Biya to be crowned " unchallenged" at the fourth extraordinary congress to be held in July

The fourth extraordinary congress of the Cameroon People`s Democratic Movement to be held next 16th or 23th July 2011 in Yaounde will see Biya, national president crowned as the "king". The crown is the monarchy, regarded as an institution concerned with the government of a country rather than as an individual.

 It will be the coronation of a leader of a corrupt government in a country in which more than 65% of the population is still struggling to get food on the table for the family, while less than 20% is siphoning the country wealth. It is clear that after 29 years in control, power and wealth have corrupted Paul Biya.

By appointing Rene Emmanuel Sadi as the general secretary of the CPDM, the national president was looking for a dynamic and driven and experienced senior executive to take on one of the most exciting and challenging positions in Cameroon politics.

 But that wasn`t the case, as Rene Emmanuel Sadi didn`t fit those criteria and has just been referred  by relatives from the first lady, Chantal Biya  entourage.

 Rene might be experienced but not dynamic as nothing in the structure and the functional party is working properly.

 He has been called there at the general secretary in order to provide the organisational leadership and vision to the party and also to ensure that the party is fit and ready to fight election. He was been around the country visiting councils and local committees where the party has a great influence and also  is facing a rude challenge from the opposition.

 Where Rene has never been able to bring a real change in the heavy functional machine of the party is making sure the party has sound finances and is generating sufficient levels of income. The party has never published his financial report after the last extraordinary congress held five years ago.

Emmanuel works closely with senior politicians and stakeholders on a day-to-day basis trying to deliver political and organisational strategies. The general secretary of the central committee hold a great discretionary power within government ministers and chief executive officers for state own companies.

 Sadi has never organised a fundraising for the party and the only way to re float the party cash flow is sending compulsory sponsoring letters to state own companies for their participation to the party activities program..

 He has been committed to the CPDM values but has never shown a successful leadership by reuniting those who have been suspended from the party for their intention of challenging the national president authority...

Equatorial Guinea exposes an insolent wealth

From June 23 to 1July, Equatorial Guinea will host the 17th government and Heads of State summit of the Africa Union. The third largest Africa`a crude exporter with an oil earning now over $3 billion a year will welcome 52 African leaders and their first ladies...

 President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, 69 year old will preside over the summit.

 In order to welcome politicians representing some of the world`s poorest nations in Malabo, capital city of Equatorial Guinea, the government has transformed a small resort just 20 minutes from the centre of the capital in a new El Dorado.

 Obiang Nguema`s administration has built a multimillion pound deluxe city to host African leaders and heads of governments.

 According to the state media, Sipopo boast over 50 luxury presidential villas, a conference hall, artificial beach, luxury hotel and the country`s first 18-hole golf course. All this was built over two years to host an African Union summit that will last just a week.

The government hasn`t yet announced who will benefit from the new investment after the summit. Sources from the government are confident that the government will allocate some presidential villa to government ministers and also to some members of the parliament and military leaders as well.

 There is no official or presidential confirmation for the moment. But during last Sunday inauguration ceremony, president Obiang Nguema congratulated his entire government and construction companies for completing the luxurious new city in a record of two years.

 The poverty in Malabo still high and the government has not yet done enough to alleviate this from his own people.Thousands still living in slum inside the capital city.

 In Sipopo, from next week, experts and foreign African ministers will have the privilege to see with their eyes what oil wealth can do in a country where according to some reports, 75% of people in the country live on less than $1 or 60p a day.

 During that week, African leaders will and their first ladies will have access to jacuzzi, heated pool, sauna, fitness centre and country`s first spa at the Sofitel Malabo Sipopo Le Golf.

 The country will also co-host the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament with Gabon next year.

.Instead of having many African leaders in one or two hotels, Obiang has decided to build 52 presidential villas. Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader is expected to attend the summit and at the moment there is no confirmation about that. An insider said that, invitations have been sent to all African leaders to attend the 17th African Union summit.

 Human rights activists have accused the country`s leadership of brutal repression and also breach of the freedom of the press and information. There is no information available about how much money the country has spent to build the new city.

 According to an underground union, in Malabo, wages for low and middle income families have virtually stagnated over the past three decades while a small financial elite have seen their pay rise and wage rises for government ministers and barristers have grown by at least 100%.

 The reality is that, the government has spent a large amount of money to build these facilities and nothing done by the same time to alleviate poverty.

 As a repressive government, everything has been put in place to avoid any unauthorised uprising or protest from the population and opposition leaders have been offered a deal according to an insider to keep low profile during the summit.A special task force has been formed to tackle any anti-government campaign and protest during the summit.

Police and military chiefs across the country and specially around the town city Malabo have launched a summit campaign to crackdown on human rights activists and anti-government protesters. The campaign co-ordinated by officers from the secret services and the supreme military council  will run according to some insider sources for two weeks until Sunday July 3.

Camair-co in a tailspin as oil prices rocket

Surging oil prices will deal a shattering blow to global airline profits this year and threaten the industry`s recovery, the International Air Travel Association warned yesterday.

IATA now fears airlines will post profits of just $4 billion ( £ 2.44 billion) around 2.73 billion euros in 2011, less than half the amount it forecast in March and a fraction of the $18 billion (£29.52 billion) around 20.16 billion euros in profits seen last year.

The forecast comes as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)  faces pressure to ease the pressure on oil prices by upping production at the cartel`s meeting in Vienna today.

Director general Giovanni Bisignani warned " there is little buffer left against further shocks". Giovanni said that " we are making any money at all in a year with this combination of unprecedented shocks is a result of very fragile balance. The efficiency gains of the last decade and the strengthening of global economic environment are balancing the high price of fuel".

Camair-co is in a situation of holding up better than increasingly price-sensitive leisure travel, according to numerous sources who have spoken anonymously to IATA. Camair-co today faces fresh headwinds the political turmoil in the North Africa as well as the high oil price, IATA said.

Tomorrow  in Vienna, members of the OPEC will decide to increase or not of at least one million barrels a day, as they have so far failed to fill the gap in the market left by Muammar Gaddafi`s battle for survival that has left the global market around 1.4 million barrels short.

An insider source from Camair-Co recently warned that the rising cost of oil would force its fares up by an average between 10-12% this year and the company could even see losses virtually doubled.

But the company will have to review his forecast and then talk about the raising oil output for the first time since the launch of the first commercial flight to Paris. It seems that the government and the managing executives of the company slowly, but surely are getting ready to respond to an environment of higher oil prices and lower growth.

Camair-Co still failing to satisfy its customers and poor customer service comments still dominate and is likely to continue to be perceived as one of the worst rather than one of the best airline national company.

Can Christine keep the IMF in good "custody"?

Since its foundation in 1947, the IMF has always been run by a European, while the World Bank is usually headed by an American and all this in the strong arena of men and now it could be the real change with Christine Lagarde...

The 55 year old female French finance minister who put her name forward to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn could become the first ever female to lead the International Monetary Fund.

 The move could also open doors to others International Financial organisations to accept female to lead their organisation, the World Bank could there be on the list.

The French has already the backing of the EU. During the G8 summit in France, Obama didn`t officially approved  that he is supporting the French but show his full support of having a female as a managing director of the IMF. Lagarde is on the way of becoming the first-woman to be managing director of the IMF in its 65 year history.

The real challenge now is to find whether Lagarde can carry the flag of emerging markets where ministers claim that the obsolete unwritten convention of appointing a European undermined the legitimacy of the Fund.Lagarde has already collected the 32% of the votes represented by the European Union.

The enthusiasm of a woman in the top job is well placed, although one might ask why when emerging nations are looking for the same top job now there is another French candidate. With the 16.7% of America votes on hold, Christine Lagarde is now the virtual unbeatable candidate for the top job at the IMF, despite the trifling matter of a judicial investigation...

Can Philemon Yang urge banks to lend more to consumers?

Cameroon Prime Minister Yang Philemon might have already discussed new measures with the entire cabinet to cut the budget deficit, in an effort to convince lenders and investors, the country can deal with a debt crisis without falling into a political trouble and social unrest and even restructuring.

There is no guarantee that the country can cope with a sudden social unrest as the cost of Cameroon borrowing soared to a new highs.

 Following ratings agency Standard and Poor`s decision to put Cameroon on a B and stable B, on a stable credit watch, economists are not yet anxious over political divisions in the country after a recent disorganized and disunited street`s demonstrations against austerity and the risen of the food prices as well.

While  it is true that the economy will almost certainly start to grow again in the coming months, there will still be major headwinds with the outcome of the next presidential election.

But according to the Prime Minister office, the debt restructuring is not under discussion and the government is working according to instructions received by the Head of State, President  Paul Biya.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank together  have already approved the actual government fiscal plan and the 2011 budget.

There is a CFA100 billion internal debt that the government needs to pay back without negotiations. The opposition has no alternative plan for that as it has been reduced to a single minded minority in the Parliament and the government can just do whatever its wants without a solid opposition. The Prime Minister office believes that the gouvernment economic policy is right and ant suggestion otherwise is incorrect

Consumers and businesses continue ahead of the election to pay off debt and borrow less, figures from the Cameroon Bankers` Association show that there are CFA billion available in Banks and the government is doing nothing to encourage Banks to lent more to consumers and the demand remains weak.

Sdf and Cpdm " run like dictatorship"

An ex-influential member of the National Executive council of the social democratic front ( SDF) and now president of the Cameroon People`s Party, branded the Cameroon People Democratic Movement and the Social Democratic Front, the two mainstream political party in cameroon " a dictatorship" after defecting to launch a newly created political party. According to official sources, that party is the 55 the registered to run for the next presidential election and has been given the reference N/372/D/MINAT of the 29/12/1991. The so called braveheart lady is standing for election against Paul Biya with courage and real ambition.

Kah Walla, the 46 year old ex-student for the  Saker Baptist College in Victoria, now Limbe in South West- Cameroon and the second female candidate after Marie Louise Eteki to run for the presidency at the next presidential election, accused both the  Cpdm and the Sdf of wagging campaign her for signing a secret letter opposing the government intention to open doors to the Sdf member long time ago without the party`s permission.

Kah Walla has been for long time one of John Fru Ndi female`s advisor during the political instability in cameroon before leaving for USA where she decided to become one of the female presidential candidate.

In the past the letter signed by Kah Walla while sdf member has called for a campaign to defeat the policies of the government. Since defecting the main opposition party, Kah Walla has been trying to work out another new vision for the country leading by a female rather than a man and also researching solutions for internal problems.( debt, financial deficit in public finances, corruption, injustice, unemployment, lost of trust in public service and good governance)

At the moment there is no financial capability information available from the party in order to assess the capacity of the party to offer that change that is needed at this time in Cameroon and also to go round the country in less than 5 months of the election.

The party would have to pay now a cfa 3 million  fee to be paid as surety for the registration for running for the presidency.

 And according to the law, the money will only be given back to those who will receive a total of more than 5% of the total vote and for those who will receive  less, nothing will be given back. There is no clear information about her campaign manifesto and what she will propose to the voters before the election. One of the insider close to John Fru Ndi who required the anonymity said that, the chairman took Kah Walla`s intention and decision to run for the presidency as a personal affront as she couldn`t do that when in the party before.  Kah might have received financial backing by anonymous donors and also those in exile in Us specially.

Press attack on candidates and specially female during presidential elections are not a new phenomenon in Cameroon politics. "We can agree that Paul Biya and the Cpdm for 29 years in reign have failed to implemente their manifesto and it is time now for them to leave and let others with experience and political will and vision to conduct cameroon through growth and prosperity," said with conviction Kah Walla."

Coalition government to be divided wider after elections

Splits in the Coalition government in Cameroon will be wider than ever regardless of the outcome of the next presidential election, one of the special advisor of the most senior acting cabinet minister admitted yesterday.

The country must seize this golden opportunity during the next presidential election to send a firm message to this coalition government that is inflicting pain on ordinary people while self-evidently enjoying the status of high office.

 After visiting many constituencies around the country, he said that the acrimonious campaigns had amplified the differences between the main party, the Cameroon People Democratic Movement (CPDM) and those that form the coalition.

 As if to illustrate the point, Bello Bouba Maigari, leader of the of the National Union for Progress and Democracy and actual transport minister in the coalition government and Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the communication minister and leader of his own political party have confronted their colleagues from the main party over different issues also over the Cpdm conservatives`personalised campaign for the next presidential election.

 Sources described that members of the main party often send the wrong campaign message to their electorate in their constituencies without having to discuss with them first of what messages are they going to send to people around and also what solutions for their problems are they going to provide.

 On the ground some members of the government often urge voters to size the historic chance to change Cameroon`s future and dimension and  even call on voters to hammer the party in coalition and give the main party the vote. And this is why parties in coalition government are not very happy.

  Amadou Ali, who is the most senior cabinet minister in the government and acting justice minister once suggested that if the next presidential election will dramatize or amplify the fact this coalition government is composed of different parties and the Cpdm is the progressive party in this arrangement, i don`t think that is a bad thing in the long run.Coalition

 But other parties in the coalition are not really happy by the way the main party is acting and conducting his election campaign without informing members of their intention and action.It is wrong what they are doing said, one of the special advisor of the justice minister, Amadou Ali.

 The Cpdm is viewed as a progressive and also a conservative political party by those in coalition and they said that it will be difficult to see any change happening while they are still in power and holding the majority of seats in the Parliament.

 The polls predicts a win for the Cpdm but supporters of the change and the total change of the regime in Cameroon say they could still clinch it. There is an anti-conservative majority underground in Cameroon that is afraid of any kind of retaliation from authorities in case they express what they really want.Only a fairer election will make that more likely to be expressed.

 But a source at the presidency said that there will be no reason to expect the coalition government to fall apart over after the next presidential election and the Cpdm is looking to gain more council seats during the election.