(Business in Cameroon) – An agreement to settle unpaid wages for Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) workers was signed on September 17, advancing the government’s plan to clear the company’s debt.
The deal was finalized between the state, FedhEn Capital, and several banks, including Société Générale Capital Securities Central Africa as the arranger, and Société Générale Cameroun, CCA Bank, and AFG Bank as participants.
The agreement will pay off 15.7 billion CFA francs in wage arrears owed to some 20,000 employees. This is part of a total debt estimated at 35.7 billion CFA francs that accumulated between 2018 and 2022.
In June 2024, the government announced a first disbursement of 20 billion CFA francs as part of a two-tranche repayment plan. According to Minister of Finance Louis Paul Motaze, the initial payment was made in 2024, with the remaining 15 billion to be paid in 2025.
CDC, the country’s largest agro-industrial company specializing in bananas and rubber, has seen its financial situation deteriorate since 2018. The company’s plantations and employees in the Southwest region, the epicenter of the Anglophone conflict, have been a frequent target of separatist attacks. Between 2019 and 2021, the company accumulated 38.7 billion CFA francs in losses and cut its workforce by more than a third, from 22,000 to about 15,000 employees, according to the Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation of Public Enterprises.
In addition to settling the wage debt, the state canceled 24 billion CFA francs in social security contributions in 2024, which helped alleviate the public company’s cash flow problems. In total, 59 billion CFA francs in tax and social debts were cleared, enabling the CDC to report a positive net income of 45.4 billion CFA francs in 2024.
This capital injection, coupled with the payment of overdue wages, is aimed at putting the strategic company back on its feet. As a major employer and a key player in the agricultural sector, the company is vital to Cameroon’s economy.
Ludovic Amara
