French Cameroun: Fecafoot to sign partnership agreement with French manufacturer Le Coq Sportif

5, June 2019

French Cameroun: Fecafoot to sign partnership agreement with French manufacturer Le Coq Sportif 0

The Cameroonian football federation (Fecafoot) is signing next June 7 in Montpellier, France, its partnership agreement with French sportswear manufacturer Le cop sportif. The paper will be inked by Fecafoot’s president Seidou Mbombo Njoya, and Patrick Ouyi, sports marketing director at Le coq sportif.

The line of sportswear specially designed by the manufacturer for the Cameroonian national football team will be unveiled during the ceremony. Under this partnership, the Cameroonian national women’s football team will also wear le cop sportif next June 10 for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and will thus be the first to wear the outfits designed for Cameroonian players.

“This decision to inaugurate the new sportswear line with the women’s team is a major first, and reflects the interest and importance that both partners have for women’s football,” commented Fecafoot.

Let’s note that the French manufacturer provided outfits for the Cameroon national team between 1982 and 1987.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon’s budget deficit expected to widen, tax burden expected to increase

5, June 2019

Cameroon’s budget deficit expected to widen, tax burden expected to increase 0

As announced earlier by Business in Cameroon, President Paul Biya issued a presidential order May 29, amending and supplementing certain provisions of the 2019 Finance Act.

The new Act provides for an increase by XAF361.5 billion in State Budget from XAF4,850.5 billion to XAF5,212 billion. Of the amount, XAF121.5 billion will come from domestic resources (including XAF56 billion in oil revenues and XAF24.5 billion in tax revenues) and XAF240 from loans (including XAF188 billion in external loans).

Since growth projections have not been revised upwards, the new 2019 budget is expected to slightly increase the tax burden and widen the budget deficit compared to previous budget forecasts. The challenge now is to be able to maintain deficit below 2% of GDP as foreseen by the ECF program with the IMF.

The adjusted 2019 Finance Act confirms that Cameroon is going into debt to repay its debt. Of an increase by XAF361.5 billion in budget, XAF240 billion are loans. Yet, XAF225.57 billion of the budget is expected to service the debt. This means the extra money borrowed will almost come out to pay off an existing debt.

Current spending forecasts drop XAF14.5 billion showing monies granted to certain ministries and other public institutions will be cut. But others will receive budget reallocations as well. Beneficiaries include the ministry of public works which receives additional XAF44.06 billion, the ministry of sports and civic education (XAF44.06 billion), and the ministry of water and energy (XAF23 billion).

Amount initially granted to the defense ministry is revised downwards, narrowed by XAF13 billion. But this does not necessarily mean that the total defense budget is cut. The joint expenditure forecasts (line 65) are up by more than XAF50 billion. This budget line has often been used to finance the war.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the budget adjustment intends to “take into account the increase in expected revenues” and “fully integrate the expenditure needs related to the upcoming elections and fuel subsidies, while maintaining the overall deficit at 2% of GDP.”

The revised budget also provides for the acceleration of the implementation of externally financed investment projects that are under way on the basis of a disbursement plan, according to an IMF statement that marks the fourth review of the three-year program Cameroon signed with the Bretton Woods Institution in June 2017.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon: What the UN Regional Office for Central Africa Reported to the Security Council

5, June 2019

Cameroon: What the UN Regional Office for Central Africa Reported to the Security Council 0

In Cameroon, President Biya appointed a new Government on 4 January, which included 11 women. More than half of the country’s 60 ministers were replaced. As legislative and municipal elections remained postponed by presidential decree, supporters of the main opposition parties called for a revision of the electoral law. Meanwhile, on 5 April, Parliament enacted a law on decentralization to determine the number of regional councillors. On 26 January, protests erupted in major cities throughout the country, eliciting a violent response by internal security forces and triggering mass arrests. Those arrested included several Members of Parliament from the Social Democratic Front and the leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Maurice Kamto, together with 200 of Mr. Kamto’s supporters, who are currently standing trial before a military tribunal on charges that include rebellion, insurrection and public disturbance. Some of those charges carried the death penalty. In an interview broadcast on 19 March, the spokesperson for President Biya announced that the President would reject dialogue with Mr. Kamto, who had requested a face-to-face discussion.

The security situation in the North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon remained of serious concern, with a new wave of kidnappings and killings in early 2019. On 24 January, the leader of the separatist group, Southern Cameroons Defence Forces, was reportedly killed by the national armed forces. In February, nearly 70 people were killed during a separatist-imposed 10-day lockdown to disrupt National Youth Day activities in the two regions. On 11 February, an arson attack on the Kumba District Hospital in the South-West Region resulted in at least four patients killed and several others injured. On 19 March, the former Secretary of State in charge of secondary education was kidnapped from his residence in Bamenda by suspected secessionist fighters. On 20 March, 16 students were abducted from the University of Buea by unidentified gunmen. The Government accused the secessionists of the abductions. The authorities announced their intention to carry out investigations into alleged human rights violations by security forces in the affected regions, but no outcome was made public.

Culled from Reliefweb

Boko Haram launches multiple attacks on military bases in Nigeria, steals arms

4, June 2019

Boko Haram launches multiple attacks on military bases in Nigeria, steals arms 0

Members of the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group have carried out multiple attacks on military bases in northeast Nigeria, seizing three of them and stealing weapons.  

Militants of the terror group have invaded four bases in the volatile Borno State from Friday through Sunday in the recent series of attacks targeting the army, military sources said on Monday.

There were no immediate reports about possible casualties.

In the latest assault on Sunday, the militants failed to seize a base in the town of Dikwa, located in Borno State, following a predawn attack.

“The terrorists attacked troops in Dikwa around 4:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) but the attack was repelled without casualty on our side,” said a military officer, who did not want to be identified.

The assailants were driving 13 trucks fitted with heavy machine guns, said a second officer.

PressTV-Boko Haram kills 10 people in eastern Niger

On Saturday, the militants stormed a base in the town of Marte, which lies 40 kilometers away from Dikwa, forcing soldiers to withdraw after a long gunfight, the two military sources said.

As the soldiers retreated to Dikwa, the militants invaded another base in Kirenowa village, located 30 kilometers from Marte.

Troops in a base in Dalwa village, 16 kilometers outside Borno State’s capital of Maiduguri, were pushed out after a six-hour battle with the militants which continued into Sunday, said the military sources.

The fighting forced Marte residents to flee into Maiduguri, arriving in trucks on Sunday, according to residents of the city.

However, troops returned to the town late Sunday with reinforcement from Maiduguri, the sources said.

The Boko Haram terror group has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that have left scores of troopers dead.

Boko Haram’s nine-year militancy is estimated to have killed more than 27,000 people and forced 1.8 million others to flee their homes.

Boko Haram’s sphere of activities spreads as far as neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

These countries have created a joint military force to stop the terrorists from further spreading, but sustained efforts to eradicate the militants have failed and the military continues to suffer heavy losses.

Source: Presstv

Jose Mourinho says Salah must win AFCON to make strong case for Ballon d’Or

4, June 2019

Jose Mourinho says Salah must win AFCON to make strong case for Ballon d’Or 0

Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has given a prescription on how Egypt international Mohamed Salah could compete for the coveted Ballon d’Or gong.

The Portuguese manager who managed Salah during his stint at Chelsea, told Beinsports that the Egyptian could compete for the Ballon d’Or only if he manages to win the upcoming African Cup of Nations, AFCON, with the Pharaohs.

“Salah has to win the African Cup of Nations if he wants to compete for the Ballon d’Or,” Mourinho said in post-match analysis of the UEFA Champions League final last Saturday.

26-year-old Salah’s first medal for the season came with Liverpool, last Saturday, after they beat Tottenham in the final of the UEFA Champions League in Madrid. Salah became the first Egyptian to win the title.

He was a joint goal king winner in the English league, sharing the award with Senegalese team mate Sadio Mane and Gabon international and Arsenal forward, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. It was the second time in a row he was winning the golden boot.

Egypt, hosts of the 2019 AFCON, are drawn in Group A of the AFCON which starts on June 21. They are drawn along with Zimbabwe, Uganda and DR Congo.

The team will be looking to go one better after finishing runners up in the last edition of the tournament staged in Gabon. The Pharoahs lost in the final to eventual winners Cameroon.

Source: Africa News

The Truth About The Dr Sako Ikome – Ambazonia Interim Government Affair

4, June 2019

The Truth About The Dr Sako Ikome – Ambazonia Interim Government Affair 0

As Ambazonians continue to deviate from the focal point of the Southern Cameroons revolution, its worth reminding Amba citizens that revolutions are never straightforward or predictable. Ever since the controversial Chairman Elvis Kometa confirmed that IG funds were used to pay the rents of disgraced former Acting President Dr Samuel Sako, our readers have expressed their frustration and anger at the fact that the IG could afford to squander huge financial resources when thousands of Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Ground Zero were desperately seeking for support. Thousands of Ambazonia refugees in Nigeria and IDPs are in need of basic human amenities. To be sure, nothing came under Sako’s leadership.

Three weeks ago, Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report opened a joint investigation to uncover the truth about the Sako-IG Affair. The process was challenging but rewarding.  We found out that immediately after his appointment as the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Sako’s maiden call to the cabinet was that he needed $450 to repair his car. This amount was made available to him at lightning speed as a goodwill gesture by the treasury department. Our whistle-blower later opined that Dr Ikome Sako owned no car at the time of the said request. Later that day, he met with a cross section of the exiled cabinet and made another demand for more money citing his rents. During that meeting, Dr Ikome Sako also pleaded that he needed to be relocated for security reasons. The cabinet ministers were unanimous in their decision in support of the relocation. The house he lived in was dilapidated and looked like an abandoned Shakespearean building.

The agreement was for Pastor Ikome Sako to pay a portion of the new lease. However, as the IG was looking for a new accommodation that befits an Acting President, Sako moved his entire family into a hotel all paid from donations intended for Ground Zero. Sako made matters more intractable when he made another request insisting on relocating to a posh area where the cost of accommodation was $2500 a month excluding utility bills. Our chief intelligence officer in the USA has facsimiles of IG documents revealing that all Sako’s utility bills were paid for by the Ambazonia Interim Government including gas, electricity and local rates.

Immediately after settling in his new comfortable presidential home, Dr Sako surprised members of the Ambazonia Cabinet again!! This time around, the man of God informed the Interim Government that he needed $1000 to pay for his immigration paperwork to be regularised so he could travel outside the USA. Alarm bells started ringing but the IG was already in a marriage and the need to keep the Southern Cameroons revolution going was prominent on the agenda. IG classified papers show that the said amount was handed to him. One of most pathetic and appalling revelation made to our cream of reporters covering the IG was that Pastor Samuel Ikome’s children started going to school on UBER rides all paid for by the Ambazonia Interim Government. This was facilitated due to the fact that Sako had a government debit card. We can now reveal that Sako’s monthly expenses came up to approximately $8000.

This document shows Sako paying 3 different insurance on the same day

Sako’s Meteoric Rise

The disgraced former Acting President had lost his job as a security officer two weeks prior to his appointment as Acting President. His wife, a hairdresser, was the breadwinner as Sako’s venture at selling Christianity had failed woefully.

We gathered that the lease signed by the Ambazonia Interim Government for the property that Sako tenanted was for 12 months. With the financial scandal that rocked his reign and subsequent fiscal drought faced by the IG, the payments of Sako’s rents became irregular.

Ikome Sako’s landlord issued two eviction notices late last year. As the ‘free’ money dried-up, the lease couldn’t be renewed and we can confirm that on March 2019 he had no choice but to move to a modest and cheaper area of town. One of Sako’s acolytes who elected anonymity said ‘In Buea terms, Sako lived around Muea market before his rise to prominence. The IG moved and sponsored his twelve months stay in Governor Street. He has now moved to Small Soppo.’

For all the chanting by pro Sako comedians on social media that he is still the President, the people yelling unconditional support for him aren’t opening their wallets.  A senior Southern Cameroonian who helped us during this investigation noted that ‘sadly the former acting First Lady has to go back to braiding hair to support this lazy and dishonest pastor’

Sako has set out over the last few weeks to prove his critics right. Never again will Ambazonians waste so much goodwill and financial resources on an individual.

Sessekou Asu Isong, London Bureau Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

SONARA Meltdown: Prime Minister Dion Ngute is losing sleep

4, June 2019

SONARA Meltdown: Prime Minister Dion Ngute is losing sleep 0

The newly minted Prime Minister of Cameroon, Dion Ngute, is losing sleep following the explosion at the country’s lone oil refinery located in his native southwest.

Mr. Ngute who spent a huge chunk of his time during his recent visit to the region dancing, is now suffering from insomnia, as the burden of getting the international community to come and rebuild the jinxed refinery rests on his fragile shoulders. Mr. Biya whose health has spiralled out of control lacks the credibility to mobilize resources from bilateral and multilateral sources.

After having spoken about the country’s sovereignty for a long time, the country’s authorities are now faced with the huge challenge of demonstrating that sovereignty by rebuilding the refinery without turning to those they have abused on several occasions.

Mr. Ngute will surely need to adopt a different rhetoric if he really wants to mobilize resources in record time. Times are hard and the adverse effects of SONARA’s meltdown are already emerging. The race against time is on, but has Dion Ngute got the right running shoes?

Kingsley Betek, the Cameroon Concord News Group‘s lead investigative reporter, will be providing updates on the state of confusion at the Star Building. He has been talking with senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Office and his thoughts will be yours in Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report, your best online platforms for the latest on Cameroon. Stay tuned!

SONARA Palaver: Production halted, four units damaged after fire

4, June 2019

SONARA Palaver: Production halted, four units damaged after fire 0

Four units are down at Cameroon’s only refinery, but the shortage will be covered by imports starting on Tuesday, the energy minister said late on Sunday.

The 42,000 barrel-per-day Sonara refinery in Limbe declared a force majeure on Saturday after a tank exploded, causing a fire that halted output.

“Flames consumed four of the 13 production units, stopping all the Sonara refining process,” Minister of Water Resources and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba said. “The market will remain supplied by imports.”

Sonara, which is almost entirely state owned apart from a 4% stake held by Total, has a capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of crude a year.

It serves the whole country, so any delay in getting it back up and running has the potential to cause severe fuel shortages.

Source: Sunday Times

Hundreds of opposition members arrested in French Cameroun

4, June 2019

Hundreds of opposition members arrested in French Cameroun 0

Hundreds of members of Cameroon’s main opposition party are being held in custody after the country’s security forces carried out mass arrests during a series of anti-government protests over the weekend.

Two people were injured and 351 arrested on Saturday in four regions of the central African country in protests against its octogenarian president, Paul Biya, and his government. Several senior opposition leaders were among those arrested. Only a handful of people have been released.

The protesters’ demands included the release of their leader, Maurice Kamto, as well as hundreds of people arrested in earlier protests, and called for an end to the killings in the anglophone regions of the country, where a bloody conflict has played out over the last two years.

Kamto was arrested in January after protests against what he and his party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), say was a stolen election last October. He was later charged with insurrection, rebellion and “hostility to the homeland” by a military court, charges that theoretically carry the death penalty. Arrests have spiked in 2019, since Biya claimed a disputed landslide victory.

Saturday’s demonstrators also called for an investigation into what happened to the money for hosting the 2019 African Cup of Nations football tournament – a right Cameroon was stripped of because of delays in delivering the necessary infrastructure – and a revision of the electoral code.

“We were singing and asking them to free Mr Kamto and the other people, when they just came and asked us all to enter their vehicle,” said Samuel Kuetche, who was later released. “These people are heartless. We didn’t have any guns on us. We were not fighting anybody, but they forcefully took us to the police station.”

Opposition leaders said protest was a right enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Christopher Ndong, the secretary general of the MRC and one of the few leaders not behind bars, said: “It shows how dictatorial and how wicked [the government is] and how they are not willing to listen to the people. They shall continue arresting us because we shall not give up. You can’t be arresting people because you don’t want to listen to them.”

The situation in the anglophone north-west and south-west regions reached new depths last week with the killing of a four-month-old baby. Her parents were forced to flee after accusing state forces of killing her in a video, and are still in hiding. The government has not opened an investigation into the case.

Half a million people have fled their homes because of the violence, many of them crossing the border into Nigeria.

“Hundreds of villages have been burned, close to a million children are out of school, and tens of thousands are hiding in the bushes without any support. The international silence surrounding atrocities is as shocking as the untold stories are heartbreaking,” said Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, on a visit in April.

Another protest planned for next Saturday is expected to attract a higher number of people.

Source: The Guardian

Biya Regime Denies Ambazonia Fighters Blew Up Lone Refinery

4, June 2019

Biya Regime Denies Ambazonia Fighters Blew Up Lone Refinery 0

Cameroon has increased troops around its lone oil refinery, after a weekend explosion caused a shutdown of the facility. But the government denies separatist fighters were responsible and says there will be no shortages of petroleum products.

Christine Enanga, a 21-year old trying to buy cooking gas from a supplier in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde, worries that in days ahead she may not be able to find the commodity.

“I came to buy four bottles of [cooking] gas,” she said, “but they told me they could not sell four, that they could only sell two because other people are buying and I know there would be serious scarcity in Cameroon.”

Drivers are also buying and stocking fuel. The scare was sparked after a storage tank exploded Saturday night at Cameroon’s only oil refinery in the town of Limbe, in the Southwest region.

The blast caused a fire that damaged parts of the refinery and shut down output. No lives were lost.

Cameroon’s Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said there will be no shortages and no price increases of petroleum products.

He said Cameroon two years ago found itself in a similar difficult situation, when the national refinery shut down its doors for eight months for rehabilitation. He said shortages in supply were minimal because imports were increased without increasing prices.

He urged people to remain calm.

Rebels fighting to separate the English-speaking parts of Cameroon from the Francophone majority claimed responsibility for the explosion on social media. They said the refinery was attacked because English speakers benefit very little from the company.

Government officials visit the refinery in Limbe, Cameroon, June 2, 2019, in the aftermath of an explosion that destroyed the facility over the weekend. (M. Kindzeka for VOA)
Government officials visit the refinery in Limbe, Cameroon, June 2, 2019, in the aftermath of an explosion that destroyed the facility over the weekend. (M. Kindzeka for VOA)

Government spokesperson Rene Emmanuel Sadi said proceeds from the company are used to develop all of Cameroon and refuted claims that the explosion was perpetrated by secessionist fighters. He said early investigations indicate it was an accident.

He said details of the accident that blew up parts of the refinery will be made public soon. He added that the military has been deployed to make sure the refinery and its equipment are totally protected.

The refinery, which is almost entirely state-owned, supplies 2.2 million tons of crude a year to Cameroon and countries of the region including Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Source: VOA

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