Monday 8 February 2016
Fru Ndi Warns Biya: Calling Early Election Will Cause War
The SDF National Chairman, John Fru Ndi, has warned Biya not to tinker with the constitutional provisions again, for this will unleash unimaginable social unrest that will lead to wanton killing of peace-loving Cameroonians. To him, it is inexplicable that there is so much hysteria about an event, which is virtually three years away.
This to Fru Ndi is nothing but an act of provocation from sycophants and irresponsible power mongers The SDF Chair was addressing SDF Mayors who thronged his Ntarinkon residence on February 6, 2016. According to him, he requested the Ministers of Defence and Territorial Administration to emphasise to Biya not to call any early election as it was certain to plunge Cameroon into civil war. Fru Ndi had met the Ministers at the Bamenda Airport in Bafut before they took off for Yaounde after their visit to Wum.
According to Fru Ndi, Cameroon’s topmost priority now is the insecurity in the Far North and East Regions where children are not attending school and businesses have slumped because of Boko Haram insurgency, coupled with the influx of refugees into Cameroon.
“I told these Ministers to tell Biya to halt the flow of motions of support calling for him to stand for the 2018 election. To me, these are deceitful calls and if he insists on heeding to these calls then, Cameroon will be ungovernable.
“Let him be bold enough to tell these overzealous CPDM militants to stop this nonsense, because, it is unconstitutional,” said the SDF National Chairman. He praised the Mayors for their initiative to commune with him at the beginning of the New Year and exhorted them to shun embezzlement, serve Cameroonians without discrimination by offering projects that will benefit all and sundry.
Fru Ndi reiterated that the SDF must relentlessly strive against harbouring opportunists. He appealed for forgiveness from those he might have unwillingly hurt last year. He also called on those Mayors who, he said, had become a thorn in his flesh and that of the party to also ask for forgiveness. “Some of you have refused to implement the party’s vision; others exhibit a lot of indiscipline.
Yet, we keep tolerating such misdeeds. All I can say is well done for the work so far and continue to serve Cameroonians diligently,” Fru Ndi told the Mayors.
While reassuring Cameroonians that he will never betray the cause the party stood for at creation, Fru Ndi said: “Let me tell the world that I am as firm, as resolute, as steadfast as I was 25 years ago and this party will never depart from its original goals.”
He urged the Mayors to start cultivating crops with compost manure, not fertilisers or other chemicals, that have made crops to lose their taste.
Earlier, the National Coordinator of SDF Mayors, Donatus Njong Fonyuy, said they came to thank Fru Ndi for what he has done for Cameroon as the ‘Father of Democracy’.
Njong said party instructions will be respected as far as running the Councils is concerned. “As your first sons and daughters who were sent into the Councils in 1996, we are here to inform you, our Chairman, that during the next council elections, we are going to win a majority of the councils. Mr. Chairman, in this 2016, our wishes are that let all your desires come true and you can always count on us,” Njong stated.
The Mayor of Kumba II was also in attendance and his presence, observers said, indicates that reconciliation is taking place. It would be recalled that the party chastised him and the Mayor of Tubah for disrespecting the decision of the Investiture Committee that never was in support of the two being voted Mayors.
Minister Cancels Uncompleted Road Maintenance Contracts
The Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, has cancelled many road maintenance contracts awarded to three companies many years ago; Njimi Sarl, Africa Global Solution and Groupe PANI. The Minister cancelled all the road maintenance contracts that were awarded to these companies. Nganou Djoumessi annulled the contracts after he noticed that the contractors have been unable to execute them for many years.
The Minister’s decision is contained in a release he issued in Yaounde recently. The decision, The Post learnt, is predicated on the inability of the companies to do the road maintenance contracts for seven years, which is responsible for the current degradation of the country’s road network. Some 5,800 km supposed to be maintained and rehabilitated are in bad shape.
Nganou Djoumessi‘s axe is also looming over contracts that were awarded to 16 other companies. Such contracts will be cancelled if the companies do not show any signs of executing them within the time limit.
The Minister is monitoring many other contracts. The Minister’s sledgehammer fell after he held a consultation meeting with some enterprises in Yaounde recently from January 18 to 22, 2016, aimed at diagnosing all the problems ailing road maintenance in the country.
At the meeting, many companies did not give tangible reasons for not executing their contracts. The Minister said he would monitor them closely and would annul the contracts of companies that are not serious.
Many companies that had won the road maintenance contracts lack qualified personnel and standard equipment to do the job. It is in this perspective that the Minister called on all contract award watchdogs to go beyond scrutinising the documents and bring in other parameters to ensure that the contracts are awarded to enterprises that can execute them on time.
Statistics from the Ministry of Public Works reveal that of the 406 road maintenance contracts in the country, only 300 of them are in an acceptable state of execution. About 100 of such contracts are suffering undue delay in execution. Such contracts are expected to lead to the maintenance of 5,800 km of road network in the country.
The 5,800 km is only half of the road network that is in an advanced state of dilapidation. The better part of the country’s over 122,000 km road network is in bad shape. The earth roads are barely narrow, crooked stretches that are impassable during the rainy season.
The greater part of the 7000km of tarred roads that Cameroon boosts of is in poor state. Beyond Nganou Djoumessi’s enthusiasm to right the wrongs of road maintenance contracts, lie a plethora of corruption-related ills.
Critics hold that it is only when contracts award officials bend the rules for personal interest that unqualified contractors win certain bids. The Northwest Regional Delegate of Public Works, Denis Awoh Dang, told The Post that award of contracts remains a dicey situation because many enterprises that have been unable to do the job look very qualified on paper.
Yet, many observers in the Ministry of Public Works are still at a loss on how one of the companies that has to do with beauty and decoration won a road maintenance contract.
Critics have attributed such an unfortunate situation to bribery, influence-peddling and favouritism. The fraternity of corruption in the Ministry of Finance where some officials blackmail business people to pay certain percentages before their bills are paid is equally an impediment.
During the meeting with the Minister of Public Works, many contractors complained that the payment of bills in the Ministry was a big headache mired in undue delay and corruption. These issues point to the fact that no matter how steadfast he is, Nganou Djoumessi might not solve road maintenance problems alone. His colleagues of Finance and Public Contracts must be part of the solution.
Photo: Angry virgins protests topless in support of the Mayor who introduced the controversial 'Virginity Bursary' in SA
"If the government can give young, unemployed mothers child support grants, why shouldn’t the mayor help virgins for preserving their culture?" they asked.
Many groups have criticised the mayor. Higher education and social development departments have called on the mayor to cancel the bursary scheme for maidens. The Gender for Equality Commission said the awards encourage inequalities and must be stopped immediately.
People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa) has slammed an alleged bursary programme that funds studies for young women, but only if they can prove they’re virgins.
The Maidens Bursary was created by the KwaZulu-Natal municipality to fund higher education for young women. It’s been reported that 16 young South African women are the beneficiaries of the scholarship, which funds their higher education. It’s believed the girls are regularly examined, allegedly to ascertain if they’re still virgins.
Powa’s Palesa Mpapa said, "The fact that we are align it to the right to education is not making sense. It’s also discriminating in that within the girls being lured into bursaries on the basis of virginity and what are we saying about boys."
Mpapa added that the practice of virginity testing is unconstitutional.
"If anyone wants to keep their virginity, it’s their right to do it in their individual capacity. It’s a personal issue, which is not supposed to be done in public and it’s also not good that the agencies are using it in order for the girls to get bursaries."
The UThukela District Municipality says it created the so called “virgin bursaries” to deter young women from getting involved with older men. Mayor Dudu Mazibuko says the program is meant to encourage young girls to abstain from sex and focus of education.
"There was a study by the health department that "found that" young girls are more vulnerable than boys. There is no pressure at all, in fact this is an incentive because we are talking girls that have taken the decision to keep their virginity. Young girls are more vulnerable, they are the ones that fall in love with sugar daddies, get diseases and fall pregnant and then their lives are messed up."
She said they were disturbed that government was criticising the awards while it was spending billions on child support grants. She said they expected government to support the awards because it was part of the campaign to fight HIV/Aids.
"We encourage abstinence but there are people telling our kids they have rights to sleep with men," said Dudu.
The mayor said she was not part of the march and told the SunTeam to speak to the maidens’ matrons.
A 32-year-old virgin and recipient of the award, Bongiwe Sithole said she came from the Free State University to march. She said if it wasn’t for the awards, she would still be at home because her dad didn’t have money to send her to university.
Beyonce's tummy during performance at Super Bowl (photos)
Kris Jenner featured in the March 2016 issue of Harper's Bazaar (Photos)
The 60 year old mother of six opened up on a number of issues, including her regrets divorcing first husband, dealing with her second husband turning into a woman, dealing with haters and finding real time to be with her family when everything they do is on TV. Read after the cut...
Excerpts from her interview.
On regrets divorcing her first husband, late Robert Kardashian"I had a wonderful, beautiful life with Robert. He was just an amazing man," she explains, adding that as she went through the Bruce/Caitlyn thing, she wished she could call him, to have a solid shoulder to lean, or maybe, cry on. "I always wish I could call Robert right now. That's an everyday thing."
Does she ever have any privacy, any real time when her entire life is a reality show. And what does it feel like to always be a target/critised harshly?
"Here's the thing, We have literally millions and millions of fans. I mean, even Kendall and Kylie have 50 million followers on Instagram—apiece. That's a hundred million people you have somehow touched emotionally, enough to follow you on a social-media platform. And I think with that also comes, you know, haters. But in comparison, like I tell my family, they're such a small percentage. We wouldn't be around for 12 seasons as a television show if there was that much negativity."
On what it's like when you discover your ex-husband is a woman?
"I think at some point, although it was difficult and, uh, a challenge … I just have to let it go. And try to be tolerant. How? "Prayer. God. You know, just trying to understand. It takes time. But time is a wonderful healer. And we have two children together. It's important for my kids to see our family strong and united."
On her perception of herself, as a woman - did she doubt herself, her own femininity?
"No, I never. Thank God, I never doubted myself. I never really doubted my femininity. I just doubted the relationship. You know, 'What were those 20-plus years all about?' And I felt like, at some point anybody would feel like, 'Wow, why was I put through this? For 20 years I could have been, you know, doing something else.' But I really do believe everything happens for a reason."
BMX legend Dave Mirra commits suicide at age 41
On Thursday February 4th, Dave took his own life by shooting himself in the head in an SUV while parked outside the home of his best friend, Scott Ashton in Greenville, North Carolina. This was just within days of his 10th wedding anniversary. He was just 41 years old. He left behind a wife and two daughters
His last IG post before he committed suicide...
Shocked friends said the sportsman had shown no outward signs of depression. And just hours before his death he had also talked to the town's mayor about getting more children involved in cycling. But according to new reports from TMZ today, Dave had become depressed after his BMX riding career ended
From TMZ
Dave Mirra had a rough time finding purpose when his BMX career ended ... he tried filling the void by helping kids ... but it wasn't enough.
Friends of Dave tell us ... in the months before his suicide, he spent his time introducing kids in the Greenville, North Carolina area to extreme sports, such as speed cycling and biking.
Problem was ... the 41-year-old couldn't find anything in his life to even approximate the adrenaline rush he got from BMX. He knew working with kids was important, but the passion he felt while he competed just wasn't there, and it became a significant factor in his deep depression.
We're told Dave tried to convince himself working with kids could be as satisfying as BMX, and from time to time his outlook would brighten. In fact, we're told just hours before he fatally shot himself, he saw someone at lunch and talked about plans to bring a speed cycling track to Greenville.
The friend with whom we spoke said the recurring theme from Dave was that he felt lost.
Mum gives birth to twins with different skin colouring (photos)
"Kyle is mixed-race and I'm white, so from the word go, our friends joked: 'What would you do if one came out dark and the other was fair?' Laughing it off, I replied 'I don't think it's very likely!' Now our girls turn heads wherever they go and it is not just because they are so cute",
"I can't walk down the aisle at the supermarket without getting stopped. People always comment, 'Are they both yours?', 'are they sisters', 'are they related? As well as looking different Anaya and Myla are already developing their own personalities". Myla is always on the move, she's already crawling, although backwards, while Anaya's more laid back",
"We can't believe they're twins, they've got the same birthday and the same mum and dad but they're just complete opposites in every way."She added:
"At first, both the girls had a purple tone to their skin, but they looked darker so I assumed they'd both taken after Kyle. But after two weeks, it was clear Myla takes after her dad with dark skin, brown eyes and brunette locks, while Anaya is more of a mummy's girl with a pale complexion, fair hair and light eyes. We couldn't believe it. Kyle and I told all of our relatives and friends, 'We've got one of each.More photos...
SA Police officers laugh at man for reporting he had been sexually assaulted by 3 men
Vurgee Tshabalala was allegedly sexually assaulted by three men who had offered him a lift from Soshanguve, South Africa to town last week. On their way, the men stopped the car, and forced him to take off his clothes. "They told me they wanted to see my private parts and then sexually assaulted me," said Tshabalala.
The gay man went to open a case with the police but instead the officers burst into laughter and made fun of him. According to Pretoria North Reckord, the police officers who treated Tshbalalala with scorn could themselves face the law after he was advised to file a case with the independent police investigative directorate.
The directorate investigates cases of misconduct against the police. Soshanguve police spokesperson, Lolo Mangena said:
"Legally that is discrimination. When you are treated unfairly in certain areas of the law, that is discrimination. That is not how we operate as police. If you are treated unfairly or differently from other people because of gender, sexual orientation, religion, skin colour, political or intellectual ability, a complaint can be laid against the police officers who assisted him. That is if he can remember them, their names, or at least can identify them."
Mangena said Tshabalala’s ordeal at the police station was tantamount to sexual assault. Mangena advised him to file a complaint with the directorate.
Photos: Fan tattoos Miss Universe, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's face on his body
He obviously doesn't have a girlfriend...wonder how he will explain this when he gets one...
Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple and Blue Ivy seen at the Super Bowl
What's going on with Johnny Depp's teeth? (photos)
Miss World 2014 Rolene Strauss weds! Check out her beautiful wedding photos
The South African beauty announced in July 2015 while she was Miss World that her longtime partner had popped the question. She handed over to the new queen, Miss Spain this past Dec. 2015. See more photos from her wedding after the cut...
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17 things to know about Paddy Willy
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