Holidays...despite tears

Despite the very sorrowful disasters that has doomed Egypt recently ( The Shuraa Council being on fire, proceeded by the very unlucky catastrophe of the downfall of a rockside killing many poor residents by Moqtam area, then the recent burn down of the National theatre with no casualities )... Egyptian are bidding the holy month of fasting, Ramdan, a farewell..and people try to welcome the Ramdani Biram, (Feast), tomorrow ..! Children of all ages and of different social status have bought the new clothes.. balloons.. families are ready for gathering for breakfast tomorrow morning, after dawn prayer...Mothers have baked the special cookies of this feast..(an Egyptian tradition), or rather bought it from bakeries, at all various prices..of all different kinds!

May this feast and holidays..bring on happiness and cheerfulness to all the Islamic world and Egyptians..dreaming of happier days to come, God willing!

p.s. This feast..is a celebration of the end of a month of fasting..it's an Islamic holiday... that lasts for three days!

Cameroon:The HERON's Publisher Is Dead

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Ezieh Christopher Andu ,33, former reporter for The Herald Newspaper,Cameroon and publisher-editor of The Heron newspaper,Cameroon died today 16 september 2008 in the morning at the Bamenda General Hospital,Northwest of Cameroon.

Mr Ezieh practiced journalism in Cameroon for more than 15 years before his death.
He was bedridden for more than one year ,following a ghastly motor/road accident along the Tiko-Douala road that left him with an injured spinal cord.
The spinal cord was immediately operated upon at the Douala Referral Hospital.

Picture:Ezieh Christopher Andu on wheelchair after the accident

But recovery was frighteningly slow.

Mr Ezieh got involved in the fatal accident while returning to Buea from Yaounde,capital of Cameroon where he had gone to follow up the payment of The Heron's bills to the tune of several millions of FCFA with CAMTEL.

But even as he was bedridden ( apparently to the knowledge of CAMTEL management) all efforts to get the bills settled were futile,despite his critical condition that needed adequate financial support.

Mr Ezieh was considered by many as a critical journalist with raw courage .His paper had a column ,called The Unexpected in which he used his pen sharply to comment on topical issues and holders of public office who faulter in the execution of their functions.

In fact,he was nicknamed The Unexpected,after his column.
He was President of Cameroon English-Speaking Jouranlists' Association(CAMASEJ ) Buea Chapter when he was badly hit by the road accident ,but was recently replaced due to his prolonged incapacity.

He has died leaving behind a young wife with one child, family members,colleagues, friends and well wishers and thousands of readers ,to mourn and remember him

LTTE uses children for fund raising propaganda

Please don't support to LTTE.Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, is a militant organization that has been waging a violent secessionist campaign against the SriLankan government since the 1970s in order to create a separate Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

For more info visit www.defence.lk

PLEASE DON'T SUPPORT THEM

Iconic Swiss singer dies

It's about time that I post from Switzerland again. The occasion today is a sad one: One of the most iconic traditional singers, Ruedi Rymann has died, aged 75. His #1 hit "Dr Schacher Seppli" has been selected as the biggest Swiss hit of all times.

Cameroon: Local Entrepreneurs Drilled on Business Success

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Worried that many Cameroonians try to do profitable business but end up not succeeding because they lack ,among other things, the how-to go-about -it knowledge, Dr Ernest L .Molua, a young but dynamic economist and University of Buea don has been running a series of seminars intended to produce successful business managers, at all levels. .Last weekend the Fakoship Plaza Conference Hall in Buea-Cameroon became small as far more than the expected participants turned-up for one of such seminars, organized under the theme “Raising Capital and Financing Your Business.”Picture: Dr Molua at a ceremony donating books to a student as part of his effort to empower Cameroonians

Seminar organizer Dr Molua described the come together as “a highly-focused and practically interactive gathering intended to provide in -depth instruction for young and senior entrepreneurs”.The seminar, attended by about 100 business persons and managers, young and old , was organized under the auspices of Molua International Services and The Entrepreneur Media Group-all outfits with Dr Ernest L. Molua as Chief Executive Officer,CEO. Picture: Dr Molua at a ceremony donating books to a student as part of his effort to empower Cameroonians“Our mission is to educate business persons to succeed in their investment ventures”, said Dr Molua, who presented a paper titled “Conceiving a business plan and scientific business management methods”. “If they succeed the pleasure is not only ours, it is also theirs”He stressed that there was that urgent need for people engaged in business to be updated on the right ways to success.Dr Molua advised the participants on the merits of partnership in business.“Partnership is very impotant.But choose the right partners. Your partnership must be legal so that nobody should be exploited by another”Other presentations included: ‘Sourcing for finance for your business by Bang Carlson, manager, Buea Police Credit Union and “Applying for a Business Loan’ by Buea Branch Manager of Loans and Savings Microfinance (GECEFIC)A business consultant, Loius Tazifor, was also present to provide free advisory services to participants on record keeping and accounting for profitAt the end of the one-day seminar, participants addressed a word of thanks to the seminar organizer for thinking about them and helping to improve their lot.“There are very few people like Dr. Molua in the world today who would freely give their knowledge to others. We are grateful to him, for we learned much at the seminar”, said one participant.Dr Molua promised to continue running more of such seminars as part of his contribution to the empowerment of Cameroonians and to nation-building

Stuff and nonsense!

So one day I was idly googling my name, as one might do occasionally, and I came across something a little startling: there is a rumor online (here, at Daniel Molokele's blog, and here, at independent.co.uk) that I am an illegal blogger from the basket case that Zimbabwe is. After rolling on the floor laughing, I was somewhat sobered by the realization that these people may know something that I don't. Thing is, with the scary media laws in Zimbabwe, it is very possible that I have broken some law by sharing my thought and experiences... But then again, to be honest, those laws seem to apply to proper journalists, not bloggers. I just don't know. Seem lately that bloggers in other places are getting arrested. I don't think the authorities here are that repressive, but I am not really sure...

My first inclination was to laugh because such a big deal is made of anything from Zimbabwe... And I think that article was used to further someone's slanted view on what's going on here. What I blogged about (here is where the quote was lifted from without my permission- aren't there rules about that??) was probably me feeling a little irritable, at the time- and the quote that was lifted had less to do with Zim's usual problems, and more to do with the drought we had. Aren't there rules about that, too? Makes me wonder if journalists are ever honest... Maybe we should trust bloggers more.

Images: A view of the clock tower at City Hall; a view from the benches at City Hall.

Cameroon: Huge Tree-Planting Project on Course

75,000 Trees to be Planted Soon in Southwest

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Cameroon’s Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Professor Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, September 4, 2008, launched Government’s huge tree-planting campaign in the Southwest province.

Picture:Minister Ngolle Ngolle planting tree in Buea Town
Ngolle Ngolle, who himself publicly planted a tree, announced that some 75000 trees will soon be planted in the Southwest province covering a total area of about 250ha

The minister had earlier launched same tree-planting campaign in several of Cameroon’s ten provinces

The Southwest province has a surface area of 24,571square kilometers, with a population of over 1.2million people

The Southwest province, he noted, is already experiencing problems linked to degradation of forest cover, such as increasing temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns and increasing floods and landslides, exposed water catchments and loss of biodiversity.

“The success of this tree-planting campaign and other tree -planting initiatives will depend on the cooperation of everybody and I am calling on the population of Buea and of the Southwest province in general to take good care of the trees that will be planted,” he said at the ceremony to launch the tree-planting campaign at Buea Multi-Purpose Youth Development Center, which was attended among other dignitaries by Eyeya Zanga Loius, the provincial governor.

“ In so doing we will all fulfill our moral obligation of ensuring that current and future generations live in a conducive environment”,

The minister said the campaign was in line with the political will of the head of state, Paul Biya, as reflected in Cameron’s forestry policy. The forestry policy encourages increase in forest productivity and the renewal of forest resources so to compensate for forest loss.

Tree-planting, the minister noted, has become a national and international obligation. “At global level about 50% of wood traded internationally today comes form planted trees”, he disclosed

Ngolle Ngolle said in Cameroon the emphasis of developing tree plantations has shifted from an entirely government affair to a community-based activity with decentralized institutions, community-based organizations and private individuals being the main actors

He hailed municipal councils in the Southwest province such as Buea and Tiko which have taken the lead to develop and implement a tree-planting program in their municipalities .The minister encouraged other councils to develop tree-planting programs and assured them of the ministry‘s support to such initiatives.

He said his ministry may soon transfer the management of some state forest reserves to local councils.

Earlier in his welcome address, Charles Mbella Moki,Buea Mayor, appreciated what he described as “the relentless efforts of the minister aimed at the conservation and preservation of our rich and diverse flora and fauna”. He said the tree-planting campaign had come at a time his council’s strategic plan on afforestation and green city program was in motion.

Picture:Buea Mayor Mbella Moki(sash round waist) looking at gifts donated by Minister
The mayor announced he had already planted 3,700 trees along some streets within the Buea municipality. “Today’s event complements and encourages our efforts in transforming and structuring the landscape and image of our municipality”, he remarked

The minister donated some equipment to Buea Council to encourage the green city program, which included water pump, spades, dig-axes, cutlasses, wheelbarrows and water cans.