Copyright: The noose is tightening around the Socacim and Sycamu

Between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Arts and Culture (Minac), the end of hostilities is not in sight. In a letter to Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (with copies to Sg / Pr, the Minac to Sed, the DGNS and DGRE) July 22, 2015, Secretary General of the Prime Minister (Sg / Pm) asks him to take all appropriate steps to ban, throughout the national territory, the activities of the Cameroon Music Corporation (Socacim). This, according to the Sg / Pm, was created in violation of the law of December 19, 2000.

The letter of the Prime Minister intervenes following the holding on July 20, 2015 at Tsinga, an extraordinary board of the Socacim, company whose license was canceled by the CPO, "with the approval of the President of the Republic."

For services of the Pm, "the work of that council held in the presence of a representative of Minac resulted, among others, at resolutions stating that the measures taken by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, are 'null and void' and that the company 'will in the coming days hold copyright distribution".

The Prime Minister added: "The Council meeting held and widely reported in the media, with the support of Minac, is likely to create confusion in the minds of artists and opinion and discredit government action."

As part of the remediation of the copyright of musical art in Cameroon, Prime Minister Philemon Yang also asked the Minister of Labour and Social Security (MINTSS), Grégoire Owona, to suspend the activities of the Cameroon music Union (Sycamu).

Already in a note to the Pm on April 27, 2015, counsel to Philemon Yang believed that "his President [Romeo Dika, Editor's note] has made in recent days, public calls for rebellion against the authority of the head of government."

Contacted earlier, Romeo Dika had told Mutations his determination to uphold the law on the national and international level, in case the activities of Sycamu were to be suspended.