By Nchendzengang Tatah
The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) is on its way back to a favourable economic position, say stakeholders, after the disbursement of over CFA 35 billion in total to bail out the agro-industrial corporation from workers’ arrears. The payment was launched during a ceremony on October 7 in Limbe. It was chaired by the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Joseph Dion Ngute, in the presence of the Minister of Finance, Lious Paul Motaze and Minister Pauline Nalova Lyonga, who is an elite of the South West.
Dion Ngute described the event as the rebirth of the CDC. He noted that the interest of the government in the corporation was critical. Shown through its efforts to sustain the workers by paying the arrears. Dion Ngute explained that the survival of the CDC was paramount to the population of the South West, where it is based. Saving the CDC, he said, was a futuristic move with economic impact, particularly to the North West and South West Regions, from where a towering number of its employees come. Dion called on the corporation’s management to consolidate these gains and steer it into brighter shores.
In an earlier intervention, Minister Motaze sustained that the allocation was testament to the government’s resolve to keep running the corporation despite the challenges. He noted that the CDC had suffered enormously from the crisis which broke out in 2016; resulting in the shutdown of its plantations, destruction of property and a near-zero fall in its output.
Between 2018 and 2021, the company recorded a loss of over CFA 38 billion with a workforce drop from 20,000 to 15,000 workers. Minister Motaze made it a point to applaud the resilience of the company’s management. To which medals of recognition were awarded to some of the corporation’s stakeholders who had braved the odds; foremost being its General Manager Franklin Ngoni Njie who was made a Knight of the Order of Valour
Minister Motaze described the move by the government to pay the arrears of some 20,000 CDC workers as social justice. He was hopeful that it would be a solid step in revamping the corporation, which is gradually recording a positive note.
“The revival of the CDC will strengthen our export performance; banana, palm oil, and rubber will improve the trade balance, and generate foreign exchange vital to Cameroon’s economic sovereignty. The implementation of an economic policy is built on three fundamental pillars; preservation of human capital, social and territorial stability and balanced regional development,” the MINfI boss said.
Motaze handed recommendations to the CDC to improve its subsequent activities. It included strengthening their governance framework, accelerating agricultural investment, and promoting diversification and transparency.
Seventy-eight years down the road for the CDC, steadfast government support and the selfless input of workers were credited by GM Ngoni Njie to have sustained it despite diverse challenges. In these years, the most devastating situation has been the ongoing socio-political instability in the South West and North West, which by 2019 had reduced the CDC’s total revenue from produce sales to CFA 3.8 billion, up from CFA 55 billion. Following the successive losses, CDC further had its equity reduced from CFA +44 billion in 2016 to CFA -35 billion as of December 2023. He said the CDC was worth +23.7 billion in equity by 31st December 2024 thanks to government efforts through the Debt Takeover Agreement of 10 July, 2024. Ngoni Njie highlighted this move not only to have saved the CDC but to have addressed the recurrent problem of low worker motivation. He extended appreciation to the government on behalf of the CDC workforce. Overall, the Chief CDC manager said the prospects were brighter considering all of the government’s efforts and initiatives to have the CDC fully on its feet again.
