Business

After the Netherlands: British authorities sanctions 14 Cameroon timber companies

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)

Construction of Kumba-Ekondo Titi road awarded to a Tunisian company

24, June 2016

Construction of Kumba-Ekondo Titi road awarded to a Tunisian company 0

Construction work on the Kumba-Ekondo Titi road has been awarded to Souroubat, Tunisian company. Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that the contract worth 38.2 billion CFA francs.  The road project which falls within the three-year emergency plan agreed last year by the President of the Republic will be executed over a period of 24 months.

It is the first time that Souroubat with expertise on roads, sewerage, drainage, bridges and buildings construction has won a Cameroon government contract. Several companies from several African countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and Chad are already in the public works sector in Cameroon.

Sama Ernest (Cameroon Concord News Group)

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

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)

Corruption scandal rocks SODECOTON as 580 million disappears from company coffers

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)

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

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

 

More chaos in Euro 2016 as Air France pilots go on strike

18, June 2016

More chaos in Euro 2016 as Air France pilots go on strike 0

Pilots with the French flag carrier, Air France, are set to walk out of their jobs over pay cuts as the country is hosting the Euro 2016 soccer tournament. Three major pilot unions said on Friday that they were going on strike between June 24 and June 27 after the Air France management made “very vague promises” in negotiations during the last industrial action on June 11-14.

Pilots complain that new pay rules, which were recently decided by the airline management, would lower their salaries by five percent. Air France pilots’ previous action, which ended on June 14, grounded around 20 percent of domestic and international flights and cost the carrier more than EUR 40 million (USD 45 million).

The Air France management said only a quarter of pilots joined the walk-out earlier this month, but unions said the figure was about seven in 10.

Presstv

17, June 2016

Cameroon: Youth Employment Service launches nationwide campaign to train 6000 entrepreneurs 0

The training organized by the Youth Employment Service, YES Cameroon consist of a three day training session within a period of two weeks in all 48 divisions in the country. According to the Executive Director of YES Cameroon, Gilbert Ewehmeh, the beneficiaries will include 80% of small business holders who do not have access to credit and financial support.

The workshop is targeting essentially those in the informer sector who will be trained on the techniques of attracting funding opportunities and how to triple investment capital. The training will also cover areas of management and leadership.

The different facets of the training were presented to the press during a launching ceremony that marked the beginning of the training exercise. The organizers indicated that at the end of the training, a Business Angel Fund of 50 million FCFA will be mobilized to support ten projects in each region.

CRTV

 

Cameroon: Prices of basic commodities soar, CPDM government won’t talk!!!

17, June 2016

Cameroon: Prices of basic commodities soar, CPDM government won’t talk!!! 0

Getting eight unripe bananas at 100 FCFA or a 15-litre measure of white maize at 3,500 FCFA is no longer possible in Douala today. Talk less of buying a 10-litre container of charcoal (big lumps) at 1,000 FCFA. Families that hitherto depended on essential protein like beans or eggs are now unable to afford them.

Traders like Marguerite Kemba and Donatus T. attribute the hikes to the age-old problem of inaccessibility to production zones, especially as downpours become regular. According to Hans Nfor, it is a season of scarcity for maize and beans because farmers are still waiting for new harvest. Meanwhile, old stocks are gradually being depleted. The obvious impact, they say, is that it has not only created the scarcity of some foodstuff in Douala markets, but also price hikes as many scramble for the few quantities available.

Claudette Ndi, a buyer, said the main sources of protein for her family used to be eggs and beans, but with the scare of Bird Flu in the country, she is unable to afford them. “I can’t go for alternatives like fresh beef because it is even more expensive for a family of eight,” she disclosed. Jacques K., a breadwinner, added that the price hikes have provoked misunderstanding among couples: “Without a corresponding rise in income, I am uncertain of the future.”

Now, only four bananas sell for 100 FCFA and seven for 200 FCFA, for the bigger ones in Marché Buea. Nonetheless, a 15-litre of white maize now costs 4,000 FCFA. Only smart bidders are able to match traders to purchase at 3,900 FCFA. Only last April in Marché des Pommes, the same quantity cost 3,500 FCFA. As for yellow maize, the price of the same quantity has soared to 4,500 FCFA, from 3,800 FCFA. Charcoal, which is preferred by most low-income families for fuel, has climbed to 1,500 FCFA from 1,000 per 10-litre container.

Even so, only the most daring buyer undertakes the telling experience of squeezing through the muddy, narrow aisles of the Charcoal Market in order to find dry charcoal. The prices of beans (red, white and MEDINO) are astronomical, having gone from 10,000 FCFA and 11,000 FCFA to 12,000 FCFA and 13,000 FCFA for 15-litre containers. Meanwhile, a cup of beans now costs 150 FCFA, compared to 125 FCFA two months ago.

Cameroon Tribune

President Ali Bongo orders military vehicles, mobile medical shelters and positioning systems from France

16, June 2016

President Ali Bongo orders military vehicles, mobile medical shelters and positioning systems from France 0

Gabon has ordered unmanned ground vehicles, mobile medical shelters, positioning systems and unmanned aerial vehicles from France’s Nexter. The contracts were announced by Nexter at the Eurosatory show in Paris on Tuesday. The deals involve the Findsat positioning system, Nerva LG unmanned ground vehicles, with a variety of mission kits, NX-110 unmanned aerial vehicles from Nexter partner Novadem and medical shelters from Euro-Shelter, a Nexter subsidiary. The Findsat system is a space-based blue force tracker that is able to identify and locate friendly personnel. The system has been tested by France as part of its Licorne operation in the Ivory Coast.

The Nexter Robotics Nerva LG wheeled unmanned ground vehicles are designed for reconnaissance and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) route clearance. The vehicle is designed to be an extension of the vehicle that carries it. The throwable and waterproof vehicle can be controlled from a computer, tablet or smartphone and can be operated semi-autonomously by following waypoints and automatically brought back home. Payloads can include an infrared camera, day camera etc.

Novadem’s NX-110 is a small quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicle powered by electric motors. Its rotor blades and rotor hub arms fold up so it can be transported in a single carry case. It carries a single gyrostabilised camera, which can be a CCD day camera or infrared camera. The interchangeable payload bay can also carry gas, radiometer or spectrometers and other sensors.

Gabon has previously ordered other military hardware from Nexter, and in November 2014 ordered four 15A naval mounts and a 20 mm Narwhal remote controlled gun turret from Nexter Systems to equip its Raidco RPB20 patrol boats and 58 metre OPV50 offshore patrol vessel bought from Piriou. In October 2014 Gabon also ordered the refurbished ex-French Navy P400 patrol vessel Tapageuse.

The Narwhal turret features an electro-optical sighting system and moving target auto-tracker. The turret for Gabon features the 20 x 102 mm M621 cannon, which has a firing rate of 750 rounds per minute. Weight of the turret with 200 rounds of ammunition is 390 kg. The Narwhal turret has been selected by the French Navy for its FREMM frigates.

The 15A light naval gun mount is also fitted with the M621 cannon. It is manually aimed and operated and weights 200 kg, with 160 rounds of ammunition. On 29 October 2014 Gabon also ordered 12 Aravis armoured vehicles to equip its battalion committed in the Central African Republic as part of the UN’s MINUSCA mission there. These vehicles were fitted with the ARX20 turret, the PG-Guard anti-RPG protection system and Nerva LG mini scout robots. The first were handed over to Gabon in June 2015.

 

Defenceweb

Bodies of three dozen refugees found in Niger Sahara Desert

16, June 2016

Bodies of three dozen refugees found in Niger Sahara Desert 0

The bodies of nearly three dozen refugees, including women and children, have been found in Niger’s Sahara Desert, where they were apparently abandoned by smugglers en route to neighboring Algeria and eventually Europe. “Thirty four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children, died trying to cross the desert,” Niger’s Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said two of the victims have been identified as Nigerians but the nationalities of the others were not immediately clear. Bazoum said the bodies were found near the northern desert town of Assamaka, at a border post between Niger and Algeria. The refugees, he said, had died between June 6 and 12. Thirst was described in the statement as a probable cause. Temperatures currently stand at 42 degrees in the region.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has estimated that 120,000 people crossed through the Niger desert last year and 60,000 between February and April this year. The IOM also recorded 37 refugee deaths in the desert in 2015. Libya used to play host to the majority of the refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa on their way to Europe, but since the North African country plunged into political chaos in 2011, Algeria has become the new route.

Thousands of illegal migrants and refugees have recently arrived in Algeria on their way to Europe, mostly from neighboring Mali and Niger. More than 7,000 Nigerien migrants, mostly women and children, were turned back from Algeria to their home country in 2015 as part of an agreement between the two countries’ governments. Meanwhile, Europe has recently curbed the number of illegal arrivals from Africa, after a deal with Ankara in March reduced the number of people trying to cross from Turkey.

Presstv

 

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