Ten women arrested in Cameroon for being lesbian

• Face up to five years in prison if convicted  

• Liberia looks to toughen its anti-gay laws

By Simon Tomlinson

Ten women have been arrested in Cameroon on suspicion of being lesbians.

They have been detained in Ambam, some 190 miles south of the capital of Yaounde, until they go on trial, Cameroon Radio Television reported.

Consensual same-gender sex is considered criminal in the West African nation and punishable by a jail sentence from six months to five years and a fine.

Gay rights defender and founder of the Association for the Defence of Homosexuals, Alice Nkom, says detainees in Cameroon are frequently tortured in police stations to force them confess.

Critic: Gay rights campaigner Alice Nkom (above) says homosexuals in Cameroon are often tortured by police to induce confessions

It comes as another African country, Liberia, prepares to consider a bill to strengthen its own existing anti-gay laws.

Liberia's former first lady, Senator Jewel Taylor, submitted a bill last week that would prohibit same-sex marriage and make homosexuality a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

She said: 'We are only strengthening the existing law. Some media are reporting that I said anyone found guilty of involvement in same sex should face the death penalty.

'I did not say so. I am calling for a law that will make it a first degree felony,' she said.

The current law considers gay relationships a first-degree misdemeanour, which carries a punishment of up to a year in prison.

'We are looking at it critically' and will put it before the entire Senate 'during our next sitting on Thursday', Senator Joseph Nagbe, chair of the Judicial Committee, said.

Outlawed: Same-gender sex can be punishable by up to five years in prison in Cameroon

If passed by the Senate, the strengthened bill would then go the House and then the president.

Liberia's president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said she will not sign any such bill into law.

'Liberia is a member of the global community and therefore cannot kick against the rights of others to do what they choose to do,' said Archie Ponpon, chairman of the newly-formed gay rights advocacy group the Movement for the Defence of Gays and Lesbians in Liberia.

Mr Ponpon and his family have already faced hostility because of his fight for gay rights in Liberia.

Weeks ago, his mother's house was set on fire and he and another advocate, Abraham Kamara, were mobbed by angry students while campaigning at the University of Liberia.

'We will not relent,' he said. 'People will come to the realisation that in this day and age, individuals should be free to practice what they wish.'

A wave of intense homophobia has been washing across Africa in the past few years, where homosexuality is already illegal in many countries.

'It's getting worse,' Cameroon gay rights defender Ms Nkom said of homophobia.

'People accused of homosexuality are put in jail straight away,' she told reporters in November after three men were each sentenced to five years in prison for homosexual acts.

Earlier this month, Uganda re-introduced a bill that would make the death sentence mandatory for gays who are 'repeat offenders'.

U.S. President Barack Obama denounced the bill as 'odious', while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject it and some international donors threatened to cut aid if it became law.

-Daily Mail.

Cameroon: Biya’s Colonel Attacks PAP Members in Mamfe.

A certain Lt. Col. Mvoggo, a native of Ewondo, Centre Region Cameroon, stormed the premises of and assaulted a U.S trained military officer, Mr. Ako ABUNAW, National Communications Secretary and Campaign Manager of Hon. AYAH Paul’s PAP. This took place  Thursday, February 23, 2012 at about 10:15 PM local time at the compound of Mr. Ako Abunaw, Abunaw Lodge, Mamfe town.

As if at a war front, Col. Mvoggo (a man notorious for ruthlessly intimidating militants of opposition parties especially PAP as some Mamfe residents attest on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals) invaded the premises of Mr. Abunaw with more than twenty heavily armed soldiers.

As the Colonel and his gang forced open the main gate leading to Mr. Abunaw’s veranda, he rushed towards Mr. Abunaw’s direction where he’d been sitting and having his usual casual chats with his visitors. Col. Mvoggo reached for Mr. Abunaw’s legs which were relaxed on one of the chairs across from him – pulling his legs to shoulder height, he flung them to the ground causing Mr. Abunaw to tumble to the floor. Sensing it was a designed act by the Colonel to infuriate him (Mr. Abunaw) to retaliate so he could order his gang to open fire, Mr. Abunaw held his peace.

Col. Mvoggo: “…Did you not see me come to your home so you could pay me the respect by standing up to greet me...”

Mr. Abunaw: ”… Who are you and what is your mission here? …”

Col. Mvoggo: “… we’ve heard about you and your political activities in town. You must be very careful. We’re watching you…”

After a bitter exchange between the two men, the Col. stormed out of Mr. Abunaw’s compound and disappeared in the cover of night.

It is important to note that during the just ended meet-the-people ‘thank you’ tour of Hon. AYAH around Manyu, the PAP Mamfe rally pulled a mammoth crowd that panicked the Manyu CPDM elites. The message delivered by the leadership of PAP to the Manyu people was revolutionary. PAP is currently undergoing training sessions with its militants on ways to protect their victory in any elections and resist intimidation. Perhaps such messages have been sinking deep into the psyche of the people as seen in a recent strike action organized by the Kumba/Mamfe road drivers.

Meanwhile the Intelligence of the National Strategic Team of PAP carried out findings: the action of the Colonel is one of a series of planned intimidation tactics by the Manyu CPDM machinery on the people of Manyu. As Mr. Biya bows to pressure to provide funds for biometric registration exercise by ELECAM, CPDM members with ambition to run for mayor and parliament are threatened that the ground is shifting beneath their feet especially as PAP prepares to field in mostly youths ahead of the polls plus its active presence on the field knocking on doors and training the electorates.

The show down that happened at Mr. Abunaw’s compound is the talk of the day in Mamfe. It is alleged that Hon. Rose Abunaw may have masterminded the drama. You may be interested to learn that Mr. Ako Abunaw, the victim of the assault is the blood brother (older brother) of Hon. Rose Abunaw. Hon. Rose Abunaw is angry to have got wind of the fact that his own blood brother is an executive of PAP and is supporting ‘small boys’ to ‘disgrace’ her in the up coming twin elections.

Hon. Rose Abunaw is the current parliamentarian for Mamfe Central and Upper Bayang, Manyu division. 

Source:Statement from PAP Secretariat

Cameroon university students and indecency: A serious cause for concern

By Mercy Nahnyoung  Kusi

It is shameful. It is unbelievable. Yet, it is factual that indecency in the university milieus in Cameroon is now very common. If you doubt this, then take a walk around varsity campuses or students’ residential quarters around the country and see for your self how indecent and immoral some varsity students especially girls have become.

 In the name of fashion or some hidden motive, they dress to “kill.” And sooner or later, womanizers- young men, fathers and grandfathers- fall for them. How cheap some men can be.

But how do these young girls dress? They deliberately-with commercial intention, wear dresses that expose their sensitive body parts such as breasts, laps, navels, and even buttocks. Indeed, some female students have chosen, as their way of life, to always wear but transparent clothes. Why? This is to permit men to see through and get aroused.

Apparently conscious that men get sexually excited by sight and women by touch, by dressing half-naked these self-seeking girls are indirectly inviting men for coitus mainly in exchange for money and other material things. How materialistic the world has become! How sexually immoral many girls and women have become! Even men too.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learners’ dictionary, indecency is defined as any act or behavior that is obscene or improper. By this it refers to any habit, dressing style or mannerism in society that sets tongues wagging.

Nowadays, especially in the university area, you find reckless alcohol consumption by mostly by students, indecent dressing and odd dating habits. These poor habits have forced some well-cultured and elderly people to wonder if universities are institutions with unlimited freedom. 

Frightened by these poor habits around university milieus, you could now hear parents vowing not to send their beloved young girls to universities. They are afraid they will get spoilt.

Universities are supposed to be training grounds for good learning and behavior. But some children deceive their parents to send them there, and when their poor parents make all the sacrifices to get them enrolled there, the students become wayward .Some of them stay away from classes for up to a month without any convincing justification;then,you find them in bars, hotels and parties in the name of living their lives.

Excited and or poor female students go the extra mile of selling their bodies to men, some old enough to be their fathers and grand fathers. They argue that they want to meet up with their wants. I call them wants because most of these girls before leaving their respective homes are provided with their basic needs such as pocket allowance, house rents, and food stuff.

I have found out that the growing spirit of materialism and love for easy –come money are making young people- especially women, mad. 

Young women, why not discipline your selves and study hard to become successful women in society.

 Men especially students, are now scammers, defrauding people and companies in and out of country simply to spend on cheap women and to support their seemingly  luxurious  lifestyles. How are students in this category going about their courses? Even if some of them claim that with money they can buy their degrees, let them be informed that if they succeed to buy, when they act, it will not reflect the level of qualification they claimed to have attained.   

The efforts of the University of Buea(UB), the place to be, in checking indecency must be saluted here .It is heart-warming to learn that the Administration of University of Buea has launched a war against indecency. Visiting the university, one finds the institution’s security agents checking and stopping those who are indecently dressed. 

Shouldn’t other varsities or institutions of higher learning in the country emulate the example of UB in combating indecency?

Parents and guardians are strongly advised to make their children cultivate only good habits, and be advocates of decency, morality and probity. They should warn their children against joining bad associations, because bad associations spoil good habits.

The Bible in Proverbs 19:18 advises: “Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don’t, you are helping them to destroy themselves”

No matter how we are, we are all children of some parents.

The Bible advises children to obey their parents in order to live longer and happier. Fighting indecency is a collective responsible.

First published in The RECORDER Newspaper ,Cameroon,of February 17,2012

Cameroon adopts biometric voter registration

By BISONG ETAHOBEN in Yaounde

Cameroon’s elections governing body Elecam has accepted to adopt biometric registration.The system will be used during the next round of registration, which was announced two weeks ago on the instructions of President Paul Biya.

Opposition parties and civil society organisations have been piling pressure on Elecam to adopt the biometric system.

The announcement, first made Monday evening as Elecam President Fonkam Azu’u received five political party leaders, was reiterated Tuesday when the poll agency chief received civil society leaders and the Chairman of the Front pour le Salut National du Cameroun (FSNC), who doubles as minister for Communication, Mr Issa Tchiroma Bakari.

Dr Azu’u Monday received the President of the Union des Forces Démocratiques du Cameroun (UFDC), Dr Victorin Hameni Bieleu, Ms Edith Kahbang Walla of the Cameroon Peoples’s Party (CPP), Dr Joachim Tabi Owono of Action pour la Meritocratie et Egalité des Chances (AMEC), Mr Isaac Feuzeu of Mouvement pour l’Emergence et le Reveil du Citoyen (MERCI) and Dr Olivier Bilé of Union pour la Franternité et la Prospérité (UFP).

Dr Azu’u explained that the opening of the new voter registers had been delayed by, among other things, the ongoing search for the right company to offer the biometric services.He also attributed the delay to the acquisition of the materials and the training of the requisite personnel.“Once these aspects of the operation have been taken care of, the registration exercise proper would not take long,” said Dr Azu’u.

The various political leaders and their colleagues from the civil society, during their discussions with the Elecam President, reiterated their determination to work with his agency to ensure credible elections in Cameroon.

 Dr Bieleu called on Elecam to sponsor party representatives in the electoral commissions, since most of the latter were broke.

“There is a convergence of views between us and certain political parties. The essential thing in this exercise is for there to be dialogue between us and our partners who are the political parties,” said Dr Azu’u.

-Africa Review

Cameroon:Buea Rehabilitation & Extension Water Project Begins

But Complete Realization to take two years!

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Adhoc Committee at a water source doing assessment

The acute water crisis (shortage) which  residents of Buea have been facing for years now may be soon be resolved following the award of a contract  worth hundreds of millions of FCFA for the  rehabilitation and extension of  Buea water supply by CAMWATER to  a company,ASPAC CEMAC.

ASPAC CEMAC  has been given  a duration of two years to completely  realize the water project, which has already  started with the identification of water sources in Buea  to be  developed and improved upon .

 In Buea, water now is rationed by CDE; quarters in Buea go for days without portable water in order to permit others that have suffered same to have water, whose flow is ridicously slow and intermittent. 

The current water supply capacity of Buea was intended to serve a population of some fifty thousands people, but the population of Buea now stands at about two hundred thousands, and appears to be rapidly increasing every day.

The Recorder learned that the current water supply capacity of Buea is only 3000 cubic meters per day and that the on-going project is intended to step up the supply to three or four times per day.

Seemingly, to show the seriousness of Government about the project realisation, the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Bona Ebengue Francois, on February 1, 2012 signed an order creating an ad hoc commission for verification and evaluation of property to be affected by works for the rehabilitation and extension of the Buea water project.

Then, the Ad hoc commission, which is chaired by the SDO himself,  on the same day of its creation after meeting at Buea DO’s office, immediately swung  into action  by visiting the water sources to be improved.

 The ad hoc commission, whose members include the Mayor of Buea, concerned government officials, the representatives of CAMWATER and CDE visited two identified water sources in Wolikawo and Boduma villages.

The ad hoc commission is charged with: selecting and demarcating the lands concerned at the expense of CAMWATER; establishing the rights and making an evaluation of the property on the land; identifying their occupants and owners and putting up signboards indicating the area of the operation at the expense.

The SDO said those affected by the project realization will be compensated by CAMWATER.He said the project will be executed in three stages, adding that for the start emphasis will be laid on improvement on existing water catchments.

In reaction to the kick-off of the Buea water project, CPDM politician and Chairman of Finance Committee of Buea Council, Ikome Williams, who accompanied the ad hoc commission in field to identify the water sources for development, said he was very happy that, the Buea water crisis would soon be a thing of the past.

Poachers kill 200 elephants in Cameroon killing spree

Poachers have killed more than 200 elephants in Cameroon in just six weeks, in a "massacre" fuelled by Asian demand for ivory.
A local government official said heavily armed poachers from Chad and Sudan had decimated the elephant population of Bouba Ndjida National Park in Cameroon's far north in a dry season killing spree.

"We are talking about a very serious case of trans-frontier poaching, involving well-armed poachers with modern weapons from Sudan and Chad who are decimating this wildlife species to make quick money from the international ivory trade," said Gambo Haman, governor of Cameroon's North region, Reuters reports.

Speaking on local radio, Haman said some of the poachers were on horseback and operated in cahoots with the local population, who were given free elephant meat and were glad to be rid of animals that damage their crops.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said cross-border poaching was common during the dry season but the scale of the killings so far this year was unprecedented.

"This latest massacre is massive and has no comparison to those of the preceding years," the group said in a statement.

Citing a record number of large scale ivory seizures in 2011, TRAFFIC, a conservation group which tracks trends in wildlife trading, has warned of a surge in elephant poaching in Africa to meet Asian demand for tusks for use in jewelry and ornaments.

Underlining the clout of the poaching force, Haman said a group of 50 had killed six Chadian soldiers who tried to arrest them as they fled with the ivory.

"In January we counted 146 (elephant) carcasses and since the beginning of this month we've had close to 60 already. This may only be a tip of the iceberg as some may have been killed in parts of the park that we cannot access," Haman added.

Cameroon has dispatched a rapid reaction force to the zone but Haman said there were not enough troops to cover the remote park in Cameroon's far north.

IFAW said it was not clear how many elephants remained in Cameroon but a 2007 estimate but the figure a between 1,000 and 5,000.

TRAFFIC has said that the spike in poaching and illegal ivory trade in Africa was a direct consequence of China's investment drive into the continent. 
-Written by Reuters

Cameroon:Southwest Financial Controller: “We ensure each franc allocated for the Southwest is used for its interest ”

Ernest Elema Bokandjo is a senior administrative officer in Cameroon (called in French Administrateur Civil Principal). But this gentleman has been serving now for seven years as the Southwest Regional Controller of Finance.

Mr.Elema Bokandjo sat down in his Buea office for an exclusive interview with RECORDER Editor, Christopher Ambe.

In the following interview, the Financial Controller talks about the execution of public investment budget in the Southwest Region, the functions of the financial controllers and how they help in checking corruption. Mr.Elema Bokandjo also discloses the findings of the alleged purchase by CEFAM of 4 computers for 25 million FCFA, and more. Read on.

Ernest Elema Bokandjo /RECORDER Cmr/

Mr. Financial Controller, several weeks ago the financial year was launched. What is your appreciation of this year’s state budget?

Well the 2012 state budget has been launched throughout the national territory. Here in the Southwest Region things are moving slowly but surely. The authorizing officer s are gradually collecting their credit cards and preparing their accreditation for the Governor to sign them. The computer software is already set and we are ready to receive any case of expenditure by any authorizing officer. And in the divisions, since there is no software, things are moving faster and people are already spending the 201 budget.

How different is the 2012 state budget from last year’s own?

 The two budgets are not so different at our level. At the level of Yaounde, they moved from a resource –based budget to a program-based budget. It has started this year. Most of the ministries presented their budgets in the format of program-based budget.

But at the regional level we are still getting acquainted with the mechanism. Some training exercises will be carried out to permit all users of the state budget to get used to the new format {the program-based budgeting)

The resource-based budget is a system where the services are identified; they have an organigramme. And the functioning of that organigramme is estimated at random, without any special focus on the attainment of any objective. The program –based budget is one which every ministry has to select its priorities and set up targets – and then the means to achieve those targets are estimated and allocated. Then the judgment at the end is to know how far the program has been achieved; how much of the target has been attained. The former approach was just letting the ball roll, keeping the system alive. But today it is letting the system produce its own results in the field.

You have been Southwest Regional Financial Controller for seven years. How would you appreciate the execution of the public investment budget in the Region, conscious of the fact that the financial controllers are supposed to be instrumental in the execution of public investment projects?

 Yes for seven years I have been working here in this service that authorizes payment for work done. So far what I can say is that we have been doing our best. Perfection is not a thing of this world. We have always done our best to ensure that projects earmarked for this region are properly executed; we have also done and still do our best to ensure that each Franc allocated for the region is used for the interest of the region.

But I must say it has not been easy because sometimes some regulations are not strictly followed to let things go the right way. As one prominent civil servant said, “The laws are made for people and not the people for laws. So when we have to do some work and we encounter little problems with the implementation of the laws, we can bend the law but not break it so to achieve a set objective.

What have you identified as the major causes of slow execution of the public investment budget in the southwest region, because as I understand the overall execution has never attained 100%?

Well, the major causes of slow execution of public investment projects are natural. The climate of the region and the enclave nature of certain localities are a huge hindrance to the smooth execution of public investment budget in the Southwest Region. You know that the Southwest has the longest rainy season-close to seven months sometimes like 2011.The Region does not have roads! And you would realize that within a year (12 months), we have three or four months to reach some of these enclave places to get work done.

Added to that, the length of time for the award of contract is long and the procedure complex. I know this is intended to ensure transparency and accountability and so on. But it is so long that sometimes, from programming to launching of the first project it can take three to four months. And these three to four months fall during the period that we have sun in all the areas of the Region. For example, January, February and March are the only months when anything can be possible; but then even during this period the procedures for putting in place the mechanisms are still going on. The proper execution of projects starts around March, when we are already at the beginning of the rainy season.

Another problem is that the engineers are very few for so many projects. We have close to 5000 projects in this region but we don’t have up to ten (10) engineers to follow-up the projects. But now-luckily, the new ministerial circular has extended the role of engineers to many other ministries. That means we will now have more experts to examine the execution of projects.

But since I came here the execution has always been above 90 %, which is very good when compared to other regions of the country. The Southwest has always ranked between first and fourth positions.

What is the Public Investment Budget for the Southwest Region this year?

 Well, if we talk about the credits that have to be controlled by our services here-Regional and Divisional Controls, we received Seven billion, Forty-nine million, Five hundred & ninety-six thousand Francs for projects.

But the Region, according to the Log Book, has received close to 23 billion Francs for projects. Most of our projects are controlled by the Central Services. And you have here big projects like national standard hotel in Buea that will consume close to three billion francs; you have the Loum-Kumba road that will take close to 2.5 billion Francs. There are several other projects here to be controlled at the level of Yaounde.

  Would you say this year’s allocated Investment budget for the Southwest is significant enough to enhance infrastructural development in the Region?

I think there is a great improvement in the public investment budget of the region compared to last year. Last year we had 6.6 billion Francs for credits allocated to us here. But the region had a total of 19 billion francs for projects executed in the region-because some were controlled from Yaounde.

I think the budget when executed properly will create an impact. Don’t forget that the Head of State will visit the region this year. And you know when the head of state is visiting he carries along other big projects. Such projects when executed will greatly give the region a facelift. In short, many good things will happen this year in the region.

What really are the functions of the Financial Controller, whom you are?

The Financial controller is a technician put at the regional and divisional levels for the follow-up of the execution of the state budget in the region.  We ensure the implementation of rules and regulations in the management of state funds.  In that light, we are the ones to check all expenditures engaged by the authorizing officers and we are the ones authorizing payment when in the course of checking we realize that everything is Ok….To deal with the state you need to be in order; you need to fulfill all certain l requirements- expected of you by the State. We control to ensure that all the requirements are fulfilled. We serve as advisers to all authorizing officers on matters that concern the management of public funds. You know the authorizing officers are of different fields. You have for example doctors, teachers, and engineers, who have never received training on the management of state funds. So we are there to help them.

We also serve as advisers to the Governor or SDO’s when they have to sign anything that has to do with the management of state funds or which has financial incidence. We have to check and visa to ensure the text is not violating regulations in force.

We are also in charge of general affairs. For example, when a civil servant dies we arrange for the coffin; when he is sick we channel the files  for reimbursement of medical expenditure ; normally we are supposed to deal with telephone, electricity and water bills for all state services and civil servants who have such allowances; we are in charge of salary and pension matters; increments and advantages of all civil servants who are performing their duties…

One would have thought that a financial controller should be a financial expert by training. But when I look at your name tag on your table I see Mr. Ernest Elema Bokandjo,Administrateur Civil Principal(i.e. Senior Administrative Officer) and  your Predecessor was equally a senior administrative officer. What explanation do you have for this?

I don’t think that there is a special corps for budget. In the Ministry of Finance, we have a corps for taxation, for treasury, for customs, for stores accounting but there is no corps for budget control.

We have an in-house training that we under go to qualify as financial controllers to perform our duties. We have software that we are using to be able to perform our duties. We have the price list in the soft ware that we use to cross check prices of things.

Corruption is still high in the public service. How do financial controllers help in the fight against corruption?

You know corruption is a wide field. When you talk of it, there are many malpractices that can be grouped to give what we call corruption. In our area by checking the effectiveness of expenditures, by checking the respect of official prices, by checking whether instructions, rules and regulations are respected; registering their operations .By so doing, I think we are contributing to the fight against corruption. We ensure that our workers respect the ethics of our corps and are punctual at their job side.

As controllers you control others. Are you also controlled?

 I should say that we are the most controlled .We are controlled through our monthly and quarterly reports.Hierachy reads and scrutinizes our reports and it is noticed that something is inappropriate about any of our reports, an independent  control brigade is sent to control us. We have a control brigade here that controls the regional and divisional financial controllers. You may want to know that I was recently queried by the Control brigade, when they noticed something wrong in my management. We are strictly controlled even from within.

Do you have any appeal to contractors and other users of your Service?

My appeal is to the authorizing officers. They should come and withdraw their credits and prepare their accreditation papers so that we send them to the Governor for signature. I want to tell them that we are very ready for all operations. Our system is ready and the software upgrade for better performance. Everything is ready for 2012 operations.

Before I forget, I learned that you headed the five-man commission that was sent to CEFAM Buea to probe the claim by the institution that it bought four computers for 25 million francs. What are your findings?

I am very happy for this question because it is not good for unverified information to be made public about an institution such as CEFAM.And it is not good that wrong impressions are given about things that happen in institutions.

The problem about the CEFAM computer problem is a question of the qualification of workers and the question of the harmonization of the presentation of information that gave the wrong impression of what happened in CEFAM.

CEFAM had to make a presentation about its public investment budget the way the participatory follow-up Committee wants. And a small table was given to that institution, and the people who were to fill that table did it in a deceitful manner. The line of 25 million bought six computers. The highest in price was 1.3 million Francs, there were others that cost 600 and something Francs.That same line  of 25 million catered for some  computer accessories-such as printers, the back-up , soft wares and anti-viruses.

In short, many things were purchased in that same line. All the computers did not take up to Seven million Francs of the 25 million Francs. It is just that the person who filled it put the percentage of realization at 100%.He put four computers against for 25 million Francs, giving the impression  four computers were bought for 25 million Francs.  We went round and saw the computers and its accessories-printers, photocopy machines were there.

So who then is to blame for the CEFAM mix-up?

Neither the press that reported about the setting up of a commission to investigate the CEFAM computer purchase, nor the public Investment Follow-up Committee. I think the blame should go to the network within CEFAM that presented the information wrongly.

We noticed that all the presentations of the public investment projects of other institutions were signed, but that of CEFAM was not even signed .This is because inexperienced workers prepared the report.

Are you saying that CEFAM has no case?

Yes, from what we saw. But you know there is no perfect management anywhere. Wherever a control team goes, it always finds out that certain things were not properly done.

We noticed some problems about the prices. Since they don’t have the official price list and the appropriate software, they had problem about prices. But we advised them on what to do and where (Delegation of Commerce) to get the price list to guide their bills.

First Published in The Recorder Newspaper, Cameroon, of February 17, 2012

Cameroon unveils railway master plan

 The purpose is to provide Cameroon with a low-cost,integrated and efficient transport network

    

YAOUNDE, (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's Economy, Planning and Regional Development Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi on Friday night presented a national railway master plan to boost trade and economic growth.

The plan enshrines the "greater accomplishment" policy of President Paul Biya to provide an efficient transport network in the short, medium and long terms to transform the Central African country into an emerging economy by 2035.

He said the new railway track designed in accordance with modern standards will help to step up trade both at home and with neighboring countries, including the Central African Republic (CAR) , Chad, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.

    "The purpose is to provide Cameroon with a low-cost, integrated and efficient transport network," he said.

It will boost "the establishment of related industries notably in the sectors of steel, cement and aggregate production, so as to ensure an annual 4.75 percent steady increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) as from 2015 to 2040," the minister added.

The plan will within the short term link the projected iron ore, nickel, cobalt, manganese, gold, diamond and bauxite mining sites to the Lolabe-Kribi deep sea port under construction.

The railway network will also reach the existing main sea port of Douala which accounts for 95 percent of imports and exports from Cameroon and landlocked CAR, Chad and the northern part of the Republic of Congo, and the main oil export town of Limbe.

Within the medium term, the track will be extended to other regional and divisional headquarters like Kumba, the main trading center of the leading cash crop cocoa in the southwestern region, the main coffee trading centers of Mbanga, Nkongsamba, Bafoussam, Foumban and Bamenda in the littoral, western and northwestern regions, as well as to northern Nigeria and the proposed Dakar- Sudan harbor railway link through Chad.

With regard to funding and operation, he said several common scenarios are possible, including the Public/Private Partnership and the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) principle.

This, however, does not rule out the mandatory loan which stands as an additional means of funding. However, the railway will remain the state property and as such the public authorities will determine the criteria for its operation in due course. A study is underway to set out the related institutional provisions.

In fact, the Cameroon government has opted for a double lane track. A route and itineraries geared towards areas of passenger traffic or industries have been proposed based on origin/ destination hypotheses considering both population and economic growth.

The proposed route has interconnections with neighboring countries to with the aim of cashing in on an increasing traffic. These features will facilitate the acquisition of mobile equipment (wagons and locomotives) as well as a signal system that suits the basic optic fiber network.

This will make it possible to have a speed between 150 km/hr and 170 km/hr for passenger trains and 70 km/hr and 90 km/hr for freight trains.

The national master railway plan has been designed in partnership with South Korea's Korpec and Chunsuk Engineering company, which was chosen following an international invitation to tender.

The government intends to complete the feasibility study on the itineraries on the short-term by the end of 2012 and devote the following year to the application.

Cameroon's current 1,040 km railways are old and dilapidated and can no more withstand the ever growing heavy traffic. It is hoped the new network will generate much foreign exchange through the transportation of goods to neighboring landlocked CAR, Chad, the Republic of Congo and Gabon in the short term, and with extension to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola in the long term.

Embassy of Cameroon Sued by Harvard Trustees For Overstaying Lease

The Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon is facing possible eviction from its Georgetown office building for allegedly overstaying its lease, according to a lawsuit (PDF) filed yesterday in Washington federal court.

The Trustees of Harvard University, which own the building in question at 1700 Wisconsin Avenue in northwest Washington, claim the embassy failed to extend or renew the lease before it expired Jan. 31 and are asking U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell to order the U.S. Marshals Service to evict the embassy.

According to the complaint, the embassy began looking for a temporary space in early 2010 as renovations were underway at its permanent headquarters on Massachusetts Avenue.

In April 2010, the embassy signed a lease with the trustees to use the entire Wisconsin Avenue building. According to the lease agreement, the embassy agreed to pay more than $1 million in total rent and expenses.

While the embassy had the option of extending the lease, they failed to do so, the trustees allege. As of yesterday’s filing – a week after the lease expired – the embassy hadn’t signed a new lease and was still using the building, according to the complaint.
Although foreign embassies have immunity against a wide range of civil claims in the United States under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the embassy agreed to waive any immunity as part of its lease agreement with the trustees.

A representative of the embassy did not immediately return a request for comment this morning.

Paul Kiernan and Kristina Crooks of Holland & Knight are representing the trustees. The firm referred questions to Harvard; a university representative was not immediately available for comment.

Source: http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/02/embassy-of-cameroon-sued-by-harvard-trustees-for-overstaying-lease.html

UN backs vaccination campaign after yellow fever outbreaks hit Cameroon and Ghana

UN Photo/Marie Frechon

The United Nations is backing a mass vaccination campaign under way in northern Cameroon, where a new outbreak of yellow fever has killed at least seven people.

The vaccination campaign, which began late last month in eight districts, aims to eventually protect more than 1.2 million people considered at high risk of contracting yellow fever, which has no cure and is spread by mosquitoes.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported today that the vaccinations are aimed at areas not covered in a previous campaign in 2009 because they have no history of yellow fever outbreaks or circulation of the yellow fever virus.

Since October last year at least 23 cases have been recorded in Cameroon, with tests confirming the illness was yellow fever rather than dengue fever or West Nile virus.An estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever are recorded worldwide each year, with as many as 30,000 deaths reported.
WHO said it is working with Government health officials in Cameroon to assess the extent of the outbreak and confirm the cases.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the International Coordinating Group on Yellow Fever Provision (YF-ICG) – which includes WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – and the public-private partnership known as the GAVI Alliance are funding the vaccination campaign..
Meanwhile, in Ghana, two people have died since October and another case has been confirmed in an outbreak of yellow fever in the country’s upper eastern and mid-western regions.
YF-ICG, working with the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), is planning a vaccination campaign for more than 235,000 people starting on Monday. Pregnant women and children aged below one year are the key targets of that campaign.

An estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever are recorded worldwide each year, with as many as 30,000 deaths reported. Patients experience jaundice, as well as other symptoms such as fever and vomiting.
The vaccine against yellow fever is considered to provide effective immunity within a week for about 95 per cent of people.
-UN News Centre