Two people have been killed in Boko Haram raids in Cameroon’s Far North region, local media and security sources said Friday.

Heavily armed militants of the terrorist group Boko Haram raided Zize village in the Kolofata subdivision of the region Thursday night but were repulsed by the Cameroon army, according to a military official in the region.

A civilian, who was part of a group that was tracking down the terrorists to recover their stolen property, died in the attack.

“Our valiant soldiers killed one of the militants and seized his weapon. Others escaped with bullet wounds,” the official who asked not to be named said.

In another attack early Friday, militants raided Yegoua and Gance localities of the region, killing a middle-aged man and stealing property including foodstuff, livestock, clothes, and household utensils, according to local media.

Close to 1,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes in the last three weeks in the region due to frequent attacks by the terrorist group, according to local authorities.

Source: Xinhaunet

The Cameroonian government, through its National Strategy for Inclusive Finance (SNFI), announced the disbursement of CFA10.5 billion to boost agricultural financing in the country over the next five years.

“Since farmers’ needs are specific and particular, they require tailored financial services instead of conventional banking services,” the SNFI explained. Part of the money will come from the Public Investment Budget (BIP) and the remainder will be raised from development partners, we learned. The government plans to rely on its existing partnerships with the Agency for the SME Promotion Agency (APME) to reach the target. The plan also includes training and support sessions for stakeholders on agriculture financing and the establishment of permanent consultation frameworks between financial institutions and producer organizations.

CFA6 billion worth of credit lines will also be opened with selected banking institutions and intended for actors in the agricultural and agri-food sector. This incentive approach will help build the capacities of financial institutions on financing approaches for agricultural value chains. The implementation timeline and modalities of this strategy have not yet been defined, but the main goal is to increase local production and processing to significantly reduce the country’s dependence on imports.

In March of this year, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute signed a decree to establish and operate a fund financed jointly by the State and the AfDB to facilitate the supply of credit for the development of agricultural value chains, livestock, and fish farming.

As a reminder, Cameroon previously attempted to create the National Agriculture Financial Rural Corporation (CAFRUC), which was supposed to be a financial institution dedicated to financing the agro pastoral sector, but the project was eventually halted.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Biya regime has been caught up in an internal crisis since the SNH bought a 10% stake in the company running the oil pipeline between Doba and Kribi.

In a series of letters seen by African Intelligence, presidency secretary general Ngoh Ngoh and SNH boss Adolphe Moudiki have been locked in a violent dispute over the operation.

Recently, Yaoundé and N’Djamena agreed to resolve their dispute over assets belonging to a multinational oil giant, Exxon Mobil.

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh made the news public after a meeting with Chad’s transitional president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, in the capital N’Djamena.

The Biya acolyte, who visited Chad as a special envoy, days after N’Djamena recalled its ambassador to Yaoundé over the dispute, handed President Deby “a message of friendship, a message of fraternity” from Biya.

By Rita Akana with files from Africa Intelligence

Cameroon power company Eneo reported a customer base up 12.278% between January 2022 (1,715,093) and January 2023 (1,925,667). This means the company has performed 210,574 new electrical connections over one year.

“This increase in access to electricity has been helped by the acceleration of the digitalization process, which has boosted management of online connection requests and better organization,” Eneo explained, stressing that interest in its digital agencies has been more noticeable in Yaoundé and Douala. In the political capital, for example, the number of price quotes produced by the online agency for the benefit of customers has increased by 958%.

Moreover, Eneo reported a significant decline in the execution deadlines for connection requests, which are now carried out on the same day of the payment of the estimate or at most 24 hours later.

Source: Business in Cameroon

A report by Cameroon’s General Budget Directorate (DGB) found that the government has not published all budgetary, accounting and financial information for FY2022 as required by law.

Of the 57 documents expected, DGB counted 42 (73.48%) published on its website and only 6 on the website of the Ministry of Finance. “The main shortcomings identified regarding the publication timetable of public finance statistics during FY2022 remain essentially: the non-updating of the websites of some administrations; the lack of publication of documents on dedicated sites despite multiple reminders; the slow flow of information,” explains the DGB.

However, “the publication of comprehensive information on public finances is a legal obligation that also constitutes an educational action of the State towards the citizens,” the Budget Directorate pointed out. This obligation is contained in the law of July 11, 2018, on the code of transparency and good governance in public finance management in Cameroon. Article 47 states that “the administration shall take all necessary measures to publish information that covers all budgetary and extra-budgetary activities, within the time limits set by regulation.”

In line with this provision, the Ministry of Finance sets the timetable for the release of public finance information at the beginning of each fiscal year. For FY 2023, the DGB announces that quarterly reports on the monitoring of this calendar will be produced and awareness among the departments concerned will be increased.

Source: Business in Cameroon

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Clementine Nkweta-Salami of Cameroon as his Deputy Special Representative for Sudan with the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).  She will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.  Ms. Nkweta-Salami succeeds Khardiata Lo N’Diaye of Senegal, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication.

Ms. Nkweta-Salami brings to the position, 30 years of experience in humanitarian affairs and protection, mainly in field settings.  For the past three years, she has served as Director of the Regional Bureau for the East, Horn and Great Lakes Regions of Africa of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where she is responsible for providing strategic direction, support and oversight of 11 UNHCR country offices.  Prior to this, she was UNHCR Representative to Ethiopia, Regional Representative to Southern Africa, Representative to Burundi and Head of Inspection in the Inspector General’s Office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva.  She has also served in field positions with UNHCR in the United Republic of Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Ms. Nkweta-Salami holds a masters degree in corporate and commercial law from University College, University of London, a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Social Science degree in sociology and political science from the University of Ottawa.  Ms. Nkweta-Salami is a qualified barrister and member of the English and Cameroon Bar.

Source: UN Press

At least four gendarmerie officers were killed and two others seriously wounded in an attack by Southern Cameroons Self Defense Group in Matouke, a village located in Mbanga in the Littoral bordering the South West Region, Cameroon’s Defense Ministry said Monday.

The deadly attack took place on the sidelines of activities celebrating International Labour Day on Monday, May 1, 2023, in Matouke.

According to a military source contacted by Cameroon Intelligence Report, elements of the security and defense forces in a joint detachment were ambushed by suspected Amba fighters in the district of Mbanga on the Penda-Mboko road where there is a joint security post.

Three of the four officers killed were identified as Gendarme Major Marré, Sergeant Djoni and Sergeant Assomo. At the time of filing this report news filtered that Ndum Acha Arrison, a motorcycle rider had died of wounds sustained in the attack.

The Ambazonian fighters reportedly made away with four weapons.

The wounded, which are being treated at the military hospital in Douala-Bonanjo, were visited by the Governor of the Littoral Region, Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua.

More than 10,000 people including some 4000 Cameroon government army soldiers have been killed and nearly 2 million displaced since the start of the Southern Cameroons crisis seven years ago.

Violence committed by both Cameroon government army soldiers and Amba fighters has affected academic institutions all over Southern Cameroons.

The war is also affecting the Littoral and the West, which are neighboring regions to British Southern Cameroons.

By Nelly Epupa with files from Fon Lawrence

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne has confirmed reports that migrants from Cameroon who were rescued from a recent boat disaster, will not be allowed to reenter the country.

“Why bring them back when they are likely to smuggle out of the country again,” said the Prime Minister in an article written in his own publication. 

His comment confirmed a recent statement from the government of St Kitts Nevis which indicated that Antigua and Barbuda had reneged on its previous promise to accept the refugees back into the twin-island nation.

Over one month ago – on March 28, 14 migrants, along with two Antiguans, were rescued after their boat capsized in water offshore St Kitts en route from Antigua to St Thomas, in the United States Virgin Islands.

“The government of St Kitts and Nevis continues to pursue workable and diplomatic solutions as it is duty bound so to do,” the statement from the neighbouring country’s Ministry of National Security added.

Meanwhile, all but one of nine people who fled the detention facility outside Basseterre on Thursday have since been located. 

They were among some of the survivors of fishing vessel La Belle Michelle, which ran into difficulty while dangerously overcrowded with around 30 passengers.

Three bodies were pulled from the sea but more than a dozen more still missing and presumed dead.

They were among hundreds of Cameroonian refugees fleeing conflict back home who arrived in Antigua and Barbuda late last year on charter flights from Nigeria.

Source: Caribbean Loopnews

The President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadéra has held talks with BIYA at the Unity Palace.

For two hours, the two leaders, who were meeting again just a few weeks after the 15th ordinary CEMAC summit reportedly, exchanged views on the security situation in the CEMAC region.

Cameroon Concord News understands that no declaration was made at the end of the talks.

BIYA, who handed over the presidency of the CEMAC Heads of State Conference to his Central African counterpart on 17 March, did not miss the opportunity to reiterate his support for the smooth running of the Community.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé