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29, July 2024

South Africa: Ex-President Jacob Zuma expelled from ANC ⁰

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been expelled from the African National Congress (ANC), the party he once led, after campaigning for a rival party in the 29 May general election, local media is reporting.

The ANC’s disciplinary committee found him guilty of “prejudicing the integrity” of the party by joining uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and has given him three weeks to appeal against its ruling, local media is quoting a leaked ANC document as saying.

The ANC has not officially confirmed his expulsion, while MK said Mr Zuma had not been notified of the decision taken by a “kangaroo court”.

Mr Zuma, 82, was an ANC veteran but fell out with the party after he was forced to quit as president in 2018 over corruption scandals. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

He had been suspended by the ANC in January after creating MK, which now sits in opposition to the ANC-led government in parliament.

In a statement, MK said it was shocked to learn from media reports that Mr Zuma had been expelled.

The disciplinary proceedings were conducted “in a manner akin to a kangaroo court”, the party said.

“It is a foundational legal principle that no person, not even those accused of a serious crime, should be punished or sentenced in their absence,” it added.

The ANC’s disciplinary committee held a virtual hearing, which Mr Zuma refused to attend, saying he wanted to be physically present.

In 2021 he was jailed for contempt of court after refusing to fully co-operate with an inquiry into corruption during his nine-year presidency.

His arrest sparked the deadliest riots since the end of white-minority rule in 1994 and led to the deaths of more than 300 people.

And he now faces corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal.

South Africa’s current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, replaced Zuma in 2018, promising to clean up government.

But in the 29 May elections, the ANC suffered its worst result in 30 years, pushing the ruling party to form a coalition to share power.

uMkhonto we Sizwe – meaning “spear of the nation” – became the country’s third-largest party, largely by taking votes from the ANC.

It won almost 15% of the vote and obtained 58 seats in the 400-member parliament.

MK became the official opposition in parliament after the second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), joined the coalition government.

Mr Zuma is barred from being an MP because he was given a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

He has chosen an ex-judge, who was impeached for gross misconduct, to lead MK in parliament.

Source: BBC

29, July 2024

Manyu Development: EYUMEMA is the new beautiful girl in town ⁰

There is nothing which keeps young men with high libido busy like the presence of a new beautiful girl in town. That was exactly the reaction caused by EYUMEMA (a woman’s voice), the new Manyu organization which is, indeed, a break-away faction of a scandal-tainted MOHWA which has fallen into the hands of wannabe dictators in Cameroon.

Last Thursday, all roads led to Ohio, USA, as hundreds of Manyu women and girls travelled from many other states in the United States to demonstrate their support for this new organization which will surely give MOHWA a run for its money.

The number of Manyu women from other parts of the United States caused a shortage of expert nurses and caregivers in other American States, prompting care facilities in the United States to ask their remaining staff to work overtime.

It was not only the scarcity of caregivers in other states of the United States that was an issue, there was also a huge Ekpe delegation noted for its voluptuous appetite in Ihio to attend the event and it is rumored that after having devoured the food and drunk the expensive drinks served, Ekpe delegation members simply demonstrated once more that their role on earth was to eat and drink without delivering any meaningful development ideas which could help EYUMEMA embrace a new and development-oriented path which will make it different from other Manyu organizations which have continued to play their roles as talking workshops.

EYUMEMA, which is an offshoot of MOHWA USA,Inc, seems to have leaders with good heads on their shoulders. Under its former name, MOHWA USA Inc, EYUMEMA had undertaken to dig boreholes across Manyu Division. Although the project has been implemented in some parts of Manyu, its results have been mixed as some of the boreholes are already out of service and there is an acute shortage of certified technicians to repair the troubling boreholes- a clear sign that no reliable and effective project study had been undertaken.

Maybe with a new name, EYUMEMA will learn how to finance projects, following standard project implementation rules. Every project has a cycle and lots of things get taken into consideration during the design phase.

EYUMEMA will do itself a world of good if it employs development experts who will design the projects and help with their implementation based on standard procedures and processes.

EYUMEMA must know that for its projects to be reliable and sustainable, it must have implementation and executing agencies on the ground for quality to be guaranteed. Its executing agency should automatically be the Mamfe Council which should host permanent technical staff who will produce project documents for EYUMEMA which will be the project owner.

EYUMEMA is a registered not-for-profit development organization which should be capable of raising concessional resources for development purposes in Manyu Division and well written project documents will convince donors that their money is being used for the purpose for which they are intended.

Every well written project appraisal report or project completion report must include sections on project sustainability, capacity building and lessons learned from previous projects. And there are many of such failed projects in Manyu Division.

EYUMEMA should also not be shy to collaborate with any other Manyu organization when it comes to implementing projects in Manyu. By doing so, both organizations will avoid duplication and a waste of scarce resources. Collaboration is key in development.

Development projects must be viewed as businesses which must stand the test of time and should create jobs for those living in the project area. Projects should never be seen as gifts and they should be managed by people with innovative and futuristic minds. If this is the path EYUMEMA wants to tread, then it will be hailed and admired, and it must make the Mamfe Council its greatest ally to ensure that there is an agency which is keeping an eye on their development initiatives.

EYUMEMA should never spare any resources when it comes to the effective implementation of its projects. It must invest in capacity building as there is a huge dearth of development capacity in Manyu. There are many capacity building experts in Cameroon who are helping the World Bank and the African Development Group with their capacity building projects. Some of these experts could lend a hand and their services could also be honorary depending upon how EYUMEMA presents itself.

EYUMEMA which has already won hearts and minds across the world, including in Cameroon, must tread a different path. Its launch this weekend has already created a massive division within MOHWA groups across the globe, with many women already lining up to sign up for EYUMEMA, the new beautiful and well-built girl in town.

EYUMEMA cannot afford to fail. It must be run as a corporate body with clear development objectives. It must come up with a think tank which should develop its project pipeline. There are experts standing by to provide their technical and intellectual input to ensure that Manyu gets a facelift.

The people of Manyu are admiring this new girl in town. They hope it will not end up as others where its development objectives get replaced with eating, drinking, dancing and show-off.

By Dr Joachim Arrey in Canada

27, July 2024

Bishop Bibi urges Catholic Women in Cameroon to live Christian Faith “in all aspects” ⁰

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea has called upon members of the Catholic Women Association (CWA) in the Central African nation to be consistent in practising their Christian faith, allowing it to influence all aspects of their lives.

In his homily during the opening Mass of the 10th CWA National Congress, Bishop Bibi urged the Catholic women to “work diligently to foster the mission and piety of CWA.”

“We are called to live out our faith in all aspects. Our faith should be seen in all the deliberations we carry out in this congress,” he said during the Friday, July 26 Eucharistic celebration at Regina Pacis Small Soppo Cathedral of Buea Diocese.

He lauded CWA members in Cameroon for being “a new model of faith for our contemporary world” and appealed, “You must persevere in your faith. You must make sure that you do not allow the distractions of this world to come between you and your faith.”

Despite the difficulties and challenges in society, Bishop Bibi noted, CWA members need to “always remain consistent, trusting that God, our Heavenly Father, will continue to accompany you in this journey that you have undertaken.”

Reflecting on the 60th Anniversary of the existence of CWA in Cameroon, the Local Ordinary of Buea Diocese said, “It is the gift of faith that has sustained the Catholic Women Association in its mission since 1964.”

The Cameroonian Catholic Bishop, who has been at the helm of Buea Diocese since December 2019, first as Apostolic Administrator, and since February 2021 as the Local Ordinary, thanked God for the diverse gifts and blessings CWA members have received over the past six decades.

“The CWA as an apostolate has done a lot in strengthening the faith of Catholic women in our country and in the diaspora,” he said during his July 26 homily.

The July 24-28 congress at Bishop Rogan College in Cameroon’s Buea Diocese has been organized under the theme, “CWA Women: Artisans of Human Fraternity for World Peace in Church that Goes Forth.”

Participants in the national event that has brought together over 500 Catholic women from across Cameroon are to elect new leaders for the association.

In his July 26 homily, Bishop Bibi underscored the importance of electing servant leaders, saying, “This Congress is an opportunity to craft out methods of providing good leadership for the entire Catholic Women Association.”

“Let us take our time to prayerfully choose leaders who act after the heart of God and foster the growth and holiness of the CWA wherever they are found,” the Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in March 2017 as Auxiliary Bishop of Cameroon’s Bamenda Catholic Archdiocese said.

He implored, “May the Blessed Virgin Mary, our mother and model of faith help us. May she protect us so that the deliberation of this Congress may benefit families and society at large.”

Source: aciafrica

27, July 2024

Cameroon-born German politician racially assaulted ⁰

A Cameroon-born German CDU candidate for a regional election in the country’s east was racially assaulted while out campaigning, police said Friday.

Adeline Abimnwi Awemo was putting up posters in Cottbus, in the northeastern state of Brandenburg, with her family on Thursday when a 29-year-old stranger attacked her, grabbing Awemo by the throat.

“You are not human beings,” the assailant is reported as saying.

Awemo, who has German citizenship, had to go to hospital after the attack, police said.

The Secretary-General of Awemo’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party condemned the attack.

“It perfectly illustrates what is going on in our country… Violence and hate are on the rise,” Carsten Linnemann told journalists from the Funke media group.

“The increasing risk for people who are politically active for our country is intolerable. Violence must never become a means of political debate,” the Brandenburg CDU wrote in a post on Instagram, adding that “most importantly” Awemo was doing well again.

The regional election takes place on September 22nd.

The German far right has made significant inroads in Brandenburg and in other former communist East German regions such as Saxony and Thuringia.

In recent times, Germany has seen a rise in politically motivated attacks.

In 2023, authorities recorded 60,028 offences of this sort, around 1,100 more than in 2022.

Source: AFP

25, July 2024

Football: Historic French club Bordeaux to become amateur after bankruptcy ⁰

Former French Ligue 1 champions Bordeaux on Thursday said they will become an amateur club for the first time in almost 90 years after filing for bankruptcy.

They had announced earlier in the week that they would accept their relegation to the third-tier Championnat National by French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG.

Bordeaux, based in France’s south-west, won the last of their six top flight titles in 2009.

They first turned professional in 1937.

The club needs to find 40 million euros ($43.6 million) to balance their books and had been in talks with the owners of Liverpool, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), before the American investors pulled out of negotiations earlier this month.

“On Tuesday, the club filed for bankruptcy with Bordeaux’s commercial court, to be able to begin necessary restructuring,” they said in a statement.

“The club had to give up asking to maintain its professional status” as it risked “heavy sanctions” if it presented a recovery plan to the DNCG that did not reflect its future financial reality.

Bordeaux were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2022, just 12 years after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

The town’s mayor slammed the decision by Bordeaux’s controversial owner Gerard Lopez, who has invested 60 million euros into the club since 2021.

“I’ve learnt with consternation the sudden and personal decision made by Gerard Lopez,” Pierre Hurmic told AFP.

“It confirms the risky management that has led our club in the space of three years from the elite Ligue 1 to the amateur level,” he added.

A host of well know players — past and present — have played for Bordeaux including World Cup winners Zinedine Zidane, Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, as well as Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

“I feel extremely sick like everyone who loves the club,” 1998 World Cup winner Lizarazu said on Instagram.

“What’s happing is unfortunately the result of disastrous football and financial management for many years,” he added.

One consequence to the move is that the club’s academy will close and a host of professional players will leave the outfit.

The new Championnat National season begins on August 16 with Bordeaux expected to play at their 42,000-capacity Matmut Atlantique home, France’s sixth biggest stadium, for the campaign.

Source: AFP

25, July 2024

Stepping up efforts to check child labor in African cocoa-producing communities ⁰

Child labour is a common phenomenon in African cocoa-producing communities, most of which are in West and Central Africa. The use of child labour in cocoa-producing communities is spurred by poverty which impedes efforts by farmers to employ adult labour for their cocoa production.

According to the World Cocoa Foundation, “Cocoa is grown by millions of smallholder farmers with a high prevalence of poverty. Many cocoa-growing families have no choice but to put their children to work because they cannot afford other sources of labour and it is often an accepted cultural practice to help keep the farm running.”

Though culturally accepted in African cocoa producing communities, the World Cocoa Foundation is striving to remedy this situation to give children in cocoa-producing communities a chance to have a normal childhood and an opportunity to get the education they need to make informed decisions later in life by establishing broad coalitions with other key sector stakeholders.

In a message on its website, WCF has indicated that it has been working with several key actors to give children in those communities a new lease on life. “In broad coalition with governments, companies, and development organisations, a layered approach has been adopted. The primary goal is to combat child labour through a diverse set of solutions. These include efforts to confirm that children possess a birth certificate and have access to quality education. Child labour monitoring and remediation systems have been leveraged as essential tools, focusing on mitigation and providing remediation support to children involved in, or at risk of, child labour. Efforts also extend to assisting their families and communities in addressing the underlying challenges and poverty, one of the primary root causes of child labour. To address the issue of child labour we are working with our partners help increase farmers’ incomes in rural areas,” the WCF said.

WCF and its partners are setting up child labour monitoring and remediation systems to help authorities identify child labour issues and address in a timely fashion and appropriately.

“Child labour monitoring and remediation systems are set-up in order to identify and address child labour. They can be embedded in a company’s supply chain or at community level. It involves systematic monitoring, identification of child labour risks and remedial actions such as education and alternative livelihood support,” WCF stressed.

Meanwhile the World Cocoa Initiative, for its part, has undertaken a series of measure to help with efforts to check child labour. Among those efforts are the training of community members to monitor and report on the commitments of government and companies on child labour – to strengthen accountability towards local communities and their voice in global debate; the engagement with Government and local authorities to identify needs and strengthen systems to prevent, identify and address child labour and forced labour risk; setting up an online platform through which cooperatives, farmer and gold mining associations/groups can access free piloted, validated tools and training materials to improve their systems to prevent, identify and address forced labour; while at the same time allowing policy makers, law enforcement agencies and relevant government ministries to access dedicated platforms to strengthen their work.

The World Cocoa Initiative is also promoting good practices with supply chain actors at the national and international level, while building the capacity of community-based organizations to strengthen advocacy and accountability in the tracking of government commitments. It is also organizing community-based awareness raising activities with community members, in particular women and vulnerable groups, on forced labour indicators, child labour, rights and access to social services; providing hands-on trainings in alternative livelihood activities for cooperatives and at-risk vulnerable families and the setting up of Village Savings and Loans Association in Ghanaian cocoa-producing communities; and setting up a remediation fund to support child labour victims.

Also, with funding from the Norwegian Government through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, ICI, Solidaridad and the Rainforest Alliance are collaborating to address child labour and forced labour in the cocoa supply chain and gold-mining communities in Ghana.

By Cecilia M. Manjang

25, July 2024

CWA Diamond Anniversary in Buea: Archbishop Nkea highlights successes in “great resilience” ⁰

Members of the Catholic Women Association (CWA) in Cameroon have, over the last six decades, manifested “great resilience” and hope, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of the country’s Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda has said.

In his Wednesday, July 24 homily during the celebration of the 60th Anniversary since CWA was established in Cameroon, Archbishop Nkea also acknowledged with appreciation women’s life of prayer, their perseverance, as well as their determination.

“You have taken an active part in the spiritual growth of the lives of the women in our church. You have worked hard to improve the condition of women and the girl child everywhere. You have done all within your powers to make your parishes and Christian communities true families of God,” he said during the celebration at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea.

As CWA member, he said, “you have worked hard for the preservation of family values and you have defended the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage and the family. You have contributed greatly to the formation of Priests in our local churches, either through financial contributions or by bringing materials, food, and other necessary items to our seminaries.”

“Women are creatures of great resilience and if women give up on something, it means there is no way for redemption. We see that no matter how bad a child is, the women never lose hope,” the Local Ordinary of Bamenda, who doubles as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) emphasized.

He continued, “Sometimes when men torment the women, they never lose hope. When society becomes hostile and even violent, women never lose hope.”

“This is a great virtue that we have seen in the women, especially during this time that we are going through a lot of difficulties in our regions of the Northwest, the Southwest, the Far North, and the east of Cameroon,” he said referring to the Anglophone crisis.

Archbishop Nkea continued, “In the current socio-political crisis that we are going through in the Northwest and the Southwest regions of Cameroon, the women remain the hope of this nation. It is the women who would save us through their prayers, perseverance, and determination to build fraternity again.”

“Women bring hope to the future. Women always give hope to the desperate and the hopeless. Women give hope when hope is lost,” he further said.

Archbishop Nkea went on to lament the situation in the Central African nation, saying, “Many things are happening in our country today which are not good. But it is you who will save this country.”

“There’s a lot of tension mounting in our country, around various regions for various reasons,” he said, and added, “Thanks be to God the Catholic Women Association exists in all the 10 regions of this country and practically all the 26 dioceses of this country.”

“Women, you are the ones to save this country,” he emphasized during the Eucharistic celebration that was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon, Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt.

The 58-year-old Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2013 as the Coadjutor Bishop of Cameroon’s Mamfe Diocese encouraged CWA members in Cameroon to be “prophets, the ones to lead us from hopelessness to hope through your prayers and your witnessing.”

“Dear mothers of the church, you are ambassadors of hope to our society, and you have become ambassadors of hope through the painful experiences and the sufferings that many of you have gone through,” the Archbishop of Bamenda said.

He added, “You have been prominent in all occasions of the Church from Episcopal or Priestly ordinations to final professions of Religious men and women, and any other occasions that are organized by the church at any level. You have promoted the Marian spirituality and you have done your best to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is your mother and your model.”

“May God bless you abundantly, forever and ever,” Archbishop Nkea implored.

CWA Cameroon was founded in 1964 under the initiative of Mrs. Anna Foncha with the ecclesiastical approval of the then Local Ordinary of Buea, Bishop Jules Peeters.

Starting off as a small group of women, CWA in Cameroon has grown to about 20,000 registered women all over Cameroon. The association exists in many other parts of the globe.

In his remarks during the event, the Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon recognized the vital role of CWA in the Church.

“You are important; you are the heart of the Church; you are the arms of the Church,” Archbishop Bettencourt told CWA members in Cameroon on July 24.

Source: aciafrica

25, July 2024

Yaoundé: World Bank Group feeding Biya’s corrupt government ⁰

The World Bank Group announced on July 23 its commitment to a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with Cameroon, covering 2025 to 2029. This strategic partnership aims to support Cameroon’s “Vision 2035,” which aspires to transform the nation into “an emerging, democratic, and united country in its diversity.”

As part of this effort, the financial institution plans to provide over $2 billion (more than CFA1, 210 billion) during the CPF period to bolster the country’s economic development. This funding complements the $4.2 billion in ongoing commitments.

Cheick F. Kanté, World Bank Country Director for Cameroon, emphasized the importance of this partnership in job creation, particularly for the youth. “A key focus of our engagement is to create more and better jobs, particularly for the youth, as a driver for improving the living conditions of the Cameroonian population at large and preserving social cohesion,” he stated, according to the release. Another goal of the new CPF is to create more effective and inclusive service delivery institutions, with special attention to climate and fragility issues.

The new CPF marks a significant step in the collaboration between Cameroon and the World Bank Group institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). This partnership will focus on expanding economic opportunities while laying the foundations for resilient and inclusive growth in Cameroon.

Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for West and Central Africa, highlighted the essential role of the private sector in achieving the CPF’s objectives. “The private sector has a key role to play in expanding renewable energy solutions, enhancing agricultural productivity, bridging the infrastructure gap, and increasing financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Cameroon,” she said.

Şebnem Erol Madan, Director of Economic Analysis and Sustainability at MIGA, underscored the World Bank Group’s commitment to mobilizing private financing and foreign direct investments to support inclusive and resilient development in Cameroon. “Over the CPF period, the WBG will build on its track record of mobilizing private finance and foreign direct investment in diverse sectors, supporting inclusive and resilient development in Cameroon. This effort will be strengthened by sustained collaboration between the World Bank, IFC and MIGA in joint business development, including through the deployment of the WBG Guarantee Platform housed in MIGA,” she explained.

According to the World Bank, the preparation of the new CPF involved consultations with key stakeholders, including government officials, the private sector, civil society, think tanks, universities, and other development partners.

Source: Business in Cameroon

25, July 2024

The Butcher of Yaoundé postpones municipal elections ⁰

91 year-old President Paul Biya on Wednesday evening signed a decree postponing municipal elections scheduled for February next year.

The decree extended the mandate for current municipal councilors for a year from its expiry date of Feb. 25, 2025 to May 31, 2026.

The decree came barely two weeks after the country’s National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, approved a bill extending the mandate for its current lawmakers for a year.

Biya did not say why the elections have been postponed but officials of the ruling party, Cameroon People Democratic Movement (CPDM), explained that it was part of efforts by the government “to lighten a congested” electoral calendar.

“Cameroon is expected to hold four major elections next year, namely presidential, parliamentary, municipal and regional council elections. This is a real heavy burden. That is why it was necessary to postpone the municipal and parliamentary elections for a better organization of all the four elections throughout 2025 to 2026,” CPDM senior official Elvis Ngolle Ngolle said.

Source: Xinhuanet

25, July 2024

Russia’s Mi-28 Helicopter crashes, all crew members killed ⁰

A Russian military helicopter has crashed in the country’s Kaluga region during a routine flight killing all of its crew members, as confirmed by the country’s Defense Ministry.

In a statement early on Thursday, Russia’s defense ministry said that a Mi-28 military helicopter crashed in the Zhizdra district of the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, killing all its crew members.

The ministry said a technical malfunction was likely to blame, but no specific number of individuals on board was mentioned. However, a Mi-28 helicopter usually carries a crew of two.

“A commission of the Russian Aerospace Forces is working at the site of the crash,” the ministry added.

According to TASS news agency, the helicopter was performing a scheduled flight when the incident occurred. The crew members did not survive, as the Mi-28 is not equipped with a crew ejection system, unlike the Ka-52 “Alligator” helicopter.

The Russian aircraft crashed in a remote area near the village of Klyonki, without causing any further damage on the ground, as reported by local officials.

The governor of Kaluga, Vladislav Shapsha, has confirmed the incident, revealing that the crash occurred in Zhizdrinsk district on the border with the Bryansk region, which is on the frontier with Ukraine.

Shapsha wrote on Telegram that rescuers were working at the crash site.

Moreover, the Telegram channel of Mash online newspaper disclosed that the helicopter, which is often used on drone-hunting missions, was heading back from a combat mission when a crew member spotted a fire on board, apparently caused by an engine malfunction.

As a result, the pilot decided to redirect the aircraft to an unpopulated area to prevent any potential harm to civilians.

The Cold War-era Mi-28 helicopter is a twin-seat attack helicopter, designed as an anti-tank attack platform similar in scope and function to the American Hughes AH-64 Apache series.

It took its first flight in 1982, becoming an all-weather attack helicopter with multiple updated models.

Source: Presstv