GEF's Outlook

Biya Re-shuffles Cameroon Government, Marafa dropped, Ahidjo appointed

 

Philemon Yang has been maintained as Cameroon's Prime Minister. President Paul Biya re-shuffled the government which was announced on state radio (CRTV) late on Friday.

Biya was expected to re-shuffle his cabinet after he was declared winner of an October Presidential poll in the Central African nation. The government remains very big with more than 50 members including 37 full ministers. There are about a dozen new faces but several ministers maintain their portfolio or simply switch departments. 

The most noteworthy incoming member is the Finance Minister, Alamine Ousmane Mey, who comes from the private sector. He was head of Afriland First Bank. His predecessor Essimi Menye is now in-charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Biya also appointed Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh as the new Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic.  Ngoh Ngoh was permanent secretary at the Ministry of External Relations.

Biya maintained his trust in the coalition that backed him during the elections and did not give government positions to other opposition parties as was widely rumoured. As such, Bello Bouba Maigari (UNDP party), Issa Tchiroma (FSN party) and Amadou Moustapha (ANDP) are maintained in government. 

A symbolic newcomer from the allied UNDP party is Mohamadou Ahidjo who becomes a roving ambassador. Ahidjo was a mayor of the major northern city of Garoua. He is one of the children of former President Ahmadou Ahidjo.

Apart fropm the Prime Minister no Anglophone commands a top ministry. Anglophone ministers include Philip Ngolle Ngwese who is in-charge of Forests and Wildlife (he replaces Elvis Ngolle Ngolle) and Ama Tutu Muna who stays in government as Minister of Arts and Culture. 

Other Anglophones include Peter Agbor Tabi, the deputy secretary general at the Presidency; Victor Mengot and Paul Atanga Nji - both are ministers without portfolio at the Presidency; Dion Ngute is minister delegate in-charge of relations with the Commonwealth; and Fuh Calistus Gentry is Secretary of State (junior minister) in the Ministry of Mines. 

Paul Biya Declared Winner of Cameroon Poll by Supreme Court

Cameroon's Supreme Court on Friday October 21, 2011 declared incumbent President Paul Biya winner of a presidential poll organised in the country. Biya won 79.9% of votes cast on October 9. He has ruled Cameroon since 1982. 

The following video is a 2-minute edit of Justice Dipanda Mouelle announcing the winner as well as the runner up John Fru Ndi and the third Garga Haman Adji. 

Photo: Cameroonian Voters in Dakar

A picture of the mood outside the Cameroon Embassy in Dakar on Sunday 9 Oct 2011. About 500 people were registered to vote here for the presidential election. It is the first time Cameroonians based abroad are allowed to vote.

At the time this picture was taken, the atmosphere was calm, the voting process was serene though there were several Senegalese policemen in and outside the Embassy premises. A few people who had already voted said they were waiting for the vote count.

Paul Biya statement after voting on 9 Oct 2011

Paul Biya says Cameroon's election management body (ELECAM) is young and he urges Cameroonians to be considerate vis-a-vis any eventual shortcomings in the organisation of Presidential elections in the country on 9 Oct 2011.

The incumbent President was speaking after he voted on in the country's capital Yaounde. Biya and 22 others are vying for the office of President in the West-Central African nation of about 20 million inhabitants. ELECAM said 7 million were registered to vote.

Titbits on Cameroon Today and Tomorrow Based on leaked U.S. Diplomatic Cables

Cameroon should be in the news in the weeks and months to come in the run-up to, and after,Presidential elections set for 9 October. Paul Biya, the country's ruler for 29 years, will be running for another 7-year-term in office. 

Here are some tit-bits on Biya, some of his aides and opponents and concerns about democracy, governance, stability, and security in that West-Central African nation of about 19 million inhabitants.  

These are drawn from leaked U.S. diplomatic cables released via Wikileaks. 

Of Paul Biya (see photo) and his rule...

U.S. Ambassador Niels Marquardt said in a May 2006 cable: "In its 46 years of independence, Cameroon has only known two presidents, Ahmadou Ahidjo (1960-1982) and Paul Biya (1982-present)...Under Ahidjo, Cameroon's economy fared well; the country enjoyed some of the strongest economic and social indicators in Africa.  Since then, Biya has transformed Cameroon into a multi-party democracy with a growing focus on human rights and civil liberties.  His economic legacy, however, has been marred by massive indebtedness, corruption, a ten year economic downturn and falling social indicators..."

"The outstanding question is whether Biya is capable of engineering a turn-around of his negative legacy of corruption, stagnation and neglect in the five years remaining in his presidency."

U.S. Ambassador Janet Garvey said in an August 2009 cable: “President Paul Biya has been masterful at balancing interest groups and staying in power for almost 27 years.  He has survived a coup attempt (1984), a period of economic crisis (mid 1980s-early 2000s, leading to a 75% salary cut for civil servants and a painful devaluation), contested election results (1992), and nationwide riots (1992 and 2008).  Even his most ardent critics admire his political skill, including his ability to maintain an aging elite support network through patronage and a permissive attitude toward corruption.”

“Nonetheless, Cameroon has many of the ingredients of a failing state, and rising political and economic risks bear close watching.  Cameroon could be wracked again by social unrest similar to the February 2008 riots, which some analysts classified as a "wobble" in historically stable Cameroon.  Biya's failure to shore up the foundations of his regime's legitimacy - in fact eroding many sources of stability - will hinder his ability to bounce back from the next wobble.” 

of Corruption in Cameroon and the anti-graft effort known as Operation Epervier (Sparrow-hawk)

Biya holds Cameroon National Security Council Meeting - Why?

The men who are supposed to ensure that Cameroon is safe and secure met at the behest of President Paul Biya, in a session of the country's national security council on Thursday.

The Council had never met since it was created in January 2009. Why did Biya choose to convene the members now? 

"...Paul BIYA told members of the National Security Council to be vigilant and foresighted so that we can better face new security risks such as the taking of hostages, piracy and terrorist attacks," a statement on the website of the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon said. 

There have been several "pirate attacks" on the west-coast of Cameroon in recent years. Some have led to the capture and killing of civilians, local authorities, soldiers and expatriates. Gangs have stormed the coastal towns of Limbe and Douala and raided banks. In March, assailants stormed a bank in the Bonaberi neighbourhood in the country's economic capital using explosives and heavy weapons.

Security analysts have blamed poor coordination and unprofessionalism of the West-Central African nation's several security and intelligience services for the inability to prevent such acts.

"I expect the Council to ensure a better coordination of the services (involved in national security) which have often worked separately," Biya said at the meeting.

He also insisted on collaboration between services charged with internal security and those working on external security.

Could recent events - involving the Boko Haram group - in neighbouring Nigeria have jolted the men in Yaounde out of their comfort zone? 

Profess Democracy but Implement Autocracy: Politics in Nyamnjoh's Married But Available

By George Esunge Fominyen

Is Francis Nyamnjoh’s *Married But Available simply an account of the experiences of Lily Loveless, a Muzugulander (western) researcher, who travels to Mimboland (Cameroon/Africa) to study the relationship between sexuality and power? Or is it about the telenovela-styled sneak peek into the lives of couples by Britney, Lily’s young research assistant? Isn’t it a, rather, witty stab at African leadership, democracy and the role of the media in society?

Lily sets foot in the country when there is strike at the University of Mimbo. It is a deliberate ploy by the author to provide the political backdrop he needs to expose African leaders who claim to be married to principles such as democracy and meritocracy but yield to autocratic, totalitarian and repressive policies; in the same way that Mimbolanders are married (attached) to their spouses (partners) but are available to others.

Leadership epitomized by the university’s administration that is unwilling to accept contradictory thought. An administration disposed to bring in security forces to crack-down on students protesting against its policies such as the construction of a wall around the institution.

“In the context of ruthless and unscrupulous politics in our university campus and lecture halls, the administration cannot sit back and watch vandals destroy what has taken the government and taxpayers of Mimboland much sacrifice to build,” the vice-Chancellor (VC) said on radio in defense of the school authorities. The VC even urged the public “not to inhale the rhetorical smoke coming out from misguided students and irresponsible politically motivated lecturers” (pg 25).

Yves-Michel Fotso Arrested: Is the sparrow-hawk back in action?

Cameroon’s state broadcaster (CRTV) announced the arrest of Yves-Michel Fotso, one of the country’s top businessmen and former director general of the now defunct Cameroon Airlines (CAMAIR) on 1 December 2010.

Fotso was arrested in Douala, the country’s economic capital, and transported to the judicial police headquarters in Yaounde but no reasons have been given for his detention, CRTV said.

There has been speculation in the media for several years now that Fotso was under investigation within the context of the anti-graft operation known as "Epervier" (Sparrow-hawk)  for his role in the failed attempt to purchase a private jet for Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya .

Newspapers also suggested that he was being investigated for alleged mis-management which led to the collapse of CAMAIR. Is his arrest a sign that operation sparrow-hawk is back to action?

Bad governance stops Africa cutting child mortality - report

Bad governance and corruption mean several African countries won't meet targets on cutting child mortality under the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, aid group Save the Children says in a new report.

The aid agency says more than 2.8 million children's lives could have been saved in Africa over the last ten years if countries had focused on the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population.

In sub-Saharan Africa, around one in seven children dies before their fifth birthday. Child mortality rates have fallen by just 21 percent since 1990 - far short of the 67 percent target set for 2015 under the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.

 Countries like Kenya, Cameroon and Chad, which are making slow or no progress, are characterised by weak public expenditure management, says Save the Children in its report called a Fair Chance to Life.

Although some African countries have increased their healthcare budgets, a lack of transparency and absence of proper accountability mechanisms have fuelled corruption with particularly damaging consequences for poor children who depend on public health services, it says.

 "In some of these countries the systems are not there to track the expenditure and determine that it has reached those it was intended for," said Aboubacry Tall, Save the Children's regional director for West and Central Africa.

Continue reading bad governance stops Africa cutting child mortality

World Vision scandal puts spotlight on efforts to stamp out aid corruption

By George Fominyen (Originally published on www.alertnet.org)

With a $1 million alleged fraud case in Liberia, World Vision has become the latest aid agency to be embroiled in a corruption scandal. The Christian organisation has rushed to implement new systems to prevent such abuse in the future, but analysts say fear of negative publicity, lack of external monitoring and a degree of complacency are hampering efforts to stamp out corruption in the aid world.

The Liberian case involves three former World Vision officials who are accused of stealing food and construction materials meant to help people recover from the country's 14-year-long civil war. They allegedly masterminded a scam in which food aid was sold for profit in local markets.

The Woes of a People Enslaved by Alcohol: A review of Francis Nyamnjoh’s: the Travail of Dieudonné

By George Esunge Fominyen

When a social science researcher takes to fictional literature, it is hard to draw the line between reality and imagination. It is the case with Cameroon’s Francis Nyamnjoh; a sound academic  who knows how to tell a story simply and vividly. Apart from deliberate exaggerations by the author, any Cameroonian who has lived in the country for the past quarter of a century reading The Travail of Dieudonné, could easily find their space or that of a person they know in the colourful characters in the novel’s setting of Mimboland.

What’s in a name? Mimbo in Cameroonian pidgin means a drink (from palm wine to champagne). So doped of this potent nectar, are the characters of The Travail of Dieudonné that, they readily accept their unfortunate fate. Theirs is a world of misery in which insultingly rich and corrupt officials reap of an undemocratic government in which poor governance thrives, while the masses abandon themselves to sexual perversity and self-pity with the help of alcohol. In many ways, it is Cameroon seen through a glass of beer and Cameroonians locked inside a bottle of lager.

As the Mighty Fall - Is it Still Appealing to be Appointed?

By George Esunge Fominyen

I gather Paul Ngamo Hamani, the last provisional administrator of the now dead Cameroon Airlines company, has been arrested on allegations of corruption.

Hmmmmm!!!!

Slowly and steadily, there is a full football team (complete with reserves) of former ministers and top managers of state corporations in Cameroon that is rising in the Yaounde and Douala Central prisons. It makes me wonder if there is a need to splash and celebrate when a friend, "brother from the village or region" is appointed to a top position. Who knows, it may be time for Donny Elwood to revisit his song "en haut". And Cameroon is not the only place where some mighty people are falling after supposedly milking dry the national cow!

Senegal Takes its Share of China's Africa-Love-Spell (2)

By George Esunge Fominyen

President Hu Jintao on 14th February 2009 visited the site on which the Chinese would be constructing a Grand National theatre for the Senegalese capital. What one cannot tell is if he was warned by local officials that the residents of that neighbourhood were not too pleased to have their stadium demolished in exchange for a theatre (listen to the voices in the video clip below).

Hu Jintao in Dakar: Not All Happy
Uploaded by esungeft

Senegal Takes its Share of China's Africa-Love-Spell (1)

By George Esunge Fominyen

The romance between China and Africa tastes really sweet for Senegal on this Valentine’s Day 2009. China is reported to have offered Senegal aid and loans worth 45.8 billion FCFA (approximately 90 million USD). Happening on (or the eve of) a day when most persons in the Western hemisphere are celebrating love, the additional Chinese promise to purchase 10 thousand tons of groundnut oil  from Senegal could be likened to a declaration of love from China. President Hu Jintao was in the West African country on the second-leg of his African tour.  What would the Chinese get in return?

Red Dakar On V-Day 2009
Uploaded by esungeft

Interim EPAs Put African Regional Integration in Jeopardy

By George Esunge Fominyen (originally published in Flame of Africa)

African civil society representatives have warned that the signing of Interim Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between the European Union and some African countries will undermine the fledgling processes of regional integration on the continent.  They held this position at a seminar organised under the banner of the African Trade network (ATN) during the 2009 Social Forum in Belem

Singing Barack Obama in Cameroon

By George Esunge Fominyen

After a brief lull, the Barack Obamania is back into full gear in Africa and among many of African descent. Today (20 January 2009) is his 'Inauguration Day' as President of the United States of America. Given the way some are excited in Africa, one might misconstrue him for the President of another USA: United States of Africa?!

I tuned in to Cameroon Television (CRTV) this morning and the breakfast show was wholly dedicated to Obama's coming into office. The set was decorated with American flags and Obama campaign gadgets. But what struck me was this musical piece on Barack Obama, stipped in Bakweri folklore. A rythm hatched by the up and coming Tata Kingue...

Cameroon in Trouble?

By George Esunge Fominyen

  I often remember one of my lecturers at the department of journalism and mass communication  of the University of Buea  saying, if ever we heard that CNN's Christiane Amanpour (Chief International Correspondent) was in Cameroon with a crew of reporters, we should consider that the country had collapsed. The class was about major news organisations and conflict/war reporting.

It was a humorous bit of learning but the message stuck.

That is why I suspect there is big trouble in the offing when news organisations like France 24 and BBC World Service start having top headlines on Cameroon. Especially if it is not about a plane crash but about "rebels" taking persons hostage and threatening to kill them if the government does not react within a three days.