By Joe Dinga Pefok
Over 200 temporal workers at the Littoral Branch of Cameroon Telecommunications, CAMTEL, on October 17 called off a strike they started on October 10.
The disgruntled workers, who had besieged the CAMTEL office at Bepanda, were demanding for integration into the company as well as the payment of certain benefits. Pleas from the Littoral boss of CAMTEL, Mrs. Judith Achidi Achu, for them to act wisely had fallen on deaf ears.
On October 14, the Director of Human Resources from CAMTEL headquarters in Yaounde, Charles Pednene, was in Douala, accompanied by some local Labour officials, to hold talks with the striking workers. They, however, spent the whole day without the talks. Disgusted, the local administration invited anti-riot troops on October 15, who pounced on the striking workers and sent them running helter-skelter.
The workers, the next day, swallowed their pride and met with the company's Director of Human Resources and the Labour officials. Suffice to say that Pednene promised that some of the temporal workers would be integrated solely on the basis of merit, while the rest would be paid off, when the Littoral Provincial Service of Labour and Social Security finishes treating their files.
The Post learnt that a few years ago, some 300 temporal workers were recruited by CAMTEL to execute a certain project. But at the end of that project, the General Manager decided to maintain them still as temporal workers, until last year when the CAMTEL management decided to progressively discharge them.
The Littoral Provincial Delegation of Labour and Social Security, was handed the files of the workers for treatment, so that they could be paid off. So far, 20 of the files have been treated and the workers paid off.
Foning "Abandons" Campaign For Europe
The leader of the CPDM list for the October 26 municipal elections re-run in Douala V, Françoise Foning, surprised many when she disappeared from the campaign terrain mid last week. Foning who is President of the World Association of Female Entrepreneurs, travelled to Brussels in Belgium, to attend a meeting.
Though local opposition militants and even some CPDM militants in Douala V municipality were quick to assume that Foning had thrown in the towel, Foning told "Radio Equinoxe` in a telephone interview on October 18, that as the President of her association she could not afford to be absent from the very important international meeting, whose date was fixed some two years ago.
She argued that it would not even be good for the image of Cameroon. However, she assured that there was nothing to worry about her absence as regards the ongoing election campaigns in Douala V, for the CPDM campaign team is well organised. "The opposition knows it so well that victory at the elections will be on our side. It is a victory we already had last year, and will only confirm it on October 26.
The lion has been wounded, and everybody knows that when a lion is wounded, it moves forward more powerfully."
Blackout At Douala Central Market
AES SONEL on October 17 finally ran out of patience with the authorities of Douala Central Market and disconnected electricity from the trading outfit. The Douala Central Market is said to owe accumulated electricity bills of over FCFA 140 million. The situation is said to be the outcome of a protracted power tussle by groups of traders interested in taking over management of the market.
Traders have lined up behind different groups and pay all their dues to the different groups. The group officially recognised by the council has been rejected by a large majority of the traders. Things have gone from bad to worse as, for a couple of months now, different groups have been collecting dues from the different groups of traders but with none willing to take responsibility for the electricity bills.
Forger Netted
One Jean Ewane is currently being interrogated by the Douala police over his possession of fake letter headed papers and stamps of some public authorities. He was caught on October 16, when one of his dubious deals ended up exposing him. He reportedly received FCFA 33.000 from a student, one Jean Tsapi, and gave him a fake recommendation letter purportedly from the Governor of the Littoral Province, Francis Fai Yengo, addressed to the Principal of Lycèe Bepanda, Douala V.
In the fake letter, the Governor purportedly recommended that the principal consider Tsapi for admission into the school, even though classes had long resumed after the long vacation. But the principal, becoming suspicious, reportedly tried to carry out some quick enquiries, without Tsapi' knowledge.
The Governor's office refuted that Fai Yengo had signed any such letter. Security men soon showed up and whisked Tsapi away, who led them to Ewane, who was found in possession of several other fake documents and materials, among which were fake stamps from the Prime Minister's office.
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