Statement on the serious incidents in Nkoteng -Sosucam workers
STATEMENT ON THE SERIOUS INCIDENTS IN NKOTENG AND MBANDJOCK FOLLOWING DEMANDS BY SOSUCAM WORKERS AND THE GOVERNMENT’S INABILITY TO ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE
On Tuesday 4 February 2025, following demands by workers of the SOSUCAM sugar company in Nkoteng and Mbandjock, the public authorities preferred, as always, violence to dialogue.
To all reserves, there were deaths, the number of which is still unclear, and many injured, as well as the destruction of plantations and other property belonging to the company and to private individuals.
I offer my sincere condolences and those of the CRM militants and sympathizers to the bereaved families. I also wish the injured a speedy recovery.
You have to be the CPDM government to bring in armed elements where a respectful dialogue with the workers would have been enough to lighten the atmosphere in a company.
In a company run by real managers, social dialogue is not a sign of weakness. Bosses who love their company and respect their staff, without whom shareholders would not be able to reap the rewards of their investments, do not call in the security forces carrying weapons against their employees. When they do, they see it as a sign of serious managerial incompetence.
Similarly, the armed intervention at SOSUCAM on 4 February 2025 is clear proof of the government’s incompetence in managing social crises.
While inviting the workers not to attack their production tools, and to avoid giving in to anger and provocation of all kinds, I ask the Government to give priority to dialogue in the management of this very delicate situation.
Signed in Yaoundé on 7 February 2025
Maurice KAMTO, National President of the CRM.