Day: June 16, 2023

Cameroonian renowned comedian Cabrel Nanjip Nyamton died in a ghastly car accident on June 15, 2023, in Boumnyebel, a locality between the Pouma and Edea road along the Douala-Yaoundé highway. His car was brutally hit by a truck which ended up in a valley.

According to reports, he had an appointment at the Canadian High Commission in Yaoundé to collect his visa.

Early that morning, he set off in his Lexus car for Yaoundé. About 30km from Edea at the Boumnyebel village, Cabrel had just come out of a bend when he was surprised by a truck that was trying to overtake another tractor.

Eyewitnesses say “Cabrel was driving at high speed and faced with the obstacle, he chose not to drive straight into the truck, but instead to swerve to the left in the hope of finding a way out but unfortunately, he got hit by the truck,”

Residents are said to have rushed to the scene and succeeded in pulling him out of the vehicle. He was immediately rushed to the Edea regional hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries and died an hour and a half later.

The corpse of Cabrel Nanjip left Douala last night for Bangangte. He has been deposited at the Bangangte District Hospital mortuary.

Cabrel Nanjip Nyamton, 33 was known for his innate talent for making people laugh through his humorous videos and skits, he was also an actor and influencer.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Reports from the National Institute of Statistics as of 2021 revealed that 30 percent of children under the age of 5 are not registered at birth and more than 1.6 million children attended school without a birth certificate. An undesirable situation the convention between the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family and the 21 selected councils seeks to address.

The signing ceremony of the terms of the agreement between the two parties took place on Friday, June 15, 2023, at the Yaounde town hall.

About 26000 children in Cameroon living without birth certificates will soon have the identification document thanks to government support of over 667 million FCFA to the 21 councils in seven regions, to facilitate their enrolment in the civil registry.

Birth certificates in Cameroon are legal proof of identity that helps protect children from violence, abuse, and exploitation.

This government support will help speed up the process of registering ghost children in their respective constituencies free of charge.

The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa in the presence of other members of government instructed the mayors present to ensure that these documents be produced before the start of the new school year.

“It is extremely important to sensitize the parents to do the birth certificates of their children before it becomes financially heavy. We have a lot of children without birth certificates. As the Ministry of Woman Empowerment and the Family, we have to make sure that every child born within a family has legal existence and we want to support those councils because without a birth certificate, a child cannot take an official exam,” Minister Marie-Thérèse stated.

The agreement is part of the commemoration of the 33rd day of the African Child on June 16, 2023

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Namibian Competition Commission (NACC) says structural barriers exist for newly qualified property valuers to enter the market due to the absence of the Namibian Council for the Property Valuers Profession.

The NaCC in a media statement said it received a complaint from a group of property valuers who alleged that four commercial banks’ actions create barriers to entry for external valuers who are not part of these banks’ property valuers’ panels.

The complaint alleged that the current market conditions are not conducive to fair competition, amongst others because banks require property valuers to have prior experience before they can be listed on their list of approved valuers.

“This makes it difficult for newly qualified valuers to enter the market as this enlisting is the gateway to acquiring the required experience,” the NaCC said.

It further said the absence of the council has led to the banks employing their own quality assurance measures as risk mitigation when it comes to property valuations. These measures are in the form of enlistment requirements that independent property valuers must comply with in order to perform property valuation work on behalf of the banks.

Once operationalised, the council will serve as a central industry requirements determinant, in terms of both registration and designation of property valuers, as well as the education requirements which will be applicable to all prospective valuers.

“In the absence of the council, market participants are principally the determinants of such requirements, which vary according to each market participant, and as such are alleged to currently impede the growth and entry into the said market,” it read.

The competition commission said it will be monitoring industry developments and that it reserves the right to launch a formal investigation if it finds any evidence of anti-competitive practices.

The commission said it has also, by way of an advisory opinion, engaged the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform as the custodian of the Property Valuers Profession Act No.7 of 2012, with a proposal on how to provide effective redress.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Swakopmund Mayor Dina Namubes has highlighted residential land access as the biggest barrier to home ownership not only in Swakopmund, but in the entire Namibia.

The mayor was speaking on Friday at the ground-breaking ceremony of Phase 3 of the Build Together programme, where the construction of 80 houses is anticipated in Swakopmund’s Mondesa Extension 7.

The houses are part of the 150 erven approved by the council for the programme in 2017, from which 70 were already constructed.

According to the Namubes, Council experienced delays in the construction of the remaining 80 houses due to the cumbersome Procurement Act requirements and high construction costs as quoted by contractors.

“As a result, we had to obtain ministerial approval from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to exempt the Build Together programme from that procurement, until a suitable contractor was found. After several consultations and requests for quotations, it was resolved that beneficiaries find their own contactors, who will then be vetted by Engineering and Planning Services for eligibility prior to constructing the houses,” the mayor noted.

She added that the houses will all be contracted to a value of N.dollars 80 000, which each beneficiary will treat as a loan to be paid back in instalments.

The contractors, represented by Herberth Aebeb, expressed their commitment to complete the project with the limited resources at their disposal.

“We would like, through this project, for the Swakopmund Municipality to put us on testing ground and consider us whenever this type of work is available as we do not concentrate much on making money, but more on availing ourselves and assisting the affected communities,” Aebeb noted.

The contractors made a commitment to complete the project within five months.

The beneficiaries through Janet Frederiks could not contain their joy and gratitude, with some noting that their journeys to acquiring their own homes date back as far as 2005.

“Most of our compatriots are no longer here with us to finally witness this great milestone, but we should applaud the government and more especially the Swakopmund Municipality for availing this portion of land for us to build our own dwellings.”

Source: The Namibian Press Agency