By Doh James Sonkey
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute has instructed government to step up measures to support the dying private press in Cameroon. He was speaking last May 28, 2025 while chairing the May 2025 cabinet meeting at the Star Building in Yaounde.
Attended by members of government (Ministers of State, Ministers, Ministers Delegate, Secretaries of State etc), this month’s cabinet meeting examined possible measures to improve support to the private media in the face of several challenges. Key deliberations centred on constraints and strides within the framework of the State institutional support to private media.
A presentation by the Minister of Communication, René Emmanuel Sadi, acknowledges the fact that the private press in Cameroon is facing significant funding problems. Indeed, the government instituted the financial support mechanisms to the private press as a means of supporting democracy and the rule of law. In recent times, the practice has experienced some setbacks as the aid package has declined from FCFA 250 million in 2016 to FCFA 127 million in 2024. It was therefore fundamental to examine some measures to address the situation especially as the journalism community highlighted some of the constraints during the commemoration of this year’s World Press Freedom Day last May 3, 2025.
The Communication boss, Rene Emmanuel Sadi explained that, “we have therefore considered a number of measures to try to meet this expectation. There is institutional support for the private press that has been established by the State. However, we still find that this funding remains below what is needed. We will therefore need to consider ways and means to complement this State aid. As part of the measures, we have considered the re-establishment of a special fund that we will think about how to finance. Furthermore, we are also looking to rely on the digital dividend with the arrival of digital terrestrial television. Finally, we also believe that we will promote subscriptions by public services to be granted to private media outlets.”
He added that they are aware the distribution of private newspapers remains a problem. “The audiovisual press is not left out. We continue discussions on establishing a fund for the development of audiovisual media,” René Emmanuel Sadi stated.
Other exchanges also looked at the key areas and challenges in strengthening dialogue between public authorities, trade unions and socio-professional organisations. The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Grégoire Owona said the level of dialogue is globally acceptable, leading to a raise in the basic minimum wage and helping to pre-empt conflict in enterprises like SOSUCAM and CDC. He however decried the rise of unstructured unions and other challenges the labour sector is confronted with.
Discussions also dwelt on the issue of waste management with the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Celestine Ketcha Courtès presenting the main resolutions of the recently organised general conference on urban waste disposal in Yaounde.
Concluding the meeting, the Prime Minister called for concerted efforts to improve dialogue, aid to the press and urban waste management.