President Paul Biya warned on Monday of “disastrous consequences” for the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa if urgent action is not taken to address their deteriorating net external reserves.

The member countries – Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo – share monetary policy and a currency with a common central bank.

Between them, they have struggled to emerge from the impact of the COVID pandemic and other external global shocks, leaving them short of foreign exchange or other assets to cover import bills and debt repayments.

They are also facing challenges domestically including a decline in oil production in five of the countries, prolonged civil conflict in Central African Republic and Cameroon, and a heavy debt burden in Gabon and default in Republic of Congo.

Biya called for more substantial actions to preserve the macroeconomic and financial stability of the region.

“According to recent data, our net external reserves have deteriorated considerably. This situation is preoccupying and calls for urgent action from us to inverse this trend,” Biya, said in his opening remarks at a summit of the leaders in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

“If nothing is done, according to various experts, we could face disastrous consequences for our countries and the subregion.”

He did not give any details of what the consequences might be or how they might be addressed, but any demands from international lenders to rein in spending by cutting subsidies or further trimming handouts could cause public discontent.

The International Monetary Fund, which is represented at the summit along with the World Bank and other partners, warned in June that the six nations needed decisive and coordinated actions to tackle fiscal and external imbalances.

The IMF cautioned that divergent economic performance and unchanged policies among the countries could threaten financial stability.

Source: Reuters

The Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Joseph Le announced in a statement dated December 10, 2024, that he had signed a new series of decrees ordering the dismissal and revocation of certain civil servants and state employees governed by the Labor Code. These new sanctions affect 450 personnel (319 civil servants and 131 state employees under the Labor Code), bringing the total number of dismissals and revocations to 4,027 to date.

“However, those who believe they have been unfairly sanctioned may submit an appeal to the Superior Council of the Civil Service,” the minister reminded in his statement.

In the communiqué, Joseph Le emphasized the legitimacy of these measures, clarifying that they were taken in accordance with existing regulations, particularly the decree of October 7, 1994, on the General Statute of the Civil Service, amended and supplemented by the decree of October 12, 2000, as well as the decree of November 9, 1978, outlining common provisions applicable to state employees governed by the Labor Code.

This round of terminations falls within the framework of the contentious phase of the Physical Counting of State Personnel (Coppe) operation, aimed at cleaning up the government payroll database by removing irregular personnel entries. The reasons for this regularization include unjustified absences, undeclared resignations, or unreported deaths. The operation is scheduled to conclude in 2025, after which all affected personnel will be removed from the Civil Service in accordance with the president’s directives outlined in the circular of October 23, 2024, regarding the preparation of the 2025 budget.

According to the minister, the dismissed personnel are part of a group of 8,766 public employees at risk of sanctions. Despite the issuance of numerous notices to these employees, only 601 of them responded to requests for explanations and, in some cases, appeared before the Permanent Disciplinary Council of the Civil Service, explained. He added that further waves of dismissals and revocations cannot be ruled out.

Source: Sbbc

After a heated argument with First Lady Chantal Biya, Rear-Admiral Joseph Fouda was drummed out of the Unity Palace accused of fraud.

He headed no unit of the Cameroonian armed forces, nor did he even grace its highest ranks, let alone did he earn President Paul Biya’s eternal gratitude by rescuing him from some plot or other, but Rear-Admiral Joseph Fouda was the most important military man of the last 20 years – nearly half the President’s time in power. Now, he is gone.

For more than two decades, he helped the 91-year-old President Biya to resist the intrigues and internal quarrels that undermined the presidential entourage. Through him, Biya avoided pitfalls and dodged cheap tricks.

Rear Admiral Joseph Fouda was indeed a very loyal aide-de-camp to Paul Biya and remains one of the oldest and closest collaborators of the head of state – a unique link that was forged in the corridors of power. Fouda is now a thing of the past.

Rita Akana with files from Africa Confidential

Despite Paul Atanga Nji’s  continued stay in office as Minister of Territorial Administration, his recent suspension of several NGOs is now being branded a disaster by many including renowned businesswoman Rebecca Enonchong.

Biya regime suspended the activities of several NGOs and associations for three months, and banned two other entities. The decision was defended by Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration, who justified it on the grounds of suspected illicit financing, money laundering and terrorist financing.

The organisations targeted by this measure include the Charitable Socio-cultural Association of Cameroon (ACSCC), Reach Out Cameroon (ROC), the Réseau des droits humains en Afrique centrale (REDHAC) and the L.M Nanje Foundation INC. The suspensions and bans were issued without prior notice, sending shockwaves through the human rights community.

On social network X, Rebecca Enonchong denounced the measure. ‘Suspending human rights groups by an administrative measure, without due process, is pure provocation. Defending these organisations is our duty. We cannot allow our common rights to be flouted with impunity’ noted the businesswoman.

Atanga Nji, the conman par excellence had told his bosses in Yaoundé that if accorded the territorial administration portfolio, he would end the crisis in Southern Cameroons given that he knew the terrain and was an Anglophone.

The man with very limited formal education is now seeing the end of the massive scam that his government has put in place and has decided to destroy the civil society.

By Rita Akana