Louis-Paul Motaze

Cameroon
Eneo ups pressure on state companies to pay debts

Cameroonian electricity operator Eneo has launched a campaign reminding state-owned utility companies to settle their unpaid bills or risk having their power cut off.

Cameroon
Paul Biya pulls plug on bridge corruption probe

President Paul Biya has decided to halt an investigation into the so-called “55 metal bridges” affair, which several government ministers have been caught up in.

Cameroon
The ins and outs of Yaoundé's EITI suspension

Although expected by several NGOs, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative's decision to suspend Cameroon is a blow to the country, a member since 2007.

Cameroon
Ngoh Ngoh takes gold from Motaze's hands

At Louis-Paul Motaze's expense, the influential secretary general to the president has transferred the management of gold stocks to the consignment and deposits office, which one of Ngoh Ngoh's close allies heads.

Cameroon
SNH boss Adolphe Moudiki calls on Biya for support over Glencore

In an about-turn, the head of Cameroon's Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures has asked President Paul Biya to open a legal investigation after Swiss trader Glencore admitted paying the company's top executives.

Cameroon
Business leaders divided over plan to merge employers' bodies

Private sector chiefs don't see eye to eye about the merging of two organisations representing their interests. Both camps are trying to rally support, right up to the highest echelons of state.

Cameroon
Biya turns to shadowy Israeli networks to cast light on Belinga affair

In parallel with the official inquiry, military intelligence agents have since late January been secretly investigating the murder of the journalist Martinez Zogo with Israeli help. Their findings have implicated Cameroon's counter-espionage services.

Palace Intrigues
Mamadi Doumbouya, Paul Biya, Mohamed Benchaaboun and Zinedine Zidane

Intrigues big and small... Every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond. This week: Mamadi Doumbouya's luxury watch collection, Paul Biya's NY wishes cull, Mohammed VI snubs ex-ambassador Mohamed Benchaaboun and French VIPs celebrate NYE in Marrakech.

Guinea Colonel Doumbouya's €400,000 wristwatch

Cameroon Everyone wants their New Year's photo with Biya

Morocco Glacial reception for Mohamed Benchaaboun in Rabat

France-Morocco Zidane among French VIPs in Marrakech for NYE

Cameroon
Chinese-made motorway price tag raises eyebrows in Douala

The Kribi-Lalobé motorway, Cameroon's first-ever toll road, has been up and running smoothly for a month. It cost $453m to build.

Cameroon
Ngoh Ngoh broadens his offensive on economy and finance ministries

The secretary general of the presidency of the republic (SGPR) Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh is tightening his grip on state coffers by ordering an audit of expenses incurred between 2010 and 2021.

Cameroon
Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh brings economy and finance ministries under his thumb

Cameroon's economy and finance ministers must now obtain the approval of the all-powerful presidency's secretary-general Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh for expenses exceeding €150,000. At first glance innocuous, the move is in fact revealing of a power tussle at the head of government.

Cameroon
Accountancy firm Atou caught in rival clan crossfire

The Cameroonian consultant Lazare Atou, who has been managing the real estate of various former state-owned companies for several years, has found himself caught in the crossfire between two rival clans within the regime.

Cameroon
RDPC looks to post-Biya future ahead of party conference

Elections to the local institutions of the ruling RDPC have now come to an end. The stakes are high, since those appointed to senior positions will be able to take part in the next party conference (the first since 2011), which could very well be decisive in terms of who succeeds Paul Biya.

Cameroon
Consultant Lazare Atou gets caught up in war between Biya's barons

The consultant was told to stop managing the assets of three former state-owned companies just after he testified in an investigation into the conduct of the director general of the Port of Douala.

Cameroon
While rumours of his son's ambitions rage online, Paul Biya plots his succession

While the president and his chief of staff Samuel Mvondo Ayolo draw up secret plans for his succession behind palace walls, Cameroon's political bigwigs are making moves in the shadows. Out in the open, the possibility of his son Franck Biya taking over is causing a buzz online.