Year end message to the nation:

Biya dribbles civil servants, placates transporters

After many years of popular clamour for substantial salary increase, President Biya decided instead to increase family allowance for civil servants. Also yielding to sustained pressure from transporters, the president announced a drop in pump prices of fuel. Though hailed by sundry Cameroonians, commentators said the presidential decisions were only half measures intended to sweeten the nation’s sour mood. They said more substantive work still needs be done if the president must heal the wounds caused by the unpopular policies of his government.

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde

Fuel prices have dropped at filling stations

Paul Biya had a successful address to the nation last Friday that is in as far as speeches are concerned. Unlike in previous occasions when his year end address was replete with platitudes and his tone harsh, his hearers said this one had a rather soft and positive tone.

                A bright spot in the address was easily the hint that fuel prices would be dropped and family allowance for civil servants increased.

                Commentators said these two measures would help to sandpaper some of the rough edges that the president had created with his at times very unpopular policies.

                Admitting severally that the president’s action was a move in the right direction, sundry observers remarked that it should just be the beginning of many more good things to come, especially if the populations must benefit the spoils from the much-vaunted positive economic growth.

                Reacting shortly after the address was broadcast on state radio and television, CRTV, Achingale Prosper said it was easily Biya’s best speech in many years. The senior civil servant admitted that “for once in several years the president sounded really positive and hopeful”.

                But Mr. Achingale at once regretted that the address was also a source of disappointment to civil servants, many of whom had expected the president to announce a substantial salary raise, especially after the drastic pay cuts in 1993.

                “The president dribbled civil servants. After the drastic salary cuts in 1993, we expected him to announce a substantial increase in salaries if just to enable civil servants to meet up with the challenges of the times. He did not. This was a source of disappointment to most civil servants,” Mr. Achingale, who is national pedagogic inspector at the MINESEC, remarked.

                As if talking in tandem with Achingale Prosper, opposition strongman John FruNdi remarked it was one of Biya’s best addresses ever. But the SDF chairman hastened to point out that the president failed to make concrete pronouncements on the achievements of his government in 2015, if ever there were any.

                FruNdi for example said the president did not say how many kilometers of roads were tarred, how many hospitals, schools, airports, stadiums etc were built.

                Re-echoing his party chairman, Ako Philip, SDF Yaounde six District Chairman said the address was vague and hollow. He noted for example that in the area of job creation, the president used statistics that could hardly be trusted or verified. The SDF diehard said President Biya should have at least borrowed a leaf from his Senegalese counterpart, MackiSall, who listed concrete projects he had achieved in the past year and even affirmed that he was able to redeem 90% of the promises he made at the beginning of the year.

                But if Biya’s year end address was greeted with mixed feelings by civil servants and politicians, it was a source of real joy and satisfaction to transporters. DeffoSokeng Collins, president of one of the many transporters syndicates in the country said transporters were very happy because the president has for once proven that he listens to Cameroonians.

                “The reduction in fuel prices is victory to trade unionism in Cameroon. The president has demonstrated that he listened to us and understood our demands. Reason why we must be happy,” Sokeng Collins said, adding that president Biya deserves to be praised.

                Another transporter, TchoumiColince, simply said the president had put paid to the promise he made since way back in 2008, following the famous nation-wide hunger riots that year. Tchoumi said “on behalf of all transporters and road users he is saying a big thank you to president Biya for the gesture.”

                But president Biya’s message was not only about fuel prices and family allowance. He also used the opportunity to congratulate Cameroonians for the resilience they have so far demonstrated in the face of the adversities invited by the Boko Haram insurgency, with its attendant security and economic challenges. Biya hailed the army for putting up a brave resistance to Boko Haram and Cameroonians for standing resolutely by the army.

Many Cameroonians have hailed the president for these acknowledgements, saying this time he did not arrogate all the credit to himself as he has done in the past.

                But however good and successful the president’s address was acclaimed to be, sundry commentators wondered why he did not address the corruption issue despite the recent TI rating.