PM, MINFI boss launch payment of CDC workers’ salary arrears.

This was during a ceremony in Limbe, Fako Division, in the South West Region, on Tuesday, October 7. In attendance were several members of government, administrative, security, traditional and elected leaders and the management of CDC.

According to the Prime Minister, the clearing of the salary arrears is an important step in restoring the dignity and motivation of CDC workers. 

He reaffirmed government’s dedication to improve workers’ welfare and ensure the stability of the corporation, which he said, is the highest employer of labour after government.

Faith in future of SW by Biya

Dion Ngute said the payment of the arrears is one of the fruits of the Major National Dialogue. He stressed that the survival of the CDC is a political as well as an economic issue of great concern to all Cameroonians.

The CDC’s rebirth, he insisted, is the result of the political vision of President Paul Biya, because it is a central focus of the leadership and bond with the people. 

He revealed that President Biya had rejected the idea of laying off workers with the fragile socioeconomic situation in the Region. Such a scenario, he intimated, would have worsen the socioeconomic life of denizens of the South West Region. 

“…it is not just a rebirth or fulfilment of a promise, but an act of faith in the future of the South West Region; because the CDC is the second major employer in the country after the government,” Dion Ngute noted, adding that: “thousands of jobs were on the line, the President moved to protect peace, social justice, and to preserve national cohesion and insisted on saving the CDC”.

After handing the symbolic cheque, which gave the green light for the payment of salary arrears to some 9500 workers, the Prime Minister underscored the political and social significance of the development. 

He said the revival of the CDC is not only an economic achievement but also a reaffirmation of government’s determination to maintain peace and cohesion in the two English-speaking Regions; most affected by the over eight-year armed conflict.

“This is an act for the future, to ensure that the people of the South West and North West Regions, who form the bulk of the CDC’s workforce, can once again earn a living from their labour,” the Prime Minister emphasised, noting that: “The Head of State has kept his promise to protect jobs, preserve peace, and restore dignity”.

More projects for SW

The Prime Minister promised all the stakeholders that government’s effort is not just limited to the CDC. He said similar measures have been engaged to protect the National Oil Refining Corporation, SONARA. 

He said no worker of SONARA has been laid off since the May 2019 fire incident that affected the Refinery. This, he said, is thanks to President Paul Biya. Dion Ngute said 47 FCFA was added to price of every litre of fuel to help finance SONARA’s rehabilitation.

The Port of Limbe, he added, is not just a project, but also a reality. He said there are many investors lining up to invest in the project.

Enter finance minister

The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, said money from the government will enable the CDC to complete the payment of arrears from May 2018 to December 2022. He said the money amounts to 35,656,665,903 FCFA.

Minister Motaze said the move is the fulfillment of a personal commitment by the Head of State, Paul Biya, to preserve social cohesion, restore the dignity of workers, and support the economic recovery of the North West and South West Regions.

He said government, under the leadership of President Biya, chose courage and solidarity over despair, by implementing a comprehensive rescue plan to preserve jobs and restore the company’s viability. 

The plan, he said, was coordinated by the Prime Minister’s Office, through the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Rehabilitation of Enterprises in Difficulty. 

The minister said it rested on three key pillars viz; institutional and financial restructuring, an emergency salary assistance plan, and a debt Takeover Agreement of FCFAF 91.8 billion.

The Ministry of Finance, he said, engaged a banking consortium, led by FedhEn Capital, in partnership with Société Générale Cameroun, AFG Bank, and CCA Bank, to reach a deal for two structured refinancing operations. 

The minister said the first phase of the payment was from December 2024, to the tune of FCFA 20 billion. He explained that FCFA 17.9 billion was used to pay 56% of salary arrears. 

The second phase of the support launched in October this year, the Minister said, injected FCFA 15.75 billion to complete the clearance of salary arrears.

“More than 20,000 employees and their families are regaining their rights, their dignity, and their rightful place in the national economic dynamics,” Motaze said, adding that: “This is more than the settlement of a debt—it is an act of social justice, a restoration of confidence, and a lever for economic revival”.

CDC is rising again

Motaze described the move from government as “an act of rebirth and a powerful message to the nation- the CDC is rising again,” he said. 

He recalled that since 2016, the company has suffered the full impact of the security crisis in the two English-speaking Regions, leading to abandoned plantations, closed factories, and thousands of workers left unpaid”.

He added that: “Between 2019 and 2021 alone, the corporation recorded losses, exceeding FCFA 38 billion, while its workforce dropped from 22,000 to about 15,000 employees”.

Need for sound governance

Minister Motaze cautioned that maintaining the new momentum, through government’s support, requires sound governance and accountability. 

He issued four key recommendations to ensure the sustainability of the State’s support and the company’s competitiveness. 

Motaze recommended strengthened governance, through the creation of a multi-stakeholder monitoring committee, comprising sectoral ministries, workers, and financial partners.

The minister called for accelerated industrial and agricultural investments to boost productivity and competitiveness in export markets; diversify markets and outlets, especially through regional and international commercial strategies. 

He urged CDC management to ensure transparency and traceability in managing all resources mobilised for recovery to maintain partner confidence.

He insisted that the revival of the CDC demonstrates Cameroon’s economic policy, based on preservation of human capital, social stability, and balanced regional development.

CDC GM hails gov’t 

The General Manager, GM, of CDC, Franklin Ngoni Njie, saluted government for the support of over 35 billion FCFA; to clear the salary arrears of workers. He said the money will ensure workers show up for duty to keep the corporation alive.

"On behalf of all CDC workers, we express our sincere gratitude to the Head of State, for his magnanimity and foresight,” Njie stated, adding that: “His instructions to maintain all jobs, despite the crisis, and now to clear all salary arrears, have restored hope to thousands of families”. 

Njie traced the company’s turbulent journey over the last decade since its 78th year of existence. He recalled that despite repeated crises, including the fall of global commodity prices, plant diseases, and the sociopolitical unrest in the South West Region, the CDC never collapsed; thanks to government’s support and workers’ resilience.

He revealed that the Debt Takeover Agreement, signed on July 10, 2024, significantly improved the corporation’s equity position, moving from negative FCFA 35 billion in 2023 to positive FCFA 23.7 billion by the end of 2024. 

The GM also highlighted government’s-approved projects that signal a new era of industrial growth. This, he said, include the construction of a new oil mill in Idenau and a rubber factory in Mpenda-Mboko, following presidential decrees signed on September 22, 2025. 

He revealed that the CDC’s revenue rose to FCFA 23 billion in 2024, representing 40% of its pre-crisis performance, with expectations to export 14,000 tonnes of banana this year, approaching pre-crisis levels.

Workers on their part, expressed gratitude to the government for the intervention. Through a spokesperson, they said the move by the government is a positive sign of improved labour relations and institutional reforms.

Officials said the clearance of the salary arrears is key in government’s ongoing efforts to support State-owned enterprises affected by the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions. 

Management said the payment of the money will boost the morale of CDC staff and contribute positively to productivity and future growth of the corporation.

It was stated that nearly 20,000 CDC workers will receive their salary arrears as part of government’s efforts to stabilise the CDC operations. Authorities added to the payments, other interventions by government to clear debts, modernise the CDC's production lines, safeguard thousands of jobs, and restore the corporation's competitiveness.

The City Mayor of Limbe, Paul Efome Ngale, declared at the event that: “The people of Limbe are profoundly grateful to the Head of State, for reviving the CDC, a pillar of our local economy”.

The ceremony also witnessed the decoration of members of the special committee that coordinated the CDC’s debt recovery process. Recipients were honoured with national distinctions such as Knight and Officer of the Cameroon Order of Merit, and Knight of the Order of Valour. 

They were decorated by the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the South West Region and the Senior Divisional Officer of Fako Division.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3589 of Thursday October 09, 2025