Camair-Co and its many new recovering plans: Biya should listen to Mefiro Oumarou
The political tussle currently going on between transport minister, Edgar Alain Mebo Ngoo and the Chairman of the national airlines company Camair-Co, Mefiro Oumarou has taken a new dimension that will require the intervention of the head of state.
A Board of Directors meeting that held on August 22, 2016, installed a new management team to run the Cameroon Airlines Corporation (Camair-Co). Ernest Dikoum was appointed general manager and Mefiro Oumarou presently serving as deputy minister of transport was made Chairman of the Board of the national airline.
President Biya reportedly gave a roadmap to the new duo to implement the recovery plan designed by Boeing Consulting to help restructure the company whose debts has amounted to some 35 billion FCFA. Cameroon Intelligence Report has gathered that Mefiro Oumarou, the new board chairman aims to establish new actions against that proposed by Boeing Consulting and validated by President Biya and by extrapolation, Minister Edgar Alain Mebo Ngoo.
Our chief economic affairs correspondent in Douala opined that Mefiro Oumarou seems to have the right way forward for Camair-Co. The American manufacturer Boeing had advocated among other solutions to revive the national airline company, the purchase of nine new aircraft between 2019 and 2020 in addition to the five existing planes.
Camair-Co board chairman, Mefiro Oumarou has made it public to the minister of transport and the head of state that, “We do not restructure a business by buying cars. I think you first put the structure in place. You define how you will go about to deliver quality services. It is from there that you say what kind of vehicle can be adapted to the type of service you want to offer.”
However, the controversy is all about legitimate authority as President Biya had validated the Boeing report halfway through that necessitated the release of 60 billion CFA francs. Biya’s action according to Mefiro Oumarou is not a business plan but a kind of stimulus injection into Camair-Co.
Since Mefiro Oumarou is not a Beti-Ewondo highly placed government official! He is however, a Francophone. So, Biya should at least listen to him. A stitch in time saves nine
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
CPDM propaganda continues in Yaounde as Public Health Minister showers praises on President Biya over the Rigobert Song health situation
Andre Mama Fouda,the Minister of Public Health has reportedly brought the name of President Biya into the Rigobert Song health situation. Song Suffered a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) on October 2, 2016 in Yaoundé, and the former footballer was evacuated on October 4th in a medical plane to the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris to continue his treatment.
Minister Mama Fouda who was flanked by Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma in a press briefing at the Yaounde Emergency Center (CURY) when the ambulance to transport Song from the Nsimalen airport arrived from Paris observed that, “Rigobert Song had a stroke and was taken to CURY. Physicians at CURY have done the right thing for him to continue his treatment in Paris at the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital, I would say thank you to the head of state President Paul Biya who gave instructions to the government to initiate all necessary steps for the Rigobert Song support to not only be very effective, but quick. “
Minister Mama Fouda added that “Rigobert Song is not out of danger yet, but he will continue treatment in France.” He spent all his time only praising the head of state for his personal involvement in the matter. Andre Mama Fouda in just one sentence did acknowledge the work of the medical staff at the emergency centre.
By Rita Akana
The Rigobert Song Hospital Photos: Should Yaounde prosecutors investigate the incident?
Cameroonians have demonstrated some questionable judgments before, but many around the world now think the recent publication of photos of Rigobert Song, former skipper of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon by Cameroonians on social media as he was being resuscitated in a Yaounde hospital outdid the integrity of our hospitals, its staff and our nation.
In an apparent attempt to connect with his fans all over the world, some Cameroonians released intimate photos of the African football legend as he laid in a coma on his sick bed in Yaounde. Some of Rigobert Song’s fans requested prayers via those photos, but some also screamed, concerned that our hospital authorities should not have allowed anyone including family members to take photos of a patient in such pathetic condition.
The incident has been roundly condemned all over the world but no apologies or statement has so far been issued by the Emergency Centre in Yaounde. Cameroonians publish regularly photos of even dead relatives taken inside mortuaries on Face Book. The AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE thinks, this on Rigobert Song was alarmingly irresponsible behaviour and pretty careless to say the least. Journalism has rules!! So too is the social media.
In this edition of the AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE, we are asking our readers if Yaounde prosecutors should investigate the incident.
Boko Haram Women: Cooking, Cleaning and Fighting!!
Female members of Boko Haram are almost as likely as men to be deployed as fighters in north-east Nigeria, challenging a widespread perception they are mainly used as cooks, sex slaves and suicide bombers, researchers said on Monday. While men in the Islamist group dominate in leadership and training roles, women may outnumber them in other senior roles, such as recruiters and intelligence operatives, according to a report based on interviews with 119 former Boko Haram members.
Four in 10 female respondents said they served as soldiers – compared with 45% of men – while both sexes carried out domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning, the report found. “Recruiters are adapting to the tightening security environment,” said Mahdi Abdile, director of research at Finn Church Aid and co-author of the study, adding women and girls are increasingly being targeted for recruitment. “The intelligence community is on the lookout for young men, so it is easier for women to navigate past security barriers and penetrate communities,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Boko Haram has killed about 15,000 people and displaced more than two million in Nigeria in a seven-year insurgency to carve out an Islamist caliphate, and it still launches attacks despite having been driven out of much of the territory it held in 2014. The Islamists have stepped up suicide bombings carried out by children in recent years, many of them carried out by girls, according to the UN children’s agency (UNICEF).
While there has been a global focus on these female suicide bombers, women in Boko Haram have long been involved in planning logistics, planting mines and bombs, and fighting as soldiers, said Vincent Foucher of the International Crisis Group (ICG). The report also found that six in 10 of the former militants – currently undergoing rehabilitation programmes – were introduced to Boko Haram by friends and relatives, while only a quarter learnt about the group at mosques or Islamic schools.
“Mosques and madrasas (Islamic schools) used to be the place to get new recruits … now they are under the spotlight,” said Abdile, adding that this shift in strategy represented a challenge for anti-terror and radicalisation efforts in Nigeria. Religious beliefs, poverty, a lack of education and work, and opportunities offered by Boko Haram were cited by the former militants as the main reasons for joining the Islamist group.
Boko Haram has lured young entrepreneurs and business owners to join them by providing or promising capital and loans to boost their businesses, Mercy Corps said in April. The report was carried out by Finn Church Aid, The International Dialogue Centre, The Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and the Citizen Research Centre.
Reuters
Russia deploys the S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Syria
Moscow says it has deployed the S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Syria in a bid to defend Russia’s naval base and vessels.
“Indeed, the Syrian Arab Republic received an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. This system is designed to ensure the safety of the naval base in [the Syrian city of] Tartus and ships located in the coastal area,” Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The statement came hours after Fox News quoted three US officials as saying that Russia had sent the S-300 systems to Syria at the weekend in its first foreign deployment of such system outside its borders. The officials claimed that Moscow “continues to ramp up its military operations in Syria.” Referring to the report, Konashenkov said, “It is unclear why the deployment of the S-300 caused such alarm among our Western partners.”
He further assured that the S-300 missile system is purely for defensive purposes and poses no threat. Last November, Russia deployed its newest S-400 missile system to Hmeimim Air Base in Syria as part of a security boost following the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey in Syria.
On Monday, US State Department spokesman, John Kirby, announced that Washington was suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Moscow that were established to maintain a truce in Syria. The announcement came two weeks after the latest US-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria came to an end following a week after Damascus’ refusal to extend the deal as a result of deadly US-led air raids on its military base near the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr in violation of the agreement.
Russia hopes political wisdom prevails in Washington over Syria
In another development on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, expressed hope that “political wisdom” would prevail in Washington regarding cooperation on Syria.
Peskov further noted that Washington’s suspension of the talks did not mean “Russia will renounce its plans to assist Syria’s armed forces in the fight against terrorism.”
Also on Tuesday, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara will make a proposal to revive the Syrian ceasefire deal.
He added that Erdogan may discuss the issue over the phone with US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Since March 2011, Syria has been hit by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. Moscow and Washington support opposing sides in the crisis.
Presstv
US based Cameroonian artist, Goddy Shake who dedicated hit song to Alex Song dies aged 41
Godlove Awasom known artistically as Goddy Shake, passed away on September 30th, 2016 in Savannah, Georgia. The US based Cameroonian musician returned from his daily routine on Halloween night in 2014 and after a happy hour with his pregnant wife and two kids, the son of the late Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon became restless and had difficulties breathing. The wife called the emergency 911 service and Godlove was rushed to the hospital where he was later diagnosed with brain aneurysm.
He has been in hospital since then stable but unconscious. The Cameroonian community and his fans all over the world have been hopeful, prayerful and anxiously waiting for a miracle. On September the 30th, 2016, his fans got the answer. Goddy Shake had passed to eternity. Born on the 23rd of February 1975 in Kumba, Goddy Shake was raised up in Buea where he developed interest in music and had a mastery of the Douala language through the teachings of the Protestant Church.
Goddy was known throughout the ten regions of Cameroon and even beyond. He migrated to the USA where he recorded great success releasing Diboa La Ndolo, More Brighter Days and Money Palaver with the great Emile Kangue. He dedicated one of his greatest hit songs, Keka to popular Cameroon international footballer, Alex Song and Bye Bye Daddy to his late Dad, Moderator Awasom. Goddy leaves behind his beautiful wife, Marceline Awasom, and three kids-the last one which he never set eyes on. Bye Bye Goddy.
Hillary Clinton says Trump has a weird fascination with dictators
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has accused his Republican rival Donald Trump of having a “weird fascination with dictators.” Speaking at a rally in Akron, Ohio, on Monday night, Clinton bashed Trump over his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He gets confused between leadership and dictatorship. He has a hard time remembering who our friends are and who are adversaries are. He has a weird fascination with dictators like Vladimir Putin,” she told her supporters.
Clinton said Trump “basically signs up for Putin’s wish list,” echoing the Democratic claim that, if elected, the New York businessman will bow to Moscow’s will.
“We have a lot of people living in this part of Ohio who, either themselves, their parents, or grandparents, came from countries that were under the yoke of oppression. And we are never going to let that happen again,” the former secretary of state said, while taking an indirect swipe at Russia.
Trump has long been accused by his opponents of, as The New York Times puts it, having a “crush” on Putin, an idea that gained more traction after he praised the Russian leader on several occasions during the primary race.
Presstv
Exposed: Biya’s absence led to the cancellation of the holding of the 4th Congress of the CPDM party.
The 4th Congress of the ruling Cameroon People Democratic Movement, CPDM that was announced for September 2016 did not take place due to the absence of its national chairman President Paul Biya. Cameroon Intelligence Report learned from highly placed government sources that after taking part in the 71st Regular Session of the UN General Assembly that held in New York, President Biya did not return home. His absence led to the cancellation of the holding of the 4th Congress of the CPDM party.
The Minister of Labour and Social Insurance who also is the Deputy Secretary General of the Central Committee of the ruling CPDM, Gregoire Owona has recently been dabbling to defend the chaotic situation that has rocked the party. Holding the congress after September is now unlawful as the national chairman has exceeded his five year term. The mandate of the head of state is now obsolete and Eloi Bidoung, CPDM deputy mayor for Yaoundé VI has indicated his willingness to run for the party presidency in the next congress.
Paul Biya was re-elected head of the party at the last congress held on the 15th and 16th of September 2011. The party also hinted of a possible renewal of leadership in the political bureau including leaders of the women and youth wings of the party.
By Rita Akana