The Bendskin Chaos

As Cameroonian towns grow into cities, many more commuters depend on commercial motorcylists, known as 'bendskins' to go from one place to another.
But these bikers are blamed for killing at least one person each day in rampant road accidents, making them pass for a lawless gang of rough-riders.
A decision by the Prime Minister's office in 2008, sought to regulate their gross disregard of the Highway Code and other safety measures. However the bikers have stayed their course.

Bendskins employ a huge number of unemployed youths in the country, and they strongly resist any form of control.

fonka mutta beau-bernard tried to find out why they prefer to live dangerously.

Professional Risks

Pioneer newscasters Eric Chinje and Denise Epote host TV news as Cameroon celebrates 25 years of television.

It was a thrilling experience for Eric Chinje, and Denise Epote Durand, two pioneer newscasters of the Cameroon radio Television, returning after more than a decade, to host the primetime newscast.
This special newscast broadcast this night on the CRTV is part of commemorations marking 25 years since the first TV broadcast was beamed into Cameroonian homes.

Eric moved on to the World Bank, and UN, while Denise moved on to french television TV5.

However both have remained an immense inspiration for Cameroonian boys and girls of my generation who dream of a career in television.

Here is a video of bits of the newscast, as you may notice, I filmed with my private camera, sometimes from poor angles. But I guess I captured some of the magic of the moment.

Living in space: A Day With Fulani Mbororo Nomads

I spent a day with Fulani Mbororo nomads in Poli, an enclave in the North Province. I traveled 36kms from the highway in 2hours to get to the Poli. 36 kms in 2 hours!

This post has a thrilling video of a report I did for tv. Watch it, if you can.

The Mbororo Fulani represents a unique race of about 2.5 million nomadic herdsmen scattered across Cameroon. The Mbororo follow the traditions of their ancestors (the poulakou cult), and are considered the purist of all Fulani groups.
However the culture of these nomadic herdsmen is little known in Cameroon because they are always migrating from one place to another in search of pasture. They hardly own identification papers, birth certificates, marriage certificates or any other official documents. They move across state borders to rear their cattle, with little or no consideration for national frontiers.
The youngest males start grazing their herd of cattle and sheep at a very early age and hardly attend any formal school. While the women and girls prepare their food, mainly, milk cheese and butter. The women also build their huts and weave mats and blankets. They continue to scar their faces and tattoo themselves, as they believe beauty and wealth determine a person’s worth.
They still believe in consider the long-horned cattle to be a prized possession and have dedicated their lives to caring for their herds. Owning cattle is a symbol of health and well-being among all Fulani. This attachment to herding has however seriously undermined the literacy level of the community. Integrating this almost untenable tribe of herdsmen into mainstream life is a major challenge for the government of Cameroon.

CAMEROON: QUEST FOR WATER

Yaounde and Douala, the two biggest towns of Cameroon are facing their worst water shortage ever. Pipe borne water has not flowed in some neighbourhoods for 6 months. The water shortage that has been affecting mostly areas on the fringes of the towns is now more widespread touching the heart of the administrative and economic chief towns.
In Yaounde over the past week, government has been rationing water, in an attempt to ensure an even distribution of the available water. Some neighbourhoods get a trickle of water twice every week, and often late at night.
Another stop gap measure is a daily distribution of water free of charge by water tanks of the police, fire brigade, and city council, to some of the worst-hit areas.
City-dwellers queue up day and night at streams, in most of the valleys of Yaounde to fetch water for drinking and home use. In other parts of town they queue up behind water distribution trucks, while some individuals have been re-selling water at more than twice the cost to desperate persons in need. A 20 litre jug of water can be sold at 100CFAF.
Statistics from Cameroon’s Water and Energy ministry indicate that only 30% of Cameroon’s 18.millions people have access to potable water.
According to Joseph Kenmogne, chief of Division for distribution of the Company in charge of the production and distribution of water in the country, la Camerounaise des Eaux, (CDE), the city of Yaoundé requires a daily water supply of 160.000cubic meters. But the Nkomnyala treatment station (which supplies the town), produces only 100.000cubic meters of water.
“This shortfall is not only explained by the fact for the past twenty years, no investments had been carried out in the water sector in Cameroon, but also by the fact that existing infrastructure had been abandoned”.
Cameroon’s Water and Energy minister, Michael Ngangko Tomdio explained Friday in a news conference that these setbacks came as a result of the economic crisis that hit the country in the 1980s. He said “the economic structural re-adjustment plans enforced upon Cameroon by the Bretton Woods institutions to achieve the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, prevented the government of Cameroon from making any investments in the water sector for the past 20 years”.”

The forecasts
The Cameroon government now plans to step up national access to potable water from 29% to 60% by 2025. On Thursday January 21, 2010; the Cameroon government signed two conventions: one with the French Development agency, the other with the European Development Bank worth a total of 65billions CFAF ($130millions).
The money will be used to improve water supply to five townships in Cameroon: Yaounde, Douala, Bertoua, Ngaoundere and Edea.
According to the Director-General of the Cameroon Water Utilities (the state owned company that has to scout for finances), Basil Atangana Kouna, the fresh investments will take up supply in Douala from 105000 cubic metres per day to 280000cc/day; in Yaoundé from 100000ccm/day to 250000ccm/day; in Edea from 2000ccm/day to 5000ccm/day; in Bertoua from 2000ccm/day to 5000ccm/day and in Ngaoundere from 6000ccm/day to 12000ccm/day.
Mr. Atangana Kouna also reveals that CAMWATER has elaborated a 10-year investment programme worth over 400billions FCFA (approx. $800millions). Of this amount, 250billions FCFA (US$500.000.000)
Work begins in 10 localities in 2010.
Cameroon’s minister of Water and Energy, Michael Tomdio told the press that current efforts fall in line with the much trumped up ‘greater ambitions’ development program enunciated by Cameroon’s president Paul Biya.

Yaounde recovers as Cameroon edges Zambia 3-2

They ached, cursed, and many actually walked away from their TV sets in the football crazy Yaounde, last night as Cameroon trailed Zambia for much of the game. The suspense could not have been more intense for millions of football loving fanatics who watched Cameroon edge Zambia 3-2 in an epic African Cup of Nations thriller.

Thousands of fans watching the game from Yaounde carried a bad gut feeling throughout the game, as the Indomitable Lions tried to level scores with the Chipolopolos of Zambia for most of the game. James Mulenga’s goal at the 7th minute again exposed the defensive weakness of Cameroon, led by ageing skipper Rigobert Song.
A goal that reminded many of the day one, painful loss to Gabon 1-0 after a first-half goal had sealed the game. This time thousands gathered at the fan park on the May 20 Avenue in Yaounde prayed and hoped this was not another defeat in the hands of another lowly-seeded side.

Frank Emmanuel, a supporter draped in Cameroon’s green, red, yellow spent most of the game on his knees, in prayer, and was in tears when at half time Cameroon seemed unlikely to keep pace with the fleet-footed and younger Zambians.

Midway into the second half, a fumble by the Zambian keeper on an early cross from Geremi Njitap, gave Cameroon the most unexpected come-back imaginable. Moments later it was Samuel Eto’o who benefitted from a cross by Samen a Tchoyi that caused panic in the Zambian defence to put Cameroon up 2-1. It was edge of the sit stuff for thousands of fans in Yaounde. Girls ran wild, waving flags they had for so long held down in shame. Boys pulled off their t-shirts in defiance, and whistle blowers called for more goals.
Moments later, the Zambian striker Mulenga came from behind to outrun veteran defender Rigobert Song again, forcing goal-keeper Idriss Carlos Kameni to the rescue. Penalty. Against Cameroon, and the joy suddenly turned to pain again. Zambian captain Christopher Katongo took the penalty coolly, beating Kameni, 2-2.

Cameroonians were again last of the undecided Group D, in which all bookmakers has put them favourites in front of Tunisia and Gabon, nut Cameroonians were staring at a likely first round exit in the face again. At the 85th minute another cross in the Zambian defense was met by the towering Idrissou Mohamadou who earned cult worship and a hero status as his header ended up in the Zambian goal. Cameroon 3, Zambia 2, Yaounde had seen it all in one night.

Cameroon Railway

“We will not invest on the rail tracks; it is the government’s job” –Gilles Alix, CEO of BOLLORE

The CEO of the Bollore Group was speaking on Tuesday October 13 to a host of African economic reporters at the company’s head office in Paris.

The CEO of the Bollore Group, that runs the Cameroon Railway, CAMRAIL, announced on Tuesday October 13 in the Group’s head office in Paris, that they cannot develop the rail track, adding that it is the job of the government. “They want us to develop the entire rail track. This is not possible, this is not possible, it is too heavy. We would like to buy locomotives, buy wagons and somewhat improve the transportation of goods, but we cannot take the responsibility of developing the rail track.” Gilles Alix said, affirming what is more or less common knowledge in Cameroon that the French magnate is uninterested in transporting passengers, and will rather run only commercial trains “Passengers is another issue, it is complex and it is dangerous. That is not why we signed the contract, you must understand it is not our cup of tea; we are first of all logisticians. We were obliged in the contract requirements to agree to this, and we now see this is dangerous.
On Monday October 19, another fuel-carrying train derailed at the entrance of the Yaounde Railway Station, the third in as many months. On September 28 and 29, a succession of train derailments, in Yaounde that killed 9, brought to light the ageing state of the Cameroonian railway. Investigations are still underway as to the exact causes of the September derailments, however, inside sources at CAMRAIL acknowledge that “the rail tracks and locomotives are obsolete, and the string of derailments has been regular in the past six months”.
The Group across its subsidiary Bollore Africa Logistics, which also operates the container terminal at the Douala seaport, took control of the railway company REGIFERCAM in 1999, to better dispatch its imports inland. Even if its CEO claims railways in Africa are difficult to manage “We realized it’s a business where we don’t earn a living, and in which we re-invest more than we make.”
Gilles Alix also noted that the group that also runs SITARAIL, the rail link between Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, has suggested to African governments and the World Bank to develop communications infrastructure on the continent and not expect investors to do so.
Curiously the French business magnate managed to renew and renegotiate its contracts with the governments of Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Cameroon over the last 3 years.

Bollore, Africa’s Privileged Logistics Partner?
The group created in 1822, ranks amongst the top 500 world businesses, one of the best implanted on the African continent, and has what it calls its ‘Africa creed’, “We were amongst the first to show faith in Africa, we were amongst the first to invest, and we continue to believe in Africa” says Gilles Alix, adding that “we make a lot of money in Africa”.
With 200 agencies and close to 20.000 employees in 41 countries and a turnover of 1.7 billion Euros, the Group which has been operating in Africa for more than fifty years is a key player in the continent’s economic and social development. It has also drawn close to most African governments, attracting what its CEO calls jealousy.
Speaking about this privileged business ties with some African governments Gilles Alix said “We have stronger business ties with French-speaking African countries, but I must say English- speaking Africa has a new generation of businessmen, that makes doing business easier, without the influence of governments. In francophone countries, it’s much more complex.”
“We have been around for long, and we have built friendly ties with some political figures (…) It is not to do business that we do this, it is to make sure that the we do business in good conditions, we are not asking for privileges, and that we are treated correctly in fiscal matters.”