The French Cameroun dictator has in a declaration over state radio and television assured the people of La Republique du Cameroun that all necessary measures have been taken to secure the Southern Cameroons territory.

The 84-year-old Paul Biya made the pronouncement upon arrival at the Nsimalen International airport in Yaounde from the Ivory Coast where he took part in the 5th African Union – European Union summit on Thursday, November 30th, 2017.

Biya was reacting to news concerning the serial assassination of soldiers and police of the French Cameroun defense and security forces deployed to Southern Cameroons.

“I learned with emotion the murder of four Cameroonian soldiers and two policemen in the south-west of our country. Following the disappearance of these six brave military and police officers, I would like to express my condolences to the families and to our valiant defense and security forces. I think things are now perfectly clear for everyone. Cameroon is the victim of repeated attacks from a band of terrorists running a secessionist movement. In the face of these acts of aggression, I wish to reassure the Cameroonian people that all steps are being taken to hunt down the criminals and to ensure that peace and security are safeguarded throughout the country. ”

By Rita Akana

Cameroon’s Head of State, Paul Biya, arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire,on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, with a huge delegation for the 5^th AU-EU Summit which opened today, November 29, 2017, in the Ivorian capital. The Cameroonian president who hardly attends international events organized on the continent was received by his Ivorian counterpart, Alassane Ouattara, who is expected to step down from office in 2020. The Summit of Heads of States and Governments traditionally takes place every three years alternately in Africa and Europe with the aim of taking stock of the progress made in the implementation of commitments and providing political guidance for further work.

The Summit is being held on the theme: “Investing in youth for a sustainable future,” and is being attended by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, the President of the African Union and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

The event holds against the backdrop of Africans being sold in Libya as slaves. Images of Africans being sold as livestock in Libyan cities have shocked the world, with many experts blaming African leaders for not doing enough to create an enabling environment for their citizens. They blame this unfortunate event on corruption and poor governance which have become the hallmarks of African countries.

The issue of security will also be on the table, as the continent is facing a huge security challenge. Libya is today a magnet for many jihadists groups following the killing of Qaddafi, Somalia is yet to be back on its feet, Boko Haram is making its presence felt in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, while the Malian situation is far from being addressed. The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon will also be discussed when Mr. Biya meets his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, as French business interests in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions are under threat.

Though the continent has made some impressive strides towards modern-day democracy, there is still a long way to go for some countries such as Cameroon where Mr. Biya has been presiding over the country’s destiny for thirty-five years, with no impressive economic and political outcomes; a situation that has resulted in unemployment and massive exodus of the country’s youths to other parts of the world.

The two-day event in Abidjan is also being attended by heads of multilateral institutions such as the African Development Bank whose president, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has launched a Youth Advisory Group.

The Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative aims to create 25 million jobs and benefit 50 million youth over the next 10 years by equipping them with the right skills to get decent and meaningful jobs. It is currently the largest effort for youth employment in Africa today.

The advisory group, inaugurated on the sidelines of the 6th EU-Africa Business Forum in Abidjan on Monday, November 27, will work with the Bank to create jobs for Africa’s youth.

“This is a huge opportunity for Africa. If we fix the youth unemployment challenge, Africa will gain 10-20% annual growth. That means Africa’s GDP will grow by $500 billion per year for the next 30 years. Africa’s per capita income will rise by 55% every year to the year 2050,” Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said at the inauguration of the Group.

Dr. Adesina, who identified Africa’s greatest asset as its youth, observed that out of the 13 million youths that enter the labour market each year, only 3 million (about 33% of African youth) are in wage employment, while the rest are underemployed or in vulnerable employment. The annual gap of more than 8 million jobs is going to worsen, with the number of youth expected to double to more than 800 million in the next decades.

The AU-EU Summit will end on Thursday with resolutions and recommendations on the way forward on how both continents can work together to create opportunities for African youths.

By Kingsley Betek in Abidjan

A grenade attack on French soldiers in Burkina Faso has left three civilians wounded, as France’s President Emmanuel Macron arrives in the African country to begin his first tour of Africa.

“Two hooded individuals on a motorcycle threw a grenade towards a French army vehicle” as it made its way to a barracks housing French Special Forces, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity, the French news agency reported on Monday. “The attackers’ target was the French army vehicle, which was not hit.”

French Special Forces have been present in Burkina Faso since 2010 on a declared mission to help regional governments in the Sahel tackle extremism, particularly in neighboring Mali.

The source added that three local residents had been wounded  in the attack, one of them seriously.

Macron flew into Ouagadougou three hours later for a three-leg tour of West Africa. After Burkina Faso, he will be visiting the Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Macron told reporters shortly after arrival that his trip signaled the start of a fresh opportunity in the relationship between France and Africa.

“My African tour… marks a new stage in our relationship, not only with your country, but also with the entire continent,” he said.

On Wednesday, Macron will visit a giant solar power plant in Burkina Faso, the largest in West Africa, before departing for the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, where the fifth Europe-Africa summit will bring together more than 80 leaders from the two continents.

In Abidjan, he will also inaugurate the city’s colossal metro project, funded by a 1.4-billion-euro (1.6-billion-dollar) French loan.

France was a former colonial power in Africa, ruling over Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast as well as the Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco, and Algeria. Ghana was a former British colony.

Source: Presstv

We hereby announce the nominees for the 2017 Cameroon Concord News Man of the Year.

Our panel of experts have argued long and loud about the merits of those on the long list and have now whittled those names down to a shortlist of seven. From here on, democracy reigns. It is up to you. Cast your vote at the bottom of the post.

Tassang Wilfred (The Consortium)

He is principally remembered now for empowering the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium by shutting down all academic establishments in British Southern Cameroons. But this is only one element of what was a glorious contribution to the Southern Cameroons struggle.

For a start, he demonstrated a true West Cameroon’s humility in his description of the plight of Anglophones in La Republique du Cameroun. To the casual observer, it looked like the hard work had been done by Tassang himself when he slalomed through Paul Mingo Ghogomu in Bamenda, lifted the Southern Cameroons debate over Prime Minister Yang Philemon and swiped the baton of command into the hands of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

But according to Tassang, the hard work had in fact been done by the dismissal of the “Show Boy” Barrister Agbor Balla from the Consortium’, a verdict which saw him crowned as the patron saint of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Hon. Joseph Wirba

The Southern Cameroons National anthem is how many Ambazonians now refer to him. Politicians in power have a proud tradition of achievement in the Cameroon Concord News Man of the Year award. Wirba is not one of them.

As Southern Cameroonians were responding to calls for civil disobedience campaigns, blissfully unaware that they were about to witness a historic change in their history, the camera zoomed in one man who was belting out the sufferings of the people of Southern Cameroons with greater solemnity and ferocity than anyone else in his vicinity. Swept up in the moment, he gave the passing lens a hearty salute with these words: “No one can take the Name West Cameroon from the mouths of the Anglophones again”

The People of Southern Cameroons and their powerful Diaspora

Opinion in our editorial desk was initially divided as to whether a group could be classified for the Cameroon Concord News Man of the Year Award.  In our snap poll, the verdict came back loud and clear to us from one of our readers, Polycarp Kansamga.

The resilience demonstrated by the people of Southern Cameroons particularly in the afterglow of the famous victory on October 1, took on a new significance. It’s impossible to witness it now and not feel that Southern Cameroonians both at home and abroad deserve to be honored.

Philemon Yang (French Cameroun Prime Minister and Head of Government)

After a harrowing 2016 in which he suffered with depression and poor health with numerous quarrels with Ama Tutu Muna,  Philemon Yang emerged from the darkness to lead a Francophone dominated government that had only him as a minister with portfolio. An inspirational tale.

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His sister Ama – the 2015-16 Anglophone cabinet minister of the year – functioned as a virtual bodyguard during those bright days before the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium came into existence. With tears in his eyes today, Yang has been caught up in the pangs of a monster he helped in creating. Ever since the beginning of the Southern Cameroons uprising, Prime Minister Philemon is either committing the same errors or falling into spectacular new ones.  He has said stuff that really hit home. He said that if I do what Anglophones expect me to do, you’re not just going to kill yourself, you’re going to kill your parents, and you’re going to kill me. It is not nice to be listening to him and seeing the tears flowing down his eyes inside his bedroom.

Professor Messanga Nyamding (French Cameroun CPDM Central Committee Member)

The French Cameroun University lecturer, Professor Messanga Nyamding has been speaking from his heart since the Southern Cameroons crisis started. He blamed the crisis on the so-called collaborators of President Biya. According to him, the staff of the Head of State are divided into two clans namely, the administrative staff he calls bureaucrats and worthless and the collaborators whom he claims have imprisoned Cameroon in a war of networks forming a mystical resilience.

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Professor Messanga Nyamding told the world that it is the mystical resilience that is at the root of the Southern Cameroons crisis. He stood firmly for the release of all Anglophone detainees and argued that the same Biya regime had pardoned men like Niat Njifenji, Ahmidou Marafa Yaya, Dakole Daissala who participated in the 1984 April 6th coup.

Prof. Messanga Nyamding recently said that President Biya’s collaborators were staging a comedy show in government. “They tar the roads, repair the bridges, paint the buildings only when it is announced that Biya will be passing in that area. Yet the reality is quite different. It is this CPDM comedy that has angered Anglophones for decades.”

Bibixy Mancho

The Southern Cameroons radio host Bibixy Mancho was always destined to one day contend for the Cameroon Concord News Man of the Year Award. His performance at public demonstrations in the Bamenda County gave the Anglophone struggle the impetus that was needed.

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He proceeded to score major political victories during his trial at the Yaoundé Military Tribunal.  Unfortunately, the Biya Francophone regime is still keeping him at the Kondengui High Security prison in Yaoundé. This year, Bibixy Mancho painted a picture that the world will never forget on the plight of Southern Cameroonians when he appeared during one of his hearings at the Kangaroo court in Yaoundé.

He has remained defiant and is his face is now the symbol of the Southern Cameroons struggle. When Bibixy Mancho appeared in front of a French Cameroun judge recently, he pleaded that the Francophone regime should release all the teenagers arrested in Bamenda.  He did not stop there!! He told the judge to sentence him to death.  At the time, many thought it took quite an amount of cheek to turn around and claim the death penalty in these circumstances.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe (Interim Head of State Federal Republic of Ambazonia)

He has firmly established himself as the Southern Cameroons favorite leader ever since the history of the struggle.  Any man who can rename the Southern Cameroons territory as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and it is accepted by all is clearly the author of great deeds.

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Sisiku Ayuk Tabe emerged as the chosen one in the Southern Cameroons quest for independence. He has provided responsible leadership and continues to do so. It is his performance as the interim head of state that has elevated Southern Cameroons to the status of international treasure, but we were more enthralled by his efforts in the 4^th Conclave that held in Nigeria.

It was there that he elevated the unglamorous and oft-derided skill of ‘holding the leadership up and managing the Milan Affair diplomatically.  His composure, the nimble brainwork, the magnificent use of one’s arse – were all present and correct.

By Chi Prudence Asong

VOTING IS NOW UNDERWAY. HAVE YOUR SAY ON WHO SHOULD BE MAN OF THE YEAR BELOW

CNN has engaged in a Twitter spat with President Donald Trump after he attacked the network for representing the United States “very poorly” to the world.

“It’s not CNN’s job to represent the U.S to the world,” the network’s public relations team tweeted on Saturday. “That’s yours. Our job is to report the news.” Trump had railed against CNN earlier in the day, tweeting that Fox News was “much more important” than CNN.

Trump frequently criticizes CNN, claiming it covers him and his policies unfairly and calling the network “fake news.”

Trump’s remarks came as CNN’s parent company Time Warner is merging with AT&T in an $85 billion deal. The Department of Justice has sued to block the merger.

The president’s attacks on CNN have left legal experts speculating whether Trump is imposing undue inference in the case.

Earlier this week, Trump expressed his disapproval of the merger, but pledged not to get involved. The White House has insisted the president has not discussed the merger or the lawsuit with the Justice Department.

Source: Presstv

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says the US seeks to divide his country into five regions, more than a month after Washington announced that it had lifted its strict sanctions on the east African country.

“We have information that the US desire is to divide Sudan into five states if we don’t find protection,” said the Sudanese leader in an interview with the RIA Novosti agency. The transcript of the interview was published on Saturday.

Bashir added that his respective country faced “great pressure” from Washington, which he blames for “ravaging the Arab world,” referring to the situations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen as examples.

Some 20 years ago, the White House imposed a tough trade embargo against Sudan, accusing Khartoum of serving as a safe haven for Osama bin Laden, who allegedly spent five years there before being expelled in 1996.

On October 6, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced that it was ending US sanctions against the poor country. Washington also dropped Sudan from a travel ban list in September after being in place for some eight months.

The original travel ban, which came right after Trump assumed office in January, targeted six Muslim-majority countries, including Sudan. The ban had faced growing opposition from rights campaigners and governments while courts in the US had also ordered its partial annulment. The new list targets North Korea, Chad, Venezuela, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Trump’s removal of Sudan from the list and his potential decision to permanently lift the US sanctions imposed on the African country in 1997 comes after Khartoum clearly adopted a shift in its foreign policy.

Khartoum has sided with Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the US, in regional conflicts, a policy which seems to have appeased Washington.

However, President Bashir did not provide details on why he thought the US wanted to divide his country after it lifted the crippling sanctions on the African country. The Sudanese leader, instead, announced that Khartoum had requested Russian warplanes and that it could further ask for S-300 air defense systems.

“We requested Su-30 [fighters] because they cover the Sudanese airspace, as well as Su-35. We have no intentions to carry out aggression abroad, we want to protect our country,” Bashir said

On Thursday, the Sudanese president met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in the coastal Russian city of Sochi. After the meeting, Bashir said that they had discussed the creation of a military base on the Red Sea, expressing readiness to renew military-technical cooperation with Moscow.

Bashir added on Thursday that his country needed “protection from the aggressive actions of the US,” as he believed that the division of Sudan into two parts in 2011 was a result of American policy. Since 2013, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives in South Sudan due to a civil war.

The crisis-hit Sudan has also been affected by years of insurgency as armed groups continue to pose threats to government forces and civilians.

Source: Presstv

Appalled by reports of refugee “slave markets” in Libya, hundreds have staged protest rallies in France and Italy, pointing the finger of blame for the chaotic situation in the North African state at Europe, which supported a military intervention there back in 2011.

The protests were held in front of the Libyan embassies in Paris and Rome on Friday, days after US television network CNN aired footage of a live auction in Libya, where refugees were being sold as farmhands for as little as 400 dollars to North African buyers.

French demonstrators denounced their country’s military role in the Libyan uprising in 2011, when the then-French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, pushed for military strikes there. “They are able to resolve this problem, since they were the ones that created it. And legally, those who created the problem are responsible,” said Nicolas Aweme, a protester at the rally.

“To destroy Libya, Nicolas Sarkozy even moved the Charles de Gaulle (aircraft carrier), the French military to go bomb a sovereign country,” he added. “There, at the moment, if a small group is capturing people and reducing them to slavery, it’s because the Charles de Gaulle or the soldiers, France’s special units, cannot resolve it.”

Clementine Autain, a far-right French politician attending the protest, also said,  “We are appalled, along with millions of French people and people around the world who find it hard to believe – as CNN’s footage showed us – that in the 21st century slavery exists in this way – human beings sold at auction, because it’s just intolerable.”

“So we’re here to show solidarity and outrage against what’s happening in Libya,” she added. In Rome, Italian demonstrators also denounced the reported slave auctions outside the Libyan Embassy, chanting “Slaves never again!” The video footage by CNN triggered outrage from the African Union and international calls for inquiry.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Metig vowed that his UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) would investigate the “slave market” allegations in the North African country and free the slaves if any.

Libya has faced a power vacuum since a NATO military intervention resulted in the downfall of its longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since then, the country has been grappling with chaos and the emergence of numerous militant groups, including the Takfiri Daesh terror group.

The reported sale of black youths as farmhands in Libya has drawn an angry rebuke from the African Union and prompted angry protests in Paris. Libya currently has two governments, one based in the capital, Tripoli, and the other based in the eastern city of Tobruk. Libyan military commander General Khalifa Haftar in Tobruk does not recognize the authority of the Tripoli-based the GNA, which is recognized by the UN.

France and Italy have been the strongest backers, among Western allies, of the GNA, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj. Since the NATO-led intervention, the country has also become a key departure point for refugees and asylum seekers, who risk their lives leaving Libyan ports on ill-equipped boats in the hope of reaching Europe. The boats are usually intercepted by European vessels once they enter international waters.

Citing estimates provided by embassies, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the total population of refugees in Libya is about 700,000 to 1 million people, mainly coming from Egypt, Niger, Sudan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Syria and Mali.

The IOM also announced that nearly 5,000 refugees, or 16 people a day, have died this year amid ongoing exodus from conflict zones to Europe. Many also blame major European powers for the mass displacement of Iraqis and Syrians, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in the two Middle Eastern states.

Source: Presstv

By the authority vested in me, I hereby make the following appointments: –

             Vice President – XXX (Ground Zero)

             Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs – Prof Carlson Anyangwe

o             Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs – Dr Samuel Ikome Sako

             Secretary of State for Defence & Homeland Security – XXX (General)

o             Under-Secretary of State for Defence & Homeland Security – XXX

             Secretary of State for Finance & Economy – Brado Etchu Tabenyang

o             Under-Secretary of State for Finance & Economy – Dr Cornelius Kwanga

             Secretary of State for Communication & Information Technology – Christopher Anu

o             Under-Secretary of State for Communication & IT – Milton Taka

             Secretary of State for Education – Wilfred Tassang

o             Under-Secretary of State for Education – Dr Elizabeth Ambe

             Secretary of State for Home Affairs – Dr Ojong Okongor Eno

o             Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs – Shufai Blaise Berinyuy

             Secretary of State for Health & Social Services – Caleshe Bongo

o             Under-Secretary of State for Health & Social Services – Edith Ngang

• Ambassador to the African Union & Rest of Africa – Eyambe Elias
• Ambassador to the SADC countries – Jessy Engu Itambi
• Ambassador to the United Nations & America – MbuliRene
• Ambassador to the United Kingdom – Kingsley Ekolle
• Ambassador to the Scandinavia & the Nordic Region – Emma Larry Daniel
• Ambassador to mainland Europe – Dr Elad Kisito
• Ambassador to Asia & Middle East – Tangie Donatus Muma

             Chairperson, Ethics Commission – Chief Fonkem Achankeng

o             Deputy Chairperson, Ethics Commission – Nancy Assanga

             Chairperson, Judiciary Commission – Bobga Harmony Mbuton

o             Deputy Chairperson, Judiciary Commission – Denis Atemkeng

             Director Performance, Monitoring & Evaluation – Prof Cosmas Ambe

o             Deputy Director Performance, Monitoring & Evaluation – Prof Martin Ayim

             Director Intelligence – XXX

o             Deputy Director Intelligence – XXX

Done at Buea this 24th Day of November 2017