18, June 2025

Biya’s health, Ambazonia violence looms over October presidential vote ⁰

Cameroon is counting down to a presidential election with key questions over the health of 92-year-old veteran leader Paul Biya, separatist violence in its English-speaking regions and ethnic tensions all unresolved.

With less than four months until the first ballot is cast, any prospective challenger will have to soon announce their tilt at taking over the central African nation at a tough time for the economy.

Ratings agency Fitch on May 9 predicted that should Biya run he would win the upcoming vote, “guaranteeing political and policy continuity” at a time of upheaval for many ordinary Cameroonians.

In the capital Yaounde, Biya’s likeness is plastered — as usual — on billboards all over the city, while his critics are nowhere to be seen.

Yet Biya, who came to power in 1982, has kept schtum on whether he will run in October’s election to extend his more than four-decade rule.

Given Biya is already the world’s oldest head of state, questions over his health and capacity to govern have dominated debate over the vote.

Cameroon’s opposition appears more fragmented than ever, undermining its ability to oust the longtime leader despite the favourable political winds.

That Biya’s critics have been unable to agree on a unity candidate is largely down to “the egoism of the players, the lack of humility of the leaders, ideological fractures and the whiff of tribalism”, said Simeon Ekodo Mveng, a political researcher at Laval University.

University of Yaounde 1 professor Charles Romain Mbele said that the opposition had decided to band together in various groups “to give itself a chance”.

“We see that that is laborious, while the ruling party is firmly rooted across the nation, with alliances with other parties in government,” he added.

Since 2016 Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have been riven by conflict between English-speaking separatists and the government.

Many Cameroonian English-speakers say they face systemic discrimination in the majority French-speaking country.

But what began as a civil rights protest quickly descended into armed insurrection.

According to the latest estimates by Human Rights Watch, the fighting has killed at least 6,000 civilians so far.

Separatist groups have carried out kidnappings and attacks on civilians and officials, while the army and police are accused of launching raids aimed at punishing alleged separatist sympathisers.

All the while Boko Haram jihadists have been sowing terror at the other end of the country in the Far North region, where the group has been active since 2009.

The various security crises have uprooted many Cameroonians from their homes and pose a challenge to the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Beyond the fighting out in the open, Cameroon also faces the more insidious menace of ethnic rivalry.

Fractures along identity lines have deepened, while at times the political debate has regressed to an ethnic mud-slinging match.

“In election periods, stereotyped rhetoric resurfaces, pitting the ‘Bamileke’ often considered to be economically dominant against the ‘Beti’, the group which President Paul Biya comes from,” said Baba Wame, a professor at the University of Yaounde II.

“These narratives are sometimes amplified by anonymous accounts or local influencers,” Wame added.

The official line, which Biya has taken to social media to repeat, is that ethnic discrimination must be fought.

But, although Cameroon has had a law against hate speech and tribalist rhetoric on the books since 2019, its enforcement has only ever been hesitant, while perpetrators never face prosecution in the courts.

As Cameroonians prepare to head to the polls, the nation’s economic difficulties will have hit many voters in the wallet.

Many are unemployed, including nearly three-quarters of the country’s young people, according to Gabriel Fandja, who heads the National Assembly’s education commission.

Inflation, which according to official statistics hit five percent in 2024, has eaten away at their purchasing power.

Access to safe drinking water, healthcare and decent education remains out of reach for many.

Those tensions have worried Cameroon’s households and the country’s international financial partners alike.

Whether on social networks or during televised debates, ordinary Cameroonians have raised their voices to criticise the cost of living and the lack of basic services.

Increasingly vented in the open, the frustrations reflect a profound social malaise in the run-up to the presidential ballot.

Culled from AFP

18, June 2025

BEAC Governor calls for urgent restoration of SONARA ⁰

Yvon Sana Bangui, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), is urging CEMAC countries to refine their own crude oil. He noted that the six CEMAC nations collectively spend approximately 2 trillion CFA francs annually on imported petroleum products like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and domestic gas. This spending continues despite five of the six countries, excluding the Central African Republic, being crude oil producers.

Speaking on June 17, 2025, in Yaoundé during “Finance Week,” a platform for financial stakeholders, the BEAC governor argued that building crude oil refineries within CEMAC could significantly reduce or even eliminate these imports. This shift, he emphasized, would help preserve and strengthen the region’s foreign exchange reserves, which are currently strained by the heavy reliance on fuel imports. These reserves consist of foreign currency payments received by states and their economic agents, enabling them to make payments to international partners.

“We have the raw material, and its price trend is downward. Let’s commit to an import-substitution strategy and refine our oil,” Bangui declared. He added, “The cost of road infrastructure awaited by economic operators is very high in our region. To avoid this, we must locally produce bitumen. We must locally produce lubricants. All of this comes from oil. Even fertilizer can be produced from oil.”

The Sonara Refinery Fire and Regional Self-Sufficiency

This isn’t the first time Bangui has advocated for building oil refineries in the CEMAC zone to protect foreign exchange reserves from the impact of imported refined petroleum products. On June 24, 2024, during a press conference following the BEAC Monetary Policy Committee’s second ordinary session, he stated, “In Cameroon, I am calling for the urgent restoration of Sonara—the National Refining Company.”

Cameroon has been importing all its refined petroleum products since a fire destroyed Sonara in May 2019. At the time of the incident, Sonara was refining imported oil, not Cameroonian crude. The rehabilitation of Sonara, estimated at 250 billion CFA francs, was initially scheduled to begin in 2022 but remains pending.

Bangui’s call for Sonara’s rehabilitation echoes his statements made on June 14, 2024, during a visit to the Djermaya refinery in Chad. There, he urged company leaders to increase production to curb imports. “Today, the fact that all CEMAC countries import petroleum products places enormous pressure on our foreign exchange reserves. I issue a solemn call to the authorities and company leaders to do everything necessary to meet national and subregional demand,” he asserted.

Source: Business in Cameroon

18, June 2025

Kenya’s Bishop Deya dies in road crash ⁰

Controversial Kenyan televangelist Gilbert Deya, who claimed he created miraculous pregnancies, has died in a road crash.

Police told local media that Deya died on the spot on Tuesday evening after his vehicle was involved in an accident with a university bus and another vehicle near the town of Kisumu in western Kenya.

At least 30 other people were reportedly injured, including a person identified as his wife and a passenger in his vehicle, and 15 students in the bus.

Deya, who ran a church in London, rose to infamy in the early 2000s, following his claim that he could help infertile couples conceive “miracle” babies through prayer.

Investigations later linked his church to an alleged child-trafficking ring, leading to his arrest and extradition from the UK eight years ago after a decade-long legal battle.

He was acquitted of the charges in 2023 due to insufficient evidence.

On Wednesday, Siaya County Governor James Orengo said he had learnt with “deep sorrow and regret of the passing on of Bishop Gilbert Deya”.

He confirmed that the “horrific” road accident had involved a vehicle belonging to the county.

Photos shared online showed the mangled wreckage of one of the vehicles, which was completely shattered in the accident.

A former stonemason-turned evangelist, Deya moved from Kenya to London in the mid-1990s, where he founded Gilbert Deya Ministries, a registered charity with branches across the UK and Africa.

He was known for his charismatic preaching style and claimed to have been consecrated as an archbishop by a US evangelist in 1992.

His ministries later faced multiple investigations by the UK authorities for alleged mismanagement and legal violations, including selling olive oil which were falsely claiming to have healing properties.

He was once described by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, then an MP, as a “modern-day snake-oil salesman who has conned and betrayed his vulnerable congregation”.

At his church, desperate women, some past their menopause and others who were unable to conceive, would be convinced that they would become pregnant through prayer.

But the babies were always “delivered” in backstreet clinics in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The prosecution said the babies were stolen from poor Kenyan families.

In 2011, his then wife Mary Deya was jailed after being found guilty of stealing a baby from the main referral hospital in Kenya’s capital Nairobi and falsely stating she had given birth to the baby.

When Deya was asked in a BBC investigation in 2014 how the alleged “miracle” children had different DNA to that of their alleged parents, he said it was “beyond human imagination”.

“It is not something I can say. I can explain because they are of God and things of God cannot be explained by a human being,” he said.

After his acquittal in 2023, Deya maintained his innocence and continued his religious outreach until his death, reportedly at 72.

Source: BBC

17, June 2025

Indomitable Lions: Marc Brys heading to Saudi club Al-Nassr ⁰

Following the near-certain departure of Stefano Pioli from Al-Nassr, the Saudi club is actively searching for a new head coach. Unexpectedly, the spotlight has turned to the national team manager.

Pioli, who replaced Luís Castro last autumn, failed to achieve any notable success with Al-Nassr: no trophies were lifted, and the team did not qualify for the AFC Champions League.

Belgian coach Marc Brys, 62, has been leading the Cameroon national side since last year, according to Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws. Brys previously coached in Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2015, managing Al-Raed and Najran SC — a factor that has caught the attention of Al-Nassr’s management.

Brys’s appointment in Cameroon sparked significant controversy, as he was selected by the Ministry of Sports without the consent of the Cameroon Football Federation, headed by Samuel Eto’o. This caused a serious rift between the two parties. However, Eto’o later apologized, and since then Brys has guided Cameroon to the final stages of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), remaining unbeaten with seven wins in 12 matches.

According to Walfoot.be, Al-Nassr’s leadership is impressed by how Brys handled the delicate situation. They are keen to appoint a coach capable of managing a star-studded squad featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, Marcelo Brozović, and Aymeric Laporte. Despite this glittering lineup, the club has not lifted the Saudi league title in six seasons, with the last triumph coming under Rui Vitória.

Brys boasts over 20 years of coaching experience in Belgium. Before moving to Africa, he spent three and a half seasons in charge of Leuven.

Additionally, Brys has international experience from stints in Jordan with Al-Faisaly and in the Netherlands with Den Bosch and FC Eindhoven.

Source: Footboom

17, June 2025

Social media now main source of news in US ⁰

Social media and video networks have become the main source of news in the US, overtaking traditional TV channels and news websites, research suggests.

More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube – overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%), according to the Reuters Institute.

“The rise of social media and personality-based news is not unique to the United States, but changes seem to be happening faster – and with more impact – than in other countries,” a report found.

Podcaster Joe Rogan was the most widely-seen personality, with almost a quarter (22%) of the population saying they had come across news or commentary from him in the previous week.

The report’s author Nic Newman said the rise of social video and personality-driven news “represents another significant challenge for traditional publishers”.

The institute also highlighted a trend for some politicians to give their time to sympathetic online hosts rather than mainstream interviewers.

It said populist politicians around the world are “increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism in favour of friendly partisan media, ‘personalities’, and ‘influencers’ who often get special access but rarely ask difficult questions, with many implicated in spreading false narratives or worse”.

Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities were named as a major source of false or misleading information by almost half of people worldwide (47%) – putting them level with politicians.

The report also stated that usage of X for news is “stable or increasing across many markets”, with the biggest uplift in the US.

It added that since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022, “many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently”.

In the US, the proportion that self-identified as being on the right tripled after Musk’s takeover.

In the UK, right-wing X audiences have almost doubled.

Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon are “making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news”, it stated.

Other key findings about news sources:

TikTok is the fastest-growing social and video network, used for news by 17% of people around the world, up four percentage points since last year.

The use of AI chatbots to get the news is on the rise, and is twice as popular among under-25s than the population as a whole.

But most people think AI will make news less transparent, accurate and trustworthy.

All generations still prize trusted brands with a track record for accuracy, even if they don’t use them as often as they once did

The report is in its 14th year and surveyed almost 100,000 people in 48 countries.

Source: BBC

17, June 2025

Biya regime meets CFAF60 Billion 2022-29 bond payment ⁰

Cameroon has launched the disbursement of the third tranche of its 2022-2029 bond on May 27, 2025. This was announced by the Director General of the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC), Louis Banga-Ntolo, in a press release issued on June 11, 2025. Payments to investors began on May 28 through brokerage firms and account-holding banks.

A total of CFAF 61.6 billion will be distributed to investors who subscribed to this public bond issuance, which includes CFAF 14.6 billion in interest. The BVMAC specified that “the net coupon per bond amounts to CFAF 2,625, comprising CFAF 2,000 in capital repayment and CFAF 625 in interest.”

Cameroon’s 2022-2029 bond, listed on the BVMAC on September 28, 2022, features a 6.5% interest rate and a seven-year maturity. This issuance allowed the government to raise CFAF 235 billion.

According to the Ministry of Finance, investor interest was strong, with offers totaling CFAF 239 billion, surpassing the initial target of CFAF 200 billion. This robust demand led the government to retain CFAF 235 billion, an amount authorized through an overallocation approval granted by COSUMAF, the sub-regional financial market regulator.

Source: Business in Cameroon

17, June 2025

Flows of foreign direct investment to developing economies drop to lowest level ⁰

Flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing economies—a key propellant of economic growth and higher living standards—have dwindled to the lowest level since 2005 amid rising trade and investment barriers, new research from the World Bank shows. These barriers pose a significant threat to global efforts to mobilize financing for development.

In 2023, the latest year for which data are available, developing economies received just $435 billion in FDI—the lowest level since 2005. That coincides with a global trend in which FDI flows into advanced economies have also slowed to a trickle: high-income economies received just $336 billion in 2023, the lowest level since 1996. As a share of their GDP, FDI inflows to developing economies in 2023 were just 2.3 percent, about half the number during the peak year of 2008.

“What we’re seeing is a result of public policy,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President. “It’s not a coincidence that FDI is plumbing new lows at the same time that public debt is reaching record highs. Private investment will now have to power economic growth, and FDI happens to be one of the most productive forms of private investment. Yet, in recent years governments have been busy erecting barriers to investment and trade when they should be deliberately taking them down. They will have to ditch that bad habit.”

From June 30 to July 3, representatives of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector are scheduled to meet in Seville, Spain, to discuss how to mobilize the financing that will be needed to achieve key global and national development goals. The new analysis from the World Bank highlights the policies that will be needed to achieve those goals at a time when economic growth has slowed to a crawl, public debt has surged to record highs, and foreign-aid budgets have shrunk. Easing investment restrictions will be a key first step: so far in 2025, half of all FDI-related measures announced by governments in developing economies have been restrictive measures—the highest share since 2010.

“With the global community gearing up for the Conference on Financing for Development, the sharp drop in FDI to developing economies should sound alarm bells,” said M. Ayhan Kose, the World Bank Group’s Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Prospects Group. “Reversing this slowdown is not just an economic imperative—it’s essential for job creation, sustained growth, and achieving broader development goals. It will require bold domestic reforms to improve the business climate and decisive global cooperation to revive cross-border investment.”

Investment treaties tend to boost FDI flows between signatory states by more than 40%, the analysis finds. Between 2010 and 2024, just 380 new investment treaties came into force, barely a third of the 1990s number. Similarly, the report finds that countries that are more open to trade tend to receive more FDI—an extra 0.6% in FDI for each percentage-point increase in the trade-to-GDP ratio. However, the number of new trade agreements signed over the past decade dropped in half—from an average of 11 per year in the 2010s to just six in the 2020s.

In 2023, FDI accounted for roughly half of the external financing flows received by developing economies. Under the right conditions, it is a strong spur to economic growth: analysis of data from 74 developing economies between 1995 and 2019 suggests that a 10% increase in FDI inflows generates a 0.3% increase in real GDP after three years. The impact is nearly three times larger—up to 0.8%—in countries with stronger institutions, better human capital, greater openness to trade, and lower informality. By the same token, the effect of FDI increases is much smaller in countries that lack such features.

FDI tends to be concentrated in the largest economies. Between 2012 and 2023, about two-thirds of FDI flows to developing economies went to just 10 countries, with China receiving nearly a third of the total and Brazil and India receiving roughly 10% and 6% respectively. The 26 poorest countries received barely 2% of the total. Advanced economies, moreover, accounted for nearly 90% of the total FDI in developing economies over the past decade. About half of that came from just two sources: the European Union and the United States.

The report identifies three policy priorities for developing economies.

First, redouble efforts to attract FDI. Easing FDI restrictions that have accumulated over the last decade would be a good start. So would speeding up improvements in the investment climate, which have stalled in many countries over the past decade. Strong macroeconomic outcomes—healthy growth and rising labor productivity—also help accelerate FDI flows, the analysis shows. An increase of 1% in a country’s labor productivity, for example, is associated with an increase of 0.7% in FDI inflows.

Second, amplify the economic benefits of FDI. Promoting trade integration, improving the quality of institutions, fostering human capital development, and encouraging more people to participate in the formal economy increase the benefits of FDI. Governments can also amplify the benefits by channeling FDI to sectors where the impact is greatest. FDI can also help increase job opportunities for women: the domestic affiliates of multinational enterprises, for example, tend to have a higher share of female employees than domestic firms.

Third, advance global cooperation. All countries should work together to accelerate policy initiatives that can help direct FDI flows to developing economies with the largest investment gaps. Especially in a time of high geopolitical tensions, the World Bank and other international institutions have a crucial role to play in supporting a rules-based order. Technical and financial assistance to support structural reform efforts in developing countries—especially low-income countries—are critical for facilitating FDI inflows. The World Bank Group, the world’s largest development bank, is playing a key role in mobilizing private capital—by creating instruments that lower financial risks for investors, by helping to improve market conditions in developing economies, and by scaling up its engagement with the private sector.

Culled from the World Bank

14, June 2025

Roman Catholic Priest says Biya and his gang need to face a ‘Tower of Babel’ ⁰

Echoing earlier calls for change by some Cameroonian bishops, a Catholic priest has invoked the Holy Spirit, urging it to bring confusion akin to the biblical “Babel” on the country’s ruling elite.

Father Richard Alphonse Sandjong Yakam, of St. John Paul II Parish in Banengo, in the West Region, used his Pentecost Sunday homily to emphasize that change had become imperative for Cameroon.

He drew a parallel, stating that just as God commissioned the Holy Spirit to sow confusion among those who sought to rival Him by constructing the Tower of Babel, Cameroonians now need to invoke that same Spirit to disrupt the ruling elite whom he accused of state capture.

“The Holy Spirit had confused the language of those who had built the Tower of Babel to compete with God. God sent the Holy Spirit to confuse them, and the Holy Spirit descended and sowed confusion in their language; and they dispersed. We are also praying that this very Spirit should come to our country and sow confusion in the language of those who have taken the country hostage and free this country so that everyone will find their footing, so that every of God’s children should find freedom, peace and wellbeing; so that Cameroon that God placed under the patronage of the Virgin Mary becomes a country in which life is worth living,” the priest said.

He called on the Holy Spirit to make Cameroonians understand that they are capable of overcoming domination.

“May Cameroonians overcome fear. May the Holy Spirit liberate Cameroonians to defeat fear and act like the Apostles, who, after receiving the Holy Spirit, left their hiding places and boldly spoke the truth,” Yakam said.

“The Holy Spirit needs to renew and transform everything. Cameroon needs a new start. Conquering fear means recognizing that we are free children of God. The most important good He has given us is freedom. However, this freedom should not be confused with profligacy or licentiousness,” he said.

“True freedom means living as directed by the Holy Spirit, and He can only lead us in God’s direction. Those who allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit are not controlled by their base instincts or desires (the ‘flesh’). Their focus shifts from worldly things to heaven. It is the Spirit who frees us from all burdens—the yoke of slavery, tribalism, nepotism, lies, and embezzlement,” the priest added.

The message from the priest comes just months before the next presidential election. Incumbent President Paul Biya, aged 92, is widely expected to seek re-election after 43 years in power.

Yakam’s remarks add to the voices of Catholic clerics increasingly vocal about the need for a fresh face in the Cameroon Presidency.

While the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Cameroon has not explicitly called on the President to step aside, they have made statements criticising his government for failing to deliver the goods of governance.

On March 28, they issued a pastoral letter defining the qualities required of a president: “Integrity, humility, modesty, and moral leadership qualities.”

The letter stated that the future president must not use his power to “enrich himself” and “must be able to travel throughout the country, visiting each region at least once during his term.” In this way, he will be able to “understand the needs and desires of the Cameroonian people.”

The bishops didn’t mention President Biya, but the condition of travelling the country is something the President can’t clearly do: He isn’t known to have visited many regions in his 43 years in power, and in recent years, is known to have been spending more of his time in his native village, Mvomeka.

Individual bishops in Cameroon have however directly called on Biya not to seek re-election.

Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala had said that urging the president to seek re-election was “unrealistic.”

Bishop Barthelemy Yaouda Hourgo of the Catholic Diocese of Yagoua spoke about the frustrations facing Cameroonians and noted that even the devil couldn’t inflict greater pain on the people.

Bishop Emmanuel Abbo of the Catholic Diocese of Ngaoundere expressed dismay at the government’s stifling of dissent, particularly accusing the country’s interior minister of using language that suggests any opposition to President Biya could be dealt with in very violent fashion.

Archbishop Jean Mbarga of Yaoundé was more circumspect, urging the faithful to “assume their responsibilities towards the nation.”

The election will take place in October this year, and although the elections management body ELECAM hasn’t validated any candidatures as yet, a number of Cameroonians have signaled their intentions to run, including Prof. Maurice Kamto of the MRC party, Cabral Libi of the PCRN, and Barrister Akere Muna, who has been endorsed by Univers political party.

President Paul Biya hasn’t declared his candidacy yet, but his supporters have been urging him to seek an eighth term in office.

Source: Crux

12, June 2025

Crises engulf Cameroon in election year ⁰

The humanitarian crisis in Cameroon remains a critical concern, exacerbated by political tensions ahead of the October 2025 presidential elections.

Paul Biya (92), the oldest head of state in the world, is seeking re-election for a position he has occupied since 1982.

The veteran was Prime Minister from 1975.

Apart from the political contest, the humanitarian crisis remains severe, driven by escalating violence and insecurity across the Northwest, Southwest and Far North regions.

Conflict dynamics, including inter-community clashes and intensified activity by non-state armed groups, have exacerbated displacement, disrupted access to health facilities and heightened vulnerabilities for women and girls.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that maternal and reproductive health services have been significantly disrupted, leading to increased rates of unassisted childbirth, complications during pregnancy and unmet family planning needs.

“Concurrently, persistent insecurity and limited humanitarian aid have heightened risks of gender-based violence (GBV), further restricting women’s and girls’ access to essential protection and care,” a spokesperson said.

In response, UNFPA has provided sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services in April 2025, directly benefiting about 8 000 individuals, 83 percent of whom were women and girls.

Funding constraints however pose an urgent risk to ongoing humanitarian efforts, with only 39 percent (about US$3,5 million) of the required $9 million secured as of April 2025.

“Without additional resources, critical reproductive health and GBV services risk severe disruption, threatening the well-being and safety of women and girls across Cameroon,” the UNFPA spokesperson said.

Cameroon, the Central African country of 29 million, is facing resistance from English-speaking communities alleging exclusion by the government dominated by French-speaking officials.

Source: Cajnewsafrica

12, June 2025

Race For Etoudi: ruling CPDM voice concern over violence threats ⁰

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party has expressed concern about growing threats of violence and uprising ahead of the presidential election in the Central African country.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Jean Nkuete, secretary-general of the Central Committee of the CPDM, said there are increasing calls from some political leaders “for the preparation of a sacrificial and murderous insurrection” as the country prepares to hold the election in October.

“The CPDM remains attentive and vigilant … and denounces with the utmost energy these behaviors and speeches of intimidation and incitement to hatred and violence,” Nkuete said.

He called for restraint, urging party members and peace-loving Cameroonians to shun violence and remain patriotic.

According to the country’s electoral calendar, presidential candidates will begin to deposit their files for scrutiny next month.

Source: Xinhuanet