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28, June 2016

No more secrecy about handling and treatment of patients with HIV in Cameroon ⁰

The decision by the Minister for Public Health to systemize the screening of all patients who turn up for consultations in all public hospitals for their HIV status has raised quite some dust within the national healthcare community. Even if the Minister did not say it directly, it will virtually be compulsory to obtain the status of each patient reporting for any health problem. This move is revolutionary by the fact that all the secrecy about the handling and treatment of patients with HIV infections will henceforth be removed, making it easier to know who carries the virus and those who do not and in so doing better manage the situation because of a better knowledge of the situation and the availability of statistics.

One must sincerely observe that strategies to fight HIV/AIDS have not been very successful seen from the little impact various initiatives have had in the final result. The desire to keep patient’s condition private by preventing them from stigmatization has not helped matters at the end of the day. Policy makers cannot do effective planning because they do not have the necessary statistics on which to build a robust strategy. This is because for too long many citizens have been left to go about without even knowing their condition while carriers of the virus, unknown to them continue to spread it simply because they were not aware.

As long as the HIV/AIDS management chain was not opened up and continued to be run in near secrecy, results, especially the mass positive results expected, could never be attained That is why even with very efficient systems and information campaigns, the scourge has continued to develop in disturbing proportions. Moreover, an early discovery of one’s serology status will help manage the condition and obviously prevent the virus from developing into more disastrous condition of AIDS with its multifarious accompanying afflictions.

Early detection can also help minimize costs, especially for the dispossessed segments of the population from within which many cases of infection are registered. Many Human Rights groups will obviously jump into the scene to condemn violation of privacy. But the gravity of the situation posed by the growing spread of HIV/AIDS and, above all, the need to preserve the health of Cameroonians from the scourge of this killer disease justify the government decision. The population must, in its own interest, adhere to this salutary initiative which will certainly have an immediate impact on the management of the disease.

Cameroon Tribune

28, June 2016

Tears as Cameroonian media gurus are told National Anti-Corruption Commission boss earns a monthly salary of 7 million FCFA ⁰

Dieudonné Massi Gams, the CPDM President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) has made public his salary to the media. The Biya chosen man of God made the revelation on Monday, June 27, 2016 in Yaounde, the nation’s capital. The president of CONAC earns a monthly salary of 7 million FCFA (10,671.43 euros). Dieudonne Massi Gams boasted in front of journalists shedding tears when the amount was revealed that “My salary is seven (7) million FCFA per month for me not to be corrupt.”

The salary of Pastor Dieudonné Massi Gams, is 193 times higher than the guaranteed minimum wage which is set at 36,270 FCFA since July 2014 in Cameroon—– a CPDM privilege to the so called man of God but an injustice in a country where the applicable average wage is between 80 and 100 thousand FCFA. In addition to his salary, Rev. Dieudonné Massi Gams, has huge benefits, which he blatantly refused to disclosed to the press. Cameroon Concord News Yaounde city reporter who contributed to this report observed that, “Rev Massi Gams has no reason to envy some ministers who officially earn less than 800 000 FCFA per month, but the bribes exceed the limits of the imaginable”.

We gathered intelligence that the state takes care of his phone expenses, housing allowance, several vehicles for child and wife including fuel cost. The servants and guards including his many drivers loaded at the residence of the President of the CONAC are also paid by the Cameroonian tax payer. Despite these advantages granted by the CPDM crime syndicate to CONAC, corruption in the country is increasing at alarming proportion with some agents of CONAC including its leadership regularly quoted in local press for bribery and corruption scam.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai (Cameroon Concord News Group)

28, June 2016

Former Ghana International defender replaces Doctor Khumalo at Kaizer Chiefs ⁰

John Paintsil, former Ghana international defender has been appointed the new assistant coach of Kaizer Chiefs, a South African Premier League club. Painstil will work with head coach Steve Komphela.

The former defender of the Black Stars of Ghana who announced his retirement from the beautiful game last week replaces Doctor Khumalo.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Brexit: An increasing number of Britons rushing to apply for Irish passports ⁰

An increasing number of Britons are rushing to apply for Irish passports to be able to remain EU citizens after Britain voted to leave the bloc on Thursday, officials say. “Following the UK referendum, there has been a spike in interest in Irish passports in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and elsewhere, although there has been some exaggeration of demand,” Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan said in a statement on Monday.

On Friday, a spokeswoman for the UK Post Office, tasked with handling passport applications, said that there has been a surge in the number of Irish passport seekers from Britain. “We have seen an unusually high number of people in Northern Ireland seeking Irish passport applications, though we do not have exact numbers or a breakdown by branch,” the spokeswoman said.

Those Britons with an Irish parent or grandparent and those, who were born in the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland, are entitled to an Irish passport. According to statistics, there are approximately six million people of Irish ancestry living in Britain. Being an EU citizen offers Britons a number of advantages. They can enjoy free movement rights, seek employment in other EU states without having a work permit, use public healthcare facilities across the bloc and benefit from welfare and other rights.

Thursday’s vote result has sent shock waves through the political and economic sectors both in the UK and in Europe. It has even led people to run a petition to call for a second referendum as a number of those, who voted to leave the bloc, have changed their minds. In Northern Ireland, post offices have run out of application forms and the Irish embassy in London has filed more than 4,000 passport inquiries in comparison to the 200 it usually receives on a normal day, according to a diplomatic source.

According to Flanagan, “The increased interest clearly points to a sense of concern among some UK passport holders that the rights they enjoy as EU citizens are about to abruptly end.” He warned that the sudden and unnecessary increase in applications would significantly increase pressure on turnaround times at passport offices. The spike even prompted a member of Northern Ireland’s largest Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, to ask the government in Dublin to open a passport office in Belfast to meet the soaring demands.

Following the release of the vote result, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation. “Britain is leaving the European Union but we must not turn our back on Europe or the rest of the world,” Cameron said on Monday during the first parliament session since the Brexit vote.

Presstv

27, June 2016

Amid pressure from the US, Presidents Sassou Nguesso and Kabila hold talks ⁰

Denis Sassou Nguesso, Head of State of Congo – Brazzaville and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo held secret talks today in Oyo, a town in the department of Cuvette in Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon Concord News has learned. The two dictators reportedly addressed issues related to political developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in view of the conduct of the presidential election scheduled for this year.

Both leaders are under immense political pressure from the United States of America. Denis Sassou Nguesso’s electoral victory is strongly opposed by the Congolese opposition including pressure from the US justice system which has convened Antoinette Sassou, wife of the Congolese president, on Monday in Washington to be heard in an open investigation for unpaid debts of around one billion euros.

President Joseph Kabila close associates have been targeted by US sanctions, the most recent case being that of General Célestin Kanyama, Commissioner General of Police, whose bank accounts have been frozen abroad. The senior official is also forbidden to travel outside the country.

Opponents of President Sassou Nguesso; Makaya Paulin and Jean Marie Michel Mokoko have all been imprisoned. While President Kabila’s former Governor, Moses Katumbi, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison in a land dispute.

Anang Valerian (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Kumba: 5 killed and many injured in Fiango accident ¹

Five people have been reportedly killed in an accident in Kumba, the chief town in Meme Division in the South West region. Cameroon Concord News gathered from police sources that the brakes of a caterpillar failed at Hill Top as the road construction machine was descending to Fiango. With no warning system on board the caterpillar, it eventually crushed many people on bikes before the driver succeeded to direct it to a building hosting a popular hotel known as K-Town Hotel in Fiango.

Five people were killed on the spot and many others seriously injured. Some of the wounded cases have been transferred to hospitals in Buea and Douala. Life will never be the same again for a little girl of about 8 yrs who had her legs chopped off in the accident. At the time of filing this report, our correspondent in Kumba reported that some of the victims have died at the Kumba General Hospital.

Cham Victor Bama (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Michelle Obama expected in Liberia ⁰

American first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters will begin on Monday a visit to Liberia and then to Morocco. After two African stops, Michelle Obama and her entourage will visit the Kingdom of Spain.

Apart from her two daughters accompanying the US first lady, Cameroon Concord News understands Michelle’s mother is also in her delegation. Michelle Obama is expected to use the visit to encourage young African girls to go to school.

In Liberia, Michelle will meet President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Michelle will visit Spain on Wednesday where she will meet Queen Letizia.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Wife of Congolese President wanted by US attorneys in Washington ⁰

Antoinette Sassou, wife of the Congolese head of state Sassou Nguesso, has been summoned by US attorneys in Washington. Cameroon Concord News is aware Madam Sassou Nguesso is wanted by a US court following a complaint from a pool of lawyers in a debt case that involves the Congolese government and the Commisimpex society.

The hydra-headed issue started as far back as 1992 when a Lebanese businessman, Mohsen Hojeij, claimed the Nguesso family and the Congolese government owed him a debt of nearly 100 million dollars. In 1993, the amount totaled € 675 million in 2013. In 2016, the debt is estimated at 1 billion (one billion). The complainant has handed over the case to a US law firm to track down the asset of the Sassou Nguesso family in the United States.

A source at the presidential palace in Brazzaville was quoted earlier today as saying the first lady will not respond to the summons of the American lawyers. However, the case opens the way to US investigators, to delve into the rich heritage of the Nguesso family. Thus, the properties of the Sassou Nguesso clan, including Willy Etoka, Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Denis Ngokana, Antoinette Sassou Nguesso via Cameroonian businessman Yaya Moussa, Claudia Sassou Nguesso are all now at the mercy of the American justice system.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News Group)

27, June 2016

Revealed: Niger Delta Avengers using advanced technology to destroy oil installations ⁰

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari says militants affiliated with the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) are using advanced technology to destroy oil installations, highlighting that the group’s sabotaging activities against the oil-rich country amount to a “national problem.”

“The technology being deployed by the militants to destroy oil installations is high tech, the way they can go on high sea and international waters and target oil installations is a national problem,” Nigeria’s Daily Trust online newspaper Saturday quoted Buhari as saying in a meeting with leaders of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, a day earlier.

The president added that the group was negatively affecting Nigeria’s development. “No insurance company will want to insure installations that will end up being blown up, and no banks will want to finance such installations,” Buhari stated. The militant group, mainly operating in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, publicly announced existence in March and since then has been blowing up gas and crude oil pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Delta State.

27, June 2016

Austria: Former Presidential candidate warns of an “Auxit” vote ⁰

Austria’s former presidential candidate Norbert Hofer has warned that his country could hold a British-like referendum on leaving the European Union within a year. The far-right leader of the Freedom Party (FPOe), who narrowly failed to become the head of state in last month’s presidential run-off in Austria, warned the EU to avoid any moves towards political “centralization.” “If a course is set within a year further towards centralization instead of taking (the EU’s) core values into account, then we must ask Austrians whether they want to be members,” he said.

Hofer made the threat after the British people voted on Thursday to leave the European Union. Hofer and his allies believe that the union should be based on economic rather than political cooperation. “The founding fathers (of the EU) wanted to ensure closer economic cooperation because states that cooperate economically do not wage war against each other,” Hofer said. “That worked very well until the political union was founded.” Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, however, ruled out the possibility of holding a referendum on EU membership, which is dubbed “Auxit” vote.