In the face of acute hardship, misery and peril, following months and years of no salaries, workers of Cameroon Development Corporation CDC, have now ran out of patience and are resolute that waiting in quiet, is no longer an option.
It is no secret that these plantation workers have been without regular salaries since 2018 and amounts owed by management now resonates in billions of FCFA. For the past two weeks, the strike action has been going on in various units of the Corporation including Idenau, Kompina, Tiko, Penamboko among others, with threats of marching to the head office in Bota, Limbe being voiced. According to the workers, their hardship and suffering has reached palpitating levels and they can no longer exercise patience.
The crisis in the South West and North West Regions that escalated in 2017 has been a key pointer to the undesired situation. As a result of the crisis wherein State Defence and Security forces continue to battle Separatist fighters gunning for an independent state of the two regions, the Corporation has recorded numbers of human resource loses and a colossal level of material damages. A number of the Corporation’s estates are in advanced state of dilapidation, including most of its rubber and palm plantations. Only CDC’s Banana sector appears to be thriving, though not without challenges.
However, even before the crisis, keen observers point that the CDC was already being challenged, as it was faced with falling international market prices for its produce. The situation of the Corporation was so bad at a time until there were talks of privatisation.
In the present context, CDC is confronted with various battles, including grabbing of its lands by some unscrupulous individuals/groups.
CDC is the second highest employer after the State, offering a record 22,000 jobs to Cameroonians. The Corporation is among the last of Anglophone legacies, but has lost much steam over the years.
CDC workers are protesting undue suffering, neglect and absence of compassion by the forces that be. They are decrying their inability to send their kids to school because there is no money for them to do so. They are lamenting untimely deaths from poor healthcare whereby they can’t go to hospital or afford medications because they have no financial power to do so. They are expressing frustration from hunger and starvation because they cannot afford basic commodities due to rising prices in a situation where they are financially beaten.
In the face of the strikes, a seemingly helpless Franklin Njie reacted to the press that, “It is a known-problem; it has been the subject of a good number of working sessions with the state and other stakeholders.”
The State had provided an air of relief when it took a major step to settle the salary arrears of CDC workers for a four-year period (2018-2022).
The GM explained that, “Progress has been made; the State has decided to take over the salary debt for the period 2018 to December 31st 2022. It is a total of about FCFA 35.7billion, which has to be disbursed in two installments. A Convention to that effect has been signed. One of the big problems that the workers have is that for the basis of the Convention that was signed, management had a meeting with the workers and told them the progress that has been made and there was reason for workers to have expectations that the first part of the payment will be paid latest September ending. Unfortunately that expectation has not been met; not because of the fault of CDC Management or Government, (Government has taken a decision and stands by it!)”, he maintained.
CDC workers had thus been reassured of receiving the first part of the payment in September to at least help send their children to school, but nothing was received. Franklin Njie said, “What has caused the delay was that the Commercial Bank that was retained for the execution of the content of that Convention encountered issues of Conformance and Capacity which made it that the decision had to be revisited. That is what has taken a lot of time, for other commercial banks to manifest their interest, carry out negotiations with them and submit them to hierarchy for due diligence.”
CDC GM, Franklin Njie after the meeting with Trade Union leaders following the November 12 protests, signed a release which read in part that, “Management understands the demands of the workers and the difficulties they go through…Management is reassuring workers that the State and other Stakeholders are very conscious of the need for the urgent treatment of this matter. Thus, workers should not allow the challenges to cause distraction and agitation at this point where much has already been achieved towards the payment of salary arrears…we are calling on the workers to stay calm, maintain an optimistic spirit and exercise patience”.
However, rejecting the GM’s appeal, CDC workers have continued protests in units of the Corporation. They say in exercising patience to see their expectation met, they have had their hopes hanging in the air for far too long. The workers main question is “When will the money be paid?” Thus, the striking workers say, “no pay no work”.
The cry is so loud in CDC because relatively comparing its case with sister company, SONARA, the situation is clearly different. SONARA workers have been steadily receiving salaries since the May 2019 fire explosion which has rendered the refinery a mere trader of petroleum products. So why is the case of CDC this bad???
How come CDC can conveniently pay for state security of millions of FCFA monthly, but its workers and contractors are starving? Why has there not been any prompt action to salvage this giant legacy from rotting? Why has CDC workers been left to die in penury with only promises which appear to be moving with snail-like speed? When exactly will succor come to CDC? When will CDC shine again? Will it ever shine or is it merely in its last kicks?
A drastic government intervention is now due!