The new Board Chair of the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, Hope Sona Ebai has appealed to the Government to give the much-needed attention to revive the corporation hard-hit by the current socio-political crisis rocking the North West and South West regions.
Speaking during a crucial board meeting of the corporation in Limbe, South West region Thursday August 19, Hope Sona Ebai said if the CDC is left unassisted in the face of the crippling Anglophone crisis, the consequences could be devastating for the country, given the socio-economic role played by the corporation.
“We express our gratitude to Government for the support, we plead for more support and more attention to be given to CDC based on its huge socio-economic role in the South West and North West regions. Government should continue to maintain CDC on its portfolio; we think that if the security situation improves, we can turn things around for the betterment of the CDC and the country at large…” Hope Sona Ebai said.
Apart from the appeal to Government for more support to bring the company back to its feet, the board meeting gave the new chair, appointed in May this year the possibility to understand the state of affairs in the company and decide with the members on the path CDC has to take to survive the current storm.
“We looked at performance indicators in the past year, the budget, and how it was managed and got reports from auditors. We approve their counts; we took note of the extremely difficult situations under which the CDC is functioning today because of the crisis…” The coca expert told the press at the close of the meeting.
He and the rest of the Board members have promised to keep the ailing corporation alive and fight for the interests of the workers.
The ailing Cameroon Development Corporation
The Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC is an Agro-Industrial Complex that grows, processes and markets tropical export crops. It operates in Cameroon in the Central African sub-region. It is a parastatal company with current share capital of 35,718,806,000 FCFA, and its operations are coordinated by the General Manager and governed by a Board of Directors presided by a Chairman. Currently, its plantations cover a total of approximately 42,000 Hectares of land, 38,000 Hectares is mature and of production stage.
The company whih constitutes a workforce of over 22,036 employees, including temporary workers, making it the second highest employer after the State of Cameroon has been crippling in the face of the Anglophone crisis wreaking havoc in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.
Workers of the corporation times without number protested for months of unpaid salaries. As at now, ten of its estates are almost entirely shut down and some five thousand workers are at the verge of being sent back home due to the company’s inability to pay their salaries.
On the Corporation’s website, a message of assurance reads that: “Conscious of the ongoing difficulties faced by the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) as a result of the current socio political unrest in the North West and South West Regions, acknowledging the fact that ten of our estates are almost entirely shut down, putting over five thousand jobs at risk, we wish to state that, being the sole owner of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), the State of Cameroon has duly been informed of the prevailing situation. While waiting for the State to provide a lasting solution to the crisis, all workers of the Cameroon Development Corporation are enjoined to remain calm and forward looking, as management is doing all it takes to ensure that things unfold in their best interest. We are hopeful that the powers that be will do all that is necessary to keep the CDC afloat.”
Ariane Foguem
