Business

15, January 2020

Yaounde Clears Security Checks after Truckers Protests ⁰

Cameroon has bowed to pressure from truckers and is dismantling illegal roadblocks and check points from the country’s port city of Douala to the Chadian capital of N’Djamena. For more than a week, truckers refused to drive the route because of extortion at the checkpoints. Drivers have resumed full activity now that officials are listening to their complaints.

Cameroonian truck driver Ngaibai Bassirou drives his semi-trailer carrying building material out of the Ngaoundere truck stop in northern Cameroon on his way to the Chadian capital.

Ngaibai said after grounding his truck for 10 days he and 90 other truck drivers decided to resume deliveries because authorities in Cameroon are dismantling some of the illegal check points that extort money from him and his peers.

He said what made them very angry and stop transporting only basic goods like food and medication to Ndjamena was that they were spending up to $500 to pay their way through the many Illegal check points between Douala and Ndjamena and a similar amount on their way back.

Bassirou said truckers were surprised that after complaining to the government several times last year, the number of check points increased, and the money collected from truckers skyrocketed.

The truckers began their protest on January 2.

Aashir Issa, vice president of Chad’s National Trade Union of Truck Drivers, said Cameroon should not only dismantle the illegal check posts but should also make sure people who create such posts are punished.

FILE - A picture taken on March 15, 2018 shows a general view of the port of Douala, Cameroon. — FILE – A picture taken on March 15, 2018 shows a gneral view of the port of Douala, Cameroon.

He said the government should make sure the police, gendarmes and customs officers who mounted the illegal check points answer charges in courts of law. He said the dismantling of 15 unauthorized control posts in a distance of 70 kilometers within 12 hours indicates how truck drivers were severely exploited and that they are ready to indicate to the governor so many other illegal check points where transporters are harassed to give money without receipts.

Kildadi Tagueke Boukar, governor of Cameroon’s Adamawa region, where Ngaoundere is found, supervised the clearing of the check points. He said some of them were created by Cameroon security services for what they described as strategic reasons, but that such reasons cannot undermine a decision taken by Cameroon and Chad to regulate transport between the two countries.

In January of last year, Chad and the Central African Republic dispatched senior customs officials to Cameroon to look into the problem of the illegal checkpoints.

Chad and C.A.R. businesses threatened to start importing and exporting goods through Cotonou in Benin, although Douala is the nearest ocean gateway for the landlocked countries.

In March 2019, the transport ministers of Cameroon and Chad signed an agreement recognizing only one security check point on the road between Douala and Ndjamena.

Cameroon’s ministry of transport said it has reduced the number of check points along the road by 75 percent, and officials have promised to dismantle the rest.

Source: VOA

14, January 2020

Bundes: Berlin to invest 62 bn euros by 2030 to modernise rail network ⁰

The German government on Tuesday agreed to pump 62 billion euros into modernising its rail network system, as part of a wider plan to incite commuters to opt for greener public transport options.

“We’ve just signed the most important programme of modernisation ever in Germany,” said Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, adding that “this is the decade for railway”.

Besides the massive sum stumped up by the state, equivalent to $69 billion, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn will also plow an additional 24 billion euros into the renewal programme.

The investments will go towards “replacing obsolete installations”, improving access to disabled passengers as well as renovating rail bridges, said Scheuer.

Deutsche Bahn chief Richard Lutz also vowed to improve punctuality of trains — a key turn-off for commuters, even though he also called for patience in view of the disruptions that rail upgrading will undoubtedly bring.

Getting more people to switch to trains instead of the more polluting cars or planes is a central plank of a government climate package aimed at helping Germany lower its emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

As part of the package, train fares are going down while air travel prices are set to rise with higher taxes to be imposed.

Source: AFP

14, January 2020

Bank of Ambazonia Intensifies Bond Sales to Finance Strategic Projects ⁰

The Bank of Ambazonia (BoA), the central bank for the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, today announced that it has constituted its Board of Governors and would soon begin financing strategic projects for the security and welfare of the Ambazonian people. The BoA is an all-inclusive, semi-autonomous informal financial structure, with credible representatives from the 13 Ambazonian counties and other constituent components of the Ambazonian revolution.

“The response to the launch of the Ambazonia Freedom Bonds has been quite enthusiastic and the Board has just created a project committee, which will begin scrutinizing strategic projects for financing,” said Dr. Asa’na Akoh, Chair of the Board of Governors. “We are very pleased with the composition and quality of our Board members; who not only have financial, legal, management, communication and other technical skills; but above all, are completely dedicated to the liberation of our country.”

The Federal Government of Ambazonia (FGA) Treasury Bonds, popularly known as the “Ambazonia Freedom Bonds,” are fixed-interest rate public debt-based investments. Money is loaned to the Interim government by individuals or institutions in return for an agreed interest rate of twenty percent (20%). This debt security provides an investment avenue for Ambazonians and other willing investors to invest in the future of our nation. The minimum investment is two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) and having a maturity of five years after independence. The bond will be payable in US dollars by the Treasury of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to bond holders.

The Bank of Ambazonia has floated three types of bonds – Defense, Humanitarian, and Diplomatic bonds. Each of these bonds costs $250.00 and yields the same dividends; but gives the investor the opportunity to finance any aspect of the Ambazonian revolution.

“We are appealing to all Ambazonians and other people of good will to help us finance this new nation by investing in one of our bonds,” said Chairman Akoh. “This is an excellent opportunity to do good while earning a return on your investment. The FGA has the obligation to pay the bondholder the principal and agreed interest at bond maturity. When you buy the Ambazonia Freedom Bonds, you are lending to the FGA for a specified period of time. These bonds are backed by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the Federal Government, and resources of the nation and people of Ambazonia.”

About the Bank of Ambazonia (BoA): The Bank of Ambazonia (BoA) is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. When fully constituted and empowered, it will serve as the nation’s reserve bank or monetary authority with responsibility for managing the currency, money supply, interest rates, and the commercial banking system. In its current iteration, it is an informal financial structure, not under the purview of any licensing authority.

About the Federal Republic Ambazonia: The Federal Republic of Ambazonia, is a nation in the process of decolonization. The territory, which was previously referred to as the British Southern Cameroons, was supposed to have gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1961; but was effectively annexed by La Republique du Cameroun on the same day. After nearly six decades of colonialism, the territory declared its independence on October 1, 2017, as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. Upon the declaration, Cameroun began the massacre of thousands of unarmed civilians. Ambazonians now comprise the largest refugee population in Africa. Help us stop the Genocide in Ambazonia!

13, January 2020

SONARA investigating 23 workers following fresh technical blunder ⁰

23 workers of the National Refining Company, SONARA are reported to be answering questions from security officials following a blunder that almost led to another fire outbreak at the facility.

Reports have it that a leakage at the refinery’s technical department almost brought back memories of the May 31, 2019 fire disaster that has since left the company in difficulties.

23 workers of the technical department comprising the Exploitation and Maintenance units have since the January 7, 2020 incident been under fire as they are being grilled at the SONARA Gendarmerie Brigade.

With every one of the accused trying to absorb themselves of any possible blame, fingers remain crossed along the corridors of the company to see which heads will roll, this time around, especially given that the report of the Prime Ministerial probe into the May 2019 fire at the refinery is yet to be made public.

“At press time, no official statement had been released by SONARA. Simo Njonou Jean Paul, General Manager of the company, who has been away in Yaounde, The SUN gathered, is expected to be presented with the reports of the investigation, upon his return this week. Simo Njonou, no doubt is one facing tough times at the helm of a company whose glorious days appear to be slowly fading away,” the Limbe-based tabloid reports.

Cameroon-info.net recalls that the May 31, 2019 fire outbreak that brought down four of the 13 production units at the National Refining Company, SONARA cost the state hundreds of millions in FCFA.

Gaston Eloundou Essomba, Cameroon’s Minister of Water Resources and Energy had personally led a 40-man team to SONARA from Tuesday, June 25 to Thursday, June 27, 2019 and spent three wholesome days at the refinery. They spent the three days sniffing through files and documents at SONARA.

The probe was at the behest of the Head of Government who is yet to make public the results of the investigations he ordered. It is not known how this new situation will affect last year’s report as the nation holds its breath.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

10, January 2020

‘Designed by clowns,’ Boeing employees ridicule 737 MAX, regulators in internal messages ⁰

Boeing Corp. has released hundreds of internal messages that contained harshly critical comments about the development of the 737 MAX, including one that said the plane was “designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys.”

The messages, disclosed on Thursday, show attempts to duck regulatory scrutiny with employees disparaging the plane, the company, the Federal Aviation Administration and foreign aviation regulators.

In an instant messaging exchange on February 8, 2018 — when the plane was in the air and eight months before the first of two fatal crashes, an employee asks another: “Would you put your family on a MAX simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t.”

The second employee responds, “No.”

The 737 MAX has been grounded since March after an Ethiopian Airlines flight nose-dived, just five months after a similar Lion Air crash. The two disasters killed 346.

In particular, some of the communications reveal efforts by Boeing to avoid making pilot simulator training – an expensive and time-consuming process — a requirement for the 737 MAX.

The aircraft manufacturer changed tack just this week, saying it would recommend pilots do simulator training before they resume flying the 737 MAX – a major shift from its long-held position that computer-based training was sufficient as the plane was similar to its predecessor, the 737 NG.

The release of the messages, which highlight an aggressive culture of cost-cutting and disrespect towards the FAA, is set to deepen the crisis at Boeing which is struggling to get its best-selling plane back in the air and restore public confidence.

Boeing scandal: Up to 50 planes grounded worldwide

The FAA said, however, that the messages do not raise new safety concerns although “the tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing.”

Boeing said the communications “do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable.”

Pearly gates closed

The disclosure, which Boeing said was in the interest of transparency with the FAA, prompted renewed outrage from US lawmakers and puts more pressure on Boeing’s new CEO David Calhoun to overhaul the company’s corporate culture when he takes the reins on Monday.

House Transportation Committee Chairman, Peter DeFazio, who has been investigating the 737MAX, said the messages “paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was, apparently, willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally.”

Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the commerce committee leading the Senate’s probe into Boeing, also said the latest documents “raise questions about the efficacy of the FAA’s oversight of the certification process.”

The US Justice Department has an active criminal investigation underway into matters related to the 737 MAX aircraft.

Some of the messages pointed to problems with the simulators. Boeing said on Thursday it is confident “all of Boeing’s MAX simulators are functioning effectively” after repeated testing since the messages were written.

The messages, however, show Boeing was doing all it could to lobby aviation regulators to avoid the need for airlines to train pilots in a simulator on the differences between the 737 MAX and the 737 NG.

“I want to stress the importance of holding firm that there will not be any type of simulator training required to transition from NG to MAX,” Boeing’s 737 chief technical pilot said in a March 2017 email.

“Boeing will not allow that to happen. We’ll go face to face with any regulator who tries to make that a requirement.”

Before the grounding, pilot training on the differences consisted of a one-hour lesson on an iPad and no time in the simulator, according to the union representing pilots at American Airlines.

Shukor Yusof, the head of Malaysia-based aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, said Boeing should get credit for disclosing the “destructive diatribes.”

“Initially the flying public will understandably have reservations but the aircraft – having been completely and responsibly resurrected – will likely be one of the safest planes around,” he said.

In other emails and instant messages, employees spoke of their frustration with the company’s culture, complaining about the drive to find the cheapest suppliers and “impossible schedules.”

“I don’t know how to fix these things…it’s systemic. It’s culture. It’s the fact we have a senior leadership team that understand very little about the business and yet are driving us to certain objectives,” said an employee in an email dated June 2018.

And in a May 2018 message, an unnamed Boeing employee said: “I still haven’t been forgiven by god for the covering up I did last year.”

Without referencing what was covered up, the employee added, “Can’t do it one more time. The Pearly gates will be closed…”

(Source: Reuters)

7, January 2020

Nissan Affair: Arrest warrant issued in Japan for Carlos Ghosn’s wife ⁰

Prosecutors in Japan on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, wife of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, who last month jumped bail and fled the country.

The warrant was issued as the fallout from the escape of one of Japan’s most high-profile criminal suspects continues, with authorities pledging tighter border controls and seizing the bail money that Ghosn forfeited by fleeing the country.

He had been facing trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies, before fleeing the country in late December for Lebanon, where he was reunited with his wife.

In a statement, prosecutors said they had obtained the warrant on suspicion that Carole Ghosn “made false statements” during April testimony to the Tokyo district court about meetings with an unnamed individual.

He had been freed on bail after agreeing to strict conditions, with prosecutors arguing he posed a flight risk.

The conditions included restrictions on contact with Carole, which was reportedly among the reasons he decided to jump bail and flee the country in an elaborately planned escape that has outraged Japanese officials.

– Elaborate escape plan –

Ghosn’s second wife, Carole vocally led the campaign for her husband’s freedom, insisting on his innocence and slamming Japanese prosecutors for what she deemed ill-treatment after his shock November 19, 2018 arrest.

She was initially prevented from seeing her husband, who was held in detention for more than 100 days after his arrest, and petitioned everyone from French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House in seeking his release.

Ghosn, a globe-trotting auto titan who was once a giant of the industry, accuses executives at Japanese automaker Nissan of manufacturing the allegations against him in a “plot” to prevent closer integration with alliance partner Renault.

The warrant for Carole’s arrest comes as Japanese authorities piece together how Ghosn was able to evade surveillance and airport security.

Snippets have emerged suggesting he was aided by a security expert, and took advantage of loopholes in security at Japan’s Kansai airport.

He appears to have left his residence in Tokyo, which was monitored by surveillance cameras under his bail conditions, alone. He reportedly later met up with two US citizens and boarded a bullet train to Osaka on December 29.

In Osaka, he is reported to have been put into a large box with holes drilled into it to ensure he could breathe and then loaded onto a private jet that flew to Istanbul.

Airport security rules meant large items loaded onto private planes were exempt from screening — a loophole that appears to have allowed Ghosn to escape unnoticed.

– Ghosn plans press conference –

In Istanbul he boarded a second private jet that took him to Lebanon, where he entered on a French passport.

Under his bail conditions, his French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports were confiscated and held by his lawyers.

But he was allowed to retain a second French passport — in a locked case with the key held by his lawyers — so he could prove his short-term visa status if needed when travelling in Japan — which was allowed in the terms of his bail.

His lawyers in Japan said they had no idea about Ghosn’s plans to escape, with his lead attorney saying he learned of the news from the media.

Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a “red notice” for Carlos Ghosn’s arrest, but Beirut and Tokyo do not have an extradition treaty.

It was not immediately clear whether a similar notice would be issued for Carole Ghosn.

The shock arrest of the leading executive rocked the auto industry, where he was once a leading figure credited with turning around Nissan.

Ghosn alleges the case against him was manufactured by disgruntled Nissan executives and Japanese officials opposed to his plans to more closely integrate the firm with Renault.

He is due to give a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, and has told Fox Business that he has “actual evidence” that will prove the charges were a plot against him.

Source: AFP

31, December 2019

Angola freezes Isabel dos Santos’ assets ⁰

Authorities in Angola have ordered the freezing of assets held by former president Eduardo dos Santos’ daughter, Isabel, her husband and a business associate as part of a corruption probe, a copy of the order seen by Reuters shows.

The asset freeze follows an injunction application by the government, which is seeking to recover around $1 billion of funds that it says it is owed by Isabel dos Santos and her associates.

It is one of the highest-profile moves in an anti-corruption drive launched by President Joao Lourenço, who ended dos Santos’ nearly 40-year grip on power when he became head of state in 2017.

The road is long, the truth will prevail.

Isabel reassures employees

Isabel dos Santos, who owns stakes in companies including telecoms firm Unitel and financial firms, has denied wrongdoing during her father’s time in office.

“I would like to leave a message of tranquillity and confidence to my teams,” she tweeted on Monday.

“We will continue, every day, in every business, doing our best and fighting for what I believe in for Angola. The road is long, the truth will prevail. United we stand stronger.”

Ranked as Africa’s wealthiest woman by Forbes, Isabel dos Santos chaired the state oil company Sonangol – a crucial pillar of Angola’s oil-dependent economy – before being sacked by Lourenço in late 2017.

The court order, dated Dec. 23, said the asset freezes applied to Isabel dos Santos, her husband, Sindika Dokolo, and Mário Filipe Moreira Leite da Silva, chairman of Banco Fomento Angola (BFA).

It freezes their personal bank accounts in Angola, as well as their stakes in Angolan firms including Unitel, BFA and ZAP MIDIA.

Reuters was not immediately able to reach dos Santos, Dokolo or da Silva for comment on Tuesday.

The order said the central bank would be responsible for ensuring that no funds leave the personal bank accounts of the three accused.

The boards of directors of the companies subject to the asset freezes are responsible for ensuring no profits are transferred to the accused directly or through intermediaries, until a court makes a further ruling.

REUTERS

31, December 2019

Ex-Nissan boss flees Japan to Lebanon ⁰

Ousted Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has escaped Japan, where he is facing charges of financial misconduct, and arrived in Lebanon, slamming the Japanese justice system as “rigged.”

“I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied,” the 65-year-old Ghosn, who is of Lebanese origin, said in a brief statement on Tuesday.

“I have not fled justice — I have escaped injustice and political persecution. I can now finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week,” he added.

It was unclear how Ghosn, who was out on bail, was able to escape Japan, where he had been under strict surveillance.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK cited an unidentified Lebanese security official as saying that a person resembling Ghosn had entered Beirut international airport under a different name after flying in aboard a private jet.

NHK also reported that Japanese immigration authorities had no record of Ghosn departing the country.

Ghosn, who holds French, Brazilian, and Lebanese citizenship, fell from grace in Japan after his arrest last year, but he still retains more popularity in Lebanon.

One of Ghosn’s lawyers said on Tuesday that his client’s three passports were held by his lawyers as required by the terms of his bail and he could not have used any of them to escape Japan.

Junichiro Hironaka, speaking to reporters in comments broadcast live by NHK, slammed Ghosn’s escape as “inexcusable.”

Ghosn was arrested at a Tokyo airport shortly after his private jet landed there in November 2018. He faces four charges, including enriching himself through payments to dealerships in the Middle East. He denies the charges.

Nissan’s Ghosn arrested in Japan for alleged financial misconduct

Nissan dismissed him as chairman for misconduct.

Ghosn’s lawyers have asked the court to dismiss all charges, accusing prosecutors of colluding with government officials and Nissan executives to dismiss him to block any takeover by the Japanese automaker’s biggest shareholder Renault.

He was released in March on a nine-million-dollar bail, and was placed under surveillance.

Source: Presstv

28, December 2019

Debate Intensifies Over Future of CFA ⁰

Debate on the future of the CFA franc in the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) has intensified after it was announced last week that eight West African countries agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco. They also severed the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler France.

The CFA franc used by west and central African states is considered by many as a sign of French interference in its former African colonies, and the main reason for the underdevelopment of CEMAC, which remains the poorest economic bloc in Africa.

Louis Nsonkeng, a researcher and economic lecturer at the University of Bamenda-Cameroon, says when the Eco becomes legal tender, the eight West African states will have their financial freedom from the strong grip of former colonial master France. He says the six central African states that also use the CFA franc should immediately emulate the example of the west Africans.

“In 2017, the International Monetary Fund published the [list of] 10 richest countries in Africa,” Nsonkeng said. “None of the countries was from the CFA zone and most of these countries have their own currencies. If we discover that we don’t have the resources to manage a common currency, then we should dissolve the currency area. We should dissolve it and each country should decide on their own currency.”

Thomas Babissakana, a Cameroon economist and financial expert, is pictured in Yaounde, Dec. 26, 2019. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA) — Thomas Babissakana, a Cameroon economist and financial expert, is pictured in Yaounde, Dec. 26, 2019.

Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Congo use the CFA franc. The CEMAC member states have more than 50 percent of their financial reserves kept in the French treasury, following agreements signed in 1948.

Thomas Babissakana, a Cameroon economist and financial expert, says such agreements drain the economies of central African states because France now uses the euro, yet France still controls its currency.

It is unthinkable, he says, that a country will claim it has its independence when its currency, which is an essential instrument for its economic policies, is controlled by a former colonial master.

Daniel Ona Ondo, president of the CEMAC commission, talks with the media in Douala, Dec. 26, 2019. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA) — Daniel Ona Ondo, president of the CEMAC commission, talks with the media in Douala, Dec. 26, 2019.

The CFA franc, created in 1945, is considered by many as a sign of French interference in its former African colonies, even after the countries became independent.

The CFA franc was pegged to the French franc until 1999, when its value was fixed at about 660 CFA francs to one euro.

Daniel Ona Ondo, president of the CEMAC commission, says the six member states’ economic growth rate is estimated at 3 percent in 2019 — up from barely 1 percent in 2018 — and inflation remains under control at less than 3 percent. He says the most demanding issue is to consolidate regional integration before thinking of currency reforms.

Fourteen west and central African countries divided into two monetary unions, ECOWAS and CEMAC, use the CFA franc.

Source: VOA

24, December 2019

France taking land from La Republique Du Cameroun ⁰

French brewery group Castel is planning investments in the agriculture sector. On December 20, the CEO of the group, Pierre Castel and a delegation including the French ambassador to Cameroon Christophe Guilhou was received by President Paul Biya in Yaoundé. The aim of this audience was for Castel Group to present its investment programme.

“The new investment programme presented by the CEO of Castel group to the Head of State focuses on the development of agriculture in order to reduce the importation of raw materials used to produce brewing products,” the presidency of the republic indicated.

For the time being, Castel indicates that 30% of its inputs are supplied in Cameroon. It currently collaborates with 6,000 local farmers that supply 30,000 tons of sugar and 10,000 tons of corn to the group’s local subsidiary SABC yearly.

Despite these supplies, 70% of SABC’s input needs still remain to be covered. The group’s CEO has not yet revealed the specific details on these new investments but, it can be guessed that the targetted sub-sectors are corn and sugar used in the production of brewery products.

Castel indicates that its yearly investments in Cameroon are estimated at XAF35 billion and it generates 15,000 direct jobs and 35,000 indirect jobs.

Source: Business in Cameroon