The mayor of Yaoundé III locked out of his office by staff

It was impossible for workers to access the premises of the municipality of Yaoundé third district of Efoulan located in Yaounde on Monday, October 26, 2015.

The gate was padlocked. On the walls, there were glued leaflets which read: "The staff of the town hall of Yaounde III calls for their three months' salary."

In the columns of the newspaper Cameroon Tribune of Tuesday, October 27, 2014, a municipal officer whose identity was not disclosed explains that "we have not received our salary since August. The mayor decided to reduce rather than increase it. This drastic decline in wages has affected all staff from the Secretary General to the town agent."

As a reaction, the Mayor of Yaoundé III, Otele Manda who was reached by telephone by the newspaper said "the wage statements of August and September were transmitted to the controller and those of October are being signed. The problem is at the municipal controller who does not pay. Regarding salaries, the administration works on the texts, the range of salaries as applied by the municipality of Yaoundé III is the same as that of the urban community of Yaoundé with 5%."

According to the mayor, "the reality is that employees were receiving undue benefits that were removed when it was discovered that they had no legal basis." When these incidents occurred on October 26, "I contacted the prosecutor general, I complained to the High Court, I went to the Minister of Territorial Administration and the Minister of Finance. So everyone is accountable for his actions. It's not me who appoints the recipients," he suggested.