Phone tax goes operational in Cameroon today. According to the 2019 Finance Law, for each new telephone, modem or tablet purchased in Cameroon from today, the owner will pay 33.05 % tax through mobile phone credit.
There is controversy regarding how the Caneroon government’s actions of recent, might suggest that COVID-19 is now a thing of the past in the country. The government has demolished makeshift COVID-19 treatment centres in Yaounde and Douala. At Mbapelepe and military stadia in Douala and Yaounde, COVID-19 structures have been removed to prepare the pitches ahead of African Football Championship (CHAN).
The Minister of Sports and Physical Education has visited football infrastructures in Limbe and Buea. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, has emphasised on the constant maintainance of the structures.
Women in Buea think the lone electricity company in Cameroon is a major hindrance to education and development in general. They protested in Buea today, calling on authorities to ensure constant electricity supply. Many villages in Buea Sub-Division have gone for over two months without electricity.
The Minister of Secondary Education has visited schools in Douala, stressing on the need to respect COVID-19 measures and distance learning. Pauline Nalova Lyonga, called on parents to make provision for distance learning.
The University of Bamenda like other state universities has kicked off the academic year. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea on his part pointed out areas of the institution and students residential areas, where security needs to be re-enforced. At the University of Douala, orientation of new students is ongoing.
Christian Cardinal Tumi celebrated his 90th birthday today. A grand celebration for the event has been scheduled for October 17th at his former Archdiocese of Douala.
The daughter to Cameroon’s President, Brenda Biya has fired back at members of the Brigade Anti-Sardinard, (BAS) after being harassed in Paris, France. She took to social media explaining that she was simply living a normal life and her father is the president not her. Brenda’s reaction comes after activist, Calibri Calibro tried to have her thrown out of her hotel where she is staying whilst in Paris.
A press dinner organised by Joseph Le, Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reforms has been cancelled. This comes after allegations of fraud in the results for the entrance exam into the National Advanced School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM.
Two men are being detained by the forces of law and order in Matomb, Centre Region. The men believed to be robbers were apprehended earlier today, by elements of the national gendarmerie. One of the suspected bandits was killed during the operation.
Zimbabwe says its annual inflation rate dropped by almost 180% last month, thanks to a stringent programme that included disrupting black market currency trading and cutting government salaries. Despite the improvements, inflation remains above 600%, and food prices continue to rise.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has condemned a recently signed law in Nigeria’s Kaduna state that introduced tough penalties for convicted rapists. The law says males convicted of raping a child under the age of 14 should be surgically castrated and given the death penalty. Female adults convicted of raping a child will face salpingectomy (removal of fallopian tubes) and death. Ms Bachelet said evidence had shown that the certainty of punishment deters crime, rather than its severity.
Uganda’s chief justice has said he bitterly regrets the removal of presidential term limits from the country’s constitution, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo is quoted as saying the body he was part of made a mistake: “I wept for this country [over] the removal of the presidential term limits. That is where we lost it. The mistake we made in the Constituent Assembly was not to entrench, not to make it difficult for anyone to amend the provisions of the term limits.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced plans to create more than 800,000 jobs in the immediate term, as part of the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan following job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1 trillion rand ($60bn; £46bn) has also been pledged in infrastructure investment over the next four years.
Nigeria’s capital Abuja and the surrounding Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has become the latest state to ban protests against the new police unit created to replace the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad, also known as Sars. Rivers state took similar steps days ago. The FCT security committee said protesters had been violating Covid-19 safety measures, including physical distancing and the use of facial coverings.
Tanzania says more helicopters and planes will be deployed from Thursday to put out the fires on Mount Kilimanjaro, which have been raging for five days. Firefighters and volunteers are “struggling”, according to Tourism Minister Hamisi Kigwangalla, as efforts to extinguish the flames have not been completely successful. Progress has been hampered by the presence of strong winds and acres of shrubs and dry grass.
Schools in Uganda have reopened for final year students, seven months after all education institutions in the country were closed as a coronavirus preventive measure. Final year students in higher education institutions are also resuming face-to-face learning. The schools are required to put in place hand-washing and temperature checking facilities, and also ensure that the students maintain physical distance while in class and around the schools.
Foreign news: BBC
