Headline News

4, December 2024

Football: Nickson Okosun joins English Championship side Watford ⁰

Watford FC confirms the signing of young Irish forward Nickson Okosun, who will initially become part of the club’s Under-21 squad from January 1, 2025.

The 18-year-old will join for an undisclosed fee from Dublin side Bohemians and has been permitted to train with the Hornets until the deal is ratified on New Year’s Day.

He has signed a contract until 2029, with the club having the option of an additional year.

Okosun can play as a striker or a winger, and came through the youth system at Bohemians.

He went on to make seven appearances for their first-team, and has also represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 level.

In March 2023, Okosun scored the winning goal for Ireland’s Under-17s in a 3-2 win over Cyprus, which booked their place at that summer’s UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Hungary.

The forward went on to play in the tournament, where his country reached the quarter-finals.

“I’m happy to be here and I can’t wait to get going,” Okosun told watfordfc.com.

“I like to link up and get in behind, and I love scoring goals as well.

“It’s a big club and there are good people, and Watford really resonated with me in that sense.

“Hopefully, I’ll hit the ground running and I’ll try and impress people here.”

Welcome to Watford, Nickson!

Culled from Watfordfc.com

4, December 2024

New National Assembly complex stands as testament to win-win Sino-Cameroonian friendship ⁰

Many iconic buildings in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, which were built by Chinese builders, including the newly constructed parliament building, have been praised as a testament to win-win Sino-Cameroonian relations.

On Saturday, China officially handed over the keys to the building to Cameroon’s National Assembly Speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril at a ceremony attended by government officials, and diplomats, among others.

“I have already heard that this building is the largest, most beautiful and of incomparable comfort in all of Africa,” Cavaye said in a speech delivered at the ceremony.

In his eyes, the edifice is the most precious gift that China has given to the Cameroonian people.

“This day will remain memorable, it is historic. This is a good example of a true friendship. As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed. The entire Cameroonian people in oneness say thank you (to China),” Cavaye said.

The long-awaited new building will enable parliamentarians to fully execute their legislative roles and resolve the congestion challenge in the current bicameral parliament building, he said.

“The new National Assembly thus consolidates a friendship which in itself was already very solid. The excellence of these relations has been such that, even the successive crises which have shaken Cameroon in recent decades, have not been able to shake the foundation of this friendship. On the contrary, through thick and thin, China was constantly present alongside Cameroon, tirelessly continuing the work of building ever-fruitful cooperation,” Cavaye said.

In 2017, Cameroon’s parliament building was partially ravaged by fire. “The fire incident made work impossible at the building and we had to relocate to an inconvenient place,” Abba Alim, a member of the National Assembly of Cameroon, said.

Two years later, Cavaye laid the groundwork for a new parliamentary complex with China’s fund. Beijing Urban Construction Group Co., Ltd. (BUCG) commenced construction and works were finished in five years. The structure now stands out as an impressive landmark, with a commanding view of modern buildings sprouting up in the Ngoa Ekele neighborhood of Yaounde.

Widely referred to as an “architectural jewel,” the 15-story complex includes a 400-seat hemicycle, a celebration hall, an office building, a fireguard building, an equipment room, a janitorial building, and other functional rooms, as well as a plaza, roads, fountains, outdoor parking lot, fences and other auxiliary facilities.

This photo taken on Nov. 19, 2024, shows the new National Assembly complex in Yaounde, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

The building embodies the traditional decorative motifs of Cameroon, while also showcasing the exceptional craftsmanship of Chinese architecture.

“Unlike our former setting, this modern infrastructure is designed to foster collaboration and dialogue between members of parliament. With good offices and spaces adapted to exchanges, each member of parliament will be able to work in an environment conducive to consultation,” said Lawson Tabot, a member of the National Assembly, in an interview published by the National Assembly.

“Its design for inclusivity has taken into consideration the specific needs of men, women and the physically challenged, respecting the different segments of the population, with adapted facilities thus ensuring comfort for everyone,” said Muyali Meboka, also a member of the National Assembly.

Cui Jinping, BUCG project manager for the construction of the new National Assembly complex, said, skills were transferred and more than 1,000 Cameroonians were employed during the construction of the project. “Chinese workers and Cameroonian workers cooperated to complete the project construction tasks together.”

“At the beginning period of cooperation, they followed the model of masters leading apprentices, with one Chinese worker leading four or five local workers. After a period of training, the trained local workers could basically complete almost all the construction work independently,” said Cui, the project manager.

Jean Atangana, a construction worker with about 10 years of experience, considered the Cameroonian parliament building project to be the pinnacle of his career. “I admire the exquisite skills of my Chinese colleagues. It’s a great respect and honor to build my country together with them,” he said.

The photo taken on Nov. 30, 2024, shows the new National Assembly complex in Yaounde, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

Many other iconic buildings in Yaounde have also seen the contribution from Chinese builders.

One notable structure is the Yaounde Multipurpose Sports Complex. A magnificent and imposing indoor sports arena, the complex is fondly called the “temple of sports and culture” because it hosts all types of national and international events.

Another remarkable building is the Yaounde Gyneco-Obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital, a China-funded project that officially opened in 2002. It is the country’s premier medical institution dedicated to gynecology, obstetrics and pediatrics.

Edward Adamu, a member of the National Assembly, told Xinhua that the buildings stand as a testament to win-win Sino-Cameroonian relations.

“We have had a lot of bitter experiences working with the Western countries but the South-South cooperation is showing that is the path for now. It is a win-win relationship, no longer you win and I lose,” Adamu said.

Source: Xinhuanet

3, December 2024

World Bank says developing countries paid record $1.4 trillion on foreign debt in 2023 ⁰

Developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion to service their foreign debt as their interest costs climbed to a 20-year high in 2023, the World Bank’s latest International Debt Report shows. Interest payments surged by nearly a third to $406 billion, squeezing the budgets of many countries in critical areas such as health, education, and the environment.

The financial strain was fiercest for the poorest and most vulnerable countries—those eligible to borrow from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the data show. These countries paid a record $96.2 billion to service their debt in 2023. Although repayments of principal decreased by nearly 8% to $61.6 billion, interest costs surged to an all-time high of $34.6 billion in 2023, four times the amount a decade ago. On average, interest payments of IDA countries now amount to nearly 6% of the export earnings of IDA-eligible countries—a level that hasn’t been seen since 1999. For some countries, the payments run as high as 38% of export earnings.

As credit conditions tightened, the World Bank and other multilateral institutions became the main lifeline for the poorest economies. Since 2022, foreign private creditors have received nearly $13 billion more in debt-service payments from public sector borrowers in IDA-eligible economies than they disbursed in new financing. Over the same period, the Bank and other multilateral institutions pumped in nearly $51 billion more in 2022 and 2023 than they collected in debt-service payments. The World Bank accounted for a third of that sum—$28.1 billion.

“Multilateral institutions have become the last lifeline for poor economies struggling to balance debt payments with spending on health, education, and other key development priorities,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President. “In highly indebted poor countries, multilateral development banks are now acting as a lender of last resort, a role they were not designed to serve. That reflects a dysfunctional financing system: except for funds from the World Bank and other multilateral institutions, money is flowing out of poor economies when it should be flowing in.”

The COVID-19 pandemic sharply enlarged the debt burdens of all developing countries—and the subsequent surge in global interest rates has made it harder for many to regain their footing. At the end of 2023, the total external debt owed by all low- and middle-income countries stood at a record $8.8 trillion, an 8% increase over 2020. The percentage increase was more than twice as large for IDA-eligible countries, whose total external debt climbed to $1.1 trillion, an increase of nearly 18%.

In 2023, borrowing abroad became considerably more expensive for all developing economies. Interest rates on loans from official creditors doubled to more than 4%. Rates charged by private creditors climbed by more than a point to 6%—a 15-year high. Global interest rates have since begun to subside, although they are expected to remain above the average that prevailed in the decade before COVID-19.

The latest International Debt Report highlights key insights from the World Bank’s International Debt Statistics database—the most comprehensive and transparent source of external debt data of developing countries. It reflects an upgraded effort to ensure accuracy in the debt data of IDA-eligible economies—by matching data these economies report to the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System with data held by G7 and Paris Club creditors. This loan-by-loan reconciliation exercise produced a 98 percent match rate in the data, lowering the margin of error from 10 points to just two.

“Comprehensive data on the liabilities of governments can facilitate new investment, reduce corruption, and prevent costly debt crises,” said Haishan Fu, the World Bank Chief Statistician and Director of its Development Data Group. “The World Bank has played a leading role in improving debt transparency across the world, especially in IDA-eligible economies. In 2023, nearly 70% of these economies published fully accessible public-debt data on a government website—a 20-point increase since 2020. That is a hopeful sign for the future.”

Source: World Bank

2, December 2024

ICC says facing threats over arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant ⁰

The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it has faced coercion and intimidation after judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ousted war minister over war crimes in Gaza.

Addressing the ICC members in The Hague, ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court faced “coercive measures, threats, pressure, and acts of sabotage.”

“We are at a turning point in history… International law and international justice are under threat. So is the future of humanity.”

“The International Criminal Court will continue to carry out its lawful mandate, independently and impartially, without giving in to any outside interference.”

The ICC issued the arrest warrants on November 21.

The court determined there were “reasonable grounds” that Israel’s siege and assault on Gaza “created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population.”

Following the issuance of the warrants, the United States, Israel’s great benefactor and an accomplice in the Gaza genocide, swiftly rejected the ICC decision.

Some US Republicans called on the Senate to sanction the ICC. President Joe Biden said the warrants were “outrageous.”

“Several elected officials are being severely threatened and are subjected to arrest warrants from a permanent member of the UN Security Council,” the ICC president stated.

“The court is being threatened with draconian economic sanctions from institutions of another permanent member of the Security Council as if it was a terrorist organization,” she said.

It is “appalling” that countries appear “scandalized” when the ICC hands down arrest warrants based on international law, Akane added.

“If the court collapses, this will inevitably imply the collapse of all situations and cases… The danger for the court is existential.”

DAWN, a US-based rights group that has welcomed the arrest warrants, has warned Biden administration officials – including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin – that they could be next.

Source: Presstv

2, December 2024

Dion Ngute says economy to grow by 4.1 pct in 2025 ⁰

Cameroon’s economy is forecast to grow by 4.1 percent in 2025, up from 3.8 percent in 2024, according to the country’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.

Ngute made the announcement while delivering the 2025 state budget to the National Assembly Sunday night.

Cameroon’s draft budget for 2025 stands at 7,317.7 billion Central African CFA francs (about 11.74 billion U.S. dollars), Ngute said, noting that the budget has slightly increased by 0.5 percent compared to that of 2024.

Inflation is projected to fall to 3.1 percent in 2025, down from 4.2 percent in 2024 and 5.1 percent in 2023.

The budgetary plan will remain focused on consolidating the public finance situation, in coherence with the economic and financial program concluded with the International Monetary Fund, he said.

Source: Xinhuanet

2, December 2024

Ambazonia: Pan African Forum petitions ICC to probe alleged war crimes ⁰

The Pan African Forum Ltd, an African lobby group, has submitted a formal application to the International Criminal Court (ICC), seeking an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to President Paul Biya.

The allegations are tied to the ongoing conflict in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.

Filed on Friday, November 22, 2024, the 142-page petition is supported by extensive evidence of widespread atrocities.

The group urged the ICC prosecutor to examine alleged violations, including the targeting of civilians, forced displacements, and other abuses during the conflict between government forces and separatist movements.

The application follows years of escalating violence in Ambazonia, where English-speaking communities’ calls for independence have been met with harsh military crackdowns.

Several activists and human rights organisations have accused the government of committing grave human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and destruction of property.

The Pan African Forum Ltd’s petition, it was learnt, is intended to amplify international scrutiny of the crisis and encourage accountability at the global level.

The ICC’s response to the application remains pending. But, critics argued that the situation in Cameroon requires urgent intervention to prevent further suffering.

The petition alleged that the conflict is spilling over to Nigeria with dire consequences for the countries.

The application on the heels of President Biya’s long tenure and management of the Anglophone crisis drawing international criticism.

The Pan African Forum Ltd is a forum for defence of Africa and African people on the continent. It was established on September 2012, in Kenya.

The organisation constitutes an informal network of African scholars and university student leaders both current and past.

It was formed as a lobby group to support the African Union objectives on international aspects and other initiatives, at national, sub regional, regional and international levels.

Culled from The Nation

2, December 2024

Yaoundé: New ambassadors present credentials to Biya ⁰

Eight newly accredited ambassadors presented their credentials to President Paul Biya at the Unity Palace in Yaoundé last Friday. The ambassadors represent Russia, Israel, Belgium, India, Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire, Saudi Arabia, and Gabon. These countries maintain close ties with Cameroon, collaborating on various areas including infrastructure financing, trade, defense, security, health, and education.

Several months ago, these ambassadors had already submitted copies of their credentials to the Ministry of External Relations.

The new Gabonese ambassador has assumed his role, replacing Patrick Biffot. After concluding his tenure in Cameroon, Biffot was granted a farewell audience by President Biya on November 1. As the longest-serving diplomat in Yaoundé, Biffot had held the position of dean of the diplomatic corps.

Source: Business in Cameroon

1, December 2024

SOBA America icon Edwin-Daniel Ndoko dies sparking flood of tributes ⁰

A senior member of the SOBA America family Edwin -Daniel Ndoko is dead. The refined academic from Saint Joseph’s College Sasse was a strong personality of the 1979 Class.

In a statement, SOBA America said Edwin-Daniel Ndoko passed away on November 30th, 2024, in Dallas, TX.

He was a very influential figure who worked tirelessly for the growth and development of SOBA all over the world and pushed SOBA UK under President Akoh Arrey to establish a good relationship with the Cameroon Concord News Group.

Cameroon Concord Editor-in-Chief, Mr Soter Agbaw-Ebai, confirmed the death of the renowned SOBA in a telephone conversation with our London Bureau Chief.

Agbaw-Ebai said, “According to SOBA America, Mola Ndoko died in Dallas after a brief illness.

Tributes have been pouring out online after it was announced that Ndoko has died.

Here is the official release from SOBA America

Fellow SOBANS,

With profound sadness, I announce the passing of our beloved brother, SOBAN Edwin-Daniel Ndoko of the 1979 Class, on November 30th, 2024, in Dallas, TX.

SOBAN Ndoko, fondly known as Senator and Papa DE Papa, was a devoted member of SOBA Dallas and a President’s Club member. His infectious enthusiasm, warm smile, and remarkable photography skills made him a cherished presence at our conventions.

We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support from our SOBA America family during his illness. Your kindness, messages, and prayers brought comfort to SOBAN Ndoko and his loved ones during that challenging time. Thank you for being a source of strength and hope.

SOBAN Ndoko leaves behind his sweetheart, Princess Rabialu Limunga; children, Dylan and Lauren; mother; siblings; extended family; classmates; and friends. May we rally around them with love, prayers, and support during this difficult time.

As a SOBAN in good standing, SOBAN Ndoko will receive an official SOBA America Farewell Protocol at his funeral. We will communicate details shortly.

Let us join together to pray for the repose of his soul and for his family. May his legacy of love, kindness, and camaraderie continue to inspire us.

May his gentle soul rest in peace with the Lord.

SOBANLY,

Your Servant-in-Chief,

POSA

By Chi Prudence Asong in London

30, November 2024

419: Cameroonian, Thailand woman arrested in ‘CP’ export scam ⁰

A Cameroonian man and a Thai woman have been arrested for operating a company that deceived buyers into thinking it was affiliated with a major agribusiness company, resulting in more than 3.5 million baht in damages, police say.

Police from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) executed a warrant on Saturday to arrest Etienne Kukwa, 35, and a 36-year-old Kanchanaburi native, identified only as Wipaporn, on charges of defrauding the public and entering fraudulent information into a computer system.

Authorities were acting on reports filed by Thai and Malaysian import-export businesses, which claimed the duo had set up a company named CP Processing to mislead clients into believing it was connected to the well-known Thai conglomerate with a similar name. The real CP is authorised to export raw livestock to Malaysia.

The suspects managed to secure orders for raw chicken worth 3.58 million baht, but the orders were never delivered.

Complainants indicated that the duo’s actions not only caused financial losses but also harmed the reputation of the original company.

Ms Wipaporn was listed as the president of the fraudulent enterprise and was found to have made transfers to Mr Kukwa.

The woman was apprehended in Wang Thong Lang district of Bangkok, while the Cameroon national was apprehended in Bang Phongphang in Yan Nawa district.

Authorities seized 70,500 baht in cash, 14 bank passbooks, two passports, 11 communication devices and 17 credit cards. Bank accounts containing 2 million baht have also been frozen.

Both suspects have denied the charges, but police claim to have strong evidence and will pursue legal action.

Source: Bangkok Post

30, November 2024

Biya regime resumes land dispute with British American Tobacco over Bastos Property ⁰

The land dispute between the Cameroonian government and British American Tobacco (BAT) over a 4-hectare property in Bastos, an upscale neighborhood in Yaoundé, has reignited. The Minister of State Property and Land Affairs, Henri Eyébé Ayissi, has reversed his earlier decision in this contentious case, adding a new twist to the ongoing saga.

On June 20, 2024, the minister issued a decree allowing the government to exercise its preemption rights over the disputed land, originally owned by BAT. The land was then returned to local families. However, on July 31, 2024, Eyébé Ayissi rescinded this decree, citing “very high instructions” from President Paul Biya, conveyed through a letter from Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Secretary-General of the Presidency. BAT had previously denounced the government’s seizure of its property, prompting this intervention.

In a surprising move, Eyébé Ayissi reinstated the June 20 decree on November 25, 2024. This decision followed a formal appeal filed by lawyer Olivier Chi Nouako on behalf of the families who had received the land. Eyébé Ayissi acknowledged that he might have overinterpreted the president’s instructions from the June 26 letter, noting that it did not explicitly require the repeal of the June 20 decree.

With this latest development, the dispute is likely heading back to court. BAT had already taken legal action to reclaim the property and signaled its willingness to escalate the case to international courts if necessary. After a July 11 hearing at the Administrative Court in Yaoundé, BAT’s lawyers indicated that they were prepared to pursue all available legal remedies.

Beyond the legal wrangling, the case highlights allegations of high-level maneuvering by influential figures seeking control of the land. Sources claim that the local families who initially regained ownership of the property under the June 20 decree quickly sold it to prominent individuals, including some close to the presidency.

Source: Business in Cameroon