In March, however, he insisted that he had no current plans to quit.

Benedict XVI, who died on December 31 aged 95, surprised the world in 2013 when he announced he was stepping down, a radical move not taken by a pope since the Middle Ages.

Source: AFP