National And International News Roundup – 5th May 2020

President Paul Biya has signed two decrees regarding the structure of the Limbe Autonomous Port. While one approves the statutes of the port, the second reorganises the structure of the port, making the state it’s sole shareholder.

Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor has been summoned by authorities of the University of Buea for setting an examination question on the Anglophone crisis. The hearing that comes up tomorrow follows a call by higher education Minister- Jacques Fame Ndongo who called for the suspension of the lecturer. Barrister Nkongho had vowed to continue his job unless restricted by University authorities.

After close to 300 days behind bars and incommunicado, the American Bar Association (ABA) says Buea based journalist, Samuel Wazizi may soon witness a positive aspect in his case. On Thursday 7th May, the decision in the harbeas corpus filed by his lawyer last year will be pronounced. Wazizi was arrested in August 2019 and accused of partnering with separatist fighters. Media personnel and rights groups say he is not only wrongly accused but was illegally arrested.

The population of Nkambe Sub division says the existence of vigilante group in the town is a necessary evil. The boys sometimes harass innocent people though working hard to limit the activities of separatist fighters.

Ten staff delegates of Douala City council reinstated in their duty posts after three years of dismissal have expressed gratitude to the City Mayor. The workers were dismissed by the former government delegate Dr. Fritz Ntone Ntone in 2017 for asking for the payment of their health allowances.

Soldiers today stormed Bessi village in Batibo, North West region. The forces of law and order, locals say burnt down mortobikes and break into a welder’s shop, carting away some items. The incident that happened on Sunday, residents say is the first military raid they’ve witnessed in about two years.

The ongoing “war” between Prof Maurice Kamto and his Survie Cameroon Survival Initiative (SCSI) and the Cameroon government rages on. Writing to telecommunications company, Orange Cameroun, Minister Atanga Nji Paul has reiterated his call for the network to freeze accounts meant for donations to the initiative. The Minister says because the CRM party failed to procure an authorisation, the party’s approach remains illegal “until MINAT has formally authorised this appeal for public generosity.”

Patients decry high cost of COVID-19 treatment in private clinics in Douala. Treating a COVID-19 patient amounts to 1.2 million francs sometimes far above the reach of most Cameroonians. They are calling on the government to financially assist those receiving treatment in private clinics given that government hospitals are already saturated.

The President of Anecdote Media group has donated the sum of 50.000.000 francs cfa to Archbishop Samuel Kleda .The money from Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga is to encourage the production of more COVID-19 cure to treat Cameroonians.

There are high speculations that several people may have died of COVID-19 in Douala in the past weeks. In a note circulating on social media from the Governor’s office, he is asking the Regional Delegate of forestry and wildlife to make available planks for the production of 100 coffins to burry people who have died of COVID-19.

Amnesty International says at least one person has died from COVID-19 in prison in Cameroon. Asking government to release information on the state of COVID-19 cases in detention facilities nationwide, the rights group says government’s move to decongest prisons was laudable but more still has to be done. Political prisoners and prisoners of conscience should also be released the body says.

A new survey conducted to help governments map out future policies on how to tackle coronavirus has highlighted the dilemmas that they face. Conducted in 20 African countries, the survey found that more than two-thirds of people asked said they would run out of food and water if they had to stay at home for 14 days. Just over half of the respondents said they would run out of money. The research, carried out on behalf of the Africa Centres of Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, shows the difficulties of maintaining strict lockdown policies.

Nigeria says it is revising its budget for the year, after global oil prices plummeted. Africa’s largest economy is predicted to shrink by 3.4% this year. The West African nation is one of the world’s largest oil producers and its economy has suffered from the global fall in oil prices. Initially Nigeria’s 2020 budget forecast oil prices of $57 ($45) a barrel but this will now be revised to less than half that amount.

Companies that should have re-opened when lockdown measures were relaxed on Monday yet remain shut have blamed “unfeasible” conditions set by the government. They’ve been told they must test their own employees for coronavirus before resuming operations, but business leaders say this defies both health and economic logic. Backed by several doctors’ groups, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries says the test kits recommended by the government are not certified by the World Health Organization, are too expensive and don’t give accurate results.

The ruling party of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, in the north of the country, says it will ignore a decision to postpone parliamentary elections, and go ahead with the polls regardless. In a statement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) called on other Ethiopian regions “who believe in self-determination” to do the same. National parliamentary elections planned for August were suspended indefinitely by the electoral commission because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Sudan plans to set up a market to trade gold that will set a standard price in line with global rates for the precious metal. Sudan is the third-biggest producer of gold in Africa behind South Africa and Ghana. In 2018 it produced an estimated 93 tonnes. But for many years gold has been smuggled out of the country, because better prices were available abroad. This is the latest step in the government’s efforts to regulate an industry which promises to be a major contributor to the economy.

At least 25 people in western Liberia who were searching for diamonds have been trapped and are feared dead after a hole that they had dug collapsed, official sources in the area have said. The incident took place in the town of Masakpa, near the border with Sierra Leone. Aaron Vincent, superintendent of Grand Cape Mount county, told the BBC he was rushing to the scene to see for himself. There have been conflicting reports of the number of people involved, with some putting the figure at 50.

A trial is under way in South Africa to test if the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis is also effective against coronavirus – something unproven at the moment. Some 500 health workers are taking part in the study, which has seen 250 of them given the injection, and another 250 given a placebo. Children immunised with BCG tend to suffer less from respiratory illnesses including asthma, Prof Andreas Diacon of Task, the clinical research organisation funding the study, told the AFP news agency.

Thousands of people have been made homeless in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, after a government excavator flattened their tin-sheet houses in the Kariobangi area. The demolition was supervised by armed police officers from Monday dawn. Residents told journalists that they had not been notified to leave.

(Foreign news: BBC)