National and International News Roundup: Wednesday 29 January 2020

The electricity distribution company in Cameroon, ENEO says it is unable to replace several broken electric poles in towns and cities of the country due to the Anglophone crisis. The anglophone crisis, according to ENEO, has hampered the exploitation of electric poles in the North West region, where they are harvested.

Elections Cameroon, ELECAM has released stringent rules regarding the observation of polling stations during the upcoming municipal and legislative elections. Following a release from the Director-General of Elections at ELECAM, polling stations shall only be controlled by a single commission, headed by a President, who will be appointed by ELECAM.

There is a stable electricity supply in Douala this evening, Thursday, January 29,2020, after weeks of epileptic supply. This steady supply comes after inhabitants of Bepanda Safari in Douala V subdivision, went protesting in the early hours of the day, against frequent lights seizure. Observers think the steady supply is linked to the protests.

A close aid of Lamido Bakari Bouba of Diamare Division, Far North region, has been sacked for cross carpeting from the CPDM to the National Salvation Front NSF party. He was sacked from his position as an employee of the Lamidate by Lamido Bouba Bakari. Reacting to the incident, the NSF militant said the Lamido is being manipulated by a top CPDM official in the Diamare

Issa Tchiroma Bakary is confident that his NSF party will grab the four legislative, and three municipal seats in the Mayor Louti Division, North Region of Cameroon. Speaking during a campaign rally in Mayo Louti Division, the Minister and candidate for the parliamentary elections said they have received positive signals from the local population.

The Secretary of State in the Ministry of Basic Education, Dr Asheri Kilo has visited her hometown for campaigns ahead of the February 9 elections. In a video on social media, Dr Asheri in the company of other ladies is seen celebrating the success of their mission, adding that it’s necessary to stay together to achieve peace. She was one of many CPDM elites that showed up in Kumbo in the North West region yesterday in armoured cars and heavy security detail.

Ahead of the February 9, 2020, municipal and legislative elections, the Chief of the Defence Staff is in the Far North, one of Cameroon’s ten regions experiencing attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist sect. René Claude Meka’s presence up North is intended to encourage the fighting troops and maintain peace and order ahead of the polls.

Finance Minister, Louis Paul Motaze and the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, Achille Bassilekin III have co-presided over the signing ceremony of financing agreements between the European investment bank, the Commercial Bank of Cameroon, and Pro-Pme financement SA. This was in Douala at the Rabingha de Bonanjo hotel today.

The Minister of Sports and Physical Education, President of the Local Organizing Committee for the 2021 AFCON today visited the construction site of the Yaoundé – Olembe stadium designated to host the competition in 12 months. His visit comes two months after having reassigned the construction contract to Magil taking it away from Italian group Piccini.

Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute is expected in Bertoua in the East region this weekend. Like other members of government, he will be campaigning in favour of CPDM candidates partaking in the legislative and municipal elections.

FCFA 850 million is the amount allocated by the government as 1st instalment campaign funds being distributed to political parties running for the February 9 elections.  The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji in a press conference in Yaoundé today said pre-election petitions at the court caused the delay in the distribution of the funds.

On February 9, 2020, political parties running for the local elections will each be represented at polling stations by two representatives in a move aimed at improving transparency. Elections Cameroon’s decision is in response to demands made by political parties arguing that a single party representative in polling was not enough.

The Secretary-General of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement says separatist fighters and Ambazonians in the diaspora have been deceiving most North Westerners. Speaking today in Bamenda, Jean Nkuete says people should not be deceived again but should vote for the CPDM party.

Dr Nick Ngwayam has expressed doubts over Cameroon’s capability to properly handle an epidemic like that of coronavirus. The medical doctor laments that Cameroon’s administration has shown a lot of weaknesses in handling cholera, malaria and other diseases.

A natural green turf will be planted at the Olembe stadium in Yaoundé from the month of April 2020. Magil, a Canadian construction company in charge of the work confirmed that today to the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcise Mouelle Kombi.

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has accused his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of breaking a promise to stay out of the conflict in Libya. He said this breached a commitment President Erdogan gave earlier this month, when Turkey, France, Russia, Egypt and other countries agreed not to meddle in Libya.

Officials in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo say at least 15 people have been killed in an attack by suspected rebels. Reports from the area say some of the victims were killed with machetes and locals fear the number of dead could exceed 30.

A campaign to end period poverty in Rwanda has received a boost after receiving a pledge for more than 1,000 sanitary pads following a day-long campaign on Twitter. The I Matter initiative used the hashtag #FreeThePeriod to highlight the project and engage with supporters.

Nigeria closes shop over coronavirus seafood fears. The consumer protection agency in Nigeria says it has closed down a Chinese-owned supermarket selling “illegally imported seafood and meat” in the capital, Abuja, over ongoing fears about the spread of coronavirus. The agency said that many of the products it found in the supermarket had irregular or expired dates.

Earlier this month, 29 Nigerian-English words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary for the first time. When Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún, a Nigerian writer and linguist who has worked as a consultant for the dictionary, tweeted about the announcement, his post went viral. Reactions were mostly positive, such as “we have arrived. Nigeria to the world”, he told BBC Newsday’s Alan Kasujja.

The authorities in Nigeria say an outbreak of Lassa fever has killed 41 people since the beginning of the month. Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control says there have been more than 250 cases of Lassa fever, which belongs to the same family as the Ebola and Marburg viruses but is far less deadly.  Around 170 died during an outbreak last year.

A major field study has uncovered that weapons used in inter-communal violence in three states in northern Nigeria originate in countries including Libya, Turkey and Ivory Coast. Over three years, investigators from the Conflict Armament Research examined hundreds of weapons and ammunition in Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara, where there are frequent clashes between farmers and semi-nomadic herdsmen. They found weapons manufactured in Turkey and linked to an unnamed trafficking network.

The Mozambican government has suspended issuing visas upon arrival to travellers from China in order to curb the spread of coronavirus. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday. Minister of Justice Helena Kida said the measure was temporary.

Kenya’s ambassador to China has said the government has no plan to evacuate citizens in China’s city of Wuhan – the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. “The option for evacuation should not be an immediate concern for now,” Sarah Serem, who is back in Kenya, told a local TV station.

(Foreign Source News: BBC Africa