The Entrepreneur - Cameroon's Premier Economic & Business Journal

Baffour Ankomah Evicerates the Intestines of Western Media and their Institutions

“Owned by no-one. Free to say anything” – motto of the British daily, The Guardian.
" Shame on you, Professor Vice Chancellor, (of Univesity of London)"!

A Tale of Two Countries: Baffour's Beefs (New African, June 2007)

I Like to think of The Guardian as New African’s big neighbour. Big in terms of reach, and you may add global influence. Their big, brown building at 119 Farringdon Road in EC1 is just two minutes walk from New African’s much smaller block of offices at 7 Coldbath Square (also brown in colour; London likes brown, no wonder Gordon Brown is going to be the next prime minister). In the days when Africa was Africa, when we were not adulterated by so-called “globalisation of culture” (which essentially means Western culture taking over the world), we would have shouted from Coldbath Square across the two-minute divide to our neighbours at 119 Farringdon Road to come over because the evening meal was ready, and they would have heard us.

Even Former Warlords Deserve a Fair Trial

Charles Taylor Rebuffs the ICC and the UN Special Court For Sierra Leone

By Robtel Neajai Pailey (Pambazuka)

The long awaited trial of fast-talking, charismatic warlord-turned-Liberian president Charles Ghankay Taylor was a dramatic tour de force in the complexities of international justice. Though Taylor is being tried on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international law committed during Sierra Leone's 11-year civil war, the defendant himself was nowhere in sight for the first day of the trial, causing heads to turn, brows to furrow, and feathers to be ruffled. Taylor’s lawyer read a letter to the court in which his client called the trial a charade, riddled with deficiencies in representation for the defence team and inadequate resources. Taylor said the court has proven itself incapable of delivering justice because of blatant infringements on his rights, as evidenced by 'the insidious presence of a camera in conference facilities in the Detention Unit, overseeing meetings between lawyer and client that are supposed to be privileged and confidential'. The camera issue persisted for several months, without any safeguards from the Special Court administration, which has shown its inefficiency in performing the basic functions of legal proceedings. The obvious result was Taylor’s indignant absence: 'I choose not to be the figleaf of legitimacy for this process...', he wrote defiantly in his letter.

Cameroon jails top party man for 50 years for fraud

By Tansa Musa (Reuters)

A Cameroon court has jailed a ruling party official for 50 years for a $27 million fraud, the most high-profile case yet in a clampdown on rampant corruption. Emmanuel Gerard Ondo Ndong is one of the 12-member Political Bureau of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) of veteran President Paul Biya, who launched a graft crackdown under pressure from foreign donors. Ondo Ndong is the first to stand trial out of 24 senior state officials, including one former government minister, who were detained in February 2006.

Cameroon Slams 50 Years Imprisonment on Master Embezzler, Ondo Ndong

By Yvonne Soppo Disso

The verdict of the high profile case on the embezzlement of state funds by the former Director General of the Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM and 20 others has been made public. A concluding session on the case at the Mfoundi Court of First Instance in Yaounde under the auspices of the court’s president, Noah Ebella Marie, rained down imprisonment terms that ranged from 10 - 50 years on the guilty persons, on Thursday, June 28, 2007. Mr Gerard Emmanuel Ondo Ndong and his colleagues were handed long prison sentences. Some not found guilty of any charges were acquitted.

Spain and NEPAD sign historic agreement for the economic empowerment of African women

Nepad Dialogue

The Gender and Civil Society Organisations Unit at the NEPAD Secretariat has been championing the development of an Africa-wide project for the economic empowerment of women which led to its participation in the first Spanish African Women’s Encounter in Mozambique on 7-8 March 2006 and then the second Spanish African Women’s Encounter in Madrid on 7-8 March 2007. The NEPAD Secretariat and the Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) have now entered into a cooperation which will see the Spanish Government support a Spanish-NEPAD Fund for the Economic Empowerment of the Women of Africa.

Prices of Basic Food Stuff Drop

Market Prices in Cameroon Respond to Environmental and Climatic Changes

By Agnes Fonkeng & Juliana N. Mbua

Market purchases in Cameroon’s open food markets have gained steam in the month of June. Consumers have observed declining food prices. In fact, as the dry season gives way to the rainy season, the interplay of environmental, cultural and economic factors is omnipresent in the local markets, as the market prices of locally produced commodities relatively respond to environmental and climatic changes.

"Africa needs a business-friendly environment " Says ADB Chief Economist, Louis Kasekende

African countries need to reduce the high administrative barriers and excessive regulations that result in substantial delays and high transactions costs to firms wishing to invest. Starting a business in most African countries is still relatively costly and getting a licence processed is time-consuming,” says AfDB Chief Economist, Louis Kasekende in an interview granted after the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group, held in Shanghai from 16-17 May 2007.

Interview conducted by Joachim Arrey, External Relations and Communication Unit, +216 71 10 27 59, j.arrey@afdb.org 

Question: This year’s Annual Meetings have generated a lot of attention across the world. Many Africans want to do business with Asia, especially with China whose economy is transforming and creating opportunities for many across the globe. What advice do you have for Africans who want to do business in Asia?

Answer: As you know, Asia, especially China, is the fastest growing region in the world today in terms of economic growth. Africa has a lot to gain from a strengthened relationship with Asia, and that is why this year we selected the theme: Africa and Asia—Partners in Development, for the Annual Meetings Symposium.

Water Everywhere, Yet Water No Where in Homes: Dilemma in the Humid Tropics

Water Crises in Buea

By Juliana Ndolo Mbua

Accessing water in Buea for household and industrial use has recently become a thorny issue. The demand for water in the municipality has increased in geometric progression, while the supply has steadily dwindled over the years, given climatic and infrastructural constraints. The people of Buea thus have their level of doubts double every morning as they rise up to fetch water for household and communal use. In fact, “water crises” is an understatement of the actual picture the inhabitants of this erstwhile colonial capital of German Kamerun go through to survive the shortages in water supply.

Invitation for Expressions of Interest for Consultancy Company Services

Malawi Tourism Strategic Plan

Ref: X/MAA/029

Location: Malawi

Duration: October 2007 to June 2008

Brief Background

The Government of Malawi through its Ministry of Tourism and Information has requested for technical assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat towards designing a new strategic plan for the tourism sector. The technical assistance will be channelled through a short term project.

Project Activities

The main project activities will include the following:

i. Review of the current the tourism strategic plan.

ii. Development of a new tourism destination marketing and promotion plan.

iii. Conduct a tourism sector human resource audit and development of a human resource plan.

iv. Design of a new institutional structure which defines institutional roles

for policy formulation; destination marketing; product development; licensing; standards enforcement; and  training.

v. Review of the Tourism Act and other necessary pieces of law in order to

recommend legal amendments that will allow for creation of a new institutional structure based on the institutional structure proposed above at (iv).

Cameroon Education Corporation Breaks New Grounds, Announces an Arithmetic Competition

A Real Test of Mental Ability

By Agnes E. Fonkeng

The management of the Cameroon Education Corporation has announced a Mental Arithmetic Competition for Cameroon’s school-age pupils. According to the official press release, “competition is one sure way of testing one’s ability. Usually, it becomes more effective when participants are competing in a friendly environment and are given incentives to boost their morale. It is for this reason that the Cameroon Education Corporation (CEC) is organising a mental arithmetic competition as an additional academic component of the Spelling Bee Contest, which started in June 2003 and is now held once a year.”