20, January 2019

Nigeria: Corruption takes centre stage in election campaign ⁰

Corruption is taking centre stage in the run-up to Nigeria’s presidential elections, with the incumbent accused of failing to tackle the scourge of graft and his challenger facing claims about his past.

Muhammadu Buhari, an austere and pious former general, will take on wealthy former vice-president Atiku Abubakar at the polls on February 16.

Both are ethnic Hausas, Muslims from the country’s north. Buhari, who rose to power in 2015 on a promise to eradicate the “cancer” of graft gnawing at Africa’s most populous nation, has cultivated an image of blamelessness.

Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s political “godfather” closely allied with Buhari, earlier this month described him as “a straight and honest man”.

“Leave a naira (local currency) on the table with Buhari in the room. You will find the naira on the table when you return,” he said, in a thinly veiled criticism of Abubakar.

For his part, Abubakar is alleged to have amassed several hundred million dollars by misusing public funds as vice-president under Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007 — yet he has never been investigated in his own country.

“On the issue of corruption, I have challenged anyone, anywhere, who has any evidence of corruption against me to come forward,” Abubakar has said.

“I will shock everyone because I believe that I will fight corruption like never before.” But in the United States, Abubakar’s name has popped up in a Senate investigation into money laundering.

It charged in a 2010 report that US national Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar’s fourth wife, “helped her husband bring over $40 million (35 million euros) in suspect funds into the United States through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to US bank accounts.”

The couple are also accused of having received more than two million dollars in commissions for a contract with German industrial giant Siemens, which has since pleaded guilty in the case.

– Two essential reforms –

But this week Abubakar put paid to rumours that he was subject to a visa ban and unable to travel to the US by jetting to Washington for meetings with American counterparts. Abubakar told AFP last year he would retain no stakes in his various companies if he is elected president.

His sprawling business empire includes interests in telecommunications, transport, real estate, agriculture, import/export and healthcare.

Verifying his pledge to stand aside will be difficult in the opaque economic system in Nigeria, which global watchdog Transparency International ranked in the 148th place of a total 180 countries for corruption in 2017.

Buhari stands in stark contrast to his flamboyant fellow northerner’s private jet, Rolex watches and luxury cars.

His spokesman in 2015 said the president had “an austere and spartan lifestyle”, unlike other Nigerian politicians who have amassed wealth during their careers.

But Buhari, who vowed to usher in more transparent and accountable government, has come under harsh criticism for an apparent lack of progress in the fight against graft.

Steps in the right direction have included two essential reforms — a single Treasury account for all government revenue and the introduction of a biometric identification system in banks to better trace clients and transfers of funds.

“Those are the two areas I commend the government,” said Saadatu Falila Hamu, a specialist anti-corruption lawyer based in Abuja.

“But despite this, the government has focused their fight against corruption on people of the opposing political parties.” Hamu also faulted Nigeria’s main anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for “inefficiency”.

– Oil contracts –

In November, EFCC director Ibrahim Magu boasted having seized the equivalent of $2.3 billion as well as sumptuous villas, jewellery, and cars — but often outside legal procedures.

Buhari has pledged to review all oil exploitation contracts to be renewed after this year. Such an electoral promise “can either lead to total chaos in the industry or lead to sanity”, said analyst Soji Apampa.

Nigeria depends on oil sales for 70 percent of its revenues. In 2013 under president Goodluck Jonathan, the head of the central bank reported a $20 billion shortfall in revenue — a scandal that helped bring about Jonathan’s fall and Buhari’s election in 2015.

Nevertheless, the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, considered a slush fund for successive governments, remains notoriously opaque and Buhari — who is also oil minister — named a close associate to head it.

“Imagine a broken pipeline with all of Nigeria’s resources flowing through it. Instead of fixing the hole, you bring a man with a whip” to deter people from stealing, Apampa said. “We haven’t seen a government with an elaborate plan” to repair the pipeline, he added.

AFP

20, January 2019

Congo-Kinshasa: Top court upholds Tshisekedi presidential election win ⁰

DR Congo’s top court on Sunday declared opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi the winner of disputed presidential elections after throwing out a legal challenge by the runner-up.

Announcing the final results of the long awaited poll, the Constitutional Court said Tshisekedi had won by a simple majority, paving the way for him to take over from longterm leader Joseph Kabila in an official ceremony on Tuesday.

Runner-up Martin Fayulu immediately called on the international community to reject the results, after the court said his appeal was “unfounded”.

“I ask the entire international community not to recognise a power that has neither legitimacy nor legal standing to represent the Congolese people,” he said of Tshisekedi, declaring himself “the only legitimate president”.

Inspired by

Tshisekedi’s victory was first announced earlier this month based on provisional results by the Independent National Election Commission (CENI) but it was challenged both at home and abroad, with the African Union appealing for the final results to be delayed.

On Sunday, the Consitutional Court said Fayulu had failed to prove any inaccuracies. “Only the CENI has produced authentic and sincere results,” judge Noel Kilomba said.

Hundreds of supporters of Tshisekedi had gathered outside the court holding placards saying “No to interference” and “Independent country” as riot police stood nearby.

‘Not their business’

The election commission announced on January 10 that Tshisekedi had provisionally won with 38.57 percent of the vote against Fayulu’s 34.8 percent.

Fayulu denounced the figures as an “electoral coup” forged by Tshisekedi and Kabila, and filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court.

At a summit on Thursday, AU leaders said there were “serious doubts” about the vote’s provisional results and called for the announcement of the final results to be suspended.

But DR Congo government spokesman Lambert Mende had snubbed the demand, saying: “I don’t think it is the business of the government or even of the African Union to tell the court what it should do.”

The AU also announced that its commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, currently the AU chairman, were expected to fly to DR Congo on Monday.

The European Union said it joined the AU in inviting “all the Congolese players to work constructively with this (AU) delegation to find a post-electoral solution which respects the Congolese people’s vote”.

Appeal

The Financial Times and other foreign media have reported seeing documents that confirm Fayulu as the winner.

“If the court declares Tshisekedi victor, the risk of isolation would be enormous and untenable for a country positioned right in the middle of the continent,” Adeline Van Houtte of the Economist Intelligence Unit wrote on Twitter.

Fayulu’s camp had hailed the AU appeal for the final result to be put on hold, but Tshisekedi’s entourage branded it “scandalous”.

The dispute has raised fears that the political crisis that began when Kabila refused to step down at the end of his constitutional term in office two years ago, could turn into a bloodbath. The vast and chronically unstable country lived through two regional wars in 1996-97 and 1998-2003, and the previous two elections, in 2006 and 2011, were marred by bloody clashes.

The AU has taken the firmest line of all major international bodies with regard to the post-election crisis. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a bloc that includes Angola and South Africa, initially called for a recount and a unity government.

But in a later communique, it made no mention of those demands, instead calling on Congolese politicians to “address any electoral grievances in line with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Constitution and relevant electoral laws”.

(AFP)

20, January 2019

US: Trump offers deal to end government shutdown despite rejection by Dems ⁰

US President Donald Trump has offered a deal to end the government shutdown, linking protection for undocumented immigrants to funding of a border wall, amid immediate rejection by Democratic lawmakers.

Addressing the nation on Saturday in a televised speech from the White House, Trump outlined a plan that would extend temporary protections for young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children — known as Dreamers — and individuals from some Central American and African nations, in exchange for $5.7 billion funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border.

“Both sides in Washington must simply come together, listen to each other, put down their armor, build trust, reach across the aisle and find solutions,” Trump proclaimed, but then insisted, “A wall is not immoral. The radical left can never control our borders. I will never let that happen.”

He further added, “As a candidate for president, I promised I would fix this crisis, and I intend to keep that promise one way or the other.”

According to local press reports, Trump’s deal would extend protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients for three years and a three-year extension of protections for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders in exchange for the partial border wall funding.

Democrats, however, quickly rejected the deal, with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York emphasizing that Trump’s offering some protections for DACA and TPS recipients “in exchange for the wall is not a compromise but more hostage taking.”

File photo of US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Photo by AFP)

Schumer further accused the US president of “putting forward one-sided and ineffective remedies,” adding, “There’s only way out: open up the government, Mr. President, and then Democrats and Republicans can have a civil discussion and come up with bipartisan solutions.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi further described Trump’s proposal as a “non-starter” in a statement released shortly before his nationally-televised speech, insisting that the deal could not pass the House of Representative.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) answers questions during her weekly press conference January 10, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

“Democrats were hopeful that the president was finally willing to re-open government and proceed with a much-need discussion to protect the border. … It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter,” Pelosi further said in her statement.

The development came as tensions are also running high between Trump and Pelosi after she asked him to postpone the annual State of the Union address, slated for January 29. Trump in turn prevented lawmakers from using military aircraft for congressional trips, including for Pelosi’s planned visit to the war-torn Afghanistan this week.

PressTV-Tensions rising between Trump, Pelosi over shutdown

This is while two congressional aides cited in local press reports also pointed out that Democratic leadership was not consulted on the forthcoming White House proposal, further noting that Democrats had previously rejected similar ideas.

“Similar inadequate offers from the Administration were already rejected by Democrats. The BRIDGE Act does not fully protect Dreamers and is not a permanent solution,” said a senior House Democratic aide.

“This is not a compromise as it includes the same wasteful, ineffective $5.7 billion wall demand that shut down the government in the first place,” the aide added.

Trump also underlined in his speech that he was making his pitch to “break the logjam” that has paralyzed Washington since late December, leaving roughly a quarter of the government closed and forcing roughly 800,000 federal employees be furloughed or work without pay.

The partial government shutdown, which marks the longest lapse in funding in modern US history, is currently in its 29th day as the stalemate over the funding of the border wall persists.

Meanwhile, several recent polls have shown that a majority of Americans blame Trump for the partial shutdown after the US president left a meeting earlier this month with Pelosi when the House speaker said she wouldn’t discuss border wall funding even if he reopened the government.

Seeking to make his case during his speech, Trump further seized on his belief that there is a “crisis” along the border requiring “urgent action.”

“Illegal immigration reduces wages and strains public services. The lack of border control provides a gateway, a very wide and open gateway, for criminals and gang members to enter the United States,” he claimed.

Source: Presstv

20, January 2019

French Cameroun Politics: Biya “concerned” over growing insecurity in Ambazonia and Adamawa ⁰

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya said on Friday he was “very” concerned about rising insecurity in the two English-speaking regions and in its mountainous Adamawa region. He pledged efforts to restore peace.

In the Adamawa region, “shepherds are victims of criminal groups specialized in kidnappings with ransom demands,” Biya said while presiding over the graduation ceremony of the Combined Services Military Academy in the capital, Yaounde.

“The situation in the Northwest and Southwest is and remains at the center of my concerns. The armed groups have in recent months engaged in killing spree. The populations are the main victims of these groups,” Biya added.

The president raised the concerns amid increasing calls across the country for peace and stability to be restored in the aforementioned regions.

“I will spare no effort to ensure that this legitimate aspiration to peace is realized. I reiterate my appeal to our young people who have let themselves be dragged into a dead end to return to the right track,” Biya said.

Local authorities said last week Adamawa region was going through its “worst moments” in history with about 150 cases of kidnapping recorded in the region last year.

In the two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest of the largely French-speaking African country, armed separatists have been clashing with government forces to create a nation called “Ambazonia.”

Xinhuanet

19, January 2019

Did Southern Cameroons ever achieve independence by joining French Cameroun? ⁰

A review of UN General Assembly resolutions and other international legal principles regarding the right to self-determination shows incontrovertibly that Southern Cameroons became independent in 1961, but has since been recolonized and occupied by French Cameroun. The ongoing struggle to restore Southern Cameroons independence is therefore consistent with International Law, including the right to self-determination. The right to separate from La Republique du Cameroun is laid out under Principles VII and VIII of UNGA Resolution 1541 of December 15, 1960.

Besides, the obligation imposed by the UN that Southern Cameroons should obtain “independence by joining” either Nigeria or French Cameroun violated Article 76(b) of the UN Charter, and UNGA Resolution 1541; both of which reaffirm independence as the inherent and inalienable right of all colonies and Trust Territories.

So, when La Republique du Cameroun says Southern Cameroons is an integral part of its territory because they have been administered jointly for 57 years is lame and ridiculous. We remember that Ukraine and Russia separated despite sharing over 1,000 years of common history. Also, Southern Cameroons broke away from Nigeria in 1953 despite sharing 44 years of common history. Even if La Republique claims Southern Cameroons is only two of its ten regions, it cannot forget that Eritrea used to be the only Red Sea province of Ethiopia. That did not stop Eritrea from gaining independence.

Ambazonians are not buying the decentralization that Biya is selling as tangible reform under the 1996 Constitution because even regional autonomy makes the wrong assumption that Southern Cameroons is part of French Cameroun and not an illegally occupied and recolonized territory. It is a pity that the 85 year old President Biya misread Anglophone public opinion and chose to stand on the wrong side of history.

19, January 2019

Warwick Law School speaks of Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute ⁰

Warwick Law School postgraduate alumnus Joseph Dion Ngute has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Cameroon. Dion Ngute took office on 5 January 2019, replacing Philemon Yang, the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister.

Dion Ngute has served in the Cameroonian government since 1997, including positions at the Ministry of External Relations and at the Presidency of the Republic, and he has represented Cameroon on both the UN Human Rights Council and the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights.

Dion Ngute came to Warwick in 1978 to research a PhD on comparative contract law under Jill Cottrell, which was awarded in 1982. His thesis, entitled “Standardized Contracts in a Bi-jural State: the United Republic of Cameroon”, is available to read online at the Warwick Research Archive Portal

19, January 2019

CAF club clash abandoned at possible Cup of Nations venue ⁰

A CAF Champions League match was abandoned Friday over crowd trouble in an Egyptian stadium likely to be one of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations venues. The Cameroonian referee halted a match between hosts Ismaily and Tunisian opponents Club Africain in stoppage time after sections of the crowd hurled bottles on the pitch.

There had been a number of crowd-related stoppages at the Ismailia Stadium before the premature end to the Group C clash of former champions in which Africain were leading 2-1. Egypt were chosen this month as replacement Cup of Nations hosts after original choice Cameroon fell behind with preparations and there were also security concerns.

While Egyptian football has a history of crowd disturbances, they usually involve one of the two most popular clubs, Al Ahly and Zamalek, who are both based in Cairo. Ismaily, who lost their first group match last weekend, took an early lead when Namibian Benson Shilongo converted a low cross.

But Ghazi Ayadi converted two penalties late in the opening half to turn the game in favour of Club Africain, also matchday 1 losers. The second spot-kick infuriated the crowd as the referee initially awarded a free-kick before altering his decision after consulting with an assistant.

Ismaily supporters became increasingly angry as the second half progressed and an assistant referee had to abandon his position with five minutes left after objects were flung at him. With pleas for calm from the coaching staff of the Egyptian club being ignored, the referee called the match off in additional time.

CS Constantine from Algeria host leaders TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday in the other Group C fixture.

– Khenissi brace –

A Karim Walid goal on 85 minutes earned record eight-time African champions Al Ahly a 1-1 draw away to group newcomers JS Saoura of Algeria in Bechar. Sid Ali Yahia-Cherif had put the local club ahead just before the hour in the western city near the border with Morocco.

Ahly top Group D with four points, but could be overtaken by Simba SC Saturday if the Tanzanian outfit avoid defeat away to V Club from DR Congo. Taha Yassine Khenissi bagged a brace as defending champions Esperance from Tunisia overcame limited FC Platinum from Zimbabwe 2-0 in Group B in an empty Tunis stadium.

The crowd ban followed trouble during both the semi-finals and final last year, including the stoning of the bus carrying Ahly to the stadium for the second leg of the title decider. Khenissi, a shock nomination for the 2018 African Player of the Year award having failed to score a single CAF goal last year, netted after 24 and 56 minutes.

Orlando Pirates from South Africa lead Esperance on goal difference after a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 victory over Horoya from Guinea in Soweto. Horoya, who held SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns in African group matches near Pretoria during the past two years, were unlucky to only draw with Esperance last weekend.

But the form that enabled them to dominate the trophy-holders was not evident and Zambian Justin Shonga netted twice in the second half after Thembinkosi Lorch opened the scoring. A further four matchday 2 fixtures are scheduled for Saturday with the clash of the 2016 and 2017 champions, Sundowns and Wydad Casablanca from Morocco, near Pretoria the highlight.

AFP

19, January 2019

Douala International Airport embarks on new solar scheme ⁰

A new ground-mounted 1.2MW solar installation at Cameroon’s Douala International Airport has been put into operation to help reduce the CO2 emissions produced by aircraft during ground operations. Aircraft currently use jet fuel based auxiliary power units (APUs) or diesel-driven ground power units (GPUs) to provide pre-conditioned air and electricity to aircraft during ground operations.

Though its new solar installation, Douala Airport will now be eliminating at least 2,575 tonnes of CO2 from over 5,100 flights annually, based on the more than 5.5 million kWh per year it is projected to generate. As a demonstration of its engagement to the project, the Government of Cameroon funded the purchase of airport gate electric equipment to be connected by the newly installed solar park.

Simulation is a key assessment technique in air traffic control used for training programs and for the validation of new concepts. Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, Minister of Transport of Cameroon, said: “With this solar facility at Douala International Airport, Cameroon advances the modernisation of its energy sector by using renewable energy to reduce green-house gases emissions and protect the environment. The Government of Cameroon is determined to continuing the implementation of tangible actions for a more sustainable aviation.”

Jane Hupe, ICAO Deputy Director Environment, said: “Sustainable development and climate change continue to be critical issues for the international community, and this latest commitment by Cameroon is a great example of the concrete actions which can be implemented as part of a broader air transport environmental strategy. ICAO expects to see many other countries replicating these cost effective and emissions reducing solar-at-gate solutions.”

The new “Solar-at-Gate” pilot project is the third such initiative implemented by ICAO, and the second to be realised in Africa following on recent installations in Jamaica and Kenya. The installations are part of a longer-term Capacity Building for CO2 Mitigation from International Aviation assistance programme which ICAO has been carrying out, with funding support from the European Union. It provides direct assistance to 12 African and two Caribbean region States.

Mr. Steven Rault, Chief of Programmes of the EU Delegation in Cameroon, commented: “The construction of the solar photovoltaic system at Douala International Airport shows the results achieved by the ICAO-EU partnership on the environment, in which the authorities of Cameroon have been actively participating. By funding such initiatives, the EU wants to contribute to the sustainable development of the international aviation.”

Source: International airport review

19, January 2019

International Criminal Court grants prosecution request to keep President Gbagbo in custody ⁰

Ivory Coast ex-president Laurent Gbagbo will stay behind bars at least until a fresh appeal hearing on February 1, despite his acquittal this week by the International Criminal Court, the tribunal said Friday.

Judges cleared 73-year-old Gbagbo on Tuesday on charges of crimes against humanity relating to a wave of violence after disputed elections in 2010, and ordered his immediate release. The crisis claimed some 3,000 lives.

But prosecutors at the Hague-based court challenged the release of Gbagbo, who has already spent seven years in jail, saying he should be detained while they make a broader appeal over his acquittal.

“The detention of Mr Laurent Gbagbo… shall be maintained pending the consideration of the present appeal” against his release, the ICC’s appeals judges said in a statement.

They will hold a fresh hearing on February 1 “in order to hear further submissions on the appeal.” Judges made the same order for Gbagbo’s co-defendant and right-hand man Charles Ble Goude.

Prosecutors had argued that there was a “concrete” risk the Ivorian pair fail to return to the ICC if a subsequent appeal overturned Tuesday’s decision to acquit them. Gbagbo’s daughter has said he intended to return to the Ivory Coast if released.

(AFP)

19, January 2019

Cameroon, Nigeria to collaborate in anti-graft campaign ⁰

Cameroon and Nigeria have begun seeking ways to collaborate to fight corruption in both countries, according to officials of Cameroon’s anti-graft body on Wednesday.

Officials of National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) and Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), met in the capital Yaounde on Wednesday to lay down the guidelines for the collaboration.

“Our coming here is to canvass for greater understanding in terms of relationship, exchange of ideas and information,” Mohammed Abba Umar, EFCC’s Director of Operations, told reporters. “It (corruption) is not a problem of one country but all countries in Africa and we appreciate the cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria,” CONAC Chair, Dieudonne Massi Gams said.

Transfer of illicit funds within Cameroon-Nigeria borders is on the rise and there is an urgent need to track down the funds and arrests offenders, the officials said. “The joint operations can help us to recover lot of looted funds.” Umar said. The collaboration is the first of its kind between the two countries.

Source: Xinhua