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President Biya has ordered construction work to begin in the coming months of a second deep sea port in Limbe, Cameroon Concord has gathered from reliable government sources in Yaoundé the nation’s capital. Our source hinted that after the Kribi port project in the South of the country, the government wants to endow Cameroon with a second deepwater port. It will be located 20 kilometres from the district of Limbe, Fako division, South West region of the country.

A reliable but very flippant source at the Ministry of Economy and Regional Planning told our chief economic reporter that the total cost of financing the Limbe port project is estimated at 602 million US dollars.  A Confirmation of the launch in the coming months of construction work at the Limbe port was made on January 15 in Yaoundé following proposals from Cameroon’s Korean partners that the Korean government is ready to begin construction of a multifunctional floating pier capable of accommodating ships of 20,000 tons at an estimated cost of US $ 35 million.

The Limbe port project has received proper consideration from Cameroon government officials following findings that the Douala port often faces water logging and silting.  The project is expected to create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. According to other sources, the payment of compensation to the affected population will be in the coming days. The project is integral with the Cameroon Development Vision 2035, which aims to make the country a hub port in the sub-region and the first industrial and modern area of free trade in West Africa.

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Ngwa Bertrand

18.Jan.2015

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Following the first appearance of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lazare Essimi Menye at the special criminal court on Tuesday the 13^th of January 2015, Cameroon Concord has gathered that thirty Cameroonian investors received loans valued at several hundred millions without refund- among them some with international partners. The special criminal court developed curiosity on why Alamine Ousmane Mey, the current Minister of Finance did not pursue the securitization undertaken by his predecessor Lazare Essimi Menye between the state of Cameroon and Cameroon Atlantic Bank.

Cameroon Atlantic Bank was engaged in the restructuring process of Amity Bank Cameroon PLC in a Memorandum of Understanding in Douala on the 10th of January 2008, approved by Ministerial Order 0000043 / Minfi of 19 September 2008, after due notice of the Banking Commission of Central Africa (COBAC). In this case Minister Lazare Essimi Menye is the only one to have been heard by investigators at the special criminal court. The matter that promises twists and spreads has already rocked the Cameroonian business community in Douala as many prominent businessmen are suspected of being involved in the case of 9 billion Fcfa in Amity Bank.

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Ngwa Bertrand

17.Jan.2015

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According to the Cameroonian Minister of Employment and Professional Training, Zacharie Perevet, 350,000 jobs will be created in that country in 2015. Specifically, the government is discussing a major contribution to primary, secondary and tertiary sectors which are expected to gain approximately 200,000 new jobs.

At the same time, 60,000 jobs are projected within the framework of financed projects in the public investment budget. This totals the investment at 1.15 trillion FCFA this year with 50,000 government jobs. Another 40,000 jobs are also expected via major on-going projects.

In 2014, the Cameroonian government had announced the creation of 250,000 jobs. According to Head of State, Paul Biya in his December 31, 2014 address to the nation, this target has been surpassed by 30,500 jobs as a total of 283,443 jobs were created in 2014.

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Ngwa Bertrand

17.Jan.2015

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Lazare Essimi Menye, former Minister of Finance and Cameroon's current Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was interrogated on Tuesday the 13^th of January at the Special Criminal Court in Yaoundé. Cameroon Concord understands the investigators of the Special Criminal Court held Minister Essimi Menye for a very long session for alleged misappropriation of 9 billion FCFA, as part of the Amity Bank case.  The indictment states that the Agriculture Minister allegedly abused his position and participated in the diversion of 9.025 billion FCFA from Amity Bank Cameroon which was experiencing liquidity problems in 2006.

Lazare Essimi Menye following his appointment in 2008 to the Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding for the transfer of 9.025 billion Cfa on behalf of Amity Bank without consulting the shareholders of the Bank who were predominantly Anglophones. It is for this matter that the former Cameroon Minister of Finance was summoned before the Special Criminal Tribunal.

It is vital to state in this report that we of this publication think the Prime Minister and Head of Government Philemon Yang should order all cabinet ministers facing allegations of corruption to step down from their positions of responsibility. A ministerial cabinet is not a museum for fraudsters.

 

 

 

 

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Ngwa Bertrand

15.Jan.2015

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Polycarpe Abah Abah, former Cameroon Minister of the Economy and Finance was sentenced Tuesday in Yaoundé by the Special Criminal Court. As part of the case that involved French lawyer Lydian Eyoum, Polycarpe Abah Abah was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The verdict also included the seizure of 29 buildings, 9 luxury vehicles and the frozen of 8 bank accounts as part of the indictments with Land Bank.

The Abah Abah trial which lasted longer than expected into the early hours of Wednesday January 14, 2015, had already lasted several years. It is alleged that the former CPDM Minster of Finance stole 6.8 billion CFA francs when he was director of taxes. The co-accused another former Minister of Finance and former CEO of Crédit Foncier Bank Joseph Edou is presently incarcerated at the Secretariat for defence where he is serving a 40 year prison term since July 2008.  Another party to the crime syndicate Manga Pascal, former head of research at the Directorate of Taxation was sentenced to life.

Evina Sylvie Chantal, Mewoulou Oyono and Chantal Eloumba were all acquitted for lack of evidence. It is alleged that former Minister Abah Abah embezzled 6.8 billion CFA francs between 2000 and 2004. Polycarpe Abah Abah, at the material time was the Director of Taxation.

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Ngwa Bertrand

14.Jan.2015

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Facebook has begun placing warnings over videos posted to its site, stating their contents might "shock, offend and upset" if viewed.

The alerts prevent the videos from automatically playing in feeds unless they are clicked, unlike other clips.

The site is also preventing graphic videos and photos from being shown to any user who has identified themself as being under 18 years old.

It follows pressure for the move from its own safety advisers.

But one psychologist said the measure still did not do enough to protect young, vulnerable members of the social network.

Among the first posts to be affected are uploaded files containing video footage of policeman Ahmed Merabet being shot dead in Paris by a terrorist involved in last week's Charlie Hebdo attacks.

Murder videos

Facebook has faced repeated criticism over recent years for allowing violent and graphic images that it deems to be of public interest or concern to remain on its pages.

The US firm's guidelines ban material "shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate or glorify violence".

However, it allows news reports and other documentary images depicting beheadings and other types of murder to remain online despite the potential for distress.

The firm permits children as young as 13 years old to be members. But some even younger children circumvent this age limit by providing false details when joining up.

Last August, controversy over images showing people's heads placed on spikes in Syria prompted the Family Online Safety Institute (Fosi) - a member of Facebook's safety advisory board - to demand the social network change its practices.

Stephen Balkam, the charity's chief executive, told the BBC he wanted cover pages to be placed over graphic material to prevent people from seeing distressing images without warning, and an age-gate system implemented to make it harder for under-18s to find the material.

Work in progress

Facebook has now confirmed it began rolling out such a scheme in December. It applies to graphic material reported to the firm by its users that is judged to have been posted in an irresponsible manner.

"When people share things on Facebook, we expect that they will share it responsibly, including choosing who will see that content," a spokeswoman told the BBC.

"We also ask that people warn their audience about what they are about to see if it includes graphic violence.

"In instances when people report graphic content to us that should include warnings or is not appropriate for people under the age of 18, we may add a warning for adults and prevent young people from viewing the content."

The spokeswoman added that the firm's engineers were still looking to further improve the scheme.

She said this might include adding warnings to relevant YouTube videos, which is not currently possible, as well as placing alerts over distressing photographs that were still available to adults.

Mr Balkam said he was "delighted" by Facebook's move.

"I also think that it has walked a very fine line between protection of users and protection of free expression, and I think it has got it just about right," he added.

Facebook had briefly experimented with adding a more basic form of warning sign to clips of decapitations in October 2013 after Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It's irresponsible of Facebook to post beheading videos, especially without a warning."

Clips showing decapitations taking place were later banned altogether.

'Good step'

News of the social network's latest move was welcomed by Childnet International, a London-based charity that is another member of Facebook's safety advisory panel.

"It's a good step to try and help protect people from this content, and we are glad that there is 18 age-gating," said the organisation's chief executive Will Gardner.

"There always has to be the recognition that people don't always sign up with their accurate age, and we have to be aware of that. But it's important that there are steps taken to protect people from seeing harmful and disturbing content that they don't want to see."

However, Dr Arthur Cassidy - a psychologist who runs a branch of the Yellow Ribbon Program suicide-prevention charity - said Facebook should implement an outright ban on clips and pictures of extreme violence.

He noted that large numbers of children used the service and said it was likely that many would try to work around the new restrictions.

"At the end of the day warning messages will not prevent young people from seeing upsetting and psychologically damaging material," he said.

"We know if we say, 'Do not do it,' that they will still do it - they will want to look and view material, irrespective of how grotesque it is.

"And it has the potential to influence maladaptive behaviour in those who might have the potential to become aggressors themselves."

(BBC)

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Ngwa Bertrand

13.Jan.2015

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