Four workers of the Buea City Council in Southern Cameroons have embarked on a hunger strike over unpaid salary. The workers who had earlier suspended their strike last week due to the May 20 parade, on Tuesday May 23, 2017 besieged the premises of the regional delegation for Labour and Social Security before moving to the Governor’s office.

The strike leader, Hans Manga Monono is accusing Mayor Patrick Ekema of deliberately keeping their salaries for reasons best known to him. He told reporters that all attempts made to meet the Mayor has met with a stone wall. The workers are Hans Managa Monono 17 month’s arrears, Njie Martin Evakise and Moki Charles Toni 5 months each and Mbua Elizabeth Ngowo 22 months.

Njomo, a staff delegate speaking on behalf of the Council revealed that the four workers had abandoned their duties and cannot today be claiming months of arrears. He said he as a staff representative has not been handed the file of the workers who according to him were supposed to meet him first before taking the matter to court. The striking workers are now waiting on the Governor of the South West region to resolve the situation in their favor.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

Following the rail accident which occurred on 21 October 2016 at Eseka, President Paul BIYA on 25 October 2016, set up a Commission of Inquiry under the authority of the Prime Minister, Head of Government. The said Commission was tasked with determining the causes of the accident and proposing measures aimed at reducing risks of similar disasters in the future, apportioning blame for the accident and, assessing the management of this disaster and of victim assistance as well as making any helpful suggestions related thereto.

The Commission of Inquiry enlisted the services of qualified international rail accident experts. It conducted an elaborate review of multiple reports and documents, as well as hearings and trips to the accident site. Based on its investigations, the Commission of Inquiry established that the rail carrier CAMRAIL was mainly to blame for the derailment of Intercity Train No. 152.

The inquiry report concluded that the main reason why the train’s coaches overturned was over speeding (96 kmlh) on a rail section with an extremely low speed limit (40 km/h) as well as a steep slope and several sharp bends. According to the experts, such over speeding is due to CAMRAIL’s non-observance of safety rules. Indeed, Train No. 152, which was put into service that very day, had major abnormalities and defects, notably: – overloading of the train and undue extension of the rake; – use of passenger coaches several of which had defective braking systems; – use of a motor carriage whose rheostat braking system was not in working order; – no proper pre-departure inspection in Yaoundé of the rake’s brake continuity; and – refusal by hierarchy to take into account the reservations expressed by the train driver about the above mentioned abnormalities and defects.

The Commission of Inquiry also concluded that the capacity of Government services to conduct rescue operations during disasters must be enhanced for greater responsiveness, coherence and fluidity and for better victim management. After taking cognizance of the findings of the Commission of Inquiry, the President of the Republic has prescribed the following measures: (1) (5) review of the concession agreement signed on 19 January 1999 between the State of Cameroon and CAMRAIL corporation, and of the two amendments concluded in 2005 and 2008; opening of discussions among CAMRAIL partners for stronger State presence in the said corporation and greater focus on social aspects, notably in passenger transport; short-term establishment of the railway heritage management company provided for under the said Agreement, responsible for maintaining the railway network, as well as implementing railway modernization and extension projects; inflicting appropriate sanctions on the officials held responsible for the accident, in the inquiry report; forwarding the inquiry report to the judicial authorities for ail legal intents and purposes.

Regarding the situation of the accident victims, the President of the Republic has taken cognizance of CAMRAIL’s actions undertaken or planned to compensate the families of the deceased and provide financial assistance to the injured. He urges that the process be finalized at the earliest opportunity. The President of the Republic has decided to disburse the sum of FCFA one billion (1,000,000,000) as supplemental assistance to the victims and their rightful claimants. Furthermore, he has ordered the erection of a steel in Eseka to commemorate this tragic accident. With a view to improving emergency management by government authorities, the President of the Republic has ordered the enhancement of the national major disaster and risk prevention and management system through (i) mainstreaming of terrorist act occurrences, (ii) better ownership by stakeholders of their respective roles and of the chain of command, and (iii) regular conduct of full-scale drills. The Head of State has directed the Government to promptly take the actions necessary for the strict implementation of the above mentioned directives. President Paul BIYA, reaffirms his solidarity with and the entire nation’s support to the victims of the tragic Eseka rail accident and the affected persons.

By Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh

Secretary General

Presidency of the Republic

The Bamenda Center for the Advancement of Women and Families in Southern Cameroons was set on fire on the night of 19-20 May 2017. Located in the district called Old Town, close to the Central Police Station and the prefecture in Bamenda 2 and below the regional division of the Judicial Police of the Northwest, it remains a mystery how the building was attacked by unidentified men.

The building made of definitive materials that displayed great looks has now been destroyed and there are now only walls in cinder blocks blackened by a thick layer of smoke greeting the neighborhood.  Although the origin of the fire remains unknown, the known unknowns is that it is an act of reprisal against the non-observance of the various disengagement movements launched since the social crisis that has rocked Southern Cameroons.

The fire caused serious damage on the infrastructure that composed of a multimedia center, offices and a study room that are currently unrecognizable. A highly placed official loyal to the regime in Yaoundé said that the number of public buildings burned since the beginning of the crisis in November 2016 is increasing.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon Concord News

One of the buildings hosting the Cameroon General Certificate of Education Board was ravaged by fire on Sunday May 21, 2017 in Buea.  The battered office is part of the communications department newly created in the Board. Smoke was first seen coming out of the windows before guards on duty raised an alarm. The fire was finally brought under control but sources say pertinent documents were destroyed.

Reporters were denied access to the site of the incident by the forces of law and order. The cause of the disaster is not yet known but there are fears it might affect the already controversial 2017 session of the GCE.

In a related development, the Gendamerie Brigade Post in Banga Bakundu was also gutted by another fire outbreak. Eye witnesses say the Banga-Bakundu Brigade Post was completely brought down by flames on Saturday May 20^th.  Some media reports hinted that upon hearing the news, the Divisional Officer for Mbonge SOMBE embarked on an investigative mission but was involved in a ghastly car crash some 10 km from Muyuka.  The Biya appointee was rushed to the Limbe regional Hospital.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

A Prosecutor at the Special Criminal Court has opened an investigation against the current General Manager of the National Social Insurance Fund, CNPS. According to several sources, the State of Cameroon is suing Mekulu Mvondo Akame Alain Noel Olivier for “suspicions tax evasion” in complicity with the firm TSEKANE. Cameroon Concord News gathered that he made” SPECIAL DEDUCTIONS” on the salaries of some employees without any legal basis and transferred the money to a firm where he had vested interest.

Mvondo Akame Alain Noel Olivier was appointed head of the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) by a presidential decree on 7 April 2008. He was previously a secretary in the Economic Affairs Division at the Presidency of the Republic. The 58-year-old CEO of the CNPS is a product of the National School of Administration and Judiciary.

In 1998, the former Minister of State Control, Mrs Gwanmesia got Mekulu Mvondo arrested and detained for six months in the central prison at Kondengui, in a preventive detention, until the verdict of  a scandal that had rocked the Douala ports vindicated him. Alain Olivier Noël Mekulu Mvondo left Kondegui and State Control and joined Hévéa du Cameroun (Hévécam), a privatized company in which the State remains a shareholder, where he held the position of Deputy Managing Director in charge of human resources management.

By Rita Akana with cables from CIN

In one of the most scantily attended 20^th May celebrations in the country’s history amid early morning heavy downpour, the army and a cross section of the civilian population congregated at the 20th May Boulevard for the ceremony chaired by the 84 year old dictator, President Biya. The wet weather gave way to a sunny bright sky that allowed the Francophone dominated security agents to perform the normal rituals before the arrival of the presidential couple.

The ceremony recorded the presence of members of the Diplomatic Corps, the numerous cabinet ministers, the Prime Minister and Head of Government, the Speaker of National Assembly and the President of Senate. First Lady Chantal Biya arrived differently and her entourage was preceded by the motorcade escorting President Paul Biya. The Military orchestra was on-board and trumpeted the best of music to grace the unpopular event boycotted by many political parties and civil society organizations..

The Minister Delegate in charge of Defense at the Presidency, Joseph Beti Assomo welcomed the Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Paul Biya and after the national anthem the aging leader inspected some detachments of the military and witnessed the military match past under the Command of  General Edzo’o Mvondo Simon, assisted by Colonel Enow Eyong.

Events in the Buea province of Southern Cameroons took a dramatic u-turn as heavy rains including the call for  a boycott by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium rocked the boat. Our chief correspondent in the South West who contributed to this report observed that “I feared Governor Okala would collapse and die following the massive boycott of the occasion.”  The situation was the same in the Bamenda province as many Southern Cameroonians observed the ghost town operation put in place by the Consortium.

Some conclusions could be drawn from the successful failure of today’s nationwide celebrations among them is simply that President Biya’s days as Head of State are numbered.

By Rita Akana

Cameroon Concord News

Cameroon military says it has killed a senior Boko Haram commander in Kaka Goubdo inside Nigeria. Abu Nazir was shot by elite troops from the Rapid Intervention Battalion engaged in Operation Thunder 4. Our military informant hinted that the body of Abu Nazir was identified by a combined team of Nigerian and Cameroon military experts.

Operation Thunder 4 began on May 9, 2017 and during this operation, Cameroonian soldiers penetrated Boko Haram controlled territories in a vast sector of nearly forty kilometers in Nigeria. Abu Nazir suspected of having family relations in Cameroon operated between Limani and Waza and terrorized the national road N ° 1.  To be sure, he and other militants of the Nigerian Islamic sect had made traffic on this road impossible. The area between Doublé and Dabanga, which became a throat cutting factory, was called “the axis of death.”

Correspondingly, Abu Nazir always managed with his gang to escape into Nigeria because he reportedly had good knowledge of the encyclopedic terrain. It was intelligence information on his hideout that enabled the success of the operation jointly carried out by the Cameroon commandos of Operation Alpha and those serving with BIR in the Joint Multinational Force.

By Fru James

Cameroon Concord News

President Biya has banned the use of mobile phones inside the presidency of the republic during the reception to be hosted by him and wife Chantal Biya tomorrow May the 2oth 2017. As the world continues to evolve and smartphone users have adopted the tendency to immortalize moments of happiness and to share with their entourage, the Cameroonian dictator, 84, who has spent almost 35 years in power, has forbidden mobile phones inside the presidential palace on the evening of May the 20th.

The decision was announced on state radio and television with standing instructions that dignitaries invited by the head of state will not be allowed to enter State House with their mobile phones. The decision has generated a huge public debate and aroused controversy throughout the nation’s capital, Yaounde.

Some political commentators have opined that the presidential security wants to avoid people taken private videos and photos of the president who is struggling to cope with old age but intends to continue to rule a country where a majority of the population is under 35 years of age.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the presidential clan wants to protect the head of state and prevent guest taken photos and posting on social networks such as the one that occurred on May 20, 2016, when the limousine transporting President Biya broke down.

“The photo, taken by a guest from the rostrum was circulated on social media round the globe and made us uncomfortable,” said a highly placed government official who sued for anonymity. Security services are also considering a possible ban on the use of mobile phones during the parade at the 20^th May Boulevard.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon Concord News Group

Torrential rains have made travelling within Yaoundé the nation’s capital almost impossible. The inhabitants of Yaoundé seem to be caught in the trap of the current rainy season, with a succession of flashes and violent thunderstorms that follow each day given way to mud, making circulation difficult in certain districts.

The situation in Olembé, seen here on photo located at the northern outskirts of Yaoundé is a tangle tale. Correspondingly, movement of people has become almost impossible after each rain, precisely at a place called “Pétrolex”.

“We suffer here at Olembe, after every rain, it’s mud. Even vehicles can no longer move normally. We are obliged to go out every time, with two pairs of shoes. The second pair of shoe is used once we are in town or in the office, “says an Olembe resident

Another inhabitant of the “Pétrolex” district said that he is obliged to wash his car every morning before going to work. Clearly, the people of this part of the capital are used to mud as a majority are militants of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate and have not bothered to inform the authorities that their area has been cut off from the entire Yaoundé.

By Sama Ernest

The Francophone governor of the Buea province of Southern Cameroons has revealed that the Yaoundé regime will henceforth monitor telephone conversations of West Cameroonians in order to identify secessionists and persons fanning the flames of the Anglophone uprising. The land grabber governor made the revelation last week during a meeting to assess the security situation in his administrative unit. He added that he was acting following instructions from the presidency of the republic.

According to Bernard Okala, the objective of this mission of Big Brother surveillance is to identify the secessionists and any person feeding the current situation in the Northwest and Southwest. “We plan to stop all the actors involved in the uprising. Some people claim to be disturbed by the situation, but support the secessionists behind the scenes, “said Bernard Okala, who also hinted that about ten names of people who disrupt peace in Southern Cameroons have already been spotted.

The French Cameroun Commissioner for the Buea province emphasized that the South West region cannot be demilitarized when people continue to burn government buildings and intimidate the population. However, it should be noted that telephone conversations are protected. According to the law n2010 / 013 of 21 December 2010 governing telephone calls in Cameroon, the protection of privacy with respect to private telephone calls are twofold. The first relates to the prohibition of unauthorized telephone tapping and the second concerns the protection of consumers against anonymous infringements via telephone calls.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon Concord News