Understanding The Glencore Saga, Evaluating Its Impact On The Southern Cameroon Economy-A Rationale For The Struggle

Glencore PLC is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Its oil and gas head office however are in London. it had also been ranked 10^th of Fortune global ranking of the 500 largest companies in the world and has a number of production facilities around the world and supplies metals, crude oil and oil products coal, natural gases and agricultural products to international customers in the automotive, power generation steel production and food processing industries around the world. It is listed on most major stock exchanges all over the world (London, Hongkong, Johannesburg and the Qatar Investment Authority etc.) Glencore’s vast range of activities has enabled it to garner immense wealth and influence world wide, sometimes acting with impunity influencing government activities in many countries, not often to the advantage of the citizens but corrupt government officials.

Glencore has recently (2006 till date) been involved in corruption scandals in Africa, Asia, South America and even in Europe. In 2022, Glencore's UK subsidiary twice pleaded guilty to corruption charges levelled by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). These charges accused Glencore of paying over USD53 million of bribes between 2011 and 2016 to officials in Africa to "secure access to oil and make illicit profit". In June 21, a British subsidiary of Glencore pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery. These charges pertained to oil operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and South Sudan between 2012 and 2016. The SFO found that over USD28 million in bribes were paid for officials to "perform their functions improperly". Glencore again predicted that fines would not exceed the USD1.5 billion it had previously set aside. A UK subsidiary of mining giant Glencore has been ordered to pay more than £275m for bribing officials in African countries to get access to oil. The company paid $26m (£23m) through agents and employees to officials of crude oil firms in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast between 2011 and 2016. Prosecutors said Glencore Energy UK employees and agents used private jets to transfer cash to pay the bribes. Glencore Energy UK pleaded guilty to seven corruption offences in June.

Akere Tabeng Muna is a lawyer, of Southern Cameroon extraction, who is currently a member of the African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, chaired by H.E. Thabo Mbeki, and Co-Chair of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR). He was formerly the Chairman of the International Anti-Corruption Conference Council and Sanctions Commissioner of the African Development Bank Group. He has also served as the Vice-Chair of Transparency International and presided over the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union, the Pan African Lawyers Union and the Cameroon Bar Association. For most of his career, Barrister Muna denied having any political aspirations in Cameroon, and stated that his interest remains in his work as a lawyer and with civil society organizations. Lawyer Akere Muna has followed up the Glencore Cameron scandal relentlessly and has filed three cases against the companies involved in the Glencore scandal in Cameroon. The aim is to find the perpetrators with whom the mining and trading giant has collaborated in the country. The learned Barrister further indicted the National Hydrocarbon Company in Cameroon as the principal culprit with personalities high up in government involved.

Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) is a national oil and gas company of Cameroon. The company was established on 12 March 1980. SNH operates in partnership with international oil companies and it is responsible for selling the government's share of oil output. It holds a minor stake in projects operated by international partners. It has a revenue of about 1,275,400,000USD as of 2022 and was considerer to be the most valued company in the central African zone. It derives its wealthy from hydrocarbon activity and that involves purchase and sale of hydrocarbon products . This means crude oil from the southern Cameroons (95%) and perhaps sone natural gas and COTCO involvement with Tchad. The SFO found out that crude oil from Cameroon(Southern Cameroon) was sold out 30% of the global price and a certain undisclosed percentage was used to corrupt government officials . Barrister Muna estimates that a sum total of about CFA 9billion (900,000,000,000) has been paid to corrupt government and SONARA/SNH officials.

The case involves the local branch of Glencore and agents of two Cameroonian public companies: the Société nationale de raffineries du Cameroun (Sonara) and the Société nationale des hydrocarbures (SNH). Akere Muna said SNH should disclose identities of those involved and suspend all dealings with Glencore.

"The culprits are within Cameroon, the transactions that gave rise to the corruption took place in Cameroon yet they expect us to believe the solution will come from London!" inquired Muna .

Akere Muna does not intend to give up the fight in the scandal for which the commodities trading giant Glencore was sentenced to pay €321m for corruption in Africa. He also noted that the sum of 180million Euro had already been paid to the Democratic Republic of Congo as reparation.

On Aug 3 - The head of Cameroon's National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) has said some managers and employees will appear before a UK court over suspected involvement in bribery offences linked to Swiss commodity trader Glencore

Adolphe Moudiki, SNH's administrator and director general, had previously denied staff involvement but late on Friday issued a statement saying some Glencore's UK subsidiary has admitted it paid bribes in Cameroon to SNH officials and others to the sum of 7 billion CFA francs ($11 million) to secure preferential access to oil between 2011 and 2016

"SNH welcomes the progress of proceedings against the perpetrators and accomplices of the acts of corruption that have tarnished its image," Moudiki said in the statement.

He did not say how many SNH staff were involved.

He did not say how many SNH staff were involved.

employees had been identified as suspects and would appear before a British court on Sept. 10.

Cameroonian lawyer and anti-corruption specialist Akere Muna said SNH should disclose identities of those involved and suspend all dealings with Glencore.

Cameroon's state anti-corruption commission said an investigation into the bribery offences was underway, but it has not since shared further details but some employees had been identified as suspects and would appear before a British court on Sept. 10.

Created in 1980, former president Ahidjo minimized petroleum extraction and sales and famously said” avant la mannne petroliere, il y avait la manne Agricole’ implying that there had been and always be agriculture, before and after petroleum, encouraging Cameroonians at the time to concentrate more on agriculture than crude oil. However petroleum money was used to finance some major developmental projects in Cameroon (though not in Southern Cameroon)

Before continuing, its important to understand the National Hydrocarbon company. It controls all hydrocarbon activities in Cameroon and deals with international and national partners. Their activities also include the purchase and refining of crude at the national refinery (SONARA) Of course we all know that 95% of Hydrocarbon in Cameroon is crude oil from Ndian LGA and we also know the pitiful condition the Ndian LGA finds itself. The Secretary of state at the presidency is by virtue of that position head of the board of Governors of the SNH. Crude oil exploiters pay some money to the SNH who gives them the authorization to explore for crude and when this is discovered, the presidency then gets involved and the triangular criminal partnership- Presidency/SNH/SONARA- comes into action.

The Glencore scandal involves illicit sale of petroleum products to fictitious companies and purchase of crude for refining at SONARA from equally illicit sources. The general Manager Adolphe Moudiki who took over the company in 1996 after the demise of Jean Assoumou till date earns a salary of 50million CFA per month. His wife (since the ailing 90 year old husband is permanently undergoing treatment in France) as administrative director and alongside Chantal Biya is the one running the company, NGOH NGOH being their agent. Glencore with the complicity of SNH personnel .

Adolphe Moudiki initially refuted the SNH’s involvement in any financial misdeeds but unfortunately global pressure, and Paul Biyas incessant demands for loans and financial assistance from in international financing bodies compelled him to admit that there had been financial improprieties within the company that he will investigate.

For more than 60 years the Southern Cameroons has been exploited, raped, ripped of its riches and nothing has been given back to it in spite of its enormous wealth and the financial contributions it makes to certain individuals of the top management of that country. For 28 years, Adolphe Moudiki earns a salary of 50 million a month at the expense of Southern Cameroonians who can’t even take their farm products to the local markets because of poor roads. In addition, his wife, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. Chantal Biya and other corrupt officials of government have been benefitting from Glencore largesse all covered up by Ngoh Ngoh.

SONARA, a subsidiary of SNH has had its share of upheavals including wanton dismissal of its general managers, arson and mismanagement, illicit sales of Southern Cameroons crude to refining it at SONAR financial improprieties and considerably reduce its abilities and production . Southern Cameroonians have actually not played any considerable role in the leadership of that company.

These corrupt SNH employees and government officials are supposed to be tried in a court in London on September the 10th. For those who still believe and think that Southern Cameroon and Cameroon can exist as one country again amidst all these crimes against the Southern Cameroonians they should have a rethink and refocus on the struggle to liberate the southern Cameroons from the grip of the devil. It is clear from all

Any blue-blooded Southern Cameroonian would be appalled and infuriated by this information and strife to kick the invader and exploiter out of our land. It should be noted that all protagonist and commentators on this saga don’t consider the plight of the Southern Cameroons and the impoverished Ndian LGA and don’t even mention it in all commentaries and TV debates. Joshua Osih an offspring of Ndian has never brought up this information in Parliament nor has he ever mentioned the Glencore scandal in any situation.

Barrister Muna has called on Cameroonians to demonstrate against the government in London but I think it is the opportunity for Ambazonians to steal the show and explain to all and sundry that Those are some of the reasons we have to leave.

Even if Barrister Muna has never pleaded the Southern Cameroonian cause and may not even be concerned about the Southern Cameroonian angle of this saga but we thank him for opening our eyes and reinforcing our desire to regain our independence. Knowing LRC we are conscious and we hope he knows that his life is already in danger and we should not be surprised if he is silenced any of these days.

September 10^th should be a day when Southern Cameroon Ambazonians would also come out in London and explain our predicament