-MPs threaten strike over unpaid salary
-Constitutional amendment in view
By NOELA E. BISONG & DOH J. SONKEY
Cameroon’s Parliament reopens Tuesday, for the March 2026 ordinary session of the 10th legislature.
The Upper House of Parliament will open equally with the provisional bureau made up of Eldest Senator and two youngest Senators chairing.
Before the election of the Permanent Bureau of the House and the putting up of parliamentary commissions, stakes will be high at the Lower House of Parliament with eldest Member of Parliament expected to replace Hon Laurentine Koa Mfegue who journeyed to the world beyond last January 22, 2026.
But that is not all. A major talking point has been the non-payment of MPs’ salaries for the month of February. The SUN gathered that both Secretaries General of the Lower and Upper Houses had fruitlessly spent several hours at the ministry of finance to no avail, and at press time the situation remained same. Recall that the salaries are usually paid within the first days of the new month, at most the 3rd of every month. However, the delay for close to 10 days signals the current liquidity stress faced by the State, observers hold. The SUN gathered that the MPs have resolved to boycott the session after its opening on March 10, should the situation persist. Another school of thought holds that, in the face of the current hardship, the MPs maintain they will not participate in the constitutional amendment, which reports say is central to the agenda of the 2026 March Parliamentary session.
Aside the salaries issue, some MPs are equally disgruntled over the non-payment of their duty post allowances for years now, money which some intimate has been ending in the pockets of a select few.
Possible amendments to Cameroon’s Constitution
Tongues are already wagging regarding the amendment of some sections of Cameroon’s Constitution by MPs, in this March session of Parliament. Amongst the possible changes, is the effecting of the post of Vice President of the Republic, which is said will rotate between Anglophones and Francophones, depending on who occupies the Presidential seat. The SUN also learnt that the same shall obtain for the post of Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic SGPR, with the post of Deputy SGPR.
The Mandate of the President of the Republic will also be another talking point, reports say. The SUN has gathered that the Presidential mandate shall be revisited, as the MPs will vote for a return to what prevailed prior to 2008, where the mandate was limited to two terms. However, it is not certain if the number of years shall also be reduced from seven to five as it used to be the case.
Another aspect is the increase of the financial deposit of Presidential candidates, from the current FCFA 30 million to about FCFA 50 million or FCFA 100 million. Also, at the level of Parliamentary elections, candidates’ fee will possibly move from FCFA 1.5 million to FCFA 3 million. At the level of Municipal elections, candidates will deposit possibly FCFA 100,000.
Coming on the heels of the next Parliamentary/Municipal elections (though election date is yet to be announced), the session is anticipated to produce fireworks to chart a fresh path for the dynamics of the nation in the years ahead.