Agree On Best Practices

The robust projects currently being carried out in the East and South Regions of the country are aimed mostly at reducing the crying developmental deficits of the nation, notably in the area of electricity supply, access roads, bridges and water supply.

The countdown to 2035, announced a few years ago by the Head of State as the deadline for which all these projects would have been realized and thus making Cameroon eligible for economic emergency status, is inexorably ticking and with each passing day that date doesn't seem to be so far away as many had imagined.

To meet electoral promises of the Head of State, his representatives in government who are expected to turn his electoral commitments from mere rhetoric to real ground transformation, reasonably had to turn to those who could quickly deliver. For good reason. Time was running out and feet-dragging or gerrymandering of sorts had to be avoided. Friends came into the show and were quickly accepted, especially as they have some sympathies over our developmental predicaments and expressed their desire, in word and deeds, to see our country overcome its long-standing obstacles in the area of infrastructural development. The first roads and bridges were built in record time. Costs saw revolutionary cuts. And everybody swore only by our new-found friends.

But few Cameroonians knew that cultural and new work ethics were soon going to put us and these new friends eyeball-to-eyeball. While we thought we had found all-weather friends, they who had come, knew that the sacrosanct principle of defending one's interests before all else came before any other consideration. They came to make profits and only comparative advantage could justify their selection as our choice partners for our face-lifting developmental projects coined politically as "Greater Achievements".

Unfortunately, everywhere these new developmental partners have passed, the hornet's nest has been blown. Sometimes very noisily. It started a few years ago with the Indonesians who took over HEVECAM, the rubber plantations in the Nyieté area of the Ocean Division of the South Region. Cameroonians working under the new owners of the company complained of sub-human treatment. Ostensibly exploiting the unemployment situation in the country, the new owners of the company paid catechist wages to workers whom they knew had come from as far afield as the North West and Far North Regions and would have no choice, given the difficulty of going back to their regions of origin or let alone finding a job there from which they could eke a living, not necessarily a decent one!

The same scenario has repeated itself in virtually all of the important worksites. Strikes in these sites are a common phenomenon. Cameroonian workers in these sites complain of degrading treatment. If it were simply for wages, one would understand in view of the generalized unemployment situation in the country and the need to make sacrifices in view of the face-lifting and economic transformation character of most of these projects. But when basic health cover and hygiene and sanitation facilities are lacking, then there is a problem. Cameroon is not a terra nullis, a newfound land. It is a Republic; consequently run on the basis of laws.

The human dignity component of that Vision has to be highlighted, otherwise we'll have an emergent economy by 2035 with citizens who are not necessarily the beneficiaries of the said vision. This must have prompted recent visits by government ministers to most of the worksites to ensure that workers and employers agree on best practices.