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The Cameroon Government has been urged to speed up the alignment of National Legislation to CEMAC directives on the harmonization of Public Finance in the CEMAC zone. The CEMAC Commissioner, Paul Tasong was speaking during a meeting to assess the ground covered so far by Cameroon in adapting the country’s financial laws to CEMAC directives and identify the pitfall and find a way forward. The three directives adopted in 2011 were aimed at promoting modern and efficient management of public finances and improve the comparability of financial data within the sub region.

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Ngwa Bertrand

27.Feb.2016

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The polls closed in Iran’s parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at 23:45 local time (2015 GMT) on Friday after voting was extended several times due to a massive voter turnout. Some 55 million Iranians were eligible to vote in the two elections. The process of counting ballots is already underway. Iran’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the election staff at each polling station should first count the ballots related to the Assembly of Experts poll and then do the same for the parliamentary election.  

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli said results would be announced Saturday. He had earlier said that turnout was estimated to be around 70 percent based on opinion polls. As many as 4,844 candidates, including about 500 women, were competing for a place in the 290-seat Parliament. A total of 159 others were running for the 88-member Assembly of Experts. Members of the Assembly serve eight-year terms while MPs are elected every four years.

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Elangwe Pauline

27.Feb.2016

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Prime Minister Philemon Yang has chaired the February session of the cabinet meeting focusing on the performance in the management of Public establishment; State owned Corporations, and Public Private Partnership in the country. The meeting that held at the Star Building on the 25th of February 2016 provided an opportunity for the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Finance in Charge of the Budget, Hon. Paul Elung Che to present the situation of the performance of Public Entreprises and proposed measures for a better performance of the sector. The Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Economy Planning and Regional Development Yaouba Abdulai for his part presented an update of the implementation of the planning contract signed between the state public administrative entities.

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Ngwa Bertrand

26.Feb.2016

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US President Barack Obama has once again renewed his call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, saying there is no alternative to his removal. He also called on Russia and the Syrian government to honor a negotiated ceasefire in the war-torn country, warning Moscow and Damascus that the "world will be watching." Obama made the remarks after holding a rare meeting with his national security team at the State Department on Thursday, a day before the cessation of hostilities was due to come into force.The ceasefire for Syria is set to take effect at midnight Friday local time. He was flanked by Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other top advisers, who updated him on the years-old Syrian crisis. Obama said militants in Syria will never stop fighting until Assad is ousted from power. "It's the only way to end the civil war and unite the Syrian people against terrorists," he claimed. 

The cessation of hostilities was announced earlier this week after negotiations between Russia and the US, both of which have been engaged in airstrikes in the Arab country. Obama said Assad should step down if a lasting peace is to be found in Syria. "This is going to be a test of whether the parties are truly committed to negotiations," he said. "It's clear that after years of his barbaric war against his own people -- including torture, and barrel bombs, and sieges, and starvation -- many Syrians will never stop fighting until Assad is out of power. There's no alternative to a managed transition away from Assad," he argued. Obama said "the coming days will be critical" in finding whether there is a way to end the five-year-long deadly conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and displaced millions more. “None of us are under any illusions,” Obama said. “We’re all aware of the many potential pitfalls, and there are plenty of reasons for skepticism.” "But history would judge us harshly if we did not do our part in at least trying to end this terrible conflict with diplomacy,” he added.

In an interview with Press TV on Thursday, American political analyst Daniel Patrick Welch said regime change has always remained America’s only objective in Syria. Welch said Washington has never had such a thing as Plan B and the alternatives they are speaking of now have always been the primary objectives they have been following in Syria. “This idea of Plan B is kind of a scam; it has always been Plan A to topple the legitimate government and replace it with something weaker and something more compliant be it a failed state, a puppet regime or this division into sectarian mini states, instead of the legitimate elected government,” he explained. US Secretary of State John Kerry had warned that if the Syrian ceasefire deal that the US and Russia agreed to on Monday falters, Washington will resort to its Plan B options.

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Elangwe Pauline

26.Feb.2016

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The president of the Supreme Court of Cameroon has said that judicial errors and stalled proceedings are there two evils that have plagued the functioning of the Cameroonian justice system and must be eradicated. The head of the judiciary made the declaration on February 23, 2016 in a ceremony attended by cabinet members including the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Philemon Yang. Another speaker who lampooned the Cameroonian legal system was the Attorney General of that body, Luc Ndjodo.

Justice Luc Ndjodo told the CPDM cabinet that based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every citizen was entitled to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal in the determination of his rights and obligations or of the merits of any criminal charge against him. The heads of the Cameroon judiciary also castigated some lawyers lacking in legal finesse observing that they do not even master court proceedings.

Daniel Mekobe Sone added that to limit these errors of often serious consequences, better training should be accorded magistrates and greater independence from the influence and intervention from the CPDM government.

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Ngwa Bertrand

25.Feb.2016

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Chad's opposition held a nationwide shutdown Wednesday in protest against President Idriss Deby Itno’s bid for a fifth term in office. A large number of shops and schools remained closed, and traffic stayed off the streets in the capital, N'Djamena, and several other cities. The strike action was called under the slogan, “That's enough,” by several opposition groups who oppose the bid. "That's enough" opposition grouping is made up of scores of civil society groups, the Chadian Human Rights League and the Union of Chadian Trade Unions. 

Meanwhile, Mahamat Nour Ibedou, a spokesman for the opposition, said the cities of Abeche in the east, Sarh in the south and central Mongo were also locked down. "This shows people have realized they can exercise their democratic rights," Ibedou said, adding, "It also highlights that people are fed up, it's proof they reject Deby's candidacy" for president." Chad's second-biggest city, Moundou, also observed complete shutdown from the morning to lunchtime, with a resident saying, "Not even the motorbike taxis are running." Banks and private companies reportedly remained open for business along with some ministries in N'Djamena and elsewhere. President Deby, who has been in office for two and a half decades, is running for re-election on April 10.

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Elangwe Pauline

25.Feb.2016

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