Neba-Fuh
24 March 2008
On March 7, President Paul Biya signed two decrees adjusting the monthly wages of state personnel by 15 percent and house allowance by 20 percent.
The decision was the fallout from the Council of Ministers meeting that took place that same day chaired by Biya.Reading through the press release announcing the salary adjustments, it is stated that the council "had a single item in its agenda namely a special statement by the Head of State."
That special statement was: "a series of short and medium term measures intended to provide first solutions to the impatience being expressed." These measures include "improvement of purchasing power" by way of salary adjustments to take effect from April this year.
A few hours after this was made public, Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni emphasised to the press that the recent salary adjustments had nothing to do with the latest upheaval in the country.
My use of the word 'adjustments' instead of 'increments' is intentional. We should understand that any genuine salary increase would only make sense if the pre-90 salaries of Cameroonian civil servants were reinstated. Anything short of that is just a petty adjustment. It is deplorable to applaud the recent salary adjustments as increments when the prices of goods and services have at least quadrupled since the 90s.
It should be recalled that Mr. Biya announced a possible salary adjustment in his end-of-year address. Economic experts thought it would take technical adjustments involving revenue and expenditure for such adjustments to be effected, since it was not envisaged in the 2008/2009 budget. They emphasised that it could not be so soon.
A sage joked that it takes just a decision from Biya and his cohorts to scratch the surface of their embezzled hoarded billions, for salary adjustments to take effect in Cameroon.
I realise today that it wasn't a joke. If we imagine that a top minister in Cameroon could publicly celebrate his 5th billion (FCFA), some years ago... then one can imagine the amount of the people's currency that is being withheld by a few. What about ministers and directors who have embezzled money to the tune of FCFA 11 billion?
The interesting thing about the recent corruption talk is that most people are always shying away from talking about what the head of the regime may have embezzled this far, in his more than two-decade rule.
The Prime Minister's declaration aimed at dissociating the decision of salary adjustments from the recent upheaval was arrogant and unrealistic, contrary to the press release from the Presidency, which clearly states that these measures are intended "to provide first solutions to the impatience being expressed" by Cameroonians.
The Cameroonian populace have played the 'patient dog role', but never having 'the fattest bone'. They condoned the drastic salary slashes in the 90s under the pretext of world economic crisis. The unsuccessful Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), poor governance, corruption, just added salt to the sores of poverty-stricken Cameroonians.
The so-called privatisation process became a scandal with bids going to whoever would pull the strings with the regime in power. Companies were sold at far less than their market value.
The implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, set up by world economic powers, is at snail speed in Cameroon. The basic living standard of the majority of Cameroonians is at its lowest. The much talked about Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, HIPC, Completion Point, is not yielding much fruit. Basic amenities are still luxuries to many Cameroonians.
Western powers' directives on the implementation of the HIPC funds are proving to be 'trappy' for an uncommitted government like ours. A government that is slow at coming out with concrete project proposals, their implementation and the expected impact, finds it difficult to make use of what has been placed at its doorsteps in terms of HIPC funds.
It will not be exaggerating to conclude that the recent salary adjustments are desperate measures to quell the anger of the frustrated populace so as to secure the selfish greater ambition of manipulating Article 6.2 of the Constitution, to allow Biya to rule for life.
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