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10, May 2023

Biya regime keen to attract more Chinese investment at trade expo ⁰

Cameroon hopes to attract more Chinese investment when it takes part in the upcoming third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, said a Cameroonian trade official on Tuesday.

Joseph Mutomby Ndumbe, director of foreign trade at Cameroon’s Ministry of Trade, made the remarks during a promotional conference organized in the capital Yaounde to invite the Central African nation to participate in the expo to be held in China.

Cameroon hopes to export more to the Chinese market and attract more Chinese investors, Ndumbe told Xinhua at the close of the conference.

“We are going there (trade expo) to seek to have the possibility of having fruitful partnerships with Chinese companies that are ready to come to Cameroon,” he said, adding that the country will exhibit made-in-Cameroon products including Penja pepper, Oku White Honey, cocoa and coffee.

The expo, under the theme “Common development for a shared future,” will run from June 29 to July 2 in central China’s Hunan Province.

Yang Zhihua, deputy mayor of Yiyang, a city in Hunan, said at the conference that the province and Cameroon have vast space for cooperation in modern agricultural development and the construction of transport, energy and communication infrastructure.

“We wholeheartedly hope for the participation of the Cameroonian government, think tanks, enterprises, trade associations and financial institutions, with China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo as a platform,” Yang said.

Source: Xinhuanet

10, May 2023

Cameroon biometric visa system now functional ⁰

Hundreds of biometric visas have already been issued by different diplomatic services of Cameroon since the online application system went live on May 1.

The country’s embassy in Belgium said it issued more than one hundred visas within two days after the system rolled out, according to information from the Foreign Ministry in Yaoundé.

Ahead of the launch, Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella, in a briefing on April 25, explained the purpose and functionalities of the biometric visa system, saying it is the first step in a series of government efforts aimed at improving the country’s diplomatic machinery by aligning it with cutting-edge international best practices in the domain of visa issuance.

“Cameroon is writing a new page in its history. If things go on as planned, from May 1, applicants will be able to get their entry visa into Cameroon within a period of 72 hours upon submission of the online application,” said Mbella Mbella at the briefing.

He also explained the category of visas available for long and short visits and their fees, which have seen an increase from the previous visa regime, in line with the prescriptions of the 2023 state budget.

Short-stay visas have a validity of six months while long-stay ones are valid for 12 months, costing between 100,000 Central African francs (US$167) and XAF 200,000 ($334) depending on the type (either ordinary or express). Express visas are issued within 24 hours.

The government official also explained that the new system has been designed in a flexible way to deliver secure visa stickers. The process is fast, efficient and cuts wait time and other procedural bottlenecks, he added.

In a previous government communication, Mbella Mbella had explained how the system works and the various stages involved in the application process.

Impact Palmarès R&D SAS is the Cote d’Ivoire-based company running the system under a ten-year contract on a Public-Private Partnership basis. It is reported that per the contract terms, the company earns 30 percent of the fee paid for each visa issued.

Since the system went live, the Foreign Ministry has been running an awareness campaign on its official social media pages on how the system works. It publishes short messages explaining the online application process to applicants, and calling on them to guard against cybercriminals who may try to create a prototype system.

Source: Biometric update

10, May 2023

French Cameroun: At least 15 killed in bus accident ⁰

At least 15 people have been killed and 19 others injured in a bus accident in Cameroon, local police said.

The tragedy occurred Tuesday afternoon in a village along the highway linking the East and Adamawa regions.

Police said the driver of the bus, which was heading to Adamawa regional chief town of Ngaoundere, lost control, and the vehicle crashed and then exploded because it was also transporting fuel.

Cameroon Radio Television, the state television, reported that a three-year-old child was among the dead. Local media reported that seven women were also killed.

The injured were rushed to hospital and “are under intensive medical care,” the police said.

The Cameroonian Ministry of Transport estimates that 1,500 people die in road accidents each year in the central African nation.

Source: Xinhuanet

10, May 2023

Mother’s Day: When is it celebrated by Sakerettes in the US? ⁰

Saker Baptist College (henceforth SBC), founded in 1962 by Baptist Missionaries is an All-Girls secondary school in Limbe, of the South West Region of Cameroon. SBC is one of the elite and firebrand highly rated academic institution in Cameroon. The college host a non-profit organization, which is a 501(c)(3) called ExSSA, with chapters installed across the United States. SBC Boston alumni promotes love, unity and sisterhood by fostering and promoting education, development and support to Saker Baptist College.

In November of 2017, Dr Vivienne Yumasi was unanimously elected to office as president of ExSSA Boston chapter. In this year’s edition of Mother’s Day celebration in the United States, on May 13, 2023, the president sat down with Cameroon Concord News US Bureau Chief Etukeni Agbaw-Ebai to x-ray the vision and theme of this year’s celebration of Mother’s Day in the city of Boston, USA.

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you for accepting to speak to us! Let me begin by throwing the ball in your court, Dr Vivienne Yumasi, what is the meaning of ExSAKER?

Dr Vivienne Yumasi: Thanks for giving me this opportunity as ExSSA Boston Chapter celebrates Mother’s Day. ExSAKER represents former students of Saker Baptist College. In the United States of America, it is headquartered in the state of Virginia, and its operational goals are love, sisterhood, and unity. In other words, ExSAKER strives to impact and empower the girl child and woman by fund raising and creating partnership to excel in society to become responsible and successful women and leaders wherever they find themselves. And ExSSA Boston is on a forward march to provide that platform.

Cameroon Concord News: What is the theme of this year’s Mother’s Day Come Together and how significant is this celebration?

Dr. Vivienne Yumasi: The theme for the 2023 Mother’s Day event is celebrating the woman and using the family unit to impact the community. By this celebration, Sakerettes in Boston are becoming consciously aware of the struggle to get across a concrete and realistic visionary indicator to empower the woman, in all walks of life, aiming high and building self-confidence and aspirations. In addition, there will be keynote speakers on specific topics to grace the celebration and I am confident and optimistic that all the ExSSA Women out there and beyond will increase pragmatic engagements through partnership to be able to use knowledge acquired gainfully.

Cameroon Concord News: As President of ExSSA Boston chapter, what are your major goals and efforts by your administration to achieve them?

Dr. Vivienne Yumasi: As president, I am deeply committed to step up the membership drive so as to strengthen the association. I would like to see this chapter grow by bringing all in to impact the Saker family and be role models. My team will also continue to put our ideas and resources together, looking at possible options for scholarship funding, including upkeep of the college campus in Limbe. It is a collective task and that is why I am making a tough call for all Sakerettes in Boston to come on board.

Cameroon Concord News: Any Last word to our readers?

Dr. Vivienne Yumasi: It is a great pleasure and honor for me to have this conversation with the Cameroon Concord News Group. I equally want to take this opportunity to make a strong commitment that Sakerettes will love to embark on this new journey with the Cameroon Concord News Group. Once more, a big thank you!

10, May 2023

Syria’s Assad receives Saudi invitation to Arab summit ⁰

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received an invitation to next week’s Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, the presidency said Wednesday, the first such invitation since the country’s war began in 2011.

Assad received an invitation from Saudi King Salman “to participate in the thirty-second Arab League summit, which will be held in Jeddah on May 19”, the Syrian presidency said in a statement.

Assad said the summit “will enhance joint Arab action to achieve the aspirations of the Arab peoples,” the statement added.

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Jordan, Nayef bin Bandar al-Sudairi, delivered the invitation.

On Sunday, the Arab League welcomed back Syria’s government, securing Assad’s return to the Arab fold after years of isolation.

The pan-Arab body suspended Damascus in November 2011 over its crackdown on protests that spiralled into a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country’s infrastructure and industry.

The last Arab League summit Assad attended was in 2010 in Libya.

The invitation comes a day after Riyadh and Damascus announced that work would resume at their respective diplomatic missions in Syria and Saudi Arabia, after more than a decade of severed ties.

Assad had been politically isolated in the region since the war began, but a flurry of diplomatic activity has been underway in recent weeks after a decision by arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, a close ally of Damascus, to resume ties shifted the political landscape.

Source: AFP

9, May 2023

Southern Cameroons: Baba 1 Kingmakers move against choice of new Fon ⁰

A fresh crisis is brewing over the process of getting a new Fon of Baba I situated in Ngoketunjia Division in the North West region, as all ten kingmakers have rejected one Fue Nghaper as the candidate for the stool.

The ten notables in the Ngumba who constitute the Mohs have separately petitioned the North West administrative authorities, warning against the recognition of a primary school pupil who they described as not ready for the throne.

Ever since the late Fon Fuekemshi II travelled to the land of his ancestors, members of the Ngumba have met and performed the noble rituals but Cameroon Intelligence Report North West Bureau Chief observed that no discussion was opened on succession.

A source with strong ties to the Baba I palace contacted by this reporter revealed that the Fon of Guzang with the support of some Baba I political elites in the ruling CPDM crime syndicate were part of the dubious process that brought the young Fue Nghaper II to the limelight as the new Fon of Baba I.

The Baba I kingmakers are expected to make public a statement soonest calling on the administration to be wary of recognizing Fue Nghaper II as the new Fon.

Some concerned Baba I elites have also voiced their support for the Ngumba saying that Fue Nghaper is unqualified and they have appealed to the kingmakers to stop the desecration of the customs and tradition of the Baba I people.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from CIR Bamenda Bureau

9, May 2023

President Putin says ‘real war’ unleashed on Russia in Victory Day speech ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that “a real war” has been unleashed against Russia as he addressed a Victory Day parade in Moscow on Tuesday. Officials in Kyiv said Russia fired a dozen cruise missiles at the capital city overnight, a day after launching its biggest drone swarm yet in a renewed air campaign targeting Ukrainian cities.

Correspondingly, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged Europe to stand strong against Moscow’s war on Ukraine, responding to Russia’s bombastic military parade.

“In Moscow, 2,200 kilometres northeast from here, Putin is parading his soldiers, tanks and rockets. Let us not be intimidated by such a show of force,” Scholz told the European Parliament, referring to Russia’s Putin.

“Let’s stay steadfast in our support for Ukraine – as long as it is necessary,” he said.

Source: France 24

9, May 2023

Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia a ‘done deal’ ⁰

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a “huge” deal, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Tuesday.

“Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity and without naming the club.

“The contract is exceptional. It’s huge. We are just finalising some small details,” added the source, who is not authorised to speak to media.

Asked about the comments, Messi’s current club Paris Saint-Germain simply noted he remains under contract until June 30.

A separate PSG source said: “If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier.”

The 35-year-old World Cup winner was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.

Messi’s expected arrival in the oil-rich kingdom follows in the footsteps of his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in a massive deal in January.

Ronaldo’s agreement to June 2025 is said to total more than 400 million euros ($439million), making him the world’s highest paid athlete according to Forbes.

Both deals are being bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds with more than $620 billion in assets, the source said.

“The negotiations didn’t take as much time as the ones with Ronaldo. As we now know the recipe to contract world-class players,” said the source.

“It’s Saudi Arabia that brought him not a specific club. The Money comes from one place — PIF.”

Ronaldo’s arrival has not had the impact Al Nassr would have hoped for on the pitch.

They have lost top spot in the Saudi Pro League table and are out of the running in the King’s Cup and Super Cup.

French coach Rudi Garcia departed in April.

PSG protesters

Messi, who turns 36 in June, has had two lacklustre seasons in Paris after a glorious era at Barcelona where he won four Champions League and 10 La Liga titles, and is still worshipped by the fans.

The record seven-time world player of the year, joining a mouth-watering attack featuring Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, scored just 11 goals in his first season as he helped PSG to a routine Ligue 1 title.

But PSG have got no closer to a coveted maiden Champions League victory, bowing out twice in the last 16 even with the illustrious Argentine in the line-up.

Frustrations boiled over last week when black-clad PSG protesters let off flares and sang hostile chants targeting the underperforming Messi, Neymar and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.

The angry scenes contrasted with Messi’s career-crowning moment in December, when he led Argentina to a breathless World Cup final victory over Mbappe and France in Doha to fill the biggest gap in his resume.

Qatar’s emir draped him in a traditional bisht robe at the trophy ceremony, a reminder of the fossil-fuel riches pouring into football and Messi’s bank account via PSG.

However, Messi is also a highly paid tourism ambassador for Qatar’s neighbours and sometime rivals Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter that is attempting to diversify its largely single-stream economy.

Source: AFP

9, May 2023

Cameroon’s projections toned down due to challenging global environment ⁰

Cameroon’s economic growth was revised down to 3.4% for 2022, reflecting the impact of the security crises in the Anglophone regions and the Far North, inflationary pressure, global supply chain disruptions and tight financial conditions. In 2023, GDP growth is expected to recover somewhat to 4.3%, mainly driven by LNG and mining production.

Impact

Cameroon is the largest economy in the CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Union) and is relatively well diversified compared to the other oil-reliant member states. Nevertheless, the country is highly dependent on commodity exports (oil, gas, mining and agriculture), making it vulnerable to external shocks and price volatility. Further economic diversification is essential, knowing that Cameroon’s existing oil fields are maturing and the decline in oil production is set to continue. Insecurity and an ongoing conflict since 2017 have deterred the development of new fields as Cameroon’s oil riches are mostly located in the Anglophone regions.

The country’s 2022 external balances benefitted from high international commodity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite higher inflation and import prices, Cameroon’s terms of trade improved. The current account deficit has moderated and is expected to stabilise at around a manageable 3% of GDP as of 2023. However, a funding squeeze – resulting from global risk aversion and high domestic and international borrowing costs – has been lowering capital inflows. Consequently, small financing gaps could emerge on the external balance of payments. Thanks to the improved terms of trade, Cameroon’s foreign exchange reserves have recovered to pre-Covid levels of around five months of import cover. In fact, Cameroon is the largest contributor to the reserves of the CEMAC, a monetary union consisting mainly of oil-exporting countries where liquidity levels still tend to follow the evolution of hydrocarbon revenues.

Cameroon participates in a three-year IMF Extended Credit Facility programme since July 2021, to help deal with the immediate financial consequences of the Covid-19 crisis and the country’s weak public payment behaviour. Although structural reforms are lacking and the general fiscal performance is mixed, the IMF programme remains on track. Assuming fiscal reforms will be strictly implemented, the public debt stock is expected to come down to 43% of GDP by the end of 2023, after having grown steadily over the past decade to 47% and 46% of GDP in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Despite the acceptable public debt stock level, the government’s finances have been under serious stress and the difficult liquidity position of the state – especially due to dysfunctional state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – have led to substantial domestic and external payment arrears over the past few years. The over-indebtedness of public oil company SONARA and the bad payment morality of other SOEs have seriously damaged the country’s financial reputation. Moreover, the IMF classifies Cameroon at ‘high risk of debt distress’, although it considers the country’s public debt to be ‘sustainable’, meaning a default is not anticipated. Rising LNG production and growing mining output will help Cameroon’s fiscal revenue collection in the near term, even though oil output will continue to decline.

Despite substantial domestic food production and the BEAC’s (a regional central bank, serving the CEMAC member states) tighter monetary policies, inflation in Cameroon still reached 6% in 2022 and is expected to remain at 5.7% in 2023. The rising cost of living is mainly driven by food inflation caused by unfavourable domestic weather conditions, security issues and high import prices. Together with shortages of fertilisers, high food prices do not only drive up inflation, they also raise the risk for food insecurity.

Credendo’s MLT political risk classification for Cameroon was downgraded from 5/7 to 6/7 in May 2020 during the Covid-19 crisis and has remained stable ever since. The separatist violence in the Anglophone regions and the insecurity related to Boko Haram in the Far North pose important downside risks. Another risk stems from the political scene that is dominated by 90-year-old President Paul Biya, who won a seventh term in 2018 during a flawed election and is rumoured to be in poor health. It is highly uncertain what will happen if and when Paul Biya becomes unable to rule, but that situation would entail a serious risk of political destabilisation.

Culled from Credendo

8, May 2023

123 Southern Cameroonians have been killed since the beginning of the year ⁰

At least 123 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the year during the conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Communities are demanding self-rule from the Central African country. They cite marginalisation by the government of President Paul Biya, with a majority of officials from the majority French-speaking zones.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) disclosed the death toll, which could be higher since the figures are for the period covering January to March.

The crisis is escalating in the North-West and South-West regions.

UNICEF reported that during the period, no less than 187 people had been injured in the clashes perpetrated by the Ambazonian militants, who are running battles against the military and civilians.

Some 539 people were arrested during military searches or operations in both regions.

In the North-West and South-West, at least ten lockdown days were imposed and observed during official events organized by the Cameroonian government.

Most localities in these regions continue to comply with the ongoing, so-called Monday ghost town days.

However, humanitarian organizations report that during this reporting period, 11 civilians were killed for not observing the curfews.

In the northwestern division of Momo, humanitarian activities, including food movements, were suspended due to roadblocks mounted by non-state armed groups.

Elsewhere, suspected members of Boko Haram from neighbouring Nigeria are terrorising communities.

An estimated 1 652 people have been newly displaced due to this ongoing insecurity in the Far North. There, unidentified gunmen abducted 82 civilians in February.

Torrential rains have exacerbated matters in the South-West region.

Rains that struck the city of Buea in March caused mudslides that affected an estimated 900 people.

At least two fatalities, four injuries and one person missing were documented.

Water supply infrastructure and latrines serving over 3 000 people were damaged.

Without immediate funding of US$940 000) required by UNICEF, there will be a shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF), leaving over 20 000 children aged 0-59 months without treatment and an increased risk of death.

The secessionist crisis in the country of 28 million started in 2017, leaving hundreds dead. Critics also accuse Biya of rigging elections.

Aged 90 and in power since 1975 as Prime Minister and in 1982 as president, he is the longest consecutively serving current non-royal national leader and the oldest head of state in the world.

Source: CAJ News