The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia  Dabney Yerima will announce on Friday the 8^th of November the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ambazonia with responsibility for monetary policy throughout the revolution, Cameroon Concord News Group has gathered from IG sources.

Comrade Dabney Yerima will also announce the appointment of non-executive directors to the Bank of Ambazonia. Our senior economic affairs editor will be commenting on the appointments

By Rita Akana

Cameroon’s president has ordered its main Douala port to suspend contract talks with Swiss firm Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) until the conclusion of a court case brought by France’s Bollore, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

TIL was chosen to renovate and manage the Atlantic port in September after Bollore, which had managed the hub since 2015, was eliminated earlier in the bidding process as it sought to renew its contract. It is contesting the decision in the Cameroonian courts.

The Oct. 23 letter from the secretary-general of the presidency asks the director-general of Douala port “to suspend works to finalize the terms of the (TIL) contract … until the final conclusion of the case.”

A photo of the letter, which is marked “Confidential Very Urgent,” has been shared widely on social media. A source at the port confirmed its authenticity. Cameroon’s government spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

The request coincides with an official three-day visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Cameroon to support the resolution of its long-running conflict with Anglophone separatists.

France, the former colonial power, has had a frosty relationship with Cameroon over the last year over concerns about how President Paul Biya has handled the crisis, which has cost close to 2,000 lives over the past two years.

However, French diplomats said recent discussions about granting special status to Anglophone regions and the release of hundreds of political prisoners paved the way for Le Drian’s visit.

French officials had said the trip would also focus on development of Cameroon’s Kribi port, which is operated by Bollore, French firm CMA CGM and China Harbour Engineering.

Douala, located on the Atlantic coast, is the hub for Cameroon’s exports of cocoa, oil and timber.

In September, the port said TIL had been provisionally designated the winning bidder of the contract and would take control of the port on Jan. 1, 2020. TIL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Reuters

Cameroon’s state airline Camair-co has suspended West African flights in its struggles to stay afloat. According to Top Business, a Cameroon publication, the company recalled its staff from Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Lagos in Nigeria and Cotonou in Benin.

The report said Camair-co General Manager Louis Georges Njipendi Kuotu officially recalled the staff a week ago on October 16. The company’s spokesman had not responded to our request for comments.

The decision by top management to recall personnel and suspend the routes was attributed to dimming financial prospects for the carrier dubbed “The Star of Cameroon.”

The airline has grappled with financial and managerial crisis since it began operations in March 2011 with the state injecting $64 million.

It acquired one Bombardier aircraft last year, bringing its fleet to six, but some of its aircraft is grounded for varying reasons.

The carrier inherited one Boeing B767-300 from Camair and bought two Boeing B737s and two Chinese-made MA60 planes at launch.

Pet project

In May President Paul Biya fired former General Manager of the company, Ernest Dikoum and his deputy Moussa Habouba.

A former regional director of Emirates Airlines for Senegal and Guinea, Mr Dikoum had been at the helm of the national carrier for just 33 months (since August 2016).

He was replaced by Louis Georges Njipendi Kuotu, former chairman of the Board of Directors of the Airlines Corporation while Max Constant Mve Minsi, a former director of maintenance in the firm, was appointed Deputy General Manager.

President Biya also appointed current Transport Minister, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe as chairman of Camair-Co’s Board. Because of the small fleet, the company has been uncompetitive with flight cancellations endemic.

An audit by Boeing Consulting revealed that Camair-co recorded a deficit of FCFA 35 billion ($60 million) between 2012 and 2014. The audit showed FCFA 20 billion ($34.2 million) was owed by state enterprises.

Boeing recommended a government bailout and cash injection of $101 million in addition to fleet expansion. Camair-Co rose from the ashes of the defunct Cameroon Airlines (Camair) in 2006 as one of President Biya’s pet projects.

Source: The East African

MTN Cameroon has launched its 2019 end-of-year promotion, during which customers stand the chance to win a new car every week and XAF 5,000 in cash every five minutes. The campaign runs for eleven weeks, from 15 October to 05 January 2020.

The promotion is open to any customer who subscribes to a voice or data bundle of at least XAF 250 or carries out MTN MoMo transactions of at least XAF 5,000. To win the prize of XAF 5,000 every five minutes, one must be the first customer to subscribe to a bundle of XAF 250 or do a MoMo transaction of at least XAF 5,000 within the five minutes concerned.

Payments of prizes to winners will be done automatically every five minutes from 06:00 hrs to 22:00 hrs. A raffle draw will be organised each week to determine the weekly winner of a Toyota Rush. All subscribers to a bundle of at least XAF 250 or who have done a MoMo transaction of at least XAF 5,000  in the week concerned, will be considered for the weekly draw. Eleven new vehicles will be offered to MTN Cameroon customers throughout the promotion.

Source: Telecompaper

Andersen Global is excited to announce it has signed a collaboration agreement with Muluh & Partners, a law firm based in Douala, Cameroon. In a period of just over two years, Andersen Global has now expanded its presence into 18 countries in Africa.

“I share the enthusiasm of this group who, along with several other strategic additions, will enable us to work even more effectively across the region.”

Founded in 2012, Muluh & Partners is a full-service law firm with five partners. The firm’s professionals provide legal and tax advice to clients in the areas of mining, aviation, banking and finance, alternate dispute resolution, cybercrimes, immigration, energy, forest exploration, transnational crime, agribusiness, due diligence, international trade, intellectual property, maritime, business/corporate, contracts and telecommunication technology law.

“Our philosophy is simple: offer best-in-class service, treat clients like family, and provide them with transparency throughout the process,” said Jude Muluh, Office Managing Director for Muluh & Partners. “Collaborating with Andersen Global will only strengthen the quality of services that we provide and we look forward to working with the member and collaborating firms of Andersen Global.”

“Jude and the team at Muluh & Partners are driven and enthusiastic. Beyond their legal practice, we’ve jointly discussed the opportunity to expand the tax platform significantly to serve clients more holistically,” said Mark Vorsatz, Andersen Global Chairman and Andersen CEO. “I share the enthusiasm of this group who, along with several other strategic additions, will enable us to work even more effectively across the region.”

Andersen Global is an international association of legally separate, independent member firms comprised of tax and legal professionals around the world. Established in 2013 by U.S. member firm Andersen Tax LLC, Andersen Global now has more than 4,500 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 152 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms.

Source: Business Wire

Nigeria and Cameroon are in talks to create a uniform price for cocoa produced in both countries.

Vice President of the World Cocoa Producers Organisation, Sayina Riman, disclosed this to Reuters on Thursday.

The move follows Ghana and Ivory Coast’s union in July, which set the price for a ton of cocoa from their countries at $2,600 plus a $400 premium described as “living income differential.”

Both countries produced 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa in 2018.

Riman said, “We are talking to Cameroon to see if we can become a regional bloc, and see if we can get our buyers who know our quality to give us better differentials.”

Spokesperson for Cameroon’s trade ministry, Serge Eric Epoune, told Reuters that he is unaware of Nigeria’s plans.

Another source at the country’s National Office of Cocoa and Coffee, who did not want to be named, described talks of such a union as “rumours”.

According to Reuters, the price of a ton of cocoa at the farm rose to around N720,000 naira ($2,353) per tonne from N650,000 naira in September.

This is cheaper than the $3,000 agreed on by the world’s two largest producers.

A trader said that the price of Nigeria’s cocoa produce will rise as a result of market forces even if the country does not increase cost.

The source went on to say the possibility of a price union with Cameroon is unsure, as there is no central cocoa authority in Nigeria.

“I believe the Nigerian and Cameroon prices will move up in line with Ivory Coast and Ghana because of supply and demand.

“If Nigeria becomes too cheap, everyone will buy Nigeria and the market will adjust higher automatically, but not because they teaming up.”

Riman, who is also the President of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said discussions will be held with the private sector and the Nigerian Government before formal talks are held with Cameroon.

Source: Sahara Reporters

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government-backed savings bonds will go on sale soonest. Treasury Secretary, Comrade Tabenyang Brado says the new scheme is likely to prove popular with Ambazonians desperate for better accountability deep within the Interim Government.

With the Southern Cameroons war set to move into a more decisive phase over the coming months, Ambazonians putting money into the new bond will achieve a real return in Buea. The Ambazonia Treasury Department noted that it is all about loaning the Interim Government your money and you will be paid back at the best rate that will be available in Buea for those willing and able to tie up their money for the remaining years of the war.

The bond – its official name, the Amba Freedom Bonds – was first announced by the Treasury Secretary, Tabenyang Brado during a presentation on SCBC TV and it is open to anyone aged 16 or over and has no minimum investment limit. However, you only get a Bond Certificate once you get to the level of 250 US dollars.

The bonds are in three categories: Defense, Humanitarian and Diplomatic and are suitable for Southern Cameroonians who are happy to see the Federal Republic of Ambazonia become a reality.

Vice President Dabney Yerima will be doing a presentation on Sunday at exactly 8 pm Amba time on the bonds and he is also expected to order the sale process to go operational after his address.

Our chief economic reporter in London says the new Ambazonia product will provide a valuable boost for Southern Cameroonians who have been affected by corruption and misappropriation of funds that was meant for Ground Zero operations.

By Asu Isong in London

Africa could be home to 90% of the world’s poor by 2030 as governments across the continent have little fiscal space to invest in poverty-reduction programs and economic growth remains sluggish, the World Bank said.

That’s up from 55% in 2015 and it will happen unless drastic action is taken, the lender said in its biannual Africa Pulse report released Wednesday, in which it also cut growth forecasts for the region’s key economies.

The rate of poverty reduction in Africa “slowed substantially” after the collapse in commodity prices that started in 2014, resulting in negative gross domestic product growth on a per capita basis, according to the report. “As countries in other regions continue to make progress in poverty reduction, forecasts suggest that poverty will soon become a predominantly African phenomenon.”

While the poverty rate in sub-Saharan Africa, defined as the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 per day, fell between 1990 and 2015, rapid population growth resulted in the number of poor people on the continent increasing to more than 416 million from 278 million over the same period, according to World Bank data.

The lender said pro-poor growth policies are required to accelerate poverty reduction and that fiscal tightening limits governments’ ability to spend on social sectors.

“Given the limited scope for redistribution and transfers to raise the incomes of the poor in most African countries, the focus should be squarely on raising their labor productivity, that is, what it will take to increase their earnings in self-employment or wage employment,” according to the report.

Government debt increased to 55% of GDP in 2018, from 36% in 2013 due to a lack of fiscal consolidation after countries tried to counter the effects of the global financial crisis by boosting spending, the World Bank said. About 46% of African countries were in debt distress or considered at high risk in 2018 compared with 22% five years earlier.

“For many countries it’s not a good idea to borrow non-concessionally because of the risk of the debt distress that they already have,” World Bank Vice President Akihiko Nishio said in an interview Oct. 2 in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan. “They should instead focus on concessional credits and grants.”

The lender lowered its economic growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to 2.6%, down from its April projection of 2.8%.

Source: Bloomberg

The financial scandal that rocked the Southern Cameroons Interim Government under the leadership of the disgraced Dr Ikome Sako has not led to an extreme economic downturn of the Ambazonia resistance. There has not been any whiff of resignation but those involved are operating shamefully under the banner of an obscure organisation known as Sako’s IG.

Consequently, the Dabney Yerima administration and patriotic Ambazonia citizens have now developed the Bond Holder Project and the most likely outcome will be an end game for the Sako-Chris comedy and some form of agreement that will see Southern Cameroonians donating again to the struggle.

Correspondingly, the cabinet has summoned patriotic Ambazonia citizens to participate in a meeting tomorrow Wednesday the 9^th October 2019 anticipating an outcome that despite numerous revolutionary opinions, will limit corruption within the Ambazonia Interim Government.

Whilst it is unlikely to be a permanent solution to the question of financial transparency deep within the Interim Government, it might offer a valuable commodity to all Southern Cameroons economic, political and institutional relationship.

The stakes are high in this “knife-edge equilibrium’ as we of the Cameroon Concord News Group cannot know if Ambazonians will buy into it and what the final result will be!  But given the failed so-called Grand National Dialogue and the urgent need to reignite My Trip To Buea, how patriotic Ambazonians will react to this new development remains to be seen after tomorrow’s meeting.

We are keeping a watchful eye on the Ambazonia exiled government and we will keep our readers posted on any development as we get it!!

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority confirmed (27-Sep-2019) discussions between Cameroon and Qatar’s Ministries of Transport on 25-Sep-2019 focused on the “revival” of Camair-Co.

Discussions covered the “densification” of the airline’s fleet, the training of flight crew and technical personnel, the opening of a maintenance centre, technical support and opening the capital of Camair-Co.

Source: Centre for Aviation