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Tensions are brewing in eastern Cameroon between residents and small-scale Chinese gold miners who began setting up camp there six years ago. Local miners say the Chinese have taken away their livelihoods and are not living up to promises to develop the area.
 
Local miners began extracting gold around Betare Oya in 2007. Three years later, the Chinese arrived.
 
Miner Emmanuel Manga says he couldn’t compete and had to become a commercial moto driver. He says he now makes barely $60 a month, a quarter of what he used to earn.  
 
He says Cameroon should not allow Chinese to go so far as digging in their gold fields or hiring laborers for very little wages to dig. He says it has made them poor.
 
About 300 Chinese miners are now working in the area, far more than the 100 authorized by Cameroonian authorities.  

The Chinese miners use Caterpillar tractors and equipment that clean stones and sift soil allowing them to detect gold faster than locals who use manual tools.

Angry locals have responded by slashing tires, vandalizing equipment and even beating some Chinese miners.  Dozens of the Chinese have fled for safety to neighboring towns and only visit to oversee their businesses.
 
Broken promises

Adamou Assamou, the traditional ruler of the locality, says locals have not seen any sign of the development they were promised.
 
He says they were told by their local authorities that all Chinese gold miners had to buy pieces of land and construct beautiful houses in their villages but, he adds, that has not happened. He says the Chinese have instead built temporary camps near their mining areas and they don’t close the open pits they dig when they are finished. He says they only see Chinese miners in town when they come to buy food.

Locals say the gold exploitation also leaves polluted holes and destroys vegetation and animal habitats.

But Chinese gold miner Chris Ho says his company, which is operating with a temporary permit, has provided roads, generators and safe drinking water.

"We have built a lot of houses, I guess a lot of things. A lot of [Chinese]

already come here. They have brought a lot of things and they are changing the lives of the local people because Chinese and Cameroonians are just like together and we understand each other better," Ho says.

Ghana, one of the world’s top gold producing countries, has experienced similar tensions. In 2013, the government cracked down, arresting illegal foreign miners and ultimately deporting thousands of Chinese nationals.

Crackdown urged

Economic analyst Emmanuel Mihamle says Cameroon could crack down as well, despite its longstanding ties to China.
 
Mihamle says since independence in 1960, China has built roads, hospitals, schools and hydroelectric dams and, in return, he says Cameroon has allowed Chinese companies to exploit and export natural resources like gold, rubber, diamonds and wood but he adds that the understanding is that these activities should be mutually beneficial.
 
In 2014, the government cracked down on what it said was the illegal export of gold and diamonds, and suspended some foreign mining contracts.

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Elangwe Pauline

11.Mar.2016

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Call box operators in Yaounde have for the past three days been protesting against unfair treatment received from Cameroon's mobile telephone companies. The Yaounde offices of MTN, Orange and Nexttel were crowded earlier today by striking businessmen and women carrying placards with messages stating their demands. 

Blowing whistles and shouting at the top of their voices, the call box business community obstructed the flow of traffic along major roads in Yaounde. The call box operators were asking for better working conditions and higher profits. Some of their grievances included:

- The freedom to buy credit from any sales point

- The improvement in credit transfer procedures

- A more speedy credit transfer notification.

- An increase in profit margin

- A more honest partnership between service providers and mobile telephone companies.

The callbox operators also expressed frustration over being sidelined by the many low-cost options proposed directly to consumers by the mobile operators. These service providers are determined to carry on with the strike until concrete solutions are provided. Competent authorities are currently working on a crisis meeting to listen and propose solutions to the demands of the striking operators.

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CRTV

09.Mar.2016

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Samuel Ngando Mbongue, the manager in charge of the accounting department of the International Bank for Trade, Savings and Credit Cameroon (BICEC) has been declared missing by the bank ever since February 29, 2016. Cameroon Concord Intelligence Unit is yet to confirm the details of this developing story in the Cameroon banking sector.

However, what we do know is that an internal audit recently discovered a series of inconsistencies in the accounts of the bank that prompted Samuel Ngando Mbongue to abandoned his job. He has not been seen since February the 29th. 

The management of BICEC Cameroun has accused him of embezzling over three billion FCFA. BICEC sources also say he fraudulently acquired huge assets throughout the national territory. At the time of filing this report, people on the know opined that there was more to it than what BICEC was saying.

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Ebong Peter

07.Mar.2016

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Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani, who was facing charges of economic corruption among others, has been given a death sentence. Iran’s Judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, said on Sunday that the court of first instance has issued the verdict for Zanjani and two other defendants.

Zanjani faced several counts of charges including "corruption on earth," which carries the death penalty under Iran's Islamic Penal Code. He has also been charged with massive fraud at Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum, Social Security Organization and Bank Maskan (specializing in housing finance), money laundering and forgery. 

Zanjani was arrested on December 30, 2013 after 12 Iranian lawmakers accused him of corruption, calling for an inquiry into his financial activities in a letter to the heads of three branches of the Iranian government.

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Presstv

06.Mar.2016

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The Consul-General of Cameroon in Lagos, Nigeria, Dr Paul Ekorong a Dong, on Thursday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to give waivers for more Cameroonian products to be in Nigerian markets. Ekorong a Dong said in Lagos that Cameroon had over the years been approaching the Nigerian government to allow more Cameroonian products into the Nigerian markets. Cameroonian products namely wood, soap, oil, chocolate and cocoa are prohibited to be exported into Nigeria by the Nigerian Government.The consul-general said the current trade relation between both countries was more favourable to Nigeria as there are more Nigerian products in Cameroon.

Ekorong a Dong expressed optimism that the waivers would enhance win-win trade cooperation between both countries. The envoy said that within the last four years, Nigeria had become Cameroon’s world largest economic partner followed by France. “Since our independence, France had always been our world largest economic partner, but today, Nigeria has taken over from France. “This is an indication of the level of trade and vitality of relations going on between Nigeria and Cameroon,’’ he said.

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Rita Akana

04.Mar.2016

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Several U.S. technology giants have formally backed Apple in its high-profile legal battle with the FBI over whether the company must weaken the security features of an iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino terrorist attackers.

Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo were among the companies that filed a joint legal brief Thursday in support of their competitor, the California-based Apple.

"If the government arguments prevail, the Internet ecosystem will be weakened, leaving Internet users more vulnerable to hackers and other bad actors," the statement said.

The FBI has asked Apple to write new software that would help unlock the iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, last December. 

Apple refused the request, saying it cannot be asked to hack one of its own devices. The company says the creation of a "backdoor" could endanger a wide array of devices while raising privacy concerns.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Wednesday he opposes "a single technical approach" as a solution to the complex legal battle.

"I don't think we ought to let one case drive a general conclusion or solution," Carter said in remarks at a San Francisco tech event. "We have to work together to work our way out through this problem." 

Carter also warned that legislation written by Congress to deal with the issue "may be written in an atmosphere of anger and grief" and it may not contain the necessary understanding of current security technology to create an effective law.

Apple filed a formal objection to a federal order to assist the FBI on March 2.

On Thursday, six relatives of victims of the San Bernardino attack filed their own legal brief in support of the U.S. Justice Department.

"One does not enjoy the privacy to commit a crime," the statement said.

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Rita Akana

04.Mar.2016

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