Monthly Archives: June 2016

3, June 2016

There are reasons why Minister Minette Libom was at the Special Criminal Court ⁰

By Vincent Ebong

Minette Libom Li Likeng, Cameroon’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL), with some highly placed government officials were interrogated by investigators from the judicial police unit attached to the Special Criminal Court on May 26, 2016. The MINPOSTEL was summoned by a pro CPDM police commissioner Enyegue Mbolong on May the 10th, 2016.

Minister Minette Libom was questioned over an issue of misappropriation of public funds during her time at the General Directorate of Customs. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from government sources that the Minette Libom Affair is connected to the “Project Nexus “launched ever since August 4, 2009.

The matter has become intractable following revelations that the complaint was filed to the court by the current Minister of Finance, Ousman Mey Alamine who reportedly was at daggers-drawn positions with Minette Libom at the time she was Director General (DG) of the Cameroon Customs.

It is now left for prosecutors of the Legal Affairs Division to shed light on the allegations listed in the Minister Mey Alamine correspondence. At the time of filing this report, our intel unit learnt that the Finance Ministry has forwarded the findings of an internal investigation to the Special Criminal Court.

3, June 2016

Cameroon: First Canal Olympia Cinema theatre to open June 14 ⁰

Cameroon will in June 2016, welcome the biggest and sophisticated cinema and theatre hall at the University of Yaounde 1.The Vivendi group has announced that the cinema theatre and performance hall labelled Canal Olympia, whose construction works are currently ongoing on the campus of the Yaoundé I University, in the Cameroonian capital, will officially open on June 14, 2016 by Prime Minister Philemon Yang

Reliable sources inform that, after Yaoundé, this company specialised in entertainment is planning, as part of its program aimed at investing in the cultural industry in Africa, to build at least two other cinema and performance halls in the cities of Douala and Bafoussam. As a reminder, Cameroon no longer has a cinema since January 2009, when the Abbia Cinema in Yaoundé and the Wouri in Douala were closed.

3, June 2016

Yaounde hosting International Book Fair ⁰

The esplanade of the National Museum in Yaounde is the venue of the second Yaounde International Book Fair, which kicked off yesterday, June 2, 2016, on the theme: “The Book as Instrument of Integration and Development.”

Organised by the Ministry of Arts and Culture, this year’s edition brings together Cameroonian writers in the Diaspora, authors from the continent and about 20 other countries to enrich the book fair. The second edition comes after the first that was organised three years ago. Cameroonians of all walks of life thronged the venue yesterday to discover the books on display and even meet the writers.

The Technical Director in the Ministry of Arts and Culture, Dr. Asheri Kilo, said the book fair was an opportunity for young writers to sharpen their skills as there are workshops where older writers engage younger colleagues, offering tips on writing. Dr. Asheri Kilo said the wish of the Minister of Arts and Culture, Prof. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, was to get Cameroonians read more. She said with books from all the 10 regions of Cameroon, visitors were enriched with a totality of the cultural values that the nation offers.

This year, special honour is given to five Cameroonian pioneer writers. Yesterday June 2, 2016, was dedicated to Mongo Beti. This explains why stands had the late writer’s books on exhibition and for sale. It was an opportunity for Cameroonians to buy books by the author they could not find earlier. Today, June 3, 2016, will be the day for Sultan Mbombo Njoya, the author of the Bamoun language. Cameroonians will have the opportunity to discover the Bamoun language, which is one of the earliest Cameroonian writings to be orthographed and is today standardised. Artefacts and books from the Bamoun Palace will also be exhibited to honour Sultan Mbombo Njoya.

Saturday, June 4, 2016, is the day to honour Professor Bernard Nsokika Fonlon. It will be an opportunity to see him in picture and some of his writings like the “Genuine Intellectual,” one of the most significant journals that Cameroon ever had, starting as early as the 1960s. This will be followed by the Ferdinand Oyono Day. Oyono’s pictures will be displayed and his books such as “The old Man and the Medal” and others will be on the stands.

The last day will be the Francis Bebey Day. He is one of the authors that many Cameroonians do not know. Pictures and books written by Francis Bebey will be displayed for young Cameroonians to discover him and also buy his works.

Cameroon Tribune

3, June 2016

Soon and very soon the world will see Cameroon as a nation and not as a person ⁰

President Biya and his ruling CPDM party are now scaremongering that our nation is at war and needs continuity in leadership. MPs and top government officials are warning that any change in Etoudi could cause a political tsunami that may destabilized the nation. Mr Biya is directly behind these manouevers and he is expected to order a constitutional change soonest. Such a change could cause an unprecedented collapse of Cameroon as a nation.

The French are not happy with the arrangement but have no neutral third option. It is hard to say which political grouping really thinks well for the country as the blatant scaremongering from Etoudi and Ngoa Ekele has been very efficient eventhough it has no grounding in reality.

The Cameroon army is fighting the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram in the Far North region and the anti Belaka terrorist group in the East as a matter of principle not because of our absentee Commander-in-Chief. Clearly, Biya is in a blind panic over the failing motions of support.

The youth of his home constituency including those of the Far North region have all asked him to step aside.The claim that we are at war has been branded preposterous by Cardinal Tumi who say Biya no longer has the physical and moral ability to govern the nation. A new head of state and commander-in-chief in Cameroon would give our nation control of its borders policy and attract thousands of foreign investors from Europe and even beyond.

Any new constitutional amendment that will guarantee Biya’s continued stay in power will be making a mockery of our national assemblies, our judiciary and our military. A change of the current leadership in Cameroon is not only urgent but non-negotiable. There is need for an emergency brake on Biya’s attempt at holding on to power at 83.

The ruling CPDM party should organize a congress and elect a young and dynamic national chairman to take over from the frailing President Biya. Whether Biya changes the constitution or not, his days at the head of our nation and politics are drawing to a close. Any moment from now, the world will see Cameroon as a nation and not as a person.

3, June 2016

Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton has to go to jail ⁰

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton should be imprisoned for her use of a private email server while she was US secretary of state. “I will say this, Hillary Clinton has got to go to jail,” Trump told supporters Thursday at a rally in San Jose, California, as he slammed Clinton’s foreign policy speech earlier in the day in which Clinton called Trump dangerous and “temperamentally unfit” to be president.

“Folks, honestly, she is guilty as hell,” Trump said. “Hillary Clinton has to go to jail.” Trump’s criticism of Clinton was among his strongest in a growing escalation of words between the two presidential candidates ahead of California’s June 7 state primary election. Earlier Thursday, Clinton unleashed a blistering criticism of Trump on foreign policy and said he was “unfit” to be president. More than 2,000 emails sent and received by Clinton while working as the top US diplomat between 2009 and 2013 include classified information, which the government bans from being handled outside secure, government-controlled channels.

In a report issued last week, the US State Department’s inspector general said Clinton’s use of a private email server at her home in New York violated the department’s record-keeping rules and that it would have been rejected had she asked department officials. Clinton also faces a separate probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Republican lawmakers in Congress appear ready to protest strongly if the FBI closes its investigation without delivering indictments or offering a public explanation.

And although Clinton leads Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in the delegate count, Sanders argues that he still has a path to the Democratic presidential nomination. During her speech on Thursday, Clinton said “Donald Trump’s ideas aren’t just different — they are dangerously incoherent,” Clinton said. “They’re not even really ideas — just a series of bizarre rants, personal feuds, and outright lies.” “He’s not just unprepared — he’s temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility,” she continued. The speech was intended to undercut Trump’s ability to woo national security-focused independent and Republican voters, the aide said. “This is not someone who should ever have the nuclear codes,” she declared, claiming Trump could start a war just because somebody “got under his very thin skin.”

Presstv

3, June 2016

Cameroon: Two suspected highway robbers killed at Touboro ⁰

The bodies of two suspected highway robbers were discovered early on Friday morning at Touboro in the North of the country. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from security sources that the two men were chased for days by elements of the mechanized infantry division (BIM) located in Touboro in the Mayo-Rey district. The heavily armed men fired the first salvo and were subsequently killed during exchanges of fire with Cameroon government forces.

Insecurity is growing in this small town in northern Cameroon. People live with fear every day. Traders are kidnapped and ransoms demanded. On May 24, some road bandits were killed in Bougoué, near Touboro, by plain cloth police officers operating within the locality. On the 1^st of June, a trader from the Mbai- Mboum village located 35 km from Touboro was kidnapped by heavily armed men. A ransom of 15 million CFA francs was demanded by the criminals.

3, June 2016

Spotlight on Miss Prestige Cameroon ⁰

The organizers of the Miss Prestige Cameroon competition organised a Press Conference on Wednesday, 13th April 2016 to brief pressmen on selection criteria for the competition. During the press conference in Yaounde, the Director General of the Miss Prestige Cameroon competition, Marina Fankam Tchassem explained that this year’s event shall centre on peace since culture has been identified as a means to promote peace in Cameroon.

In this light, those eligible for the competition include Cameroonians aged between 18 to 26 years who show proof of patriotism and possess entrepreneurship values. Miss Prestige Cameroon is a beauty contest which seeks to promote the values of intelligence and peace.

3, June 2016

Muhammad Ali in hospital ⁰

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been hospitalized for a respiratory issue, a family spokesperson has said. The 74-year-old is reportedly being treated and currently in fair condition.

Family spokesman Bob Gunnell confirmed Ali’s condition to the Associated Press. Ali suffers Parkinson’s disease. He was diagnosed in 1984 after quitting boxing. He was last seen out in public back in April when he attended the Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Arizona.

3, June 2016

African Fashion Week Nigeria 2016 ¹

Africa Fashion Week Nigeria 2016 invites you to the debutTextile and Garment Manufacturing Conference in Lagos as part of this year’s line up for the fashion week. Set to hold on 1st July 2016 at The Eko Hotel the conference will bring industry experts together under one roof to talk about maximizing the potentials within the fashion industry for greater economic benefits of Nigeria.

With topics like ‘Job Creation in the Garment Manufacturing Industry‘, ‘New Channels of E-commerce in the Fashion Industry‘, ‘is Textile Manufacturing a Viable Option?‘, ‘Retailing and Setting up a Fashion Business in Nigeria (The Dynamics) and Different Financing Options‘ and more lined up for the conference, budding designers and creatives in the fashion industry stand to gain a lot of knowledge at the first ever conference.

Pulse.ng

3, June 2016

Angola’s President appoints daughter as head of oil company ⁰

Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has appointed his daughter as head of the state oil company Sonangol.

Isabel dos Santos, named by Forbes magazine as Africa’s richest woman, worth an estimated $3.3bn (£2.3bn), takes on the job after the entire board was sacked by her father in April.

Angola and Nigeria are Africa’s largest oil producers. Critics accuse President dos Santos, who has ruled since 1979, of being increasingly authoritarian.

BBC