Africa

8, July 2016

Eneo angers Yaounde city dwellers with sharp increase in electricity bills ⁰

Households in the nation’s capital Yaoundé have registered their protest following a sudden increase in electricity bills. The offices of Eneo, the company responsible for the distribution of electricity have all been receiving large numbers of complaints this week. Cameroon Concord News spoke to some of the Yaoundé city dwellers who revealed that the bills moved from 30,000 to 50,000 CFA francs in the month of June 2016. Some electricity customers claimed their amounts rose from 13,000 to 20,000 FCFA.

Many customers of the distribution company, Eneo do not understand what caused the sharp increase. A spokes person for the electricity company, Eneo was quoted as saying that “Change can only occur with a decision from the regulatory agency for the electricity sector (Arsel). To date, invoice is based on the rates set in 2012”.

Eneo issued a statement late last week stating that “rates are set according to consumption brackets between 0 and 110 kWh, it costs 50 CFA francs, without Vat. But as long as people buy appliances or even simple light bulbs that consume a lot, or they leave phone chargers and various other devices connected all night, and consumption increases when you exceed 110 kWh, it you apply another minimum charging period is 79 FCFA with more Vat”

It is also common in the major cities for dubious electricians to tap electricity from a neighbor without his knowledge and “you pay for two or three households”. At the time of filing this report, an Eneo official admitted that there were billing problems, due to some mistakes.

Rita Akana (Cameroon Concord News)

8, July 2016

Another electricity company created in Cameroon ⁰

Another electricity company known as the Nachtigal Hydro Power Company has been created in Cameroon. An agreement to concretize the existence of this company was signed on the 7^th of July 2016 in Yaounde by representatives of France, Cameroon and the International Finance Corporation.

The Minister of Water Resource and Energy Basile Atangana Kouna signed on behalf of Cameroon while Jean-François Arsenault represented the French Government. The Nachtigal Hydro-Power Company is expected to provide one third of Cameroon’s Energy by 2020, and to supply power to the aluminum plant in Edea.

The company will in the Months ahead complete the construction of 420 mega watts power dam on the river Sanaga. It is estimated to cover a distance of 40 miles transmission line.

According to the agreement, the French Government will have a 40% share of the company and the Electricite de France will exploit the dam for a period of 35yrs while Cameroon on the other hand will have 30% share. 30% of the project will be funded the International Finance Corporation.

CRTV

7, July 2016

Poultry farmers hold massive demo in Yaounde ⁰

Poultry farmers have held a massive demonstration today in Yaounde. The farmers blocked the entrance to the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA), protesting against what they termed the destruction of the national poultry industry following the poor management of the bird flu crisis. Cameroon Concord News understands the farmers were led by the Association for the Defense of Collective Interests (ACDIC).

In the event of this morning, 40 cartons of eggs were destroyed in an industry already ruined by the CPDM government’s procrastination policy. After the discovery of the first outbreaks of bird flu in Yaoundé, the government banned the marketing of chicken and eggs and also ordered the destruction of more dairy products. Five regions in the country were greatly affected by bird flu and losses are around 66 billion FCFA.

Ebong Kingsley (Cameroon Concord News Group)

5, July 2016

Biya expected in Kribi ¹

The presidential security and some elements from the civil cabinet department of the presidency of the republic have been moved to Kribi pending a visit by the head of state to the newly constructed deep sea port project. Cameroon Concord News understands a long line of all-terrain vehicles of the Cameroon army have been stationed at Mboro at the sea port site whose first phase was completed since 2014.

We gathered that the visit of the Head of State will be to inaugurate the industrial port complex. A highly placed government official who sued for anonymity quoted the Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic that “everything is ready for the arrival of the head of state”.

Sama Ernest (Cameroon Concord News Group)

4, July 2016

MTN Cameroon suspends over 600,000 unidentified subcribers ⁰

Barely a day after the deadline for the identification operation of mobile phone subscribers initiated by the CPDM Government, the mobile phone operator MTN Cameroon has suspended lines of subscribers who have not met the rules. Cameroon Concord News has learnt from local media sources that nearly 600,000 unidentified numbers were put out of the MTN Cameroon network. A spokesperson for the South African operator was quoted as saying it is matter of making the operator’s database reliable and to respect the orders of the guardianship.

The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Likeng Minette Libom Li announced that every mobile phone subscriber must be identified. It was in line with government policy that MTN Cameroon is committed to working with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to make the environment even safer and increase customer confidence in the network and take all appropriate measures, such as to guarantee security. MTN has also advised that after six months if the unidentified customers failed to submit make available the rightful documentation, they will be permanently disabled.

Sama Ernest (Cameroon Concord News Group)

4, July 2016

Ethiopian authorities release Camair Co’s Boeing 767 ⁰

After spending six months in Ethiopia for maintenance and unpaid bills, Camair Co’s Boeing 767 landed in Douala on Saturday July the 2^nd. The Boeing code named the Dja was flown to Addis Ababa for repairs but had to stay put for a six months period because Camair Co was unable to pay for the technical maintenance work. A source who sued for anonymity told Cameroon Concord News that it needed the intervention of the Minister of Transport for the Ethiopian authorities to release the plane.

Welcoming the crew at the Douala International airport, the general manager of Camair Co, Nana Sandjo, assisted by members of his staff said the Boeing 767 was ready for business, “everything was refurbished. It can resume flying.” Nana Sandjo added that, “There is just some small checks to be done in Cameroon and Camair-Co, as well as paperwork.” The Dja has a 220 passenger capacity.

Rita Akana (Cameroon Concord News Group)

2, July 2016

After the Netherlands: British authorities sanctions 14 Cameroon timber companies ⁰

14 importers of timber from Cameroon have been sanctioned by UK authorities responsible for the application and enforcement of the Wood Regulations of the European Union Cameroon Concord News has learned. The sanctions were made public by Chatham House London and follow those already issued by the Netherlands on March 9, 2016. They revolve around the exploitation and illegal trade of wood from the Cameroonian forest ranked among the richest in biodiversity in the Congo basin.

These sanctions supported by the leadership of Greenpeace have confirmed rumors that Wood from Cameroon is the subject of a thorough review by the European Union. The list of the 14 importers has not been published by the British government. However, a leading Greenpeace figure in Cameroon was quoted as saying that the companies are identifiable.

The CPDM government had long been cautioned by the EU following its failure to apply strict forestry rules. Of these 14 importers, 6 received a warning for corrective action while warning letters were served to 7 operators. Since the entry into force in 2010 of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Cameroon has not made much effort to fight against illegal logging.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News)

24, June 2016

Cameroon ranks 17th in the classification of African countries using Face book ⁰

Cameroon has been ranked 17th in the classification of African countries using Face book. Cameroon Concord News gathered from the data released by Face book that over one million Cameroonians are registered on this social network. 620,000 are men (64%), and 340 000 of them (36%) are women.

Another study on the data presented by the social network Mark Zuckerberg noted that Cameroonian youth are those who are most interested in social media. 170 000 subscribers are between the ages of 13 and 19 years, 17%; 440 000 between the ages of 18 and 25 years (46%). The 35 years are only 156,000 people (16.25%).

The ranking is dominated by Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria. However, the social network is attracting more and more companies.

Rita Akana (Cameroon Concord News Group)

23, June 2016

Corruption scandal rocks SODECOTON as 580 million disappears from company coffers ⁰

The CEO’s of public companies in Cameroon have continued their CPDM policy of looting in the open. This is the case with the Cameroon Cotton Development Company, SODECOTON, where 580 million FCFA have been stolen recently. Cameroon Concord News learned that SODECOTON created in 1974 by the Cameroon government is facing the worse ever financial crisis in its history.

Our chief intelligence officer hinted at the time of filing this report that a dozen company executive members have already been interrogated by prosecutors at the Special Criminal Court and 6 of them are in police custody. A sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report revealed that some of those highly placed SODECOTON officials arrested over the week end were transported to Yaoundé by a military plane from Garoua including the out gone general manager, Abdou Namba.

This is not the first time that cases of misappropriation of public funds have been reported in Sodecoton. In 2007, more than 174 million CFA francs disappeared from the state enterprise. The funds were reportedly diverted to Cotton Sport Garoua- a football club partly owned by SODECOTO.

The most recent case is that of Iya Mohammed, former general manager of Sodecoton, serving a 15 years sentence at the Kondengui central prison. He was charged in September 2015 for embezzling 11 billion FCFA.

Tambe Peter (Cameroon Concord News Group)

18, June 2016

Bodies of 19 Ethiopians found in a container in the Democratic Republic of Congo ⁰

The bodies of nineteen Ethiopians suffocated in a container have been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo precisely in Mwenda, a town in the Mokambo district.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from Congolese media sources that the nineteen Ethiopians were undocumented and their bodies were found in the bush 7 km from Mwenda, to the border town of Mokambo in Upper Katanga.

75 survivors (72 Ethiopians and 3 Zambians) were also discovered in the same container. We also learned that the illegal immigrants were being transported by a Zambian truck driver en route to South Africa.

CIR