News

10, November 2016

Minister Philip Ngole Ngwese suspends 23 timber companies ⁰

Philip Ngole Ngwese, the Minister of Forests has suspended for a period of 6 months 23 companies and 2 ICG (inter Community Groups) operating in the forest sector.

Philip Ngole Ngwese signed the ministerial order on Wednesday and added that the decision shall take effect immediately. The suspended parties are accused of non-compliance with standards related to sustainable environmental management and illegal logging, in accordance with applicable laws.

Cameroon Concord News Yaoundé city reporter hinted at the time of filing this report that Minister Ngole Ngwese has also threatened to withdraw the licenses issued to the companies if they do not comply with the law.

It is estimated that Cameroon loses more than 2 billion CFA francs related to illegal logging in a sector contributing up to 10% to the GDP.

By Sama Ernest

9, November 2016

Nigeria Supreme Court Judge Sylvester Ngwuta charged with fraud ⁰

A court in Abuja has charged a Nigerian judge for money laundering and fraud in connection with an investigation against several judges for corruption. Sylvester Ngwuta reportedly a Supreme Court judge will be named and shamed in a historic corruption trial to begin soon.

Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that nearly 35.4 million naira (111,995 dollars) was found during a raid by the secret service (DSS) at his home. According to the indictment, the judge had also made false statements to obtain four diplomatic passports from Nigerian immigration service.

Last month, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta and six other judges were arrested for corruption and released on bail after millions of naira and other currencies were discovered in their homes. Since coming to power, President Buhari decided to fight against corruption that has made the Federal Republic of Nigeria an international embarrassment.

By Sonne Peter

9, November 2016

Obama calls Trump, invites him to the White House ⁰

US President Barack Obama has called his newly-elected successor Donald Trump to congratulate him on his election victory and invite him to the White House to discuss the transition of power.

Obama made the call on early Wednesday, when Trump had secured enough electoral votes to beat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, the White House said. The two were slated to meet on Thursday.

Obama also called Clinton, his former secretary of state between 2009 and 2013, to express his “admiration for the strong campaign she waged throughout the country,” according to a statement by White House press secretary Josh Earnest. The president officially endorsed Clinton in June and hit the campaign trail to garner support for the former first lady.

Presstv

8, November 2016

Eseka train disaster: Camrail says 45 families already paid money for burial rites ⁰

More than two weeks after the railway accident in Eséka that reportedly killed 79 and wounded over 600, only 45 families have so far received the 1.5 million FCFA promised by the Cameroon Railway Company, CAMRAIL for funeral arrangements. Cameroon Concord News understands, CAMRAIL has been incessantly flashing out signals for families of the victims to contact its representatives in hospitals in Eseka, Douala and Yaounde for payments to be made.

Regarding compensation for damages, which remain the priority and the most important issue, CAMRAIL recently issued a statement that its insurers will foot the bills for personalized treatment and pay damages directly to the wounded and their families. Some 20 experts are engaged on the ground in coordination with health institutions to attend to each passenger affected by the accident.

The railway company has also set up a refunds department for property lost by various passengers in the accident. CAMRAIL says all compensation will be paid in the fastest possible means to all the victims.

By Rita Akana

7, November 2016

Minister Laurent Esso and Common Law Lawyers: Reading from the same script? ⁰

The Minister of State in charge of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Laurent Esso on the 26^th of October 2016 granted an interview to update public opinion on issues related to the OHADA instruments and legal practice which is part of the demands of the striking common law lawyers in Cameroon.

Laurent Esso observed that the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa, OHADA was predominantly French and French was its working language. The Biya acolyte said Cameroon requested that Article 42 of the OHADA Treaty be applied. Accordingly, English, Portuguese and Spanish became other working languages of OHADA.

Minister Esso also said, the adoption was delayed because some legal practitioners in Cameroon opined that the English version provided by the Permanent Secretariat were of doubtful technical quality. The Minister revealed that the committee was now ready to transmit the corrected version to the Permanent Secretariat for the publication in the OHADA Official Gazette.

The 42nd session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa OHADA held a two day session in Brazzaville Congo recently and recommended that the translated version be published in the three official languages.

CRTV

7, November 2016

Talks for the implementation of the Paris climate agreement starts in Morocco ⁰

Talks on climate change and the implementation of the landmark Paris climate agreement have started in Morocco, amid a threatening rise in global temperatures and greenhouse gases to new heights. Negotiations over global warming and climate change kicked off in the western Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Monday, with diplomats from 196 countries across the world discussing the planet-saving deal reached in the French capital last December. As many as 15,000 negotiators, CEOs and environment activists settle in for the 12-day talks from November 7-18.

The Paris Agreement seeks to wean the world economy off fossil fuels in the second half of the century and cap the global average rise in temperatures below two degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit). “We have made possible what everyone said was impossible,” French Environment Minister Segolene Royal said at the opening ceremony, adding that 100 countries had ratified the climate deal, which entered into force last Friday.

US election overshadowing climate meeting

The climate meeting this year is heavily impacted by the US presidential election and its outcome, as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has said he will “cancel” the deal if he wins the election which takes place on November 8.

This is while Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has vowed to uphold domestic energy policies and international climate commitments already set by President Barack Obama’s government.

In the meantime, United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa also stressed the need for concerted effort in implementing the Paris deal.

UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa delivers a speech during the opening session of the COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh on November 7, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

“The agreement has entered into force and we are all obliged to deliver on those commitments,” Espinosa said. “No politician or citizen, no business manager or investor” can doubt that the world is determined to shift toward a “low-emission, resilient society,” she noted.

A report by the UN Environment Program released on Thursday said annual emissions must be kept below 42 billion tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) by 2030 for the world to have a chance to meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Even if emission-cutting pledges under the Paris Agreement are fully implemented, the predicted 2030 emissions could put the world on track for a temperature rise of 2.9 to 3.4 degrees Celsius this century, the report said.

Presstv

7, November 2016

SDF to conduct investigation into the Eseka train disaster ⁰

Opposition parties, prominent members of the civil society and many concerned citizens are skeptical of the official report of the Eseka train crash that rocked the nation on October the 21^st 2016. Accordingly, each camp has reportedly set up its own commission of inquiry.

This weekend, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the main opposition party announced that it will conduct its own investigation into the train crash which government sources say claimed the lives of 79 people and wounded 600 others.

The SDF Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi was quoted as saying that a legal commission has been established to investigate the Eseka train accident consisting of 7 members including experienced lawyers. An SDF insider hinted Cameroon Concord News that the commission will burst the truth that the government is trying to bury.

Cameroon’s opposition groups have unanimously described as “misleading” the commission created by the Head of State, composed of members of government, which must render its findings to the President of the Republic by 24 November.

By Rita Akana

7, November 2016

Nigeria: Boko Haram kills 2 soldiers ⁰

Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists have killed at least two Nigerian soldiers and razed a village in the troubled northeastern part of the African country. Local residents said on Sunday that a group of Boko Haram gunmen arrived in Akwada village late Saturday and torched homes after looting food supplies. “Boko Haram gunmen attacked the village around 7:30 p.m. They fired indiscriminately and hurled explosives,” AFP quoted resident Bitrus John as saying.

“They killed two soldiers and injured another one in gunfight,” John said. Bulus Samson, another witness, said, “The village has been entirely burnt, there is nothing left apart from burnt rubble of our mud houses.” Akwada adjoins the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok, where the terrorist group kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls two years ago.

Nigerian soldiers had deployed in the area following incessant attacks there in recent months. The latest attack underscores the continued threat of Boko Haram in Nigeria’s volatile northeast. It came two weeks after similar raids on two nearby villages, where the militants looted and burnt homes.

In a separate development, the Nigerian army said on Sunday it had retaken some villages from the militant group in the Lake Chad region in operations on Friday and Saturday and “rescued” 85 people. Army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement that 37 Boko Haram terrorists were killed in another operation in four villages in the south of Borno state.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and some 2.6 million people have been displaced since Boko Haram began its terror activities in 2009. Many blame corrupt officials in the Nigerian government and army for the continued militancy. Recent reports say the terrorist group is receiving some of its arms and ammunition from corrupt Nigerian officials. The group has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists operating mainly in Syria and Iraq.

Presstv

6, November 2016

President Assad of Syria says Western powers are becoming much weaker ⁰

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Western powers are “becoming much weaker” in his conflict-ridden country as government forces, backed by fighters from allied popular defense groups, are gaining more ground in battles against foreign-backed terrorists.

“In the past, if I said anything, people would say the Syrian president is disconnected from reality. Now it is different. The West is becoming much weaker,” Assad said in an interview with the British weekly The Sunday Times, which was published on Sunday.

The 51-year-old Syrian leader further questioned the role that the so-called US-led military coalition is playing in the fight against Daesh extremists, saying, “They don’t have a leg to stand on explaining to people what’s going on. Daesh was smuggling oil and using Iraqi oil fields under American satellites and drones to make money, and the West was not saying anything.”

He then praised Russian airstrikes on the positions of Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria. “What made the difference, of course, was firepower. They have firepower we don’t have. At the end, we were fighting an unlimited reserve of terrorists coming to Syria and we struggled, so Russian firepower and Iranian support has compensated,” Assad pointed out.

The Syrian president underlined that Russia is not interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, and that Moscow is not looking for political deals with the Damascus government. “They never try to interfere because they don’t want anything from us. They don’t ask us to be a puppet president,” Assad commented.

He also expressed determination that Syrian forces will eventually retake Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city and the country’s industrial and financial center, from Takfiri terrorists. “Aleppo is an issue where terrorists have occupied part of the city, and we need to get rid of them,” the Syrian president said.

Presstv

5, November 2016

Cameroon honours two soldiers killed by Boko Haram ⁰

The remains of two Cameroonian soldiers killed by Boko Haram were decorated in Maroua on Friday, by the Governor of the Far North Region,Midjiyawa Bakari. Caporal Ngafdigang Joseph and Halilou Ismael Benson were both posthumously raised to the rank of Bravery in the Cameroonian military.

The Friday, 4^th of November 2016 ceremony was to pay tributes to the soldiers who gave the supreme sacrifice in the fight against terrorism and attended by four army Generals among them was the Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force.

The Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force said the demise of the two soldiers gives more encourage to the military expedition to completely flush out the terrorists. He added terrorist have been rounded up within a small area.

CRTV