Business

20, September 2017

Vodafone suspends internet connectivity in Cameroon ⁰

Following a directive issued by the Cameroon’s Telecommunications Regulatory Agency, Vodafone Cameroon has confirmed it has suspended its internet services in the country until further notice. Vodafone Cameroon is operated by Afrimax under a non-equity partner market agreement with Vodafone Group. Authorities in Cameroon are making moves to compel Vodafone to apply for its own license.

Since it began operations in 2016, Vodafone had been using the license issued to Northwave SARL which was subsequently acquired by Afrimax Group to create Vodafone Cameroon. This arrangement, according to authorities, is illegal.

Minette Libom Li Likeng, Cameroon’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications said he directed the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART) to withdraw the operating license issued to Northwave SARL, thus compelling Vodafone to apply for its own license – since the operator would not be allowed to operate until it secures a license from the government.

Likeng said the government has applied the law governing the establishment and operation of networks and supplies of electronic communication services authorisation system in Cameroon. Under the law, licenses are personal, non-transferable and do not confer any right of exclusivity. With this condition, Likeng said Northwave SARL’s operating license cannot be transferred to Vodafone Cameroon.

Likeng said, “I’ve had discussions with Vodafone Cameroon officials in recent months, and I’ve told them that they have to apply for a license in good form and will have to pay to provide 4G LTE to the population.”

Going forward, he confirmed that his ministry directed the company to suspend its plan to expand its operations to eight additional cities, adding that if allowed to continue to operate, Vodafone would not be competing fairly with other players who paid US$136 million (CFA75 billion) each for operating license.

Antoine Pamboro, CEO Vodafone Cameroon, in a statement apologised to customers and said the company is working hard to restore services as soon as possible.

“To date, Vodafone Cameroon has contributed 3 billion CFA to the State of Cameroon, including 2 billion CFA in taxes and duties and 1 billion CFA for regulatory fees. Vodafone Cameroon has 116 employees and indirectly created 1,055 jobs with more than half of the workforce composed of young graduates,” Pamboro stated.

Prior to the latest development, Vodafone was expanding its 4G LTE services across the country, starting with 8 regions following a partnership with CAMTEL. Richard Achu, Vodafone Cameroon’s Sales and Distribution Director, said the company will not renege on its vision to extend its operations across the country.

“Vodafone Cameroon will enable anyone with a 4G compatible equipment to benefit from the best 4G LTE network as it is already the case in Douala and Yaounde. We want to extend our 4G LTE ultra-fast network in the ten regions of the country before the end of the year. We will do our utmost best to achieve this,” Achu said.

Source: ITwebafrica

30, August 2017

“Body blow” for Bamenda County as Government Delegate closes shops ⁰

The Francophone surrogate, Vincent Ndumu Nji has carried out his threats in the Bamenda County by closing shops at the Nkwen market . The corrupt so-called government delegate was quoted by a French newspaper as saying that “The fact that their shops have been sealed is an unexpected setback. The message from the government delegate was not seen as an injunction. So, these traders find themselves caught between two fires. ”

On Monday, August 28, 2017, traders in the Bamenda County in Southern Cameroons kept their shops closed, despite the opening of the main gates by council workers. The merchants respected the calls for the on going civil disobedience campaign in Southern Cameroons and stayed at home.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the said Ndumu Vincent is now asking the traders to pay the sum of five hundred thousands francs CFA for the council to reopen their shops. One of the traders contacted by CAMCORDNEWS at Nkwen observed that half a million CFA is far above the value of his business center and that the Biya regime is greatly energising the Southern Cameroons revolution and depriving itself from revenue that it badly needs from the Southern Cameroons business community.

Since Tuesday, 29 August, messages of indignation were circulated on social networks. Both sides questioned the attitude to be adopted. For, on the one hand, the ghost towns have been intensified and on the other, the French Cameroun administrative authorities are asking Southern Cameroonians not to respect the Southern Cameroons Governing Council and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium by promising security guarantees.

It should be remembered that at the beginning of the revolution, some traders had attempted to ignore the instructions given by the Consortium which required the closure of all shops. Considered as offenders, these traders were ruthlessly crushed and severely dealt with.

By Eyong Johnson
Cameroon Concord News

22, August 2017

French Cameroun: MINPOSTEL launches new system to enhance healthy competition ⁰

The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in French Cameroun has launched a communication campaign on telephone number portability. Telephone number portability is a system which enables telephone users to switch from one mobile operator to another while maintaining the same phone number.

The Francophone female minister noted that during a month long campaign, the public will be sensitized on how to take advantage of the new system which provides consumers the option to choose the service provider with the best options. This implies that if the consumer changes his service provider, the new service provider needs to incorporate the former number into the new sim card he offers.

The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication affirms that the service is free. It was also revealed that the operation is possible just twice a year and only within a space of at least two months after the first switch.

Apart from helping the consumer maintain the same number, number portability also enables the consumer benefit from advantageous tariffs offered by competing mobile operators. In a nutshell, number portability enhances healthy competition amongst the telephone service providers in Cameroon.

Source: CRTV

8, August 2017

Biya Francophone regime suffers 4 billion FCFA losses due to fraud and cyber crime ⁰

Cameroon has suffered nearly 4 billion CFA francs of losses due to financial scam on the Internet according to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng. She revealed that 3.7 billion CFA francs of losses have been attributed to bank card fraud.

The Francophone minister also noted that several billions of CFA francs deficits recorded came from “Simbox” fraud and electronic boxes used in charging the international telephone traffic at the price of the national tariff, redirecting and manipulating the international traffic on the Internet.

The same financial damage was caused by intrusions into the information systems of some companies. 12,800 vulnerabilities were detected on government websites including more than 200 cases of usurpation of Facebook profiles and cyber-bulletins and 28 attacks.

Minister Minette Libom further pointed out that 51% of the national Internet traffic volume is tied to illegal downloads. In terms of national solutions to these so-called different threats, Minette Libom Likeng cited the establishment of two cyber security laboratories, the establishment of cyber surveillance and surveillance networks within the public security administrations.

Similarly, a campaign to identify subscribers of telephone networks, begun in 2016 and will soon be strengthened by the establishment of a digital platform for subscriber’s identification and monitoring of electronic communications traffic.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

5, August 2017

ECOBANK rules out leaving Cameroon ⁰

Media reports in Cameroon recently hinted of an imminent departure of Ecobank. Messages both audio and written circulated on social networks, appealing to customers of the bank to withdraw their savings before it was “too late”.

The rumor came following a statement from the bank, some ten days ago, announcing the reduction of its staff and the closure of some of its agencies. A strategy already in place in Western Europe and the US aimed to reduce crowding while leveraging evolving digital channels to expand services.

The management of the bank has issued another statement signed this time around by its general manager, Gwendoline Abunaw. The GM in the press release noted that Ecobank is committed to deliver cost-effective, convenient and flexible banking.

Said Gwendoline Abunaw, “We want to tell all our customers that Ecobank continues to attach great importance to its activities in Cameroon. For the last sixteen years, we have been working to expand our business and increase the number of our customers, and we have become the fourth largest bank in the country.

Ecobank is a modern, pan-African, forward-looking bank committed to using digital technology – in our case, mobile banking – to deliver cost-effective, convenient and flexible banking solutions to its customers.

While we are committed to rolling out our digital strategy, we continue to offer our services in our agencies, ATMs and cash points in nine of the country’s ten regions. We would like to sincerely thank our customers for their loyalty. ”

By Sonne Peter with files from Cameroon Info.Net

2, August 2017

Yaounde: Canada to improve relations with French Cameroun ⁰

Canada is committed to strengthening bilateral relations in all domains with La Republique du Cameroun especially at the level of the economy. This was highlighted at a press conference on the 31st of July 2017 in Yaoundé. The Canadian High Commissioner to Cameroun, Rene Cremose and the Africa Vice President of Afrique Expansion, Beatrice Bediang invited French Cameroun businessmen to be part of the Afrique Expansion Forum, a Canadian networking platform for investment in Africa.

The forum that sits every two years is in its 8th edition and will feature great names from the international and national business communities and has been slated for the 2nd to the 3rd October 2017 in Montreal – Canada. The Canadian High Commissioner and his team explained that the event will serve in revealing La Republique’s potential while showcasing the French Cameroun’s potentials.

For his part, Afrique Expansion’s Investment Adviser, Georges Meka Abessolo explained that the forum will focus on 19 sectors of the economy including agriculture, mining, transport, ICTs, infrastructure, energy and insurance. The Afrique Expansion representative also revealed that this year’s event will be exceptional as it will examine the digital economy which is one area, the Biya Francophone regime is interested in.

Bilateral relations between French Cameroun and Canada is limited only to Canadian business interest in the small Sub Saharan country especially as Canada is involved in projects like the renovation and expansion of the Douala Japoma Stadium and its annex as well as other sports facilities in the country.

Source: CRTV

30, July 2017

“Cameroon among African countries that have improved the quality of their policies” ⁰

The review is the annual World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) Africa analysis, which scores the progress Sub-Saharan African countries are making on strengthening the quality of their policies and institutions. CPIA ratings have been used to determine the allocation of zero-interest financing and grants for countries that are eligible for support from the International Development Association (IDA), the concessional financing arm of the World Bank Group.

CPIA scores are based on 16 development indicators in four areas: economic management, structural policies, policies for social inclusion and equity, and public sector management and institutions. Countries are rated on a scale of 1 (low) to 6 (high) for each indicator. The overall CPIA score reflects the average of the four areas of the CPIA. Cameroon is one of the countries in sub-saharan Africa that have improved the quality of policies and institutions (CPIA) in 2016, according to the World Bank report published this month of July 2017.

On the upside, Côte d’Ivoire, the Comoros, Cameroon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, and Sudan have experienced a modest gain in the CPIA score, with most of these countries showing a stronger performance in the quality of governance. In a few countries, the quality of policies for social inclusion and equity also improved, reflecting a strengthening of safety net programs.

In the company of Côte d’ivoire, the Comoros, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania and Sudan, Cameroon scored 0.1 points in comparison with the previous year, which made the country obtain a score of 3.2 out of a total of six points available. The required average of 3.1 points, Cameroon by its performance, remains an eligible country in support of the International Development Association (IDA), the concessional financing window of the World Bank Group.

Published each year, the CPIA report assigns a note to each of the countries eligible for IDA support. The notes of the CPIA, which reflect the quality of a country’s political and institutional framework, consist of 16 criteria in four groups, namely economic management (Group a), structural policies (Group B), policies to combat social exclusion and the promotion of equity (Group C) and the management of public sector institutions (Group D).
In these different categories, Cameroon obtained the following notes: 3.5 points, 3.2 points, 3.1 points and 3.0 points respectively. With a score of 4, Rwanda is once again at the top of the ranking. It is closely followed by the Senegal and Kenya both get 3.8.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

26, July 2017

IMF may move headquarters to China ⁰

IMF chief Christine Lagarde says the International Monetary Fund may move its headquarters to Beijing in a decade if China and other big emerging markets continue to grow. In 10 years’ time, “we might not be sitting in Washington, DC. We’ll do it in our Beijing head office,” Lagarde said at a Center for Global Development event in the US capital. The IMF’s bylaws, she said, call for the institution’s head office to be located in the largest member economy.

China is estimated to overtake US as the world’s biggest economy over the next decade if the country maintains its growth rates of above 6 percent. The IMF and some of its members have argued that China already contributes more to global growth on a purchasing power parity basis.

The Fund is about to launch another review of its voting structure next year. The United States, with a 16.5 percent share of its board votes, has used an effective veto over IMF decisions since the body was launched in 1945.

According to the professional services giant PWC, China could be the largest economy in the world, accounting for around 20% of world GDP in 2050. By the time, the seven emerging economies (E7) could have increased their share of world GDP from around 35% to almost 50%, the report said.

The E7 economies of Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey are expected to grow at an annual average rate of 3.5% over the next 34 years, compared to an average of just 1.6% for the advanced G7 nations of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan, it added. In December 2015, the International Monetary Fund admitted the yuan into its select basket of reserve currencies, giving a major boost to China’s position as a global economic power.

The yuan, also called the renminbi, joined the dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket used as standard in dealings with the financial reserves of world countries. Lagarde then described the inclusion “an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the global financial system.” China is the world’s second largest economy. The addition was a victory for the country’s push to make the yuan a freely usable currency.

Washington is wary of China’s growing financial clout and the serious challenge which the dollar faces as more emerging economies are switching to their local currencies in trade. Meanwhile, the IMF is already on a collision course with US Congress and other influential institutions of the country. US lawmakers have repeatedly refused to ratify a 2010 IMF reform to give greater weight to the BRICS group of emerging market powers, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Source: Presstv

20, July 2017

African Development Bank to fund rail line linking Ngaoundere and N’jamena ⁰

The Government of Cameroon and that of Chad have signed an aide-memoire with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to extend the railway network linking Ngaoundere in Cameroon and Djamena in Chad. Cameroon’s Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o chaired the signing ceremony on the 18th of July 2017. The document is in relation to feasibility studies carried out ahead of the construction of the railway linking both cities.

The general manager of Cooperation and Regional Integration, Charles Assamba Ongondo who signed on behalf of Cameroon explained that the three signatories had earlier on, in consultation with the Cameroon – Chad Railway Commission, agreed to carry out studies for the railway. He observed that the board of AfDB will examine the file and decide if they will provide the finances.

For his part, Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o opined that the aide-memoire shall be presented in the next board meeting of the Cameroon – Chad Railway Commission. The railway extension is expected to cover a distance of 900km. The project will be financed to the tune of close to 5000 billion CFAF. This will add up to the transport networks linking up Cameroon and Chad.

Source: CRTV

18, July 2017

Biya meets African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina ⁰

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) was received in audience by President Biya on Monday 17 July 2017 at the Unity Palace.

Both men reviewed the 45-year-old cooperation that exists between Cameroon and the AfDB. They also discussed key areas of investment such as energy, agro-industrialisation, and regional integration.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the audience, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina lauded the Commander-in-Chief of Cameroon’s Armed Forces for the support provided towards the preservation of peace and security in north-eastern Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

He also highlighted President Paul BIYA’s contribution in the stabilisation of macroeconomic issues within the CEMAC region, which prevented a devaluation of the CFA Franc.

“I encouraged the President to continue with the effort of microeconomic stabilisation and what the government is doing in terms of diversifying the economy,” Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said. He added that: “the AfDB strongly supports Cameroon. We wish the President and the Government all the best with the plan for accelerated development to a middle income country by 2035.”

President Paul BIYA exchanged gifts with the distinguished guest, whom he later decorated with a medal of Grand Officer of the Order of Valour. The AfDB has invested US$ 2.5 billion (approximately CFAF 1,436 billion) in Cameroon since 1972. The group currently supports 22 projects and there are plans to inject US$ 150 million for the realisation of the Natchtigal Dam.

Culled from the PRC