The atmosphere was tense on the 8^th floor of the Cameroon Postal Services, CAMPOST, head office in downtown Yaounde yesterday July 7, 2016, sequel to an extraordinary board meeting. The movement of board members was telling of the unexpected. The announcement was finally made, with the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, officially declaring an end to the assistance agreement binding the State of Cameroon and SOFREPOST, a French company that has been managing CAMPOST since 2010. She stated that the contract between the two parties expired in May, 2016.

The immediate fallout of the non-renewal of the contract is the ceding of the management of CAMPOST to a Cameroonian, with Pierre Kaldadak, 48-year-old Senior Inspector of Posts and Telecommunications, appointed as new General Manager. Before his appointment, Pierre Kaldadak, born in Koza, in the Far North Region, was Head of Division for Inspections and Control of Public Institutions and Specific Bodies at the Supreme State Audit Office.

Restoring confidence and trust in the company is what the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications expects from the new management team. Libom Li Likeng stated inter alia that it was time Cameroonians started saving and carrying out financial operations at CAMPOST like in the days of old. “CAMPOST must be a performing company to the State and users,” she pointed out. The company has embraced digital economy, with innovative services that if well exploited could generate more jobs and income, she stressed.

The top priority of Kaldadak’s team is to restructure CAMPOST. The team has been tasked to financially and technically recover Cameroon’s postal operator from the brink of collapse, putting in place a comprehensive plan of reforms on postal development as per the Universal Postal Union that has helped reshape postal operations in many African countries. A rethink of the business model for CAMPOST based on diversification of services is indispensable, Minister Minette Libom Li Likeng said, challenging Kaldadak to get down to work immediately.

Cameroon Tribune