Business

14, March 2017

Elumelu: Banking and Telecom giant partner on innovative payment system ⁰

Pan-African financial services group, United Bank for Africa Plc (“UBA”) and leading European and African telecom operator, Orange have announced a strategic partnership to deliver Innovative financial services across Africa, with an agreement to jointly collaborate on the promotion of Orange Money.

Both UBA and Orange have a history of financial services innovation and their joint commitment to Africa makes them natural partners. Orange Money enables customers to transfer money from their mobile phone to other account holders domestically and abroad; as well as providing bill payment and other customer focused solutions. UBA is a leader in electronic banking, for both individual and corporate customers, and with presence in 19 African countries and over 14million customers in Africa, has one of the largest pan-African banking networks.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today in Paris by Tony Elumelu, Chairman UBA Group, Emeke Iweriebor, CEO UBA Africa and Marc Rennard, Chairman and CEO, Orange Middle East and Africa, committing both institutions to collaborate on the delivery of innovative and convenient payment options to customers and implement a range of mobile financial services in African countries, where UBA and Orange Money platforms operate.

Both Groups recognize the extraordinary revolution occurring in the digital banking space and are committed to providing customers with service excellence, built around efficient and trustworthy platforms. “We are delighted to see the fruition of this partnership, which is capable of revolutionizing mobile money payments across the continent and is very clear evidence of UBA’s commitment to Africa’s development and delivering financial inclusion to Africans” Tony Elumelu commented. “UBA, with its extensive network on the continent and large customer base is the banking group of choice for us in this project and we are delighted with this partnership” Marc Rennard stated.

Cameroun Info.Net

13, March 2017

After a failed Southern Cameroons mission, Philemon Yang expected in Douala today ⁰

After a failed Southern Cameroons mission that was aimed at re-launching the school year in the two Anglophone regions of the country, Prime Minister Philemon will travel from Yaoundé this Monday, March 13, 2017 to Douala, in the Littoral Region. During his stay of less than 24 hours in the economic capital, the Head of Government accompanied by several ministers, will preside from 10 am in the conference room of the Sawa hotel in the Bonanjo neighborhood, the eighth Session of the Cameroon Business Forum (CBF). This year’s business meeting will be held under the theme “Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Economy through the facilitation of cross-border trade”.

Government sources say participants in the economic forum from the private and public sectors as well as civil society will also assess the status of the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the seventh session that held in the economic capital on March 15, 2016.

“The Cameroon Business Forum is the forum of dialogue par excellence between the inefficient CPDM regime and the very efficient private sector whose main tasks are to strengthen consultation between the public authorities and the business community, improving the business climate and supporting private sector development “.

Louis Paul Motaze, then Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office, commissioned the Cameroon Business Forum which was created in January 2009 by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group.

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

2, March 2017

Southern Cameroons: HYSACAM signs a 5 year deal with the Bamenda Urban Council ⁰

The Health and Sanitation Company of Cameroon (HYSACAM) has signed a five-year contract with the Bamenda Urban Council in Southern Cameroons. The company has successful managed urban waste chain: collection, transport, treatment, recycling and recovery for the past 46 years. The French establishment deployed its team and heavy equipments in the Bamenda province of Southern Cameroons on February 22, 2017. We understand the city of Bamenda is the 10th chief city that has contracted HYSACAM for the professional collection of household garbage in Cameroon.

There are 15 Cameroonian towns and cities served by HYSACAM. They include Yaoundé, Douala, Bafoussam, Ngaoundéré, Garoua, Maroua, Bertoua, Buea, Limbe, Kribi, Edéa, Ebolowa, Sangmélima, Meyomessala and Bamenda.

The CEO Michel Ngapanoun was quoted as saying that “We had to industrialize the urban waste collection and treatment methods and we created almost 4,000 jobs. So in 40 years, there has been an expansion. Little by little, together we have woven the canvas of cleanliness irrigating in the cities of Cameroon.”

Report by CIR

2, March 2017

Anglophone Crisis: Consortium winning the economic war ⁰

Senior economic commentators have revealed that Cameroon will lose approximately 150 billion FCFA if the strikes and ghost town operations orchestrated by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium in Southern Cameroons is not brought to a close. Some studies have already indicated that the decision by the Francophone Cameroonian authorities to shut down the Internet services in the Anglophone section of the country has already led to a loss of more than 500 million FCFA in the space of a month.

Economic operators in Nigeria’s Cross River State headquartered in Calabar have also opined that if the Anglophone crisis continues for several months, Nigerian exports to Southern Cameroons and by extrapolation, La Republique du Cameroun will record a drastic drop especially as trade had been intensified in recent years thanks to the construction of the 403 km road between Bamenda and Enugu in Nigeria.

Besides this, losses will also come from the import duties of Cameroonian products in Nigeria, as well as the export duties of Cameroonian imports from Nigeria. With its market of 170 million consumers, Nigeria is Cameroon’s major trading partner with about 20% of exports to Yaoundé. According to Trade Minister Luc Magloire Atangana Mbarga, trade between the two countries peaks at 382 million CFA francs a year.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium is capitalizing on the weakening state of the economy of the State of Cameroon and is forging ahead with plans for an independent state of Southern Cameroons.

By Rita Akana

19, February 2017

Yaounde: US ambassador paints Cameroon as key to the economies of the Congo Basin ¹

The U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, Michael S. Hoza, has described Cameroon as key to the economies of the Congo Basin. The U.S. diplomat was speaking at the “American Day” at PROMOTE in Yaounde on Thursday February 16.

Ambassador Hoza said Cameroon is the key to the entire Congo basin economy and Cameroonian youth are the key to developing their future economy. “We believe Cameroon is the key to the entire Congo basin economy and Cameroonian youth are the key to developing their future economy,” he said during a plenary to launch the “American Day” at the exhibition Fair.

“We want to engage in the fight for Cameroon’s future—that is promoting the peace and security of the Cameroonian people by giving opportunities to the youths and unleashing their potentials for the future of Cameroon,” the Ambassador said. Some 22 American companies are exhibiting their products at the 6th edition of the major trade fair in Central Africa.

“We are bringing together corporations and entrepreneurs from all industrial sectors in order to connect Cameroonian partners with American partners,” he said before prior to a ribbon cutting ceremony of the American pavilion at the fair.

The U.S diplomat was accompanied by five government ministers; Luc Mafloir Mbarga Atangana of Trade, Prof Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa of Small and Medium Size Enterprises, Marie Therese Obama of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Joseph Dion Ngute of External Relations in charge of the Commonwealth and Louis Max Ayina, secretary of state for Public Works.

CIN

10, February 2017

Bank of Central African States: New management takes command ⁰

A new management team has taken over the administration of the Bank of Central African States, BEAC. Abbas Mahamat Tolli from Chad and Dieudonné Evou Mekou from Cameroon who were appointed at the 27th Special Session of Heads State of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC) in Malabo late last year assumed duty in Yaoundé on Monday.

Other officials of the Mahamat Tolli-led management include the secretary general Désiré Guedon from Gabon, the Director General of Operations Cedric Ondaye Ebauh from the Republic of Congo and the Director General of general control Bienvenu Marius Roosevelt Feimonanzoui from the Central African Republic.

Meanwhile, the former governor of the bank, Lucas Abaga Nchama from Equatorial Guinea who managed the financial institution since February 2010 left Cameroon on Tuesday. During a farewell ceremony at the Star Building, the Prime Minister and head of government, Philemon Yang knighted the former governor with the medal of Commander of the Cameroon National Order of Valour on behalf of President Paul Biya.

“Beyond managing the central bank, I learnt a lot in Cameroon” Lucas Abaga Nchama told the press shortly before leaving Yaoundé. “Cameroon is a country that ensures leadership in economics and other domains in the sub region.”

BEAC serves as the central bank of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. “The bank is doing well considering the current economic trend. If appropriate measures were not taken, it would have had an impact on the stability of the currency,” Lucas Abaga Nchama said.

Cameroun Info.Net

25, January 2017

Finance Minister Alamine Ousmane chairs annual conference ⁰

The Minister of Finance Alamine Ousmane Mey has chaired the annual conference of officials of the central and external services of the Ministry of Finance. Ousmane Mey revealed that some areas within his department were in need of some form of structural adjustments. The Biya acolyte identified excessive debt as one of them.

He said the ministry of finance will in 2017; ensure that investment will not hinder growth. The CPDM regime plans to rely on contributions from financial vote holders to finance development projects without necessarily consuming public resources. The Minister recommended that public and external debts be maintained at reasonable levels. He identified the mobilization of tax revenue as means of sustaining the country’s internal debt.

Alamine Ousmane Mey said finance officials should be more vigilant and discipline in the handling of public expenditures. The Finance minister expressed satisfaction at the elasticity of the domestic economy. Between 2010/2015, the Cameroon’s internal debt has increased from 1904 billion to 4489 billion FCFA representing 26.7%n Gross Domestic Product.

CRTV

15, January 2017

Scores of refugees feared dead off Libya coast ⁰

Scores of people are feared dead in an incident involving a boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea while carrying 110 asylum seekers. The Italian coastguard said four people had been rescued in the waters between Libya and Italy, where the incident occurred, media reported on Sunday. A spokesman for the coastguard added that 13 bodies had so far been recovered from the boat, which capsized around 50 kilometers off the coast of Libya. Italian, Spanish, and French naval and merchant vessels as well as a plane and a helicopter were involved in rescue operations, the spokesman said.

According to the Italian government, 181,000 asylum seekers arrived in Italy last year, all of them having departed from Libya. The refugees, desperate to leave and thus at the mercy of human traffickers, are often loaded onto rickety vessels in the waters of the Mediterranean. Countless incidents of boats capsizing have occurred and hundreds have perished as a result. In 2016, 5,000 asylum seekers died during the perilous crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The exodus of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East has also led to a refugee crisis in Europe, their desired destination. In reaction to the crisis, European countries have mobilized resources to reduce refugee arrivals and deport those that do arrive to other countries. Tougher border controls, strict refugee policies, and deals with countries to return asylum seekers are part of the measures enforced by European authorities to cope with the crisis. This is while analysts believe Western policies are the root of the crisis, as those policies fan the flames of wars and conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and force locals to leave their homes.

Presstv

12, January 2017

International money transfers disrupted for several days in Cameroon ⁰

International money transfers have been severely disrupted for several days in Cameroon. Some local media reports have blamed the situation on the Yaounde regime’s efforts at stifling the Anglophone uprising. However, Cameroon Concord News understands the International money transfer operators such as Western Union and Money Gram have refused to be taxed on their commissions.

Since 2015, the Cameroon finance law requires that operators’ levies on transfers be taxed. The Cameroonian representatives of these products, who strongly oppose the 2015 rules and regulations, have therefore decided to suspend the activity. A journalist with a sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report hinted that the operators have not reached an agreement with their international partners.

However, although there has been a law since 2015 and the implementing legislation has been delayed due to administrative burdens, commission fees received by local operators have never been taxed for transfers to the EU.

By Chi Prudence Asong

11, January 2017

Nigeria: Oil and gas workers on strike over payment ⁰

Nigerian oil and gas workers have staged a walkout, claiming that they have not received payment. The industrial action on Tuesday affected at least 12 flow, compressor and pumping stations in the southern state of Delta. Workers said a closure of facilities was also possible in the coming hours.

All facilities affected were operated by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The strike could seriously affect Nigeria’s already battered oil production. The sector has been suffering from back-to-back attacks by militants of the Delta region.

Reports said the continued strike could also hit supplies to the Utorogu natural gas plant, one of the biggest in Nigeria. That could mean power shortages for domestic use. Worker representatives said they had informed NPDC officials of the action last week. They said they would not go back to work until their demands are met.

Nigeria, one of the leading oil producers in Africa, has lost nearly a third of its oil production over the past years, mainly due to militant attacks in Delta region. The militants want a fair share of oil income for the impoverished region, something the government has resisted in light of the slump in the global oil prices in the past few years. Abuja has managed to reach ceasefires with militants, but sporadic attacks have continued.

Nigeria has also been battling militants of the Takfiri group Boko Haram in its northern regions, further draining its oil-driven finances. Rampant corruption in the military and state institutions has seriously hampered government efforts for shoring up the economy.

Presstv