Etoudi: Most French Cameroonians have doubt about Biya’s health and mental fitness

18, November 2021

Etoudi: Most French Cameroonians have doubt about Biya’s health and mental fitness 0

Most French speaking Cameroonians are now feeling uncertain on the bill of health and mental fitness of the 88-year-old President Biya.

A recent video of the dictator presently circulating on social media showed a very weak Biya and has prompted many politically docile French speaking Cameroonians to disagree with the statement that Biya is in good health.

“Biya is no more physically and mentally fit for office” a French Cameroun political commentator said last week.

The Beti Ewondo regime’s overall approval rating is now at its greatest low with civil administrators blaming the war in Southern Cameroons on Anglophone teachers.

A majority of French Cameroun ruling clans and tribes now disapprove of Biya and his CPDM party’s performance and many are saying that Biya should go and go now.

Biya and his men are also facing harsh criticism from every segment of the society including the Roman Catholic Church.

The Francophone dictator is also under pressure for corruption in the military, the senseless war in Southern Cameroons, the disturbing security situation in the East and the reemergence of Boko Haram in the Far North including the poor handling of Covid-19 funds.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Yaoundé and Bangui hold talks on Central African rebels incursions

18, November 2021

Yaoundé and Bangui hold talks on Central African rebels incursions 0

Rebel incursions, kidnappings, ransom demands, trafficking, harassment, insecurity … these are some of the topics that were discussed between the Central African and Cameroonian authorities, a statement from the Ministry of Defense in Yaounde revealed.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo reportedly led a ministerial delegation to Bouar in the Central African Republic.

Cameroon Concord News understands the two countries held talks on security issues on Tuesday, 16 November 2021.

Both sub saharan countries share a long border of about 1,000 km to the east by Cameroon and to the west for the Central African Republic and their two French speaking peoples have always traded.

But in recent years, trade on the Douala-Bangui corridor, a vehicle for sub-regional integration, has been halted several times for security reasons.

Cameroonian populations are regularly subjected to incursions by Central African armed groups.

The UN says that there are more than 295,000 Central African refugees on Cameroonian soil.

By Rita Akana

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Bui SDO accuses teachers of financing Amba Fighters

18, November 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Bui SDO accuses teachers of financing Amba Fighters 0

The Senior Divisional Officer for Bui Division in the North-West has accused Southern Cameroons teachers of financing the Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards and by extrapolition, the war in West Cameroon.

According to Menyong Gilbert Sunday, prefect of Bui, teachers in his administrative unit are contributing financially to the war effort in support of the separatists fighters.

The Biya appointee opined recently that Southern Cameroons teachers were “taking advantage of the persistence of the Ambazonia conflict and are not going to the classrooms, but receive their salaries at the end of each month.”

The new Senior Divisional Officer for Bui signed a prefectural order asking the six sub-prefects of his command unit to draw up a list of absentee teachers in order to punish them.

The National Union of Higher Education Teachers (Synes) has denounced the prefect’s accusations and promised to take the matter to the administrative court.

As a reminder, the Anglophone crisis began in October 2016 with corporatist demands from teachers and lawyers.

The teachers denounced their working conditions while the lawyers demonstrated against the absence of the English version of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (Ohada).

In five years, these demands have led to a conflict that has resulted in at least 10,000 deaths and more than 700,000 internally displaced persons and refugees.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

Southern Cameroons Crisis: ‘Military Invasion’ of Catholic Hospital

17, November 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: ‘Military Invasion’ of Catholic Hospital 0

Sisters at a Catholic hospital in the war-torn Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been threatened by government soldiers for the second time this year. Army officers told the Tertiary Sisters of St Francis they were looking for armed separatist group members known as the Amba Boys. After a two-hour search of the medical facility, the heavily-armed officers found no combatants. However, a media release from the Sisters reports that the soldiers vowed to burn down the hospital the next time they visit it.

Cameroon government soldiers in three armoured vehicles arrived at the St Elizabeth Catholic General Hospital Cardiac Centre at 1.30pm on November 14. The hospital is in Shisong in the Bui area of the mainly English-speaking North-West Region. The hospital director, Doctor Sister Anshoma Helen Mbouh, was summoned and forced to accompany the soldiers as they spent more than two hours searching every section of the health facility.

The media release from the Tertiary Sisters of St Francis continues, “Not finding the Amba boys they were looking for, they started insulting and threatening the Reverend Sisters.” The officers said they would shoot the Sisters, and it is alleged that they then severely beat two hospital security officers during interrogation.

The same hospital was searched by armed soldiers on July 19 this year. The media release reports that when they left the hospital on November 14 at 3.45pm, some of soldiers expressed remorse. “However, some of them continued with their threats to the Sisters and the Hospital. They promised that the next time they would be back, they will set the entire hospital on fire.”

Commenting on the invasion, Lord Alton said, “It is intolerable that a hospital and its patients and staff should once again be subjected to heavy-handed intimidation, threats and harassment by government forces. This is an outrageous violation of a place dedicated to saving lives and healing. The Cameroon government owe the hospital an immediate apology and a promise that there will be no recurrence.” It is a war crime to attack a hospital during a conflict, even when it treats enemy wounded.

Lord Alton will be tabling a Parliamentary Question asking the British government, which recently signed a trade deal with Cameroon, to urge the authorities in Yaoundé to urgently participate in inclusive peace talks to break the impasse in the Anglophone Crisis.

There has been increasing violence in the English-speaking area of Cameroon since 2016, when the Francophone-dominated government tried to impose French-language procedures, judges, and teachers in courts and schools on the area’s six million Anglophones. Hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians have been driven from their villages as their homes have been burnt, causing a humanitarian crisis which continues to deteriorate. Armed separatists demanding independence for the Anglophone regions which they call Ambazonia have responded to harsh government tactics with violence of their own. Doctors, nurses, religious orders and medical facilities have also been threatened by armed men claiming to represent the Ambazonian separatist fighters. Repeated efforts by the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and Swiss government to hold inclusive peace talks have been rebuffed by Cameroon, and encouragement from the Vatican has gone unheeded.”

Source: Independent Catholic News

Cameroonians Plead for Tolerance Among Religions, Francophones, Anglophones

17, November 2021

Cameroonians Plead for Tolerance Among Religions, Francophones, Anglophones 0

More than 200 people, most of them women, marched in the city center of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, on Tuesday against what they call growing intolerance in the Central African state. The protesters, marking this year’s International Day for Tolerance, sang that there is a growing lack of respect for each other’s cultural and religious beliefs.

Secretary General of the Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon Adamou Ngamie took part in the protest. Ngamie says all Muslims, especially Imams, must try to preach inter-religious tolerance because it is praised by God in the Holy Quran. He says intolerance is bringing confusion and discord in Cameroon, which is in dire need of tolerance that will breed cohesion and bring back peace to the country.

In 2020, the government of Cameroon reported on problems of inter-religious intolerance in the central African state. It cited conflicts between Christian Pentecostal churches and Muslim fundamentalist movements on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria. The report said several clashes resulted in casualties but gave no further details.

Tuesday’s protesters noted intolerance in Cameroon spiked in 2017 when Anglophone separatists, complaining of second-class treatment, took up arms against the French-speaking majority state.

Cameroon’s separatist conflict has claimed more than 3,000 lives and displaced more than 550,000, according to the United Nations.

22-year-old University of Yaounde student Anabel Michou marched in the protest. She says hate speech and propaganda on social media by both separatists and authorities promote intolerance.

“We are calling on everybody to join us on board, to build a hate free Cameroon, to promote social cohesion, to ask for peace. Wherever we find ourselves, we have a collective role to play to make Cameroon a better country. There are alternative, nonviolent means of saying what we have and using the right channels for our thoughts to be heard. And we should also remember, we cannot build by destroying. We have to build by making what we have better.”

The Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement, which has been urging troops and separatists to lay down their arms, organized the protest. Movement member Nicoline Nwenushi Wazeh says the separatist conflict would be greatly reduced if Cameroonians learned to tolerate each other.

“We need to acknowledge that every human being is a separate entity [person] and this acknowledgement needs to come from the government through enforceable laws against intolerance. Parents should have a communication around tolerance with their children. In schools, children should be able to know about tolerance. We should be able to promote tolerance.”

In July, Cameroon launched a campaign against what it called growing online hate speech, intolerance, and xenophobic statements.

Rights groups, however, note that along with xenophobic statements, authorities also define hate speech as criticism of the state and long-time President Paul Biya.

The government did not issue any statements for this year’s International Day for Tolerance but has in the past called on all Cameroonians to live together in harmony.

Source: VOA

The Global Think-Tank for Africa provides more support to pupils in Mamfe

17, November 2021

The Global Think-Tank for Africa provides more support to pupils in Mamfe 0

The Global Think-Tank for Africa, a not-for-profit organization, on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, disbursed additional more financial resources to support more pupils in schools around Mamfe and its environs. 

The supplies, which are expected to enable these pupils have access to much-needed education, are part of the promise the Executive Director of the Global Think-Tank for Africa, Dr. Joachim Arrey, had made during an interview wherein he was calling on the Diaspora to help get many children in the English-speaking parts of the country back to school.

The Global Think Tank’s executive director had promised emergency aid to schools in Mamfe town and the very first disbursement was made on November 17, 2021, and the second disbursement has been delivered on December 8, 2021.  To ensure the assistance offered by the not-for-profit organization reaches those who desperately need it, the Global Think Tank for Africa has already established partnerships with schools and educational authorities in Mamfe and the organization’s executive director has stated clearly that the education of the children in the English-speaking parts of Cameroon is a top priority for his organization, adding that such assistance is necessary to help the girl child obtain the education that will enable her to face the future with dignity and confidence. 

“I am in touch with some educational authorities in Mamfe, and my organization, the Global Think Tank for Africa, will be offering books and other supplies worth CFAF 500,000 over the next three months to students in various schools in Mamfe town. My organization will also be granting scholarships to young girls in Manyu Division to enable them get an education. The modalities for the scholarships will be released in the days ahead. We need to do things differently if the future has to be bright for many of our children. It is education that opened many huge doors for me and I want other children to enjoy the fruits of a sound education,” he said.

Dr. Joachim Arrey had also called on the fighters and government officials to make things easy for children who want to return to school in the rural areas. These pupils have not been to school for five years and this is compromising their future and that of the country. 

“The government like the fighters have to take a look at their strategies to ensure that those children do not get left in the darkness of ignorance because of a conflict they know nothing about. Our children’s education should be decoupled from the struggle to enable our children return to school. Keeping these children at home for a long time only robs them of their future and confidence. I am also urging people of good will to send as much material support as possible to those community schools which are seeking to impart some knowledge to our children. Those schools are not properly equipped to deal with many educational challenges. They need financial support to help the students. Any assistance in this regard will be appreciated,” he said.

Speaking during the December 8 event, the Inspector of Basic Education for Mamfe Central, Mr. Harman Taku Arreyngang, thanked Dr. Joachim Arrey,  and his organization for the didactic materials provided to internally displaced children of some schools in Mamfe. He used the occasion to urge other members of the Diaspora to emulate the example of the Global Think-Tank for Africa which has vowed to support educational activities in the English-speaking parts of the country as such activities would enable internally displaced children to have an education. 

“I wish to thank Dr. Joachim Arrey, the Executive Director of the Global Think-Tank for Africa, for his gifts of didactic materials to IDPs of some of the schools in Mamfe. I would like to use this opportunity to call on the Diaspora to emulate this action aimed at encouraging children to go to school amid the socio-political problems in the country’s Northwest and Southwest regions,” Mr. Harman Taku Arreyngang, the Inspector of Basic Education for Mamfe Central, who is committed to working with the Global Think-Tank for Africa to grant these children the opportunity to go school, said.

Also speaking over the phone regarding Wednesday’s event, Dr. Joachim Arrey said he was very happy to see those children holding their books. He promised more educational assistance to the IDPs in January 2022, adding that his organization would not relent until more pupils got the education they needed. 

“The objective of my organization is to create possibilities for less privileged children to go to school. Without a sound education, the future of our children will be compromised. More assistance will be provided in January. I am also using this opportunity to inform any sons and daughters of Manyu Division who are studying information technology and engineering in Cameroonian universities to contact the Global Think Tank for Africa for a scholarship. The scholarship is in the name of my late father, Mr. Michael Arrey, who underscored the importance of education throughout his life. He loved education and he always told me it was a sure key to a bright future, and he has never been wrong,” Dr. Joachim Arrey said. 

By Peter Agbor Nkongho in Mamfe.  

Qatar 2022 World Cup: Cameroon oust Ivory Coast as Africa’s World Cup playoff spots decided

17, November 2021

Qatar 2022 World Cup: Cameroon oust Ivory Coast as Africa’s World Cup playoff spots decided 0

Cameroon beat Ivory Coast 1-0 in a contest of two continental heavyweights to join Algeria, Nigeria and Tunisia in securing the last four places in March’s African World Cup playoffs as the group phase came to a dramatic conclusion on Tuesday.

Karl Toko Ekambi scored for Cameroon as they snatched a narrow home win over the Ivory Coast in a clash full of tension but without many clear chances.

Cameroon had been one point behind in the Group D standings but took top spot to advance to the playoffs.

Goalkeeper Andre Onana, back from a nine-month drug ban, made several key saves for Cameroon to help them survive a late onslaught and hold on for the win.

Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea were level on 10 points in Group B when they kicked off their respective games but Tunisia romped into an early three-goal lead before beating Zambia 3-1 at home while Equatorial Guinea drew 1-1 away in Mauritania.

African champions Algeria and Nigeria made heavy work of booking their places, but home draws proved enough for them also to progress.

Algeria were twice ahead against Burkina Faso, with Riyad Mahrez grabbing their first goal, but a late penalty saw them held to a 2-2 draw in Blida. Algeria finished with 14 points in Group A, two ahead of the Burkinabe.

Nigeria scored in the first minute through Victor Osimhen but quickly gave up an equaliser to the Cape Verde Islands, who had to win to take top spot in Group C. The 1-1 draw in Lagos left Nigeria top on 13 points and Cape Verde second on 11.

The four countries join the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco and Senegal in the playoffs.

The 10 teams will be drawn into five two-legged ties with the aggregate winners representing Africa at the World Cup finals in Qatar.

A Confederation of African Football spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday that no date had yet been set for the draw, but it would likely take place in January.

There were also victories for Egypt, Liberia, Morocco and Mozambique on the last day of the group phase competition, but with the results having no bearing on the final places.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah did not start for Egypt, but came on for the last 30 minutes as they beat Gabon 2-1 in Alexandria.

Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who will face Salah in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday, did not play for Gabon, who were already out of contention.

Source: Reuters

Pfizer to allow generic versions of its Covid pill for poor countries

17, November 2021

Pfizer to allow generic versions of its Covid pill for poor countries 0

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Tuesday announced a deal to make its prospective antiviral Covid-19 pill available more cheaply in the world’s least-wealthy countries.

Pfizer will sub-licence production of its promising Paxlovid pill to generic drug manufacturers for supply in 95 low- and middle-income nations covering around 53 percent of the world’s population.

Under the deal struck with the global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), Pfizer — which also produces one of the most widely-used Covid vaccines with German lab BioNTech — will not receive royalties from the generic manufacturers, making the treatment cheaper.

The agreement is subject to the oral antiviral medication passing ongoing trials and regulatory approval.

The Pfizer drug is to be taken with the HIV medicine ritonavir.

Interim data from ongoing trials demonstrated an 89 percent reduction in the risk of Covid-19-related hospitalisation or death compared to a placebo, in non-hospitalised high-risk adults with Covid-19 within three days of symptom onset, said Pfizer.

Similar results were seen within five days of symptom onset, it added.

The Geneva-based MPP is a United Nations-backed international organisation that works to facilitate the development of medicines for low- and middle-income nations.

If approved, the pill could be on the market in “a matter of months”, MPP policy chief Esteban Burrone told AFP.

Pfizer also said Tuesday  that it was seeking an emergency use authorisation, or EUA, in the US for the Covid pill.

HIV drug mix

Pfizer will forego royalties on sales in all countries covered by the agreement while Covid-19 remains classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization.

Last month, the WHO maintained the highest level of alert over the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

Paxlovid, or PF-07321332, is an investigational antiviral therapy designed to block the activity of the SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease — an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate.

Taking it together with a low dose of ritonavir helps slow the breakdown of PF-07321332. It therefore remains active in the body for a longer period at a high concentration, to help combat the virus.

The pill could potentially help patients avoid severe illness, which can lead to hospitalisation and death, Pfizer said.

“We believe oral antiviral treatments can play a vital role in reducing the severity of Covid-19 infections, decreasing the strain on our healthcare systems and saving lives,” said Pfizer chairman and chief executive Albert Bourla.

While a multitude of vaccines have been rolled out in the pandemic, the hunt for treatments for those who have already caught the disease has not been as fruitful.

Agreement follows Merck deal

The MPP was founded by Unitaid, which works on innovations to prevent, diagnose and treat major diseases in poorer countries.

“During a pandemic, saving time means saving lives. This agreement could help us to reach more people more quickly as soon as the medicine is approved,” said Unitaid executive director Philippe Duneton.

Potential sublicensees have until December 6 to register an expression of interest.

The announcement comes after the MPP signed a similar voluntary licensing deal with Pfizer’s US rivals Merck & Co last month for its investigational oral antiviral medicine molnupiravir.

Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will help create broad access to molnupiravir in 105 low- and middle-income countries.

Pills are easier to make than vaccines, do not require a cold chain for delivery and can be self-administered by the patient.

In terms of relieving health systems by preventing hospitalisations, “it’s a game changer”, said Burrone.

He said pricing for the Pfizer pill had not yet been set, but said that “in a competitive environment… the prices tend to come down” to a low level.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) meanwhile suggested it might cost around $700 per Pfizer treatment course, in line with molnupiravir.

The medical charity said it was disheartened by the deal, saying restrictive voluntary licences were no substitute for guaranteed global access to Covid tools to bring the pandemic under control.

Source: AFP

Deadly mudslides, floods in Canada after Pacific north-west storm

17, November 2021

Deadly mudslides, floods in Canada after Pacific north-west storm 0

The body of a woman was recovered from one of the mudslides caused by extremely heavy rainfall in the Pacific coast Canadian province of British Columbia, authorities said Tuesday.

Police said search and rescue personnel were continuing to look for other possible victims from Monday’s slides.

David MacKenzie, the Pemberton District Search and Rescue manager, said his team came across seven vehicles at the slide site on Highway 99 near the town of Lillooet and police were trying to determine if there were any other bodies.

“It is a significant amount of debris. It makes it very difficult for our search crews. The mud is up to their waist. I can’t recall our team being involved in anything like this in the past,” he said.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said the total number of people and vehicles unaccounted for had not yet been confirmed. She said investigators had received reports of two other people who were missing but added that other motorists might have been buried in the slide.

Jonathan Gormick, spokesman for the Vancouver Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team, said that while the roadway had been cleared of potentially trapped vehicles or people, they would now be searching the slide’s debris field.

About 300 people spent Sunday night in their vehicles and were helicoptered to safety Monday.

Elsewhere in the province, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said impassable highways were creating havoc in his city as police and firefighters tried to get people to evacuation centers.

“It breaks my heart to see what’s going on in our city,” Braun said.

Sunny skies followed two days of torrential storms that dumped the typical amount of rain that the city gets in all of November, but the mayor said the water was still rising and Highway 1 would be cut shut down for some time.

Braun said he was worried about getting enough information from officials in Washington state about water levels that have risen dramatically from the overflowing Nooksack River and over the Sumas dike.

“When are we going to crest? When is it going to level off here? It’s like a full cup of coffee. Once it’s full, it keeps flowing over the sides,’ he said.

Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr said officers removed some people from the roofs of cars awash in flood waters Monday night but left some motorists in semi-trucks because they were higher above the water.

“I was out there last night. You could not see where the side of the road was. We had one member put on a life-jacket and swim out towards a car that was overturned to bring someone back. And that was on a regular basis for about two hours,” Serr said.

About 1,100 homes had been evacuated in Abbotsford, adding to others in various parts of British Columbia, including in Merritt, where the entire town of 7,000 people was forced to leave after the sanitation system failed.

Multiple roadways have been closed because of flooding or landslides, including sections of Highway 1A, Highway 3, Highway 5, Highway 11, Highway 12 and Highway 91.

Source: AP

CPDM and Covid-19: Two down and many to go

16, November 2021

CPDM and Covid-19: Two down and many to go 0

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Defense confirmed on Sunday, the deaths of two notorious Francophone army generals Nganso Sunji Jean and Oumarou Djam Yaya.

Generals Nganso and Oumarou Djam Yaya quitted the Cameroon military and political scenes on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at the Central hospital in Yaoundé.

According to Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, the two senior officers of the Cameroonian army died from an undisclosed illness.

However, Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the veteran French Cameroun soldiers died from Covid-19 related complications. Both French speaking Cameroonians were promoted to the rank of General in July 1993.

Jean Nganso Sunji, a native of the Western Region was an engineer who graduated from the Paris Polytechnic School before becoming a general in 1983.  He died at the age of 84.

Oumarou Djam Yaya, aged 82, originally from Northern Cameroon had a spell at the National Gendarmerie School in 1957 and graduated from the Yaoundé Inter-Army Military School (Emia) as a specialist in criminology.

The two generals who died on Sunday were among the senior officers who worked to thwart the attempted coup of April 1984.

By Rita Akana

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