In the face of economic meltdown in Nigeria, the Federal Government has come up with more ideas for reducing expenditure.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Friday, April 8, 2016
Lesson from Nigeria: Government Bans Ministers, Other Officials from Flying First Class During Foreign Trips
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Looking from the Looking Glass: The Blind Bluff People's Call for Biya's Candidature
By Fai Cassian Ndi
President Paul Biya is naturally the natural candidate of the CPDM says Gregoire Owona, the Deputy Secretary General of that party. This was made famous by the fact that as Chairman of the ruling CPDM, he is by that position a natural candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections. Of late, CPDM militants have been issuing People's Calls and motions of support urging their constitutional candidate to run for the upcoming Presidential elections. This is however cynical given that as Chairman of the party, President Biya is already a natural candidate. The most intriguing is whether something happened or whether President Biya had lost grip of his status as natural candidate? Or could we say that by this declarations CPDM militants are indirectly telling him that "we have met the enemy and he is us!"
Seemingly, CPDM militants seem self-absorbed and even obsessed by the fear of their own acts and the fear is fear itself. Paul Biya knows how to play the jungle drum and CPDM overzealous militants can't understand the beat.
To the opposition parties, CPDM anxiety over the threat of Biya's candidature needs an antidote. That antidote combines fact and reason. Tragically, fear has become a greater menace to the CPDM than the over 350 opposition parties in Cameroon. Speculations are rife at that President Biya will announce a consultative meeting with the over 350 political parties to chart a way forward for the looming political deadlock in the country. According to a hint the issues to be discussed would involved around anticipated Presidential election, probably, in 2017. Accordingly, President Biya wants to prepare his quiet exit from politics but the pressure from the Essinga group is becoming unbearable. Everyone loves a good political gaffe, but Biya seems to have elevated the verbal blunder to the level of art that his supporters see him as a political Maradona. His rhetorical nature can come from anywhere: being a bit out of touch and being a little undefined, opposition leaders say Paul Biya has nothing to offer. And he has nothing to gain either. Interestingly, the Social Democratic Front-SDF allegedly postponed the Yaounde NEC meeting last weekend due to Biya's awaited pronouncement another confidential source hinted.
To the man in the street, President Biya should apologize that he fooled millions of fools and has decided to reject the Call for his candidature. Yet all this does not change the observed results. The early call for President Biya has seemingly not produce the desired effect. One can even say that it has been counter productive because it reawaken old demons of the Paul Biya regime (the books published from prison). The famous Biya before the CPDM has triggered the opposition and sealed lips of CPDM MPs and Senators.
The debate on the revision of the constitution and anticipated elections have become almost unbearable lately to the regime. The Deputy Secretary General of the CPDM, Gregoire Owona lambasted some CPDM bigwigs for ignorantly signing Calls for President Biya. To him, they do not know their party’s text. The question as to whether the President of the Senate, Marcel Niat Njifenji, President the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, Prime Minister Philemon Yang, former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge, Ministers; Laurent Essso, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, Madeleine Tcheunte, Paul Atangana Nji, former Minister Benjamin Itoe, Senator Nfon Mukete, Senator Thomas Tobbo Eyoum and others who have been on the forefront of “the people’s call” know what they are doing is making headlines in the media.
However, it is alleged Paul Biya is more concerned with the pedigree of the next President of Cameroon. According to what we gathered, an Anglophone candidate with international reputation is favourite. This revelation however ties with the campaign launched by a Bamenda based organization that has been advocating for a unique Anglophone candidate.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Putin: Panama Papers Leak an American Plot to Undermine Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen here in November, said the Panama Papers leak is part of a plot by the United States to undermine Russia. Photo by David Silpa/UPI
| License Photo
MOSCOW, April 7 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin denied "any element of corruption" over the Panama Papers, saying the leaked documents are part of an American plot to undermine Russian unity.
Putin, making his first public comments on the subject, said he has no direct connection to the documents leaked from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca that showed his close associate was linked to a $2 billion money-laundering scheme. Putin's long-time friend, cellist Sergei Roldugin, is named in the documents as the owner of two offshore firms used in an effort to hide money from Russian state banks.
Putin said Roldugin has tried to run a business bringing musical instruments into Russia. Roldugin is the artistic director of the St. Petersburg Music House, which trains classical musicians.
"I know that he has spent several months already on efforts to have the instruments registered as property of government-financed institutions," Putin said of Roldugin. "For many years he has arranged for concerts and promoted Russian culture abroad, in fact paying for this with his own money. And in doing so he always shuns publicity."
Putin said allegations he has any connection to the documents are part of a Western plot to undermine the "unity and cohesion" of the country, which he called "an exercise in futility."
The Russian leader bolstered his argument by saying WikiLeaks has reported the Panama Papers leak is an American-funded plot. The documents were first reported by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, with help from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. WikiLeaks has posted several contradictory Twitter messages about alleged U.S. involvement.
Panamanian officials announced Thursday they will put together an international panel of experts to help increase transparency of Panama's offshore financial industry in response to the document release. Mossack Fonseca has said the data leak was caused by a hack from foreign sources.
On Tuesday, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson resigned his post after leaked documents showed he secretly owned an offshore company, Winters.
Experts said the lack of Americans in the document dump is not an indicator U.S. citizens are more law abiding than their foreign counterparts. Instead, it could simply mean the journalist consortium, which holds the records, has not delved deeply enough into the documents to find Americans or that Americans are simply using other firms.
"This firm is one of thousands in the world and there are hundreds or thousands just like it in the U.S.," said Ana Owens, with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a federation of state-level consumer advocacy organizations. "If a company in the U.S. can do the exact thing for you as this company in Panama, then you might as well do it right here in the U.S. And its perfectly legal, which is the issue."
2,000 Hostages Freed as Troops Close in on Boko Haram
ABUJA, Nigeria, April 6 (UPI) -- At least 2,000 hostages were freed and more than 300 Islamist militants killed as government troops closed in on Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.
The regional security operation took place Sunday and Monday in and surrounding Nigeria's northern town of Walassa, near the Cameroon border. Cameroon is part of a 8,700-strong coalition with Benin, Chad, Nigeria and Niger, united in the fight against Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in March 2015.
Cameroonian soldiers of the Multinational Joint Task Force and Nigerian Army soldiers from the 152nd battalion also destroyed a Boko Haram logistics base where explosives were manufactured. The operation seeks to flush out Boko Haram militants from hideouts along the borders of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
"We recovered several weapons, destroyed vehicles, generators and other war materials," Cameroonian Gen. Bouba Dobekreo said Tuesday.
Dobekreo said 17 villages had been freed and that his forces are prepared to eradicate the Boko Haram threat.
Nigeria's defense headquarters recently established a camp to rehabilitate former Boko Haram members. The effort, called Operation Safe Corridor, is "geared toward rehabilitating and reintegrating the repentant and surrendering Boko Haram members back into normal life in the society," Nigerian Army public relations Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar said in a statement.
Boko Haram was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2013. The militant Islamic group seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and has ruthlessly targeted civilians.
On Sunday, the Nigerian army said it captured Khalid al-Barnawi, leader of the Boko Haram splinter group Ansaru.
Also known as Mohammed Usman, al-Barnawi is among three Nigerian rebel leaders with a "specially designated global terrorist" designation given by the U.S. State Department. The United States had also offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
The regional security operation took place Sunday and Monday in and surrounding Nigeria's northern town of Walassa, near the Cameroon border. Cameroon is part of a 8,700-strong coalition with Benin, Chad, Nigeria and Niger, united in the fight against Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in March 2015.
Cameroonian soldiers of the Multinational Joint Task Force and Nigerian Army soldiers from the 152nd battalion also destroyed a Boko Haram logistics base where explosives were manufactured. The operation seeks to flush out Boko Haram militants from hideouts along the borders of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
"We recovered several weapons, destroyed vehicles, generators and other war materials," Cameroonian Gen. Bouba Dobekreo said Tuesday.
Dobekreo said 17 villages had been freed and that his forces are prepared to eradicate the Boko Haram threat.
Nigeria's defense headquarters recently established a camp to rehabilitate former Boko Haram members. The effort, called Operation Safe Corridor, is "geared toward rehabilitating and reintegrating the repentant and surrendering Boko Haram members back into normal life in the society," Nigerian Army public relations Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar said in a statement.
Boko Haram was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2013. The militant Islamic group seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and has ruthlessly targeted civilians.
On Sunday, the Nigerian army said it captured Khalid al-Barnawi, leader of the Boko Haram splinter group Ansaru.
Also known as Mohammed Usman, al-Barnawi is among three Nigerian rebel leaders with a "specially designated global terrorist" designation given by the U.S. State Department. The United States had also offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Panama Papers Expose UK Role in Global Corruption-Transparency International
RECOMMENDATIONS TO END UK ROLE AS A SAFE HAVEN FOR CORRUPT MONEY
The release of the “Panama Papers” has confirmed the UK’s role as a safe haven for corrupt individuals and their stolen wealth. Today, Transparency International UK launches a set of recommendations to end the UK’s role in enabling global corruption and calls on the Prime Minister to use the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12th May in London to take action.
“Paradise Lost” is a thorough analysis of the UK’s role in global corruption, outlining the multitude of ways in which the UK is enabling corrupt individuals to enjoy luxury lifestyles and cleanse their reputations. This includes:
The ability to buy UK property anonymously through foreign companies.
The UK’s Overseas Territories offering secretive company ownership.
Lack of powers for law enforcement to seize stolen assets.
Role of UK based accountants, lawyers, estate agents and other “professional enablers” in making it easy for corrupt individuals to hide their cash.
An anti-money laundering system that is easy to bypass in order to launder money with impunity.
Rachel Davies, Head of UK Advocacy and Research Transparency International UK said:
“The Panama Papers have confirmed that the UK is a prime location for corrupt individuals looking to hide their illicit wealth and buy their way into respectability.”
“Last year, the Prime Minister made a personal commitment to end the UK’s role as a safe haven for corrupt funds. Now is the real test of how serious that rhetoric is. The Anti-Corruption Summit on 12th May is the ideal opportunity for the UK to turn words into action. It must get its own house in order.”
“If corrupt individuals are allowed to continue to buy up luxury property and enjoy life in the UK, then the Government risks its credibility in leading efforts to tackle corruption on the global stage. Our recommendations lay the basis of what the UK must do immediately to ensure its hands are clean in the fight against global corruption.”
Key recommendations include:
Ensure the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies introduce centralised public registers of beneficial ownership, and ensure corrupt individuals cannot buy UK property with impunity.
Act on unexplained wealth by increasing the capabilities of the UK’s asset recovery regime to seize corrupt funds.
Fix the flaws in the UK’s anti-money laundering regime – overhauling the supervision of the rules, and prosecuting complicit professional enablers.
The Panama Papers and the UK’s complicity:
Of the 214,000 corporate entities exposed, over half were registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Our research showed 36,000 properties in London are owned by companies registered in offshore jurisdictions.
The UK was the second most popular place for the Mossack Fonseca firm to operate. According to the ICIJ, Mossack Fonseca worked with 1,924 UK professional enablers to set up companies, foundations and trusts for customers.
Press contact(s):
Dominic Kavakeb, Communications Manager
T: +44 0207 3096 7695/ +44 07964 560340
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Monique Koumateke Scandal: Funeral Programme Known
The funeral programme of late Koumatéke Monique who died on March 12, 2016 in a very controversial state of nature has been announced. According to reports the funeral programme which kick-starts with wake-keep without corpse on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at the family house in Douala. Removal according to what we gathered is slated for April 29 at Laquintinie Hospital. Since the tragedy of March 12, Monique was kept for investigations yet reports have been very controversial to the point that the Minister of Public Health has been asked to resigned. But family says they had to meet the Governor before he could give a green light for her burial. Her untimely demised was an indication of the fact that the health system in Cameroon has collapsed. It also signaled that government has failed in its duty.
According to news reports, the mother of the deceased is quoted to have said that "corpse removal has been slated for 9 am". And departure to the village is at 10am while burial is scheduled for April 30.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Panama Papers: Cross-border Journalism Comes of Age
Source: World Editor's Forum
The leaking of the Panama Papers to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung provided an opportunity to take collaborative investigations to the next level. Editor-in-ChiefWolfgang Krach, tells us more about the data his newspaper received in early 2015 and the decision to involve the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
It was clear from an initial examination of the Panama Papers, consisting of 11.5 million internal documents from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, that this was going to be an unprecedented investigation.
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Wolfgang Krach
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The 2.6 terabytes of data spanning over 40 years were several times larger than the combined information of US diplomatic cables leaked to Wikileaks in 2010, the intelligence documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013, the Luxembourg tax files leaked in 2014 and the HSBC files leaked last year.
"It was enormous from just the amount of data and content,” said Krach. “We saw in the first document that the data concerned people from all over the world. We knew early on that this was not an investigation we would ever be able to do alone.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung decided to share the database with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) which built the data infrastructure and put together an international team of nearly 400 journalists from more than 100 publications across 80 countries to work on the database. (See below video for how they did it)
It was not the first time that ICIJ had led a collaborative, international investigation. As early as 2013, it began forming international teams to investigate offshore banking, government corruption and tax avoidance. However, given the density of Panama Papers, this team was the largest engaged so far.
Despite the fact, many were asking questions about why none of the major US newspapers had the Panama Papers on their front page on Monday. Some suggested that they were not invited because they were not team players, others that there was a lack of Americans on the hit list because Americans tended to use different law firms, while others have pointed to the funding of ICIJ which might have discouraged it from inviting American media.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
SISTERSPEAK237 National Story Telling Contest-Student Journalist Edition (See details)
In line with its mandate to tell under reported stories, Sisterspeak237 has instituted the National Storytelling Award. The event will be an annual feature that will celebrate excellence in journalistic works by recognizing meaningful contributions made by individual journalists.
Sisterspeak237 hopes that the Annual Journalism Award will reignite the passion for journalism, encourage journalists to pursue stories that are not often told in mainstream media, and most importantly, contribute to uplifting of professional and ethical standards of journalism in Cameroon.
The sustainability of media in Cameroon has remained a nagging issue for several years now. This Journalism Award is therefore for those dedicated journalists who work day in and out, chasing stories and deadlines – to inform and educate, to bring out the plight of the poor and the marginalized in the national mainstream, to keep watch over the powerful and the influential, and to deepen democratic culture, among many other.
Sisterspeak237 hopes that the annual journalism award will go a long way in inspiring young journalists to reach even higher. We hope the award will rekindle the latent passion in many of us and revive our commitment to journalism. We hope it will encourage us to go the extra mile while reporting stories.
Terms and conditions
Entry into the Sisterspeak237 National Storytelling Contest 2016 is subject to acceptance of these terms and conditions.
– The competition is open to student journalists in Cameroon. People who are staff reporters at any national or international media house cannot enter the 2016 edition.
– Entrants should submit a story that highlights one of the following
- Women’s issues in their community
- Social inclusion with focus on persons with disability
- Innovations in agriculture
– All entries must be received by midday on the 25th of April 2016. Any entries received after this closing date will not be accepted. Sisterspeak237 reserves the right to change the closing date where the entries are of insufficient quality. Sisterspeak237 shall not be responsible for the return of entries.
– Entries must include full name, home address, email, mobile and/ or home phone number.
– Entrants must include a photocopy of their school identity or attestation from an authority from their school to prove they are currently enrolled in the school.
– Entries should not have been previously published and should be the sole original work of the entrant. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in the entrant being removed from the competition.
– Incomplete entries, entries on behalf of another person and joint entries will not be accepted. Only one entry per person can be accepted.
Prizes
The awards will be in the form of a trophy, a citation, and gadgets/cash. Winning entries will be published and promoted in partner media houses. Each category will have three prizes. All first prizes must be equivalent to 50.000 FRS; second prizes 30.000 FRS and 3rd prizes 20.000 FRS
– Sisterspeak237 Prestigious Journalism Award. This category is to honor a senior female journalist whose works has greatly contributed to public understanding of women’s issues, social inclusion or agriculture
Submission formats
For Print entries: Write a feature in English, of no fewer than 650 words and no more than 1000 words on their chosen topic.
For audio visual entries: Submit news items or radio features, maximum five minutes. Features should have at least 2 interviews.
For Photojournalism entries: Submit 5-10 well captioned pictures on chosen subject.
- Entries should be mailed to info@sisterspeak237.com or commyngabir@gmail.com
Promotional usage of entries
- The work of short-listed or winning student journalists may be used in promotional activities by Sisterspeak237 and the contest sponsors within the context of this award. By entering this award competition, student journalists agree to such activities.– In applying for the award, the applicant agrees to have their submitted piece possibly used in a collection of applicants’ works, and as such made public.If you have any questions about these terms and conditions, please emailinfo@sisterspeak237 or commyngabir@gmail.com
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Monique Koumatékel Saga: Hon. Awudu Puts Public Health Minister on Hot Seat as He Mistakes Phone for Handkerchief
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| Did Mama Fouda told a lie to MPs? |
Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian, the Member of Parliament for Donga Mantung Centre cum Quaestor at the National Assembly is said to have placed the Minister of Public Health on a very hot seat. This was during the question and answer session with the Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda. In his question related to the Monique Koumatekel scandal, this is what Hon. Awudu asked Public Health Minister: "During your press conference of March 13, you made statements about what happened between the Nylon District Hospital and the Laquintinie iHospital in Monique Koumatékel case. Were you there, Mr. Minister? Were you at Nylon? At Laquintinie? Cameroonians believe everything you told during the press conference were lies"...
Reports say Andrea Mama Fouda spent his time writhing fingers and that even his eye glasses could no more hold his nose. He was obliged to remove and mistaken his phone for handkerchief. After babbling over the issue Mama Fouda has kept the same position. Mama Fouda reaffirmed that the deceased had arrived at the Laquintinie in the trunk of a car, five hours after she died. But he told MPs that "I would like to inform the national assembly that the Ministry of Health has set up an information system to make sure that henceforth everything is reported and analyzed. Any pregnant woman or child death is listed....."
Obviously, this speech did not satisfy Awudu Mbaya who, according to reports, did not stop grumbling under his breath, throughout the response.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Monday, April 4, 2016
Police Pull Down ENEO Giant Posters, GM on Hot Seat
The General Manager the company charged with the distribution of electricity in Cameroon is summoned to explain the objectives of an advertising campaign involving politicians. The giant posters carrying pectures of some political and business personalities have been prohibited by the Cameroonian police. One of these posters carries the picture of the Minister of Water and Energy, Basile Atangana Kouna with messages such as: "I share the energy of Cameroon." In this campaign, ENEO offers 10 tips on how to save and share energy.
Basile Atangana Kouna says: "We will offer the use of energy saving light bulbs in public buildings to provide additional energy to all our hospitals" while André Fotso, President GICAM adds that: "If companies disconnect unused electronics, additional energy will be earned for every family."
Newspaper reports have indicated that this vast communication campaign designed by ENEO with the approval of Ministry of Water and Energy has just been stopped by the Presidency of the Republic. Since Thursday, March 31, 2016, "the police systematically pulls all these posters in Yaounde and Douala." According to reliable sources, the Chief Executive Officer of ENEO Joel Nana Kontchou was summoned to give explanations to the Presidency of the Republic. It should be noted that Cameroonian have and continue to suffer from rampant electricity cuts ranging from 10-30 times a day in some areas. Such a campaign may be poorly perceived by the public, who wonders "how to save energy that does not exist?".
However, it is becoming clear that the intention was maybe to look how each household could contribute, if not to make a sacrifice to the curb the rampant electricity cuts
According to official figures, the energy deficit in Cameroon is 100 Mw per day. This deficit has worsened, we learn between 12 and 20 March 2016, following an incident at the main transformer situated at Oyomabang in Yaounde.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Italian Couple Donates to Schools, Medical Establishments in Donga Mantung, Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah Applauded
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| Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah |
Two days after the visit of President Sergio Mattarella of Italy to Cameroon, an elite of Donga Mantung Division, (Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah) currently residing in Italy, immediately mobilised some of his Italian colleagues to make an observatory visit to Cameroon.
Titriana Cozzi, an Italian trade unionist for the Gorizia province and her husband Ezio, a retired Italian Carabinieri military policeman stormed Donga Mantung Division where they made some donations to medical establishments and schools. It should be recalled that the Italian couple upon arriving Donga Mantung Division, were received by some local CPDM bigwigs including Donga Mantung Alternate Senator Ngi Christopher, the Lord Mayor of Nkambe, Paul Ngobir Bantar, and a host of others.
As part of the observatory visit, the couple also visited the Nkambe and Bih Fon's palaces where they donated Italian wine and other items to the traditional rulers. There was euphoria at Bih, where the couple donated drugs to the lone Health Centre that serves (Saah, Bih and Binjeng). Singing and dancing took the central stage with the performances of dance groups acrobatic Mbaya dance of Bih, which added more colour to the ceremony. Before leaving Donga Mantung Division, Tiriana and Ezio for the North West Regional capital, the couple promised that they will comeback to make more philanthropist gesture that would go a long way to impact lives positively. They also said they were marveled by the cultural and traditional practices ranging from the palaces to songs, singing and dancing.
While in Bamenda they visited the head office of Cameroon Women's Initiative-CWIA and then moved to the Bafut palace, where they visited the historic museum.
It should be recalled that it is thanks to Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah that the trip to Cameroon came to reality. He (Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah) is one of those patriotic Cameroonians in the Diasporas (precisely Italy) who has always felt that he should make a significant contribution in nation building. As part of his contribution in building the nation, Blaise Nkfunkoh in February of 2016, he took part in a Conference on the strategic challenges for Cameroon and Italian cooperation in the battle against terrorism. The Conference which took place in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy was also attended by retired Italian General Federico Maria Pellegati, Vice Director of the Security and Defense Research Center and Italian Senator Laura Fasiolo. To the fon of Nkambe, Blaise Nkfunkoh is a dynamic young man who is always interested in the welfare of the others. More so, Blaise we gathered is currently mobilizing and currently working on a nation wide free consultation/mobile medical free campaign that will also take his philanthropist gestures to all the villages of Donga Mantung Division. Worthy to note that Ezio was honoured with a red feather for his humanitarian gesture by Donga Mantung traditional rulers.
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| At the Nkambe Fons Palace |
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| At Bih Market Square distributing drugs |
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| At GS Bih |
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Africa’s Big-Hearted Entrepreneur Programme Arrives 2nd Round, Lure Thousands.
By Cham Victor Bama
One of Africa’s most remarkable and upbeat entrepreneurship programme cum Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme for the 2016 year have been launched. The Lagos, Nigeria, based Africa global entrepreneur flagship Foundation announced through a press release dated 22 March 2016 the 2nd round of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).
The nearly two years old, 2015-2016, big-hearted programme with a ten years life span and $100 million commitment is the largest Africa based continental philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship.
The top plight to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create a million jobs and add $10 billion in revenues to Africa’s economy limelight’s the programme into an incomparable global economic context.
In all, over 45,000 entrepreneurs from 54 African countries applied, more than doubling the number of applications received in 2015. Modern standards of industrial class highly dominated the respective fields of applications by candidates, led by agriculture, ICT and fashion.
The highest numbers of applicants came from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon. All five regions – North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa are represented.
Going by the Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON: “In TEEP’s first year we spent over $8 million of our $100 million commitment – with $5 million going directly to entrepreneurs as seed capital — and the results have far exceeded our expectations. We have funded entrepreneurs, established networks and helped extraordinary people take control of their destinies. The 2016 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs will become a generation of newly empowered African business owners, who are the clearest evidence yet, that indigenous business growth will drive Africa’s economic and social transformation.”
The 2016 cohort of the Entrepreneurship programme will over the next nine months receive the intensive online training; networking and mentoring that provide a tool kit for success and sustainability. They will also participate in the three-day Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum later in the year, the largest annual gathering of African entrepreneurial talent.
Parminder Vir OBE, CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, observed: “We saw phenomenal success with the first cycle of TEEP –the success stories of the TEEP 2015alumni are a testament to the transformative power of the programme we have built. Through TEEP, we are proving to the next generation of entrepreneurs that their ideas can change their communities, their countries and their continent.”
The final list of the selected candidates has been published and the next stage is due soon. For any further information on the full list of the selected candidates visit www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/teep
Knowing The Tony Elumelu Foundation
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is an Africa-based, African-funded philanthropic organisation. Founded in 2010, TEF is committed to driving African economic growth, by empowering African entrepreneurship. The Foundation aims to create lasting solutions that contribute positively to Africa’s social and economic transformation. Through impact investments, selective grant making, and policy development, it seeks to influence the operating environment so that entrepreneurship in Africa can flourish. www.tonyelumelufoundation.org@tonyelumeluFDN
About The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme represents a decade- long commitment to supporting African start-ups and entrepreneurs. We are committing $100 million to help launch an initial 10,000 entrepreneurs throughout Africa over the next 10 years, creating 1,000,000 new jobs contributing to $10 billion in revenue across Africa. www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/TEEP
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
List of 5 Most Powerful Secret Societies That Really Control the World
This might sound fearful to some but it is real! Here are the list of top 5 most powerful secret societies that controls the world with most world leaders known to be their members.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Cameroon Has a Ruling Class, Not a Ruling Party
By Martin-Luther Fon Yembe in Ngarum-Ndu
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
It is Mahamat Gandhi who once stated that power is of two kinds : One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment. When the National Chairman of the RDPC ( CNU cum CPDM) declared at the party’s congress in 2011 that his party was “close to power”, and not in power, all the sheepish militants went “Hurray” and nearly brought down our Congress Centre down with applause. Few have cared to dig into the profundity of this declaration. Mr. Biya is no fool. He chooses his words and statements very carefully, and posterity will judge him right. The CPDM has never been a party in power because no party runs Cameroon Republic. What obtains is that there is a ruling class in power and the CPDM is yet to be in power.
When the Social Democratic Front surfaced with the catchphrase of “ Power to the People”, it was a serious jingle and many have never yet understood what it entails…even in the SDF. When power will finally be with the “people”…where the grassroots decide, where power will be devolved to the grassroots…true federalism, then we can have a party in power. But, as of now, even Biya says it that the CPDM is NOT in POWER…it is just close to power…as it is a ruling stratocracy that is using powerful methods with strong and powerful men to man very fragile institutions.
The Biya ruling clique has exhibited tremendous trends of a brilliance in manipulating the people and kept the majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, struggling business men pay heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return. With all the atrocities that this ruling clique engages on a daily basis through its agents on the field…administrators; security officials; etc., it beats the imagination of right thinking people why Cameroonians still gape as if hypnotized! In fact, the moral climate in the CPDM, where crimes are committed in the name of the party and the culprits go scotch free is not strange. The CPDM Party is a swathe that wraps a huge chunk of shit of the ruling class, void of true power. Its supposed militants think that they are in power, while Biya and his Think Tank know that CPDM is not in power, but exploiting the circumstances, in time and by slow operations, to pervert the government and the state institutions into tyranny.
The question on many lips is why this observable fact is persistent for over thirty three years. Even Jesus Christ, God in the flesh did not go beyond thirty three years. Someone had said that we should never underestimate the power of human stupidity. Paul Biya, Joseph Owona, Belinga and their French advisers are exploiting the stupidity and idiocy of the susceptible and impoverished Cameroonians to dig deep into their mindset. Biya is a top pupil of Niccolo Maciavelli who says “He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command”…and so he adopts the Hitler Nazism technique to rule the people, not following some party ideologies or principles. And Cameroon sways on with the current tides…until the “means justify the end”…and he and his class become very bad history.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Friday, April 1, 2016
Lesson from Nigeria: Treasury Looters Should Rot in Jail, They Don't Deserve Bail - Femi Falana Declares
Femi Falana in a public speech has expressed his disgust for public office holders indicted with corrupt practices which has crippled Nigeria in aggregate.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Controversial Pastor Who Asked Congregation to Eat Snakes Dies after Being Bitten by His Own Snake While Performing Miracle
A pastor known for performing controversial miracles has allegedly been killed by his own cobra while performing miracles.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Radio Biafra Hits Airwaves Again
After many months of blackout, IPOB has announced that Radio Biafra is back on air after the Federal Government blocked the airwaves.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Special Criminal Court: Former Mayor of Douala 4 Acquitted
On March 29, 2016, John Ndangle Kumaze, SDF former mayor of Douala 4 was discharged and acquitted at the Special Criminal Court. He was found not guilty of three counts brought against him in the Special Criminal Court ( TCS). Accused of embezzling a total of FCFA 131 million CFA, the TCS could find evidences of these charges. Sources say the evidences provided by the defense were solid at the point where Emmanuel Agbor Ashu would find it difficult to appeal the court decision. This is so because he could not provide evidence of things he accused Mr. Kumaze. Rather, the documents he presented in Court as evidence exonerated John Danle Kumaze.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
CPDM Senators, MPs Under Strict Suveilliance
CPDM Senators and Members of Parliament have been told to stay mute during deliberations at the National Assembly. The MPs according to what we gathered have been told that all their worries should be channeled through their group speaker and that anyone who violates the instruction will have his or herself to blame. It is now clear that the "foolish majority" has now been deprived of their freedom to express themselves. The Eye is aware that during a meeting at Yaounde Congress Hall, the senators and CPDM MPs were told that they are not allowed to give their opinion on a topical issue without requiring the express permission of the President of their group and or Secretary General of the Central Committee of the party. Implicitly, they have lost the ability to control the action of the government which is a mission enshrined in the constitution of our country.
Henceforth, they must obtain permission from the hierarchy to publicly express themselves on topical issues. Talking to journalists one of them who preferred not to be names said that" some members of the government believe that we disturb. But our colleagues who have had the courage to speak out on issues of concern to our society in recent times, were quite relevant in their positions". It is now clear that now CPDM Senator or MP will never raise a finger to ask a question on issues like the rampant electricity cuts, water cuts, scandals in hospitals, the phenomenon of inexplicable crimes and terrorism. It is alleged that the decision was provoked by Senator Ibrahim Mbombo Njoya who during the CPDM in Bafoussam posed pertinent issues that challenged the leadership of his party.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
Lesson from Nigeria: Dangote's New Refinery Will Sell Fuel at International Price
Dangote's proposed refinery has made a decision on a concrete pricing system that will be adopted when the facility becomes operational.
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