How the web might change campaigns in 2011 poll

From the election of Barack Obama to post-election violence in Iran, we have seen the enormous power of new technology, particularly social networking websites, to dramatically influence political processes. Ahead of a crucial presidential election in Cameroon in 2011, some Cameroonians are trying to take advantage of those same tools.

On Bakassi, aftershocks linger on

LIMBE – Last week exposed how precarious the peace process between Cameroon and Nigeria has remained, following the settlement of the Bakassi dispute.

Bozize visit boosts Biya leadership role

YAOUNDE - President Paul Biya has a chance to assert himself further as the new leader of the Central Africa sub-region when the president of the Central Africa Republic François Bozize visits Cameroon in the coming days.

France’s Cameroon imprints keep fading

The new French ambassador who has taken up office in Yaounde does so under a very different outlook in ties between his country and Cameroon. For nearly three decades following independence, France was the unchallenged patron of Cameroon, using the status to gain near monopoly access to Cameroon's resources and market place. By 2007, France already accounted for about 30 percent of direct foreign investment in Cameroon: with French companies well in charge in the crude oil, port and agriculture sectors.

In Bongo’s visit, a trade-by-batter

A red carpet was rolled out for the Gabonese president-elect in Yaounde Friday as he began a diplomatic offensive following a contested election. President Paul Biya personally received Ali Bongo at the Yaounde airport. That treatment is reserved only for heads of states and persons ranking as such and showed Yaounde’s full acceptance of the outcome of the Gabonese poll.

We can’t afford Biya's lavishness, simple

As I write no one is challenging the facts. President Paul Biya is currently spending more than 27 million francs a night in hotels bills in La Baule, France, where he is on holiday with his wife Chantal. In all, the president is paying for 43 rooms, spread across two luxury hotels: L'Hermitage (5 stars) and Le Royal (4 stars). At the end of the president's three-week holiday, which includes a crowd of about 40 officials, personal staff and bodyguards, the total bill would have reached about half a billion francs. The math excludes restoration, shopping and possibly casino expenses. According to one French analyst, this is more than the holiday bills of Presidents Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and George Bush put together.