Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info
Published on 2024-02-22 13:30:45
The President of the Republic yesterday published the new salary scale for personnel supported by the state budget. It was noted that the military and the police are benefiting from a privileged salary treatment, thus creating a huge gap between personnel classified in the same salary index. Some opinions suggest that this situation reinforces the loyalty of the army and the police towards the head of state.
Starting from the end of March, personnel supported by the state budget will receive a new salary scale. Each state employee will receive a 5% increase in their basic salary. This measure is part of the support measures put in place by the state in order to cushion the expenses after the recent increase in the prices of certain petroleum products.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the President of the Republic signed a decree for the upward revision of the monthly base remuneration of civilian and military personnel. He subsequently published the new salary scale as part of this decree. Upon consulting the table published by the head of state, it is evident that there is a huge gap between the salaries of military and police personnel and those of civilians. For example, for a civilian official at salary index 1400, the basic salary is 373,000 FCFA, the same amount as for magistrates. However, for police officials, those at salary index 1400 receive a basic remuneration of 598,000 FCFA, which is the same amount received by a military personnel of the same category. This results in a salary difference of 225,000 FCFA between civilians and military personnel of the same index.
This reality clearly reflects the privileged relationship that Paul Biya has with the security forces, which according to some opinions, is not insignificant. “It is the trademark of all oligarchies. It is part of the mechanisms for monopolizing power. In order to have a loyal army and police force, they must be given preferential treatment. This is what most regimes in fragile democracies do,” explains a political scientist.
This approach therefore clearly reflects Paul Biya’s intention to maintain power, rather than building a country with well-educated and well-cared-for citizens, as analyzed within public opinion. Indeed, it is inexplicable that a doctor who spends more than 7 years in school after obtaining a baccalaureate degree, or a teacher who undergoes 5 years of training and are tasked with educating and caring for citizens, receive a relatively lower salary than someone who may have barely passed their junior high school diploma (BEPC).
As the role of the army is to ensure the defense of the physical integrity of the territory and the security of property and people, it is easy to understand why the military sometimes ceases to be an army in service of the people and becomes an instrument of repression at the hands of a president. This was evident in 2008 against the youth protesting hunger, or against members of the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon, and since 2017, against the Anglophone population.
Joseph Essama
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
