The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government says Yaounde’s killing of innocent Southern Cameroons women and children is slowly but surely spelling the end of the occupying French Cameroun regime.

Dabney Yerima made the remarks during a meeting with his aides on the situation in Ground Zero on Boxing Day as the brutal La Republique war intensifies in the rural areas of Southern Cameroons.

“We of the Ambazonia Interim Government believe that the martyrdom of Southern Cameroons women and children will end the brutal regime in Yaoundé and that in 2024 we will witness the victory of Ambazonia Restoration Forces as well as the elimination of all French Cameroun colonial administrators” Vice President Yerima stated.

Comrade Dabney Yerima also expressed dismay at the support provided by the Southern Cameroons diaspora in Europe and North America, saying the Ambazonians in the West need to step up their game to win the independence battle.

Yerima furthered that the people of Southern Cameroons will continue to stand up for the implementation of justice and the complete independence of their homeland.

91-year old President Biya started the bloody war on Southern Cameroonians seven years ago following a strike by English speaking teachers and lawyers.

Since the start of the war, the Biya regime has killed at least 10,000 Southern Cameroonians and injured several hundred others, and left vast swathes of the North West and South West in ruins.

Yaoundé continue to impose a siege on Southern Cameroons territory by cutting off electricity and the internet.

By Haggai Fung Achuo

Separatist activism is likely to continue in the Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon through at least mid-2024. An explosive device detonated in Bamenda, Northwest Region, on Dec. 25, without casualties reported. Previously, suspected Ambazonia secessionist militants raided a market in Bamenyam, West Region, a locality bordering the Norwest Region, on Nov. 21, killing at least nine residents and kidnapping an unspecified number. A similar attack in Mamfe, Southwest Region, left at least 20 civilians dead in early November.

The threat of violence remains elevated in the English-speaking regions as various armed groups continue to call for secession, highlighting the dangers for those operating or traveling in western Cameroon. The situation has remained tense since October 2017, when secessionists unilaterally proclaimed the independence of the so-called state of Ambazonia, which is unrecognized internationally. Human Rights Watch estimates that about 6000 civilians have died, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced due to armed forces and separatist-linked violence since late 2016.

Security-related operations are ongoing. Checkpoints and searches of vehicles and personnel are likely, particularly outside major cities such as Buea (Southwest) and Bamenda (Northwest). Authorities may enact temporary security measures such as curfews and telecommunication restrictions without notice in the event of significant violence or unrest.

Source: Crisis24.garda

The Cameroonian government launched the construction of 3,060 new housing units in Olembe, Yaoundé. The foundation stone was laid last December 19 by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development (Minhdu), Célestine Ketcha Courtès.

The initial pilot phase aims to build 60 housing units within nine months on a 5,000 m² space, including three buildings and a green area. The second phase will involve constructing the remaining 3,000 housing units on 20 hectares, starting in 2024 and spanning four years.

The project, entrusted to the Spanish group Pablo y Natalia Holding Group (PNHG), aligns with the government’s program to build 10,000 social housing units and develop 50,000 buildable plots. The Ministry said PNHG has a pragmatic approach to revitalizing the program and meeting the increasing demand, following less satisfactory results from previous initiatives.

The housing deficit in Cameroon is estimated at 2.5 million units. Authorities said the situation is due to demographic growth, poverty, and unemployment. To address this shortfall, the government initiated a program in 2010 to construct 10,000 units, aiming to provide access to decent housing for Cameroonians. The initial phase of this program included the construction of 1,675 homes in Yaoundé and Douala, with 500 planned for Olembe.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Hundreds of Cameroon government troops have gone on a violent rampage in Mbakong, setting alight dozens of homes after five soldiers were killed by Ambazonia fighters on Wednesday.

Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Bamenda said the five army soldiers were killed by an explosive device on the Mile 24 road linking Bafut in Bamenda to Wum, the chief town in Menchum Division in the North West region.

The deadly incident on Wednesday, followed by several attacks against Cameroon government military installations throughout Southern Cameroons immediately raised doubts about the feasibility of the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé to calm the seven year-long wave of bloodshed.

Local media houses in Bamenda reported that about 20 homes were torched on Wednesday evening and many innocent Southern Cameroons civilians were arrested in Mbakong.

We gathered that the Francophone leadership of the military deployed to the North West region ordered soldiers to strike Mbakong “without mercy”.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

Two prominent judges of the Military Tribunal have been removed by the 91-year-old President Biya in a move described by many as an unexpected blow to the reputation of the judiciary.

The dismissal of the two Francophone judges in Yaoundé has sparked fierce debates around the conditions under which judges’ work.

The Biya decision to sack the judges caught the attention of the media because both were involved in the Martinez Zogo murder case.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that Biya fired Colonel Sipa Didier Dongmo, the Director of Military Justice and Lieutenant Colonel Sikati II Kamwo Florent Aimé the investigating judge at the Yaoundé Military Court after it was revealed that they received bribes from members of the gang that murdered journalist Martinez Zogo. Both men were replaced by Colonel Djiofack Sylvestre Pascal and magistrate Lieutenant-Colonel Nzie Pierrot Narcisse respectively.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sikati, the investigating judge at the Yaoundé military court as he then was, signed a decision ordering the release of business tycoon Jean Pierre Amougou and the disgraced spy Chief Maxime Eko EKo. But less than 24 hours later, the same judge made public another decision denying the release of Amougou Belinga and Maxime Eko Eko.

Moving the goal posts is not illegal in Cameroon but doing so in a matter that involves the Beti-Bulu ruling clan is considered a serious act of misconduct that undermines public confidence in the judiciary. Dismissal was seen as a necessary punishment for the two military judges whose love for money raised questions about their impartiality.

There is no appeal within Cameroon’s disciplinary procedure or a judicial review challenge when President gives you a P45.

It is also not known whether any of the two Francophone judges have disputed Biya’s claim.

By Staff man Alain Tabot-Tanyi

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) says the will and determination of Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces to fight French Cameroun occupation outweighs Biya’s appointment of some few Anglophone elites in the French Cameroun government.

Comrade Dabney Yerima made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Cameroon Concord News London Bureau Chief on Monday, during which he discussed the reasons behind the Ambazonia Interim Government’s support for “kontry Sunday” that was launched by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said the most significant factor Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces possess is that they are fighters with a right and a just cause and fighters who believe in the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and are ready to sacrifice for it.

Yerima noted that Biya and his French Cameroun political elites cannot destroy the Southern Cameroons struggle and all Yaounde’s attempts to destroy the Federal Republic of Ambazonia will fail.

Dabney Yerima emphasized that the Ambazonia Interim Government is the legitimate leadership body of the Southern Cameroons people both at home and in the diaspora and the IG will continue to fight and stand against the Biya French Cameroun brutality with will and determination. 

Dabney Yerima concluded that Amba fighters will carry out self defense operations this December that will surprise and shock La Republique du Cameroun.

By Alain Tabot-Tanyi

As of September 2023, Eneo reveals receivables from the public sector, including the government and other public entities, totaling CFA234.5 billion, based on an internal document read by Business in Cameroon. Although CFA43.1 billion has been paid this year, CFA 131.7 billion is still owed by the central government, CFA55 billion by public enterprises, and CFA47.8 billion by other public entities.

Eneo claims that the amounts owed by the Cameroonian government have increased by CFA38.5 billion since the letter sent on April 14 to the Cameroonian Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, by Actis, the majority shareholder of Eneo (51% of the shares). In this letter signed by David Grylls, a partner at Actis, the British investment fund estimated the debt of the public sector to its local subsidiary at CFA186 billion.

The Cameroonian government promptly contested this sum, leading to the establishment of commissions to determine the public sector’s debt to Eneo. However, according to the communiqué released after the electricity company’s board meeting on December 7, 2023, in Yaoundé, this process remains unfinished several months later. The communiqué states, “Management has been urged to persist in dialog with the regulator to address outstanding matters, including the acknowledgment of Eneo’s investments, tariff compensation, and public lighting.”

Compensation and public lighting billing have always been the subject of fierce negotiations between Actis’ subsidiary and the government. To better understand, it should be noted that tariff compensation (consumer subsidy supported by the state, representing the difference between the actual cost of the kilowatt-hour and what the consumer pays) depends on several factors, including the level of investment made by Eneo, the evaluation of which is still the subject of lengthy negotiations with the government. Moreover, in cities without a modern public lighting network, consumption is estimated based on the number of identified street lamps. However, municipalities and Eneo still struggle to agree on the number of functional street lamps over a given period, often requiring counter-expertise.

Year-end celebrations with power cuts

Eneo estimates tariff compensation as of the end of September 2023, at CFA75 billion and the public lighting bill at CFA68.8 billion. This means that out of the CFA234.5 billion claimed by the electricity company from its reference shareholder (44% of the shares), only CFA90.7 billion is already consolidated. Uncertainty continues to weigh on an amount of CFA143.8 billion, or more than 61.3% of the total amount.

For several months, discussions between Eneo and the government have been ongoing to settle part of the public debt owed to the electricity company. The issue, presented as an “emergency,” was at the center of the board meeting on December 7. “The directors were assured of the government’s full support in finding rapid solutions to the sector’s urgent payments,” reads the press release signed by Séraphin Magloire Fouda, Chairman of Eneo’s Board of Directors.

But, according to our information, nothing concrete has been achieved to date on this issue. The structuring of an operation to monetize part of the state’s debt to Eneo is mentioned to allow the company to settle part of its debt to its suppliers. Especially since “nothing concrete on the amount and timing of the monetization operation is determined,” independent power producer Globeleq, which claims up to CFA107.7 billion from Eneo, has stopped its 304 MW installed capacity plants for the second time since December 1, 2023, causing power cuts lasting more than six hours.

The financing of the monetization operation is one of the sticking points that is blocking the operation. The Actis subsidiary, which has borne these charges representing between 7 and 8% of the amount to be raised, now refuses to do so. And on its side, the state does not seem willing to bear them either. Hence the deadlock, which should maintain tension in the country’s electricity supply during the year-end celebrations. Sources close to the matter revealed that the situation will worsen during the dry season. For example, at the peak of the low-water period, the Memve’ele hydroelectric plant, with an installed capacity of 211 MW, often produces zero watt-hours at certain times of the day, due to the lack of water flow to turn its turbines.

Source: Business in Cameroon

At least six people were killed and several others injured in a road accident in the Southwest region, according to local police and authorities.

The accident occurred early Thursday in the Tiko locality of the region. Local police said a commercial motorcyclist accidentally ran into a truck that was parked along the road. As some of his colleagues gathered to rescue him, another vehicle ran over them, killing five on the spot. Another person died in the hospital.

The police have launched formal inquiries into the tragedy.

According to the police, fatal accidents are common in Cameroon due to reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, and poor state of the road.

The Ministry of Transport estimates that 1,500 people die in road accidents each year in Cameroon.

Source: Xinhuanet