South West Region :Companies urged to invest more

The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training has been to four companies in the South West Region.

The objective to create 350,000 jobs in 2015 as instructed by President Paul Biya, was a recurrent theme during a two-day working visit to the South West Region by the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Zacharie Perevet. In Kumba, Muyuka and Limbe, the Minister called on company managers to make job creation a primordial objective. And by so doing, help government in the fight against poverty.

This message was echoed November 23, 2015 during a working visit to the Kumba branch premises of the China Communication Construction Company (C CCC) charged with the construction of Phase I of the Kumba–Mamfe road which involves Kumba–Kumbe Bakundu–Nfiatok. From presentations by Mr. Wang, the Assistant Director of CCCC, the Minister gathered that works on the Kumba–Kumbe Bakundu stretch of 54,439 kilometres and the Kumbe–Bakundu–Nfiatok stretch of 49,540 kilometres, will be completed by June 2017.

This good news, aimed to dis-enclave the area received applause. However, the Minister’s main message to the company pegged on the respect of Cameroon’s labour norms that govern the recruitment of nationals. He called on the company to recruit more Cameroonians, respect the rules and regulations of the Labour Code, train Cameroonians for continuity and maintenance and ensure the transfer of technology to enable Cameroon to become an emerging nation by 2035. Minister Zacharie Perevet called for periodic reports containing statistics to be forwarded to the hierarchy in Yaounde on jobs created, what is envisaged and reasons for the dismissal or sanctioning of a worker.

At the “Source du Pays Company” in Muyuka, which deals with mineral water and soft drinks, it was the same message from Minister Zacharie Perevet who was impressed with the number of Cameroonians already employed. In a working session with the management staff of the CDC on November 24, 2015, the Minister was elated to learn that the CDC has a total work force of 20,581 workers of which 18,594 are permanent. “The CDC is therefore the second largest employer in Cameroon after the State. Blue collar jobs constitute about 75 per cent of our workforce,” the CDC Director of Human Resources recalled. During the 2016 financial year, he said, the corporation is expected to employ 2,826 workers.

The situation of workers also featured prominently during the Minister’s working visit to the National Refinery Company (SONARA) where he urged for periodic reports on recruitment and internships, especially for students. Before the Minister said quits from the South West, he called on Cameroonians to embrace hard work to merit recruitment in Companies.