About soter

Posts by :

16, November 2016

Boko Haram has dramatically scaled back attacks in Cameroon ⁰

Boko Haram has dramatically scaled back attacks in Cameroon in recent months, analysts said on Wednesday, suggesting a regional security force is gaining ground against the militants. The Islamist movement – which controlled an area the size of Belgium in northeast Nigeria last year and raided Cameroon and other neighbours to expand its “caliphate” – had since suffered a string of defeats, International Crisis Group (ICG) said.

The report came days after security and U.N. sources said hundreds of Boko Haram fighters and their families had surrendered on another frontline in Chad. There was no comment from any of the factions of Boko Haram which is still seen as one of the main security threats in West Africa. “We’ve seen a dizzying downwards spiral in the number of attacks and suicide bombings,” said Hans De Marie Heungoup, one of the report’s authors.

Two years ago, attacks were happening on an almost daily basis, he said. But the number had fallen to between six and eight a month since September. “[Boko Haram] has suffered heavy losses and seen its conventional capacities reduced,” the study said, partly thanks to last year’s formation of a 10,000-strong regional force with troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin.

Up to 1,000 fighters with heavy weaponry and armoured vehicles joined strikes in Cameroon’s Far North Region in 2014-15, the report said. But attacks were now focused on the northernmost tip of the region where fighters continued to control part of the fishing industry of Lake Chad amid a labyrinth of waterways.

Recruitment is also faltering in Cameroon although forced enlistment remains a risk, ICG said. Up to 4,000 Cameroonians are thought to have joined the group and some were given sign-on bonuses of up to $2000 and a motorbike, according to the study, citing interviews with locals.

Those who proved their loyalty by killing their parents often enjoyed quick promotion, it added. Analysts say the faction around the Lake Chad Basin represents the stronger branch of the group, loyal to Islamic State (IS) and led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Another faction led by Abubaker Shekau is based further south in Nigeria’s Sambisa forest.

Culled from Reuters

16, November 2016

CPDM miracle: CNPS signs medical evacuation convention for its staffs, patients to be treated in Tunisia ⁰

The National Social Insurance Fund known in French as the Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNPS) has signed a convention for medical evacuations of its staffs and other patients to Tunisia, while the institution owns and runs many hospitals in the country.

On October 26, 2016, CNPS signed an agreement with Tunisia’s Mediacal Services (TMS) for medical evacuations. The National Social Insurance Fund was represented during the signing ceremony by Alain Noël Mekulu Mvondo, the general manager of the fund and Slim Maraoui who stood for the TMS.

According to the agreement, patients proposed by CNPS will now be evacuated to Tunisia and no longer in France. The management of CNPS justified the decision to sign the agreement saying it was pushed by the desire to reduce the costs of evacuations to France and Tunisia’s modern technical platforms and the very good quality of its medical practitioners.

Cameroon Concord News health correspondent, who contributed to this report, opined that the convention has betrayed the lack of confidence by CNPS with regard to its own hospitals. The main CNPS hospital in Yaoundé created in 1978 is still struggling to meet international standards. CNPS had been evacuating patients to France and Great Britain. Mekulu Mvondo now thinks Tunisia and Europe have identical technical plates.

By Sonne Peter

16, November 2016

Russia to withdraw from the International Criminal Court ⁰

Russia has decided to withdraw its signature from the founding statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying the tribunal has failed to live up to the hopes of the international community. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would pull out from the ICC following a decree by President Vladimir Putin, who decided for Moscow not to be “a participant in the ICC statute.”

The statement said the main reason for the withdrawal was the ICC’s way of treating Russia’s brief war with neighboring Georgia in 2008, adding that the international tribunal had ignored Georgia’s aggression against pro-Moscow civilians in the separatist region of South Ossetia. “In these conditions one cannot speak of trust in the International Criminal Court,” the ministry said, calling the ICC’s work as “one-sided and inefficient.”

The statement also slammed the ICC’s lack of independence in dealing with war cases, saying “The court did not live up to the hopes associated with it.” Russia has yet to ratify the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, the world’s first permanent war crimes court. The government has only been a signatory to the treaty since 2000.

The decision by Moscow to pull out from the ICC could further complicate the situation surrounding the court as several African members, such as South Africa and Burundi, have already decided to withdraw from the tribunal, saying it is biased and lacks justice. Gambia has also notified the United Nations that it would leave the ICC next week.

Presstv

16, November 2016

UN says thousands of Nigerian children will be at risk of dying in “a few months” ⁰

The United Nations has warned that thousands of children will be at risk of dying in “a few months” across the militancy-riddled areas of northeastern Nigeria. Peter Lundberg, the UN humanitarian coordinator, said in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Tuesday that thousands of children could die from famine in the troubled region, adding that 400,000 children were in critical need of assistance, while 75,000 could die “in (the) few months ahead of us.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the UN official said, “Currently our assessment is that 14 million people are identified as in need of humanitarian assistance.” Lundberg added that crisis was unfolding at “high speed” in Nigeria’s troubled northeast. The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, warned in July that some 49,000 children would die of malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria if they did not get treatment.

Most of the children are in areas that had been inaccessible before a multinational force liberated them from the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group earlier this year. Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym as the MSF, had earlier warned of a “catastrophic humanitarian emergency” in the city of Bama, where, it said, 200 people died in June.

Despite the government’s fight against Boko Haram, the security situation remains volatile in Borno and specifically Maiduguri, because Boko Haram terrorists still carry out attacks. Boko Haram started its campaign of militancy in 2009 with the aim of toppling the central government in Nigeria. It has so far taken the lives of more than 20,000 people and forced over 2.7 million others from their homes. The group has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists operating mainly in Syria and Iraq.

Presstv

16, November 2016

East region: 20 die after consuming “Odontol” ⁰

Twenty people from several villages in the east region of the country died between Monday and Tuesday, after consuming an adulterated whiskey. Cameroon Concord News learnt that the 20 came from seven 7 different villages in the Mindourou Sub Division and perished after consuming a local drink known as “Odontol” a product containing a high dose of methanol.

Health officials in the East region say some people who consumed the adulterated whiskey have started to lose their sight due to poisoning caused by the consumption and others have begun to develop hallucinations. Our chief correspondent in Bertoua reported that several other victims were rushed to hospitals. Local authorities have begun to raise awareness in communities about the consumption of this adulterated whiskey, sold cheaper and much appreciated by low-income populations.

By Sama Ernest

16, November 2016

Cameroonian singer, Bate Nico will be on stage in London come December ⁰

The Cameroonian singer, Bate Nico will be on stage in London on the 10^th of December 2016. Nico, who is said to have been consistently consistent with his Manyu folklore fascination, has revealed that the London trip will set the stage for his breakthrough. The Semi Bantu artist has reportedly sold thousands of copies and has become the best-selling artist from the South West region of Cameroon after the likes of the late Bebe Manga.

The songs he writes are not strictly songs for Cameroon but songs for the whole world that also covers the entire Cross River State of Nigeria. Bate Nico’s well-received appearance at the MECA-USA conventions and in Ireland fulfilled one of his biggest dreams and earned him a slot on the Cameroon’s top music chart. Speaking to journalists recently in Buea, Bate Nico observed that “Sometimes people would say my music is from Manyu Division but that is actually not true,” Bate Nico said. “It has only been popularized in Manyu but it is not Manyu as such. It is everywhere, but its roots are in Manyu.”

The much anticipated arrival of Bate Nico in London, UK is warming up to be the highlight of the Manyu and Cameroonian community in Great Britain in 2016. On the 10th of December it’s all happening in London. Hundreds of Manyu sons and daughters in continental Europe and in the British Isles will be congregating to witness their music idol live on stage. The venue has been booked and hotel rooms are being reserved for an evening of a lifetime. As one of the best musicians to come out of Manyu Division in the South West Region of Cameroon, it’s a mystery to many that Bate Nico after more than ten years of touring the world hasn’t performed in the United Kingdom.

By Chi Prudence Asong in London

15, November 2016

Biya’s cabinet ministers spend 350 billion FCFA annually on ordinary missions and trips to Europe ¹

President Paul Biya’s numerous travels abroad including those of his collaborators has recently generated a debate throughout the national territory. It has now been revealed that whenever the head of state makes a trip abroad, some of his close acolytes also leave the country to meet him.

The foreign trips of certain Cameroon ministers and general managers of state-owned corporations are exhausting the coffers of the State. Highly placed officials in the ministry of finance were heard saying privately that most of the missions to Europe, US and Canada are often fictitious. They include expensive holidays, unproductive seminars and personal business trips.

An economic survey found that each year, cabinet ministers, GMs, and other top aides of the regime spend 350 billion FCFA on ordinary missions and trips in Europe, America, Asia and South Africa-an amount that can develop tourism and attract foreigners to Cameroon,

Whenever President Paul Biya goes abroad, some of his collaborators also leave the country to meet him. These ministers and GMs communion with the Head of State and share a meal with the First Lady and her children. This protocol strategy pushes some to improvise trips to Europe whenever the President of the Republic moves and others try to corrupt the Civil Cabinet with millions of CFA francs to be able to speak to the president.

The members of the Biya cabinet and other prominent state personalities are the main actors of illegality, social inequalities and embezzlement. They are also aware that the regime they serve is taking the last kicks of a dying horse. Thus many are taking advantage of the numerous movements of President Paul Biya to Europe to get there at the expense of the state leaving behind loads of files on their ministerial tables.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, November 2016

US Electoral College members campaigning against President-elect Donald Trump ⁰

Two members of the US Electoral College are openly campaigning against President-elect Donald Trump, trying to persuade other presidential electors to keep him from entering the White House, according to a new report. State electors Bret Chiafolo of Washington and Michael Baca of Colorado have launched what they call “Moral Electors” movement, a last-ditch effort against the New York billionaire, Politico reported on Monday.

The pair were seeking to persuade at least 37 Republican presidential voters to join them, just enough to block Trump’s election and allow the US House of Representative to elect the country’s 45th president. “This is a longshot. It’s a Hail Mary,” Chiafolo told Politico. “However, I do see situations where — when we’ve already had two or three [Republican] electors state publicly they didn’t want to vote for Trump. How many of them have real issues with Donald Trump in private?”

Interestingly, both Chiafolo, a Microsoft employee, and Baca, a Marine Corps veteran, said they were not looking to elect Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for the top job. They both have planned to vote against the former secretary of state when the Electoral College convenes to elect the next president in mid-December. The joint effort has been supported by Robert Satiacum Jr., another Washington state elector, who has openly expressed his opposition to Trump and Clinton before.

Although the electors have admitted that their attempt is not likely to succeed, the fact that members of the Electoral College were openly plotting against the president-elect raises questions about the controversial process of electing a new president in America.

On November 8, most American voters partaking in the election voted for Clinton but Trump came put victorious by winning key states and banking their electoral votes. As of Tuesday, Trump had won 290 of the total 538 electoral votes, compared to Clinton’s 228. He was also likely to win all of Michigan’s 16 electoral votes.

The report came shortly after prominent Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders said America needed to “rethink” the Electoral College after electing “a man for president who didn’t get the most votes.” Meanwhile, thousands of Clinton’s supporters have signed an online petition, calling on electoral voters to vote for Clinton instead of Trump.

Presstv

15, November 2016

President Putin initiates a phone conversation with Trump ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump have discussed the importance of “normalizing” ties between Moscow and Washington. According to a statement released by the Kremlin on Monday, the two held their first-ever talk during a phone conversation initiated by Putin, who had contacted Trump to “offer his congratulations on winning a historic election.”

The statement noted that the two had also agreed on making provisions for a “personal meeting,” and to keep in touch by phone. Both Putin and Trump had acknowledged “the extremely unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present” and “declared the need for active joint work to normalize them.” During the conversation, the Russian president also voiced his preparedness to “create a dialogue of partnership with the new administration on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-intervention in each other’s domestic affairs.”

They also “agreed on the need to unite efforts in the struggle with the enemy number one: international terrorism and extremism,” said the statement, noting that ending the conflict in Syria was also discussed. During Trump’s election campaign, Putin had referred to Trump as “a very outstanding person, talented without doubt.”

Hillary Clinton repeatedly claimed in her campaign that Russia was trying to rig the November election in favor of Trump. in their last presidential debate, Clinton accused Trump of having secret ties with Moscow, saying that Putin would love to see a “puppet” in the White House.

Presstv

15, November 2016

The sinister intentions on the delay of the 2016 financial bill ⁰

Following a 2 months delay, the CPDM led government has reportedly handed over the financial bill to the National Assembly. Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that the bill was tabled on the 11^th of November 2016 and it will be examined by the Committee on Finance and Budget.

However, information has filtered that the text has so many irregularities attached to it relating to the execution of the 2015 budget. The Presidency of the Republic and the services attached to it stand prominent among the departments with short-comings in the implementation rates of their projects in 2015. This is also true with the National Assembly, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, the Senate, Pensions, External and Domestic Public Debt, Grants and Contributions etc

These government departments and institutions have deliberately retained data on the implementation of their programs. The bill also revealed that the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and the Family has no rate of performance for its programs in 2015. We gathered that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) conducted four programs, one of which recorded a 0% achievement rate.

The MINREX zero achievement rate program was designed for the management of Cameroonians abroad and to improve the contribution of the Diaspora to the political, social and economic life of the country. Bello Bouba Maïgari, the Minister of Tourism, led two of the three budgeted programs in his ministerial department with the tourism and leisure showing a 0% execution rate- a program that should improve the quality of tourism and leisure facilities in the country.

During the year 2015, the Ministry of Water and Energy posted rates ranging from 0 to 55%. In energy supply, the meter has remained at zero according to the information sent to the Ministry of Finance (MINFI).

By Rita Akana with files from CIN