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Reintroduction of the office of Vice President in Cameroon
On Saturday, Cameroon’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment to reintroduce the office of Vice President. In a joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate, lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, introduced by President Paul Biya last Thursday, with over 200 votes in favour. The opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), boycotted the vote. The constitutional amendment must now be signed by Biya within 15 days to come into force.
According to the bill, the Vice President is appointed and dismissed directly by the President; the term of office is linked to that of the incumbent head of state and may not exceed it. If the office of President becomes vacant as a result of death, resignation or permanent incapacity for office determined by the Constitutional Council, the Vice President would assume the duties of office and serve out the remainder of the term. This differs from the previous arrangement, under which the President of the Senate held the reins of government only on an interim basis and was required to organise new elections within 20 to 120 days. However, no constitutional amendments may be initiated while in office, and standing as a candidate in the subsequent presidential election is prohibited. The specific duties and responsibilities of the Vice President remain undefined in the adopted text.
Members of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) praised the law, describing it as a measure designed to ensure institutional stability and prevent a power vacuum in the event of a crisis. Criticism, however, has come from the opposition. The SDF, in particular, objected to the appointment of the Vice President rather than their election, arguing that this undermines democratic legitimacy. Furthermore, the reform was seen as a missed opportunity to divide the highest offices of state between the Anglophone and Francophone parts of the country, thereby helping to bridge the divide in the conflict that has been ongoing since 2017. Other opposition politicians, such as Maurice Kamto and Issa Tchiroma Bakary, also described the constitutional amendment as a “constitutional and institutional coup d’état” and accused the government of deliberately consolidating its power and promoting monarchical-style structures. Furthermore, they argued that the law had been drafted hastily and without broad consultation.
Observers also view the constitutional amendment as a response to President Paul Biya’s advanced age and the debate over his health, which has been ongoing for years despite being largely suppressed in public. Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, is the world’s oldest head of state at 93 and was re-elected in October 2025 for a further seven-year term (Press Review CW 43/2025). Against this backdrop, the introduction of the office of Vice President has reignited speculation about his succession and who will fill the Vice President’s post in future. Local media reported on Tuesday that the President’s son, Franck Emmanuel Biya, had been appointed Vice President, though this was denied by official sources.
The office of Vice President is not a new concept in Cameroon. It was introduced as early as 1961 when the former French and British-administered parts of the country were united to form a federal republic, but it lost its function in 1972 with the transition to a centralised unitary state and was abolished.
African Export-Import Bank launches crisis relief package
On Tuesday, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced a US$10 billion crisis package designed to cushion the economic impact of the war in the Middle East. The announcement came just a few hours before the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, which the US and Iran also agreed on Tuesday. The aim of the Gulf Crisis Response Programme (GCRP) is to protect African and Caribbean economies and financial institutions, as well as businesses, from the effects of the ongoing conflict. According to Afreximbank, the GCRP is intended, among other things, to help member states secure the import of essential goods – including fuel, food, fertilisers and medicines. To this end, vulnerable countries are to be provided with urgently needed foreign exchange and liquidity in the short term. Furthermore, Afreximbank aims to support African energy and mineral exporters in capitalising on rising prices and reoriented trade flows. This will involve, for example, expanding production capacities for strategic raw materials through export and inventory financing. The programme is also intended to accelerate the completion of critical energy, port and logistics infrastructure projects on the continent, thereby strengthening the medium- to long-term resilience of African economies to future shocks.
According to Afreximbank, African economies are currently suffering particularly severely from the effects of the conflict that has been ongoing since the end of February. Countries that are heavily reliant on imports of fuel, fertiliser and food, as well as on investment flows and remittances from the Gulf states, are especially affected (Press Review CW 11/2026). Several African countries have already taken measures in response to potential shortages. South Africa, for instance, has announced a temporary reduction in fuel tax, whilst Ethiopia has expanded subsidies. Meanwhile, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced that, due to rising crude oil prices, government officials are prohibited from undertaking any non-essential foreign travel until further notice. In Nigeria, the continent’s largest oil refinery, the Dangote Refinery, was able to significantly increase its exports of petrol and fertilisers to African countries after Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had previously doubled its crude oil supplies to the refinery. According to media reports, other countries, including Angola and South Africa, were also working to expand their refining capacities to safeguard against future supply shortages.
Afreximbank is Africa’s leading multilateral lender for trade finance. According to Afreximbank President George Elombi, the GCRP builds on a series of emergency measures which have helped protect many of the continent’s economies from the effects of global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in recent years. For instance, the bank launched a programme worth US$4 billion to address the impact of the war in Ukraine on Africa (UKAFPA). However, according to observers, the continent’s economic outlook has deteriorated once again in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East, prompting the World Bank, for instance, to recently revise its growth forecasts downwards by 0.3 per cent. Experts also note that the latest crisis comes at a delicate time: thanks to a weak dollar and stronger export revenues, inflation in many African countries had recently levelled off – a progress that could now be at risk.
International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
On Tuesday, Rwanda marked the 32nd anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi. The day of remembrance, known as Kwibuka (“remember” in Kinyarwanda), was held under the theme “Remember – Unite – Renew”. It commemorates the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Within around 100 days, up to one million people were murdered – predominantly Tutsis, but also moderate and opposition Hutus, as well as members of the Twa community. During the main commemorative event at the memorial in Kigali, Rwandan President Paul Kagame lit the memorial flame. In his address, he warned against the persistence of “genocide ideology” and called on states to oppose it and to hold perpetrators who have not yet been prosecuted to account. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also expressed concern in a statement about the denial, distortion and glorification of past genocides, as well as the resurgence of racism, misogyny, antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry. He further emphasised the danger of increasing hate speech on digital platforms, amplified by artificial intelligence and algorithms. Further commemorative events also took place outside Rwanda. The African Union held a ceremony to commemorate the genocide, and in Berlin the Rwandan Embassy organised a memorial march. The day of remembrance marked the start of the annual 100-day mourning period in Rwanda.
In other news
On Sunday, the National Coastal Unity Boat Race came to an end in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. A total of 16 coastal communities competed against one another at Chapter One Beach Front during the two-day event. The competition combined sporting contests with cultural performances, displays of traditional handcrafted boats and local cultural heritage. Following the preliminary heats on Saturday, the Kissy Ferry Terminal team emerged victorious in Sunday’s grand final, securing the top prize of 50,000 Leones (around €1,740). Second place went to Susan’s Bay, which received prize money of 40,000 Leones (around €1,490); the third-placed team from Moa Wharf was rewarded with 30,000 Leones (around €1,120). The boat race, organised jointly by the GEED Foundation and the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, aimed to promote the cultural identity and cohesion of coastal communities whilst highlighting potential for investment in the tourism sector.