Louis Paul Motazé, Cameroon’s Minister of Finance, has ordered an immediate stop to all services by retired agents and staff with no formal link to his department. He issued the instruction in a May 15 letter to the Ministry’s inspectors and general managers.

“It has come to my attention that you are continuing to employ people who have no connection with the administration, and to maintain in post agents who have already reached the statutory age limit and are eligible for retirement,” writes Motazé. He calls out practices that violate current regulations.

The decision follows a Human Resources inspection across the Ministry’s central and local offices. The Ministry denounces repeated failures to follow rules on ending civil servants’ service.

Motazé points to the Prime Minister’s November 2015 circular, which reads: “Ministers must ensure that civil servants under their authority who are eligible for retirement leave the service effectively and on time and, when they hold positions of responsibility, are replaced by their collaborators who are legally called upon to act in the interim.”

Motazé also cites his own January 12, 2022, memo, in which he had warned about “intruders” in the departments. “It has come to my attention that there are intruders permanently present in your departments. These people regularly get involved in the processing of files, even though they have no established link with the administration, leading to abuses that are generally attributed to the Ministry of Finance,” he recalled.

Despite these warnings, the problem persists. This justifies Motazé’s tough stance in his latest letter. He directs his team to act now: “All business ceased, please release the personnel mentioned.”

The move forms part of a broader effort to clean up the civil service. Authorities now scrutinize compliance with age and administrative status rules more than ever.

Source: Business in Cameroon