Cameroon: Pirates release hostages

Pirates in Cameroon have released 10 hostages who were kidnapped on oil rigs off the shores of that country a fortnight ago. The Bakassi Freedom Fighters released them two days ago at the Lions Barracks near the Bakassi Peninsula.According to Commander Ebi Dari of the Niger Delta Defense Council, one of the groups that make up the Bakassi Freedom Fighters, the 10 hostages were exchanged for 13 pirates who were captured by Cameroonian soldiers when the rebels attacked their positions about two months ago. The handing over ceremony took place in the presence of emissaries from the presidency of the republic, special envoys from Paris and the rebels.

IMF cautions Cameroon

Economic hardship is imminent in Cameroon following the increasing adverse financial environment, an IMF mission predicted. Benedicte Vibe Christensen, head of the team, advised that the increase in food and fuel prices needs to be passed through the economy over time to encourage adjustment.The mission met with the Prime Minister, Ephraim Inoni, the Minister of Finance and that of the Economy and Planning recently to examine the different possibilities of absorbing the shock imposed by the global financial crunch.

According to a 2008 regional economic outlook report by the International Monetary Fund, growth in the sub-Saharan sub-region including Cameroon is expected to slow down by 6% in 2008-2009 as a result of the present financial crises. The worsening economic situation reflects hard winds from strong increases in food and fuel prices, slower growth and global financial turmoil. Recent heightening turbulence raises the risks, including that of a decline in resource flow to Africa in the form of private capital, remittances and even aid.

Cameroon: Bakassi attacked again

More trouble is brewing in Bakassi after another attack on a fishing boat of Cameroon in Jabane, in the Peninsula. It was attacked by two speed boats belonging to some pirates in the locality according to a statement from the Minister of Defence. It said the attacks took place at about 11:30 am local time.Cameroonian military forces stationed in Jabane, informed of the attacks, went on a manhunt for the assailants and succeeded to sink one of their boats, according to Remy Ze Meka, Cameroons Minister of Defence. One of the two boats is said to have escaped towards the Nigerian end of the peninsula.Ze Meka said there was no material or human casualties on the Cameroonian side. After the attack on Limbe banks on 27 September, Niger Delta activists under the name of Bakassi Freedom Fighters had denied involvement but promised not to give up the fight and to strike at their own convenience. They said they were not bandits that would be involved in bank robberies.

Floods hit Northern Cameroon, Chad

Over 70,000 people have been hit by floods in the northwestern Cameroon and southern Chad. Disaster workers with the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) predict a longer and wetter rain season than normal. Thousands of people have remained homeless in Chad and Cameroon since the floods.More than 8,000 families in Logone Occidentale, Mayo Kebbi and Moyen Chari in southern Chad, and 5,000 families in and around Cameroon’s northwestern town of Garoua, 60 km west of the Chad border have been redered homeless, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).Meanwhile, the IFRC has launched an emergency appeal to help 14,000 victims across the two countries.The Regional Disaster Management Officer for Cameroon-based IFRC, Mamadou Saliou Diallo said “Most people were left homeless and are still living with relatives, while a small minority is starting now to rebuild their homes.”However, reports say the water level has not stopped rising and is climbing higher and higher in the city. Flooding has exposed residents to respiratory infections, malaria and diarrhoea diseases, including cholera.With blocked roads and destroyed bridges in and around Garoua in northwest Cameroon, the biggest fear for flood victims there is the lack of drinking water, reports say.In Cameroon, 80 percent of the agricultural land around Garoua was destroyed, wiping out crops.

Wire traps remain wildlife big killer

In the middle of a logging road that flanks Lobeke National Park in the Southeast of Cameroon, a male sitatunga sat on its chest and stomach staring at our approaching vehicle. As we drove closer, it stayed on strangely unruffled. We suspected something was amiss and pulled up 5 metres away.As we tiptoed towards it, the mammal staggered to its feet, attempted to lurch into the bush but crashed to the ground 4 metres away. Seething around it, we noticed a wire about its left hind leg, blood oozing from it.The sitatunga had succeeded in breaking away from a wire snare but due to pains from its wound could not continue running. The animal died while being rushed to the nearest forest control post.This was one of the many cases of wild animals being caught in wire snares in Southeast Cameroon. Apart from guns, poachers are using wires to trap and kill animals. This is greatly influenced by the availability and affordability of the wires.A study on the circulation of bush meat in Yokadouma, East Province of Cameroon, revealed that more and more hunters use wire snares because “rolls of wire are sold in almost every shop at affordable prices (FCFA 2500). Wire snares, some poachers have confessed, are easy to use and pose very little threat to them (poachers). The snag is that wire traps are easy to use and pose greater threat to all varieties of wildlife species.Studies have revealed that between 26 and 37% of animals that get caught in wire traps end up decaying because some hunters stay for several weeks before checking the traps.In the Southeast of Cameroon, an estimated 15368 wire snares were dismantled between June 2006 and June 2008, excluding numerous wire rolls confiscated from poachers during anti-poaching patrol during the same period.“Wire snares are more dangerous than guns because they kill indiscriminately,” noted Expedit Fouda, Park Assistant for Boumba Bek National Park. “They can bring down elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, etc,” Expedit stated. According to him, 99 percent of hunting within and around Boumba-Bek national park is carried out using wire snares. “In 2006, we dismantled 4133 wire snares while in 2007, the number almost doubled to 6625, including 6 rolls of cable.” Estimates show that 75% of animals are killed by wire snares in the Southeast of Cameroon.“This is a very big problem,” writhed Balla Ottou, Chief of Sector in Charge of Wildlife for Boumba et Ngoko Division. “Most poachers cannot afford the huge sum needed to buy guns, so they go for wires, judging from the number of poachers we have arrested with rolls of wire cables in recent years,” stated Balla.The use of wire snares is illegal going by Cameroon’s forestry law. The law prescribes use of plants to set traps for subsistence hunting in community hunting zones. Such has been the practice for Baka pygmies over the years. But the availability of wire cables has caused a decline in the use of plants, thereby posing even greater threats to wildlife.“Together with WWF, we have embarked on dismantling wire snares in the forest. We are also inventorying dealers in wire cables in Southeast Cameroon to enable us puncture the supply route,” explained Balla.

Cameroon tripple jump Mbango wins Gold

In two Olympic participation, Francoise Etone Mbango, Cameroon’s Triple Jump athlete, has bagged home two gold medals. After Athens, Greece in 2006, where Mbango, little known in the Triple Jump circle, took the world by surprise, and galloped 15 metres 30 centimetres.

The Cameroonian sporting icon outplayed stiff challenger, Russian born Lebedeva.Sunday, August 17 at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, China, watched by millions of people across the world and Cameroonians in particular, Mbango, once more distinguished herself and made Cameroon proud in the international scene. She jumped 15 metres 39 centimetres, beating her rival again, Russian Triple Jump champion, Lebedeva.

Mbango’s gold medal brings to fore the only medal Cameroon has won so far in the on-going 29th edition of the Olympic Games taking place in China.The victory of Mbango has been received with excitement and great joy across Cameroon and the African continent in general.

Before the Cameroonian delegation of 33 athletes for the Beijing Olympics and 44 officials left Yaounde for the competition, there was high hopes that if there is one athlete Cameroon is banking on for a medal, then Mbango comes in the pole position. Hence, it has come to pass, with Mbango, writing her names and that of her country, Cameroon in gold at the Beijing Olympics.

In 2006, she gave Cameroon her only medal in Athens. In return, the government of Cameroon also recognized the worth of Mbango, with Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, officially, decorating Mbango with a medal of valour, for her contribution to nation-building and for putting Cameroon in a positive light on the global podium.

Before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Mbango made some good exploits in some athletics meetings across the African continent and in Europe. She showed proof that she was still an athlete to reckon with and after bringing forth a child to the world, she has not lost her bearings in the game.

The national anthem of Cameroon reverberated at the Beijing National Stadium, Sunday, August 17 thanks to Mbango. Congratulations to the Cameroonian woman and the African women in general.