Business

Residents of Buea and the South West in general now live in constant fear as the busiest road leading to regional headquarters is fast becoming a death trap. When local news reporters visited the affected portion along the infamous Dipanda Hill on the Buea-Mutengene highway on August 18, 2015, huge rocks and mud from the adjacent hill had virtually blocked half of the road. A few days earlier, a transport bus was almost completely destroyed after mud and rocks crashed on the road as the vehicle was descending the steep slope. Even yesterday, August 19, 2015, another landslide occurred at site, cutting off traffic for some time. It took the efforts of some youth from Mutengene to clear the road. 

Many people are asking what the authorities are doing to protect the lives of the people. Being a major gateway into Buea, this road is indispensable to socio-economic activities of the South West Region. Every rainy season, it is the same phenomenon as disaster looms, threatening passing vehicles and pedestrians. One life was lost at the site last year after a similar landslide. Observers say urgent measures are needed to solve the problem. If not, there may be more loss of lives and access to and from Buea totally blocked. In the meantime, the local public transport union has warned members to be cautious while approaching the dangerous spot. Apart from the landslides on the Buea-Mutengene road, Buea still faces frequent deadly accidents between the Police Roundabout and Mile 17 stretch, especially near the GCE Board Junction. Speed brakes are being erected along the street by Buea Council to check the situation, but some residents have already expressed reservations as to their efficiency.

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Ngwa Bertrand

22.Aug.2015

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The construction of a dry port as one of the solutions to the congestion of the Port of Douala (PAD) was decided on Friday, at the end of a tripartite meeting between the Cameroonian customs administration and its counterparts in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad.

The meeting is held in a context marked by the occupation of an important part of the port area by 3,000 containers bound for CAR and Chad, and whose customs clearance formalities were completed several weeks ago. Dry ports will be built in Douala, within the port premises, in Edea (Littoral Region) and in the eastern town of Belabo, at the border with CAR. According to Cameroon’s General Directorate of Customs (DGD), some 3,000 containers are still marooned at the port of Douala, while 400 boats are grounded in the eastern town of Garoua-Boulai for security reasons.

These security concerns are on the Douala-Ndjamena corridor, with incursions by the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram in the far-northern region of Cameroon and in the Lake Chad area, as well as the Douala-Bangui corridor, with acts of violence perpetrated by CAR’s armed groups scouring the western part of the country bordering Cameroon.

As a result, several containers are piled up at the Port of Douala and other towns across the country, while transporters have chosen to go on strike as long as the security concerns are not tackled. At the end of the meeting, the governments of Cameroon, CAR and Chad promised to beef up security, which indicates that the activities could resume by the end of this week, according to participants

Source:AP

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Ngwa Bertrand

22.Aug.2015

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It has been made public that most of the contracts engaged by Camair-co under the successive leadership of Van Elk, Matthijs Boertien and Mbotto Edimo were fake and eventually led to business failure. An investigation carried out by some local media houses in Cameroon on 150 contracts signed by Camair-co general managers found out that more than 70 were fictitious including those related to the hiring of aircrafts and pilots.

Mindful of Article 8 of presidential decree 2006/293 of 11 September 2006 that provided guidelines for the recruitment of pilots, Cameroon Concord has learned that the team headed by Mr. Alex Van Elk recruited pilots with little or no experience. Moreover, some pilots recruited from the migrant community had their contracts signed without consultation with the guardianship of the company. Some of the foreign pilots received training to qualify to fly the Boeing paid for by our national carrier. The case of a Spanish citizen, Eduardo Soria Fairen is quite indicative. He was recruited with no experience and Camair-co spent 18 million FCFA to train him to qualify to pilot the Boeing 767-300 aircraft. 

A sister publication, La Nouvelle Expression reported that while a Cameroonian captain earned around 2.5 million FCFA, the migrant pilots provided by the Park Aviation Limited were paid 5.248 million CFA francs. For nearly three years, Camair-co has paid hush hush money to 14 foreign pilots causing the company nearly 333 946 800 CFA francs lost during all these years. These contracts are professionally inappropriate and costly.

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Ngwa Bertrand

21.Aug.2015

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Oil prices slide to their lowest levels in six and half years on new data showing a surprise rise in US petroleum inventories. European benchmark Brent crude lost $1.65 to $47.16 a barrel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell $1.82 to $40.80. The world has not seen such price levels since the 2009 credit crunch. Despite the weak market, Saudi Arabia boosted its exports. OPEC’s biggest producer is pumping oil at full capacity, leading to a glut in the market. The country exported 7.36 million barrels per day in June, up from 6.93 bpd in May. Saudi Arabia is desperate for new petrodollars amid a budget deficit which is ballooning due to the country’s costly war in Yemen and airstrikes in Syria as well as its lavish spending. 

The new slump in prices came after new data showed US crude stocks had risen 2.6 million barrels to 456.1 million barrels. The rise in US inventories was unexpected since oil supplies typically fall in the spring and summer because refiners process more gasoline to meet driving demand. Market watchers are expecting further price slumps with the end of the summer driving season. "As we go into the next couple of months, crude oil demand is going to decline, which worries the market," Andy Lipow, head of Houston consultancy Lipow Oil Associates, told AFP. "I don't necessarily expect it to go below $40 for a long period of time, but it certainly is poised to do that," he added. Expectations of more weak environment left shares of the world's biggest oil companies battered, with Exxon Mobil, BP, Marathon Oil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips all sliding to their lowest levels in several years.

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Ngwa Bertrand

20.Aug.2015

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Cameroon's economy has gained 0.3 points in growth in 2014 as revealed by the National Statistics Institute. In 2014, the national economy is gaining 0.3 points of growth more than in 2013.  The growth rate is now 5.9% as opposed to the 5.6% in 2013. The recent statistics indicates that the growth is approaching growth objectives set at an average of 6.1. 

Cameroon's economy is driven by domestic demand, which results in final consumption expenditure increased by 5.7% and accelerating investments with 13.6% for the private sector and 7.5 % for the public sector. On the supply side, the tertiary sector recorded a growth of 5.3% in 2014 as against 6.3% growth in 2013. The growth of the secondary sector accelerated to 6.8% in 2014 against 5.7 a year earlier. The primary sector continues to consolidate by displaying an increase of 4.7%, one point higher than in 2013.

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Ngwa Bertrand

20.Aug.2015

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Sales points and websites of operators are increasingly being thronged by customers. Still-to-be-identified subscribers to the Cameroon Telecommunications, Camtel, MTN, Cameroon, Orange Cameroun and Nexttel mobile telephone operators have for some days now been receiving messages inviting them to update their personal details or correct any wrong identification information. The response has been prompt, with subscribers rushing to sales points and websites to renew their identification details.

The operation has been launched separately by mobile telephone operators under the auspices of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, with the Telecommunications Regulatory Board playing the watchdog role. The Camtel office in Yaounde yesterday August 18, 2015, was testimony of the commitment of clients to conform. It was a hustle and bustle affair with staff working tooth and nail to satisfy subscribers. However, measures have been put in place to make sure that the exercise is as fast as possible. A source at Camtel told Cameroon Tribune that all that is required of subscribers are photocopies of National Identity Cards with their signatures and telephone numbers. 

At MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroun and Nexttel, clients whose identification information is not complete, have been informed through Short Message Services, SMS, to update it without delay. The Communication Unit of MTN Cameroon says customers are expected to go to sales points or offices with photocopies of their National Identity Cards. Meanwhile, foreigners are to use serial numbers of their passports and or residence permits, with an indication of their location (place of residence) to have their identification recorded in the database. Customers have also been invited to send the relevant information to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as well. In a press release, Orange Cameroun informed customers to update their identification files or correct any wrong registration information.

The company appealed to customers to dial #198#, visit the web link http://business.orange.cm.identification or reception desks and sales points to submit photocopies of their IDs, passports or residence cards. They will be given identification forms to correct any erroneous data. At the Regional office of Nexttel in the Mfoundi Market in Yaounde, yesterday August 18, 2015, senior officials with those of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, were meeting. The Nexttel Corporate Regulatory Affairs Manager, Hayatou Oumarou, said his company was carrying out the same exercise. He said the aim is to facilitate relations between the company and customers by coming up with a viable, trustworthy and updated database. SMS messages have been sent to clients whose identification information appears faulty. Meanwhile, mobile phone officials have urged customers to hurry up, warning that unconfirmed SIM cards will soon be deactivated.

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Ngwa Bertrand

19.Aug.2015

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