Business

Biya appoints first-ever general manager of the Port of Kribi

23/08/2016

President Biya has appointed the first general manager of the Port of Kribi. The 53 years old Patrice Melon was the former coordinator of the Kribi Port Complex Industrial Steering Committee.

Bako Harouna, a magistrate, was also appointed the Deputy General Manager. Simo Ndjounou Jean Paul was designated the chairman of the board of directors.

The appointments were made on Tuesday after a meeting of the administrative committee of the structure, which took place recently in Yaoundé at the Ministry of Transport.

By Ebong Kingsley

First-ever Field Representative of the Islamic Development Bank commissioned in Yaounde

23/08/2016

Cameroonian-born Ababkar Abdoulrassoul is the first-ever Field Representative of the Islamic Development Bank, IDB in Cameroon. The agro-economist and rural development specialist was commissioned in Yaounde on August 22, 2016 by the Director General of Cooperation and Regional Integration, Charles Assamba Ongodo on behalf of the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development. Ababkar Abdoulrassoul’s rich career has taken him to the Lake Chad Basin Commission, CBLT, the Cameroon Cotton Development Corporation, SODECOTON, and the IDB where he served as Division Head before being selected as Field Representative through tenders.

He was told to ensure proper follow-up of IDB-funded projects as he serves as an interface between government, the IDB and field workers for the smooth execution of projects. Ababkar Abdoulrassoul was described as the right man in the right place though the challenges are huge, with the new IDB boss disclosing that reorganising his team is primary. “We will develop a proper communication tool and strategy for reporting that will spur efficiency in the execution of projects,” he promised.

The portfolio of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Cameroon with major cooperation partners like the Arab Bank for Economic Development, BADEA, the Saudi Fund for Development, FSD, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, FKDEA and the OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, was also reviewed. The meeting revealed that the IDB Group in Cameroon counts close to 30 projects evaluated at FCFA 520 billion. Over 20 projects (FCFA 428 billion) owned by the IDB alone, covering 85 per cent of the group’s portfolio. The portfolio covers transport, education, energy, agriculture and livestock as well as water and sanitation.

Cameroon Tribune

Camair-Co’s new GM: Who the hell is Ernest Dikum?

23/08/2016

After stagger-a-staggering with Jean Nana Sandjo, the Biya Francophone Beti-Ewondo regime finally decided to move away from their man. At the end of the extraordinary board meeting of Camair-Co that held on Monday, August 22, 2016, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, the head of the transport sector in Cameroon announced that 49 years old Ernest Dikum was the new general manager of the company.

Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o reportedly profiled the new GM of Camair-Co at the end of the Douala session and assigned new objectives. Said the Transport Minister “Ernest Dikum is a great specialist in air transport. He is also an experienced man whose skills and qualifications in the field of air transport are proven and universally recognized.”

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that after graduating from the Higher Institute of Tourism and Economy in Rabat, Morocco, Ernest Dikum in 1992, got an additional qualification in the management of database systems from a Computer Institute in the United States in 1996. This was followed by an MBA at Usa College in partnership with Coventry University in Britain in 2013.

His professional experience and expertise are particularly eloquent which explains why President Paul Biya decided to entrust the General Directorate of Camair-Co to him. Ernest Dikum has an outstanding career with Emirates airline, which is considered one of the best in the world. Within this renowned company, Mr. Ndikum has held since 2004, many strategic positions in relation to the African markets including the position of Regional Director for the West Africa region and Sahelian Senegal.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Camair-Co GM sacked

22/08/2016

Jean Nana Sandjo, the general manager of Camair-Co has been sacked. He was replaced today Monday, August 22, 2016 after a board meeting by Ernest Dikoum, former regional director of Emirates airline for Senegal and Guinea.

Jean Nana Sandjo, appointed to this post on June 20, 2014, spent only two years at the head of the national airline. (See our editorial for details on the Camair-Co saga)

Cameroon Airlines-Camair-Co: From Boom to Bust

22/08/2016

Some 34 years ago, Cameroon Airline Company was flying high. The Ahmadou Ahidjo responsible leadership led to a booming economy and made Cameroon Airline Company the fastest growing and the city of Douala the most competitive aviation market in West and Central Africa. The company acquired new carriers and bought new jets. To be sure, Cameroon Airlines ordered Boeing and Airbus jetliners worth millions of dollars.

On November the 6^th 1982, the office of the president of the republic changed hands from Ahmadou Ahidjo to Biya Paul in a peaceful atmosphere. There was no global recession but a sharp increase in passenger numbers (top CPDM government officials, their wives, children, mistresses and housemaids) traveling to and from Europe without paying a dime to the airlines company. This was bad news for Cameroon Airlines, sad for the Cameroonian people but joy to the new comers in government. It was the beginning of rigor and moralization of the Cameroon airlines company.

Cameroon Airlines was plagued by financial difficulties, which came along with a poor safety and maintenance record. On 16 September 2005, the airline was indefinitely banned by the French Civil Aviation Authority from operating its prestigious Paris route due to safety concerns that had arisen following aircraft check-ups that had revealed failures to meet international norms in the loading, transport of dangerous materials, navigation documentation and tire maintenance.

In an effort to save the airline from bankruptcy, the Biya regime signed an agreement with SN Air holding, the parent company of Brussels Airlines to ensure the future funding. The plans did not materialize, though. Instead, on 11 September 2006, the launch of Camair-Co as new national airline was announced. Cameroon Airlines stayed operational until March 2008, though flight operations had only taken place during irregular intervals over these last years. Things have taken a dramatic u turn and we of this publication can now reveal that the so-called Camair-Co has only two planes. The small flight which runs the Douala-Baffoussam route and the 114 seater that goes to the Northern regions.

Camair-Co’s Boeing 767-300 code named (The Dja), which recently returned to Cameroon after six months of inactivity following a routine technical control with the Ethiopian Airline hangar in Addis Abba, is now stagger-a-staggering. After very intensive and productive investigation following a leak published by Alafnet.com, Cameroon Intelligence Report wishes to sound a note of caution that air passengers should avoid using Camair-Co’s Boeing 767-300.

The aircraft cockpit of the Dja completely destroyed by water which entered through a window that was deliberately left open will cost the company billions of FCFA. We understand that there is a war currently going on between the Minister Edgar Alain Mebo Ngo’o faction and the Akame Mfoumou gang. There are reports that Camair-Co plans to put the Dja back on the skies without proper technical checks. President Biya is aware of the situation through one of his relatives serving with the company in Douala. Camair-Co’s unofficial debt stands at 74 billion FCFA, though Transport Minister Alain Mebo Ngo’o keeps incessantly flashing out signals to the Cameroonian people that it is below 40billions FCFA.

Our intelligence officers who have been working on this Camair-Co saga hinted that the “Dja Window Rain Water” incident remains a diabolic harsh in-house ploy to enable the general manager, Jean Nana Sandjo lease an aircraft through AJW leasing company for the Hajj pilgrimage.

At the time of the window neglect accident in Douala, Jean Nana Sandjo was already in France negotiating with the AJW Group for a plane. Curiously, Nana Sandjo is the representative of the said leasing company and banks a 6 %commission on every deal with Camair-co. Jean Nana Sandjo’s list of financial crimes is long involving too many dodgy deals.

This is more bad news for Cameroon as Jean Nana Sandjo, an acolyte of Eduard Akame Mfoumou-a behind the scene baron of the CPDM regime has pushed Camair-Co to be weighed down by overcapacity, debt and the CPDM government’s willingness to provide bailouts running to the tune of 200 billion FCFA. With just 2 carriers, Camair-Co has been forced to slash their operations and reduce ticket prices. Cameroon aviation is badly in need of a regime change-a decent Anglophone citizen to run the affairs of this company.

The Southern Cameroons change will include deferring aircraft deliveries, cancelling orders, rationalizing routes and trimming staff to stave off financial collapse. Our chief economic correspondent noted that it’s going to be tough, but it can be done if Biya mean business. Our nation is at the mercy of Biya, his family and his appointees. Every aspect of Cameroon’s economic life has been hardest hit by the consortium of CPDM crime syndicates.

CPDM officials say Camair-Co may smile again and resume normal operations once another bailout package is made available by the ministry of transport. But Alfred Bate Bawak former CPDM UK Section Vice President say that it may be difficult because the industry has yet to solve a basic problem: too many airlines such as Air France, Air Brussels, Ethiopian Air Lines flying too many flights in a country that, despite its economic growth, is relatively poor.

Lowering fares may attract more African travellers but it may not improve the overall financial health of the industry controlled by corrupt officials. To make profits, Camair-Co needs an Anglophone marketer at the head to shift business models. Above all, Camair-Co has to think, act, breathe and be low cost. That doesn’t happen overnight with an 84 years old man as chief executive.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon says Memve”ele Hydro-electric dam will resolve the energy deficit in the Southern regions

20/08/2016

On Tuesday August 16, 2016 in Nyabissan, Ntem Valley Division of the South Region, the Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Basile Atangana Kouna, switched-on the button to close the main spillway of the Memve’ele Hydro-electric dam, so that the dam’s reservoir can be filled. The main reservoir which is 22 Km2 is expected to be filled with 80 million meters cube of water in ten days. It is from the main reservoir that water will be channeled through the canal to the power house for the production of energy.

The closure of the main spillway of the dam marks a crucial stage in the construction process. Presiding over the ceremony to close the spillway in Nyabizan, the Minister of Water and Energy, revealed that the realization rate of the Memve’ele Hydro-electric dam project now stands at 92%. The dam is expected to produce its first megawatts of energy by October this year and upon completion in June 2017, it will be producing 211 megawatts of energy to resolve the energy deficit in the southern part of the country.

CRTV

Douala ranked 9th most dangerous city in the world by UK based international news magazine

20/08/2016

The authoritative UK international news magazine “THE ECONOMIST” has published a report ranking the city of Douala, the 9th most dangerous city in the world. The study was carried out by the Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the newspaper specialized in business reporting and analysis.

Eight places separate the Cameroonian economic capital and Damascus in Syria. The ranking was based on criteria such as security; terrorism, hostage-taking, easy access to administrative services, existence of modern health and education infrastructure and the level of corruption. The report painted Douala as a no man’s land and noted that the informal sector was growing at an exponential rate. The EIU revealed that people live in Douala in precarious sanitary conditions unworthy of modern metropolises.

It added that residents are assaulted in full view of the forces of law and order without them raising a finger. The city has been transformed into a giant trash where courtesy and civility no longer exist in the daily lives of the people who have turned their gutters into garbage dumps.

We learned from the report that Douala is also a city where victims are afraid to complain against their tormentors, often accomplices of corrupt police officers, who share, drugs and loot the flight. Of more importance is the fact that Douala is the dumping ground of European and Chinese antiques. All that is useless in Europe and China is found in Douala. The city symbolizes the failure of the Biya 34 years old regime.

By Chi Prudence Asong

CPDM Government and Camwater: No longer an item

14/08/2016

Basile Atangana Kouna, Cameroon’s Minister of Water and Energy, has informed the Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation that the Biya regime will not renew the concession contract for the supply of drinking water in urban and rural areas, signed with the State of Cameroon, the Cameroon Water utilities corporation (Camwater) and Cameroon Water (CDE).

In a statement addressed to the management of Camwater, Minister Basile Atangana Kouna said the decision not to prolong the agreement was taken by the hierarchy of the state. Founded in December 2007 by a group of Moroccan companies, Cameroon Water (CDE) is a Cameroonian company, responsible for the leasing of public service, drinking water supply in urban and rural areas.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands some 105 locations are served by CDE. Signed in December 2007, the contract binding the government of Cameroon, CDE and Camwater, went operational on the 2^nd of May 2008. It has lasted for 10 years and will expire in 2018. On February the 8th, 2016, the general manager of the Camwater was sacked. Cameroon has been rocked by untimely cuts and lack of drinking water in large cities. In the villages, drinking water is completely unavailable.

By Ebong Kingsley

BICEC Corruption Scandal: General Directorate confirms arrest of senior officials

11/08/2016

Ever since Monday, August 8, 2016, four men, including two senior officials of la Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Épargne et le Crédit (BICEC) are incarcerated at the New Bell central prison in Douala, the economic capital. Local media reports opined that the four men were arrested on charges of forgery and breach of trust. The BICEC officials were also accused of embezzling billions of CFA francs from the bank.

The General Directorate of BICEC from its headquarters in Douala has issued a statement in an attempt to give the public a frank, candid and thoughtful key into understanding the truth about the affair. The management of BICEC revealed in the communique that an internal investigation was conducted within the bank. Following this investigation, BICEC filed a complaint to the Cameroonian judiciary.

The BICEC statement further stressed that the bank as an institution does not comment on judicial proceedings which are in progress. The shareholding of BICEC is mainly composed of Groupe BPCE (68, 5%) and the State of Cameroon (17, 5%). Groupe BPCE, 2nd largest banking group in France, with over 36 million customers, obtained in 2015 a net income above € 3 billion and equity of 66 billion euros. BICEC also addressed a paragraph of the press release to its customers that it is worthy of their trust.

La Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Épargne et le Crédit (BICEC) was created in 1997 from the ashes of the defunct BICIC. La Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Épargne et le Crédit (BICEC) represents one of the largest banking networks in Cameroon with 39 branches, 340,000 customers in all regions of the country and more than 750 employees.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Victoria: New CDC Board members installed

09/08/2016

The poor performance and fast deteriorating state of the Cameroon Development Corporation has not being any major concern for the regime in Yaounde. However, the new board members appointed recently by President Biya were commissioned today, August 9, 2016, and told to contribute extensively towards the advancement and modernization of the cooperation.

The call came from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henri Eyebe Ayissi. While installing the chosen ones in Victoria, Minister Eyebe Ayissi announced a new program to integrate cassava, corn and beans to sustain the drive.

Former Justice Minister, Benjamin Etoe who now heads the board, was challenged to speed up the development strides of the cooperation. In well-developed economies, the board runs the company but in Cameroon, the general manager has to care tar for the needs of the retired and ageing former loyalists of the regime who regularly constitute the board.

By Cham Victor Bama

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