Hundreds of thousands of workers across Cameroon are observing International Labor Day on May 1 by marching against abuses they say include illegal dismissals and failure to pay the $70 monthly minimum wage, even as the cost of living increases.

Trade unions say tens of thousands of trained teachers, doctors and nurses have fled the country in the past year because of unemployment and tough working conditions, with monthly salaries at half the minimum.

Celestin Bama, secretary general of the Confederation of Cameroon Workers Trade Union, or CSTC, addressed workers gathered at the May 20 Boulevard in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Bama said the government of Cameroon has not done anything substantial within the past 30 years to improve the conditions of workers. Thirty years ago, Cameroon imposed a 70 percent salary cut on government workers, Bama said, adding that there is a growing need to increase wages as prices of basic commodities have spiked 40 percent.

Cameroon trade unions say a 20 percent fuel price hike imposed by the government in February without a corresponding salary increase has also made living very difficult.

Anong Jacob, a member of the Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, or CATTU, said some private school owners pay teachers as little as $50 a month.

“What do you expect from a teacher who earns 40,000 or 30,000 francs in a town like Yaounde or Douala or Bamenda, Bafoussam? What quality of shoe or dress would you expect them to put [wear] and come to school? You see the poor teacher with twisted shirts, with twisted shoes and all of that. Sometimes they don’t have money to pay electricity bills. They suffer a lot of humiliation,” Anong said. “I think the government should put some policies [in place] to see that proprietors and proprietresses respect the minimum wage.”

Cameroon’s agreed minimum wage is $70 per month. Hilary Mbuwel, a teacher and social critic, said private employers do not respect the minimum wage because the government does not police private companies.

“Proprietors know that if they do not respect the minimum wage, nobody calls them to account and so, since there is nobody to call them to account, nobody to punish them, they do it with impunity,” Mbuwel said.

The government says there has been a 10 percent pay raise since 2023, but workers say with inflation so high, the raise is negligible. The government says the inflation rate is about 8 percent.

Cameroon Minister of Labor and Social Security Gregoire Owona said the fragile world economy and several armed conflicts that the government has to manage make it impossible for the state and private investors to satisfy the needs of all workers.

Owona said limited financial resources make it difficult for the government of Cameroon to solve the myriad problems affecting workers. He added that Cameroon President Paul Biya has ordered officials to make sure the wages of all government workers are paid regularly and as agreed in their employment contracts, while the possibility of improved workers’ rights, decent working conditions and fair compensation are being examined.

Owona said the Cameroon government has instructed police and the National Insurance Fund to investigate and punish private employers who neither register their staff members to social security schemes nor respect the minimum wage.

The government says respecting agreed wages and providing retirement benefits and disability income to qualified workers and their families will reduce the current massive migration of workers for lucrative jobs elsewhere, especially in Europe and North America.

Cameroon says at least 10,000 trained professionals have fled the central African state within the past year because of unemployment, poor pay or poor working conditions.

Source: VOA

Local and city council mayors in Cameroon have signed a charter which reflects their desire to take birth registration efforts more seriously in all their respective municipalities. The mayors took the resolve at the end of a recent two-day forum in Yaounde which laid bare all facets of problems hindering civil status registration in the country.

The document signed by the mayors also contains proposals on which some action is required by the government in order to improve birth registration figures in the country.

The Yaounde forum – the first of its kind – brought together all the 374 local and city council mayors, heads of secondary civil status registration centers, civil status registration secretaries, civil society actors involved in citizen action, representatives from government ministries, departments and agencies, as well as those of financial and technical partners supporting the government of Cameroon in civil status registration matters.

Speakers during the forum included Decentralisation and Local Development Minister Georges Elanga Obam, UNICEF country representative for Cameroon Nadine Perault and a UNICEF consultant and CRVS expert, Cornelius Williams. They all stressed the importance of birth registration, saying it is the starting point of a human being’s legal existence. They said they hope the forum will provide the necessary impetus for joint action that will prioritize birth registration and make Cameroon an exemplary country in the domain within the central African sub region.

Some proposals contained in the charter, put together during several workshops that characterized the forum, include the need to extend the legal deadline for birth registration beyond the current 90 days from the date of birth of a child, the need to increase financial resources to councils and for government to simplify birth registration requirements and the entire process itself, among other issues.

At the end of the forum, Perault said: “[I’m] inspired by the commitment of Cameroon mayors at the first birth registration forum. Their dedication to improving birth registration systems will help provide children with a strong foundation for a better future.”

She added: “The mayors’ forum on birth registration in Cameroon marks a significant step towards achieving universal birth registration. Let’s amplify our efforts to ensure that no child is left without a legal identity. We have the power to make 2024 the year of birth registration in Cameroon.”

On the commitment taken by the mayors, Elanga Obam remarked: “You have made strong commitments in the charter you just signed. You will be judged by the results achieved through efforts to reduce the seven million Cameroonians without legal identity. History will judge you.”

Source: biometricupdate

The 5th Cameroonian Household Survey (ECam5), published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on April 24, revealed that nearly two in five Cameroonians live below the national poverty line, estimated at CFA813 ($1.42) per day and person. The INS report states that “with this threshold, about 10 million people live in poverty in 2022, for a total population estimated at around 27 million inhabitants.”

The INS attributes this situation to several factors, including insufficient economic growth, distortions in wealth distribution, and various endogenous and exogenous shocks related to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and fluctuations in global commodity and export prices. The report also notes that, as has been the case for years, poverty is more prevalent in rural areas, with a 56.3% incidence, compared to 21.6% in urban areas. “The regions of the Far North, North-West, North, Adamawa, and East are the poorest, with poverty levels above the national average. Consumption inequality remains high, as the wealthiest 20% of households have a consumption 10 times higher than the poorest 20%,” the report states.

Most of the regions considered poorer in Cameroon face security challenges. These include the Far North, where the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram is active; the North-West, where separatist demands have intensified in recent years; the Adamawa region, which faces kidnappings targeting mainly herders and traders; and the East, which borders the Central African Republic and suffers from the actions of armed militias from that country that roam the border with Cameroon.

Source: Business in Cameroon

In a major move to alleviate the plight of Southern Cameroon refugees in Cross River State, an organization, Biakwan Light Green Initiative (BLGI) has donated farm seedlings, food items and clothing to the refugees.

The benefitting refugees who are seeking safety in the Cross River have formed a significant population in the Biakwan community of the Boki local government area due to the ongoing conflict in the country’s southern region.

Presenting the items, The Executive Director of BLGI, Mr. Peter Bette said the idea of the support was to reduce pressure on the community forest.

In addition to this, the support will also provide livelihood to women, and enhance capacity through training to secure women’s rights and food security pool.

Odey Oyama, a conservationist, commended the environmental group for the initiative stating that empowerment would serve its purpose.

He encouraged the displaced persons to key into the programme as Nigeria and Cameroon share a complex and dynamic diplomatic relationship.

The Board Chairman of NGO Coalition for Environment (NGOCE) Dr. Odiga Odiga urged the refugees and some of the community members who also benefited to take of the opportunity and ensure they engage in all activities.

The renowned environmentalist assured the beneficiaries that the project would promote sustainable agriculture and agroforestry like planting indigenous fruit trees and home gardens to enhance biodiversity, and mitigate climate change.

The Town Council Chairman Mr. Joseph praised BLGI and pledged his support for the project, noting that it would strengthen collaboration and foster relationships between the refugees and the host community.

Responding to the gesture, the leader of the refugees, Elder Ben Kachi appreciated the team for the gifts and support.

Source: Sunnewsonline

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations today held an official launch here of its Green Cities Initiative, which is already being piloted in Cameroon, with seven municipalities submitting letters of intent to join the initiative.

In remarks at the launch event, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu noted that with two thirds of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050 – urban areas are facing major challenges.

“Municipalities are at the frontline of citizens’ expectations to improve their livelihoods and well-being, from accessing nutritious foods, adequate water, energy, and housing”, Qu said

They must also address “multiple challenges such as the impacts of the climate crisis, environment degradation, waste management and urban inequality, among others,” he added.

Enthusiastic welcome

Georges Elanga Obam, Cameroon’s Minister of Decentralization and local development described the rapid growth of the country’s urban population and the associated challenges and said Cameroon could not but enthusiastically welcome FAO’s Green Cities Initiative.

The Yaoundé City Mayor, Luc Messi Atangana, also expressed his appreciation for the initiative.

In Cameroon, the number of city dwellers has increased by 50 percent between 2010 and 2020, with more than 15 million urban residents now, half of them living in Yaoundé and Douala. Since March 2023, a pilot Green Cities Initiative project has been underway in the capital’s Yaoundé 4 district. Its implementation, focusing on a micro-project for training of waste collectors who visit households and collect waste for composting, the process of composting itself and promotion of urban agriculture, has attracted interest from other municipalities in Yaoundé and elsewhere.

At today’s meeting, seven more municipalities formally handed over letters of intent to Qu to join the initiative. The Director-General expressed FAO’s eagerness to support them with innovative actions on the ground with impact to be upscaled and expanded.

Qu told the municipalities’ mayors he was confident that in partnership with FAO they could make their cities “greener, healthier, and more sustainable through among others expanding urban forestry and agriculture and creation of green jobs for the younger generation.”

Vibrant inclusive cities

FAO’s flagship Green Cities Initiative was launched globally in 2020. It envisions vibrant and inclusive cities where urban green and productive spaces catalyze climate resilience, social cohesion, and economic prosperity. It also aims at bridging the gap between urban and rural areas and between citizens and nature. The FAO GCI supports cities to develop through the availability and access to goods and services provided by urban and peri-urban forestry, agriculture as well as through the circular bioeconomy.

Building on FAO’s expertise on sustainable urban and peri urban agriculture and forestry, and urban food systems, the Green Cities Initiative supports local governments to plan, design and implement innovative green actions bringing together efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, multifunctional green infrastructure, and natural resources management.

The Green Cities Initiative seeks to improve the livelihoods and well-being of urban and peri-urban populations in at least 100 cities (15 metropolitan, 40 intermediate and 45 small cities) around the world and aims to have 1000 cities join by 2030.

Culled from the FAO