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19, August 2016

The decline of the ANC: Opposition Councillor elected mayor of Pretoria ⁰

South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress (ANC), has been dealt a major blow as an opposition politician is named as the mayor of the capital Pretoria for the first time since the end of Apartheid two decades ago. Opposition councilor Solly Msimanga, 36, of the liberal center-right Democratic Alliance (DA), was elected Pretoria mayor on Friday.

“The people decided which way they want the city to go, and it was not the direction that it has been taking in the last… years,” Msimanga said in his inaugural speech to the city council. People are “tired of corruption, they are tired of nepotism, they are tired of cronyism… they are tired of work only given to members of certain families and their friends,” he said.

Msimanga vowed to end the patronage that he said had left the capital in the red. “This city is technically bankrupt right now because of greediness and because of people who decided to put themselves first,” he said. “No more will our people suffer under the hands of the ANC.” The ANC councilors heckled Msimanga during his speech.

It is the first time since the end of white-minority rule in 1994 that Pretoria, also known as Tshwane, is not headed by a mayor from the ANC. The loss for the ANC and victory for the DA follows nationwide municipal elections earlier this month. The ANC lost control of three major cities, namely, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Nationwide, as well, the party suffered its worst results in 22 years in the municipal vote, gaining less than 54 percent of ballots cast, an eight percentage point drop from the last local elections in 2011. The ANC was once viewed as the South African party upholding the ideas and tenets of anti-Apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, and the DA as the party serving rich white South Africans.

Presstv

19, August 2016

Baghdad based US military spokesman says Iran-backed forces in Iraq have grown to 100,000 ⁰

Iran-backed Shia forces in Iraq have grown to 100,000 in the war against Daesh Takfiri militants, says Baghdad-based US military spokesman, Colonel Chris Garver. In an email to Fox News, Garver said that since the rise of Daesh terrorists inside Iraq more than two years ago, Shia forces have grown to 100,000 fighters.

Garver added that the fighters have been able to grow inside the Popular Mobilization Units. Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been pushing the militants out of the country’s territory.

Fox News reported that this is an alarmingly high number and is the first time such a figure has been estimated. The American news channel also reported concerns that the Shia fighters represent an “anti-American force” that would take over once Daesh are defeated.

Many have been critical of the US’ role in Iraq. Last month, an Iraqi parliamentary panel opposed the role of US troops in the liberation of Mosul, in light of the news that the US was planning to send hundreds of additional troops there. Iraq’s MP Nayef al-Shammari said that “Iraqis have already retaken Tikrit, Fallujah and… Ramadi.”

When asked about Shia fighters’ involvement in the liberation of Mosul, Garver said, “the government of Iraq is in charge of this war. We’re here to support them. So, who they [want in] the campaign is really their decision.” However, he strongly stressed that there is no coordination between the US and Iranians “in any way.”

Iraq is preparing for an offensive into Mosul, the country’s second largest city, which fell into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.

Iraqis managed to recapture the city of Fallujah, west of the capital Baghdad, in late June. The city was a main hub of Daesh militancy in Iraq and its liberation boosted hope for Iraq’s final push toward Mosul. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi has said that less than 10 percent of the Iraqi territory remains in the hands of Daesh.

Presstv

19, August 2016

Rebuilding the Bakassi Peninsula: The lies as told by CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata ³

The 19th Session of the Bakassi Projects Follow-Up Committee held in the Prime Minister’s Office on August 18, 2016 reported Cameroon Tribune.

Three years after the establishment of Cameroon’s total sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula following the June 12, 2006 Green Tree Accord, barons of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate are reportedly expressing a kind of satisfaction in government circles for what they claim is the effective implementation of social, economic, security and administrative projects in the zone handed over by the Federal Republic of Nigeria after the October 10, 2002 International Court of Justice ruling.

The Biya regime and its propaganda machinery revealed in 2015 that over FCFA 30 billion had been invested in the area since 2008. They added that more investments worth over FCFA 722 million have since been added in 2016. However, this photo attached to this report as recorded for us by Cameroon Tribune does not showcase a constituency that has received huge amount of government funding.

While chairing the 19^th Session of the Coordination and Follow-up Committee for the Implementation of Priority Projects in the Bakassi Zone, on August 18, 2016, the committee’s Chairperson and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Bertha Ndoh Bakata, said that much indeed had been accomplished through the yearly Public Investment Budget and the FCFA 5.6 billion Special Mini Development Programme.

Bertha Ndoh Bakata who has the luxury of living in the capital city of Yaounde gave a run-down of the projects executed citing the construction of rest houses, classrooms, youth centres, fishermen’s houses, health structures, customs posts, roads and community halls, among others, in localities such as Isangele, Akwa, Idabato, Mbengmong, New Beach and Kombo-Abedimo.

She hinted that Prime Minister Philemon Yang authorised a trip of a team of five to the area in April 2016 to identify emergency projects which a Douala-based company and some Canadian investors were interested in executing. But the images emerging from Bakassi indicates Bertha Ndoh Bakata and her mentor, Minister and Chief Dion Ngute are simply playing the CPDM game.

CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata betrayed herself at the tail end of her submission during the August 18 meeting by urging participants to address persistent problems such as insufficient potable water, electricity, telecommunication and roads. If 30 billion already invested in this area cannot tackle Beltha Ndoh Bakata “persistent problems” who now is fooling who here?

CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata called for more commitment by ministries in the implementation of the projects and the early disbursement of earmarked funds, especially as the long rainy season acts as a major impediment.

By Sama Ernest with files from Cameroon Tribune

18, August 2016

Turkey under attack by Kurdistan militants ⁰

A new bomb attack claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and clashes with the militants have killed at least four members of Turkish security forces east of the country.

Local media said Thursday that the bomb attack was carried out in Hizan district of the province of Bitlis about noon local time, when militants detonated a hand-made explosive device placed on a road near Gayda village while a military vehicle was passing.

Reports said three soldiers were killed and six others were wounded in the attack. The Dogan news agency said a village guard was also killed and another soldier was wounded when clashes erupted in the rural areas of Nazar village in the same area.

Presstv

18, August 2016

Biya gives the green light for a criminal investigation on the GM of the Electricity Development Corporation ⁰

The President of the Republic has reportedly given his approval for a criminal investigation to be carried out on Theodore Nsangou, the general manager of the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC). Information has filtered to Cameroon Concord News that prosecutors of the Special Criminal Court have presented the court with a list of people charged with the embezzlement of funds from the company between 2008 and 2009.

The ruling CPDM gang that ran the corporation will have to respond to alleged misuse of public funds estimated at 19 billion FCFA and another 880 million FCFA which the GM, Theodore Nsangou with some of his collaborators swindled.

Our Yaounde city reporter covering this scandal observed that the name Theodore Nsangou was already among the many suspects identified by the general prosecutor of the Special Criminal Court. He however revealed that because of the position held by the current GM, the judge has split the procedure into two, thus returning to trial Celestin Ndonga and his co-defendants, until the President of the Republic gives his approval for the opening of the GM’s file making a mockery of the independence of Special Criminal Court.

There are unconfirmed reports that on February 25, 2015, Emille Zéphrin Nsoga, the former prosecutor at the Special Criminal Court, sent the investigating judge an introductory submission in which he stated the involvement of the general manager in corruption practices in the alleged misappropriation of funds at the expense of the company.

By Chi Prudence Asong

18, August 2016

BICEC CPDM Scandal: More questions than answers ²

Since August 8, some top BICEC bankers’ have been remanded in custody at the New Bell central prison in Douala. Cameroon Concord News has learned that there is more to this crisis than the bank would want the public to know. Recently, a prominent Cameroon financial expert hinted our Douala economic reporter that other culprits are at large. Our source who sued for anonymity revealed that the smart arrest of Innocent Ondoa Nkou, the former Deputy Managing Director of BICEC and Samuel Ngando Mbongue, the Director of Accounting suspected of embezzling nearly 50 billion CFA francs were state managed as a policy of damage control.

We can now reveal that many other people are involved in this case and participated in this grave financial crime and have not been mentioned by the bank hierarchy. Given that some of the money was used to pay for events hosted by the ruling CPDM crime syndicate, some junior staffs of the bank are now afraid to say a word for fear of being fired or disappear in a strange way, especially that all suspects are influential people in the country.

On the menu of questions around this financial scandal that has rocked an international establishment such as BICEC; some wonder why the previous General Managers did not uncover these malpractices? A highly placed Cameroon government official who spoke to us at the time of filing this report hinted that based on the fact that the period of the alleged offense was from 2003 to 2012, the internal audits cannot wash their hands off the matter like the Biblical Pontus Pilate. Our source further questioned what prompted the high profile arrest recently.

By Sama Ernest

17, August 2016

7 Cameroonian Boko Haram fighters arrested at Kouyape in the Far North region ⁰

9 Boko Haram fighters (7 Cameroonians and 2 Nigerians) were arrested late today Wednesday the 17^th of August 2016 at Kouyapé by Cameroon Special Forces. Cameroon Concord News learned that the militants have been taken to Nguetchewé and remanded in custody. The seven Cameroonian Boko Haram members were recruited from Zenemé, Sanda-Wadjiri, Souledé and Roua-Wara villages in the Far North region.

The Governor of the Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakari,has been working hand-in-gloves with the vigilance committee groups whose role alongside the army is more than ever crucial for intelligence. Their bravery is rewarded every day by President Paul Biya who recently decorated four non-state policing actors with the medal of knight of the Cameroon order of merit.

By Rita Akana

17, August 2016

Cameroon: Land management experts meeting in Yaounde ⁰

Land management experts are meeting in Yaounde to seek solutions to land related problems and design ways of educating people on the procedures to acquire land.

The Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, Jacqueline Koung à Besike opened the two-day conclave today the 17th of August 2016 in Yaounde.

The Minister amongst other things, called on the experts to make tangible contributions to the on-going land reform in Cameroon.

To the experts, the misinterpretation of laws on land in the country by actors account for the multiplicity of land disputes in Cameroon.

CRTV

17, August 2016

US: Donald Trump shakes up campaign staff for the second time in 2 months ⁰

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has shaken up his election campaign staff for the second time in two months. Trump is adding two officials to top posts supervising his campaign, with less than three months to the Election Day in November.

The business mogul named Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News and a former investment banker, to the post of chief executive. He also promoted Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser and pollster to the position of his campaign manager, CNN reported on Wednesday. Paul Manafort, Trump campaign’s chairman and chief strategist, will continue to serve as campaign chairman, Conway said. “I look at it as an expansion of the team. Paul remains as Chairman,” Conway stated.

This comes in the wake of an increase in tensions inside Trump’s campaign in recent weeks as well as warnings by several people close to the campaign to have a shakeup as Trump’s relationship with Manafort soured. The negative headlines and alarming polls for Trump have influenced Trump’s decision. “I want to win,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal. “That’s why I’m bringing on fantastic people who know how to win and love to win.”

Two months ago, Trump fired his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski following weeks of internal disputes between Lewandowski and Manafort, who was initially named to oversee his campaign. “Mr. Trump doesn’t trust him anymore. That’s it. Pure and simple,” a source familiar with the tensions told CNN. “When Mr. Trump doesn’t feel comfortable with the way things are managed or the way things are, he has a tendency to try to do everything, thus his exasperation becomes apparent. It manifests itself,” the source said.

Presstv

17, August 2016

War on Corruption: CPDM Section President for Ngie, Momo Division arrested in Bamenda ¹

Ubango Helly, CPDM Section President for Ngie, near Bamenda has been arrested and charged for corruption. The so-called chartered member of the ruling party was picked up on August 10, 2016 and he is currently being held at the premises of the Criminal Investigation Directorate (DPJ) Bamenda.

Ubnago Helly, Chairman and CEO of Relax UB Company, a transportation agency and who also owns a chain of small enterprises is involved in a vast network of corruption over the past fifteen years, which was recently dismantled by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

An acolyte of Minister Atanga Njie, Cameroon Concord News learned that elites, traditional leaders and Senators have been holding meetings with him at the DPJ Bamenda. Our senior political correspondent in the North West region opined that the arrest will bring down many other CPDM heavyweights.

Ubango Helly is accused of operating a network that allows certain state officials to receive up to 12 months of their salaries in advance, an act that is forbidden in Cameroon. The Ubango Helly crime syndicate takes only three days and civil servants are paid up to 50% of their salaries depending on the amount requested by the needy person. He has also been indicted for fraud in pensions, death, retirement and others public service schemes.

Correspondingly, Ubango Helly is not only the CPDM boss of Ngie in Momo Division but he is also the Secretary General of the Circle of Friends of President Biya. A teacher by profession, his salary was suspended by former North West Governor, Abakar Ahamat because he was never in the classroom to teach courses. Curiously, he received an early retirement on that same year.

He pretended to his followers that he was fighting corruption by posting messages such as this one on his face book page “CPDM Militants of the Momo West Section,Ngie construct a temporary bridge at Ngwokwong on the Acha-Andek road following the collapse of the permanent bridge. The contractor who won to construct the permanent bridge long abandoned the job, placing Ngie people at the risk of flooding waters”.

By Rita Akana