Cameroon: pinned down by its supervision, the CEO of Camtel denounces a cabal against the launch of its mobile network
January 18th 2021
The launch of Blue, Camtel’s mobile network, seems to crystallize the tensions between the boss of the Cameroonian incumbent telecoms operator and her minister.
In a memo signed on January 13, 2021 and addressed to the staff of Camtel, the incumbent telecoms operator in Cameroon, Judith Yah Sunday, the CEO of this public company, denounces a cabal against this state company, the day after the announcement of the launch of its mobile network.
“ Going back in time, it should be noted that the culmination of the efforts led by successive management teams of Camtel, under the leadership of our technical supervision, Madam Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, and which led to the award of three concession agreements to operate electronic communications networks in the fixed, mobile and transport sectors did not please all the players in our ecosystem, ”writes the CEO of Camtel. “ It is well known that some of these players were for a long time at the origin of the blocking of the allocation of the mobile license to Camtel ”, continues Judith Yah Sunday.
Clearly, without clearly citing them, the CEO of Camtel seems to see the hand of certain future competitors in the mobile market, behind what she calls “ the media campaign ” which, according to her, “raises a lot of questions as well. both with staff and the general public ”.
However, this “ media campaign ” rather stems from a correspondence from the Minister of Posts and Telecoms, dated January 11, 2021, in which the technical supervision of Camtel expresses reservations on the programming of the launch of the public operator’s mobile network. January 13, 2021.
“ You have planned the launch of the mobile network for December 21, 2020, without a business plan. During a meeting that I chaired in the presence of the regulator, on December 16, 2020, in this context, this launch was postponed due to notorious regulatory inadequacies in the implementation of the mobile network. In a letter received on January 7, 2021, you invite me to chair the launch of the mobile for January 13, 2021, without reporting on the lifting of the reservations made during the meeting of December 16, 2020. All this does not allow us to ” ensure the incumbent’s successful entry into the (yet long-awaited) mobile telephony segment, norto reassure the players in the sector on Camtel’s neutrality, transparency, non-discrimination and objectivity in managing de facto monopoly segments (fixed, transport), ”writes Minister Minette Libom Li Likeng.
Social climate
By pretending to address his staff in the memo of January 13, 2021, the CEO of Camtel responds subtly to the Minister of P&T.
“ The regular continuation of working sessions between the Camtel and ART teams [the regulator, editor’s note] resulted in the removal of the commercial, technical, financial and regulatory obstacles initially identified. I can assure you [the staff of Camtel, Editor’s note] that I have personally received from the hands of the Director General of ART, the authorizations necessary for the operation of our mobile network ”, reveals Judith Yah Sunday who then invites the employees” to stay focus ”on the company’s objectives.
Moreover, this letter inviting Camtel agents to mobilize for the launch of “Blue”, the brand name of the mobile network in the making, comes in a context of a less serene social climate within the company.
In fact, in her correspondence sent on January 11, 2021 to the CEO of Camtel, the Minister of P&T, relying on “ irregularities ” noted by the company’s auditor, denounces obstructions to the control of the management of the company; the proven immaturity of Camtel’s projects; and breaches of the provisions relating to the appointment of agents by general management, “ anything likely to compromise the social climate within the company […] ”
In the wake of these observations of the technical supervision of Camtel, the chairman of the board of directors of this public company, Mohamadou Saoudi, in a letter dated January 11, 2021, also summons Judith Yah Sunday to report the disputed appointments.
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