Privatization is among the several neoliberal reform policies of the Bretton Woods institutions that have produced massive poverty and unrest around the globe, especially in the vulnerable “Third World.” Many of these cases have been reported and documented while others have received little attention. The labourers of Tole Tea Estate fall into this category of history’s forgotten people despite their contribution to the global economy as producers of tea which until a decade ago ranked as one of Cameroon’s best agricultural exports.
In 2002, the tea sector of the Cameroon Development Corporation fell on the chopping board of the government’s privatization drive. Since then, tea production plummeted both in quality and quantity and working conditions in the tea producing estates of Tole and Ndu deteriorated sharply as death rates rose because of the closure of health facilities by the new owner of the Cameroon Tea Estates which took over tea production from the CDC.
From Heaven to Hell: How Tole Tea Estate changed Hands
The story of Tole Tea Estate after privatization is a tale of misery. This atmosphere of frustration is a combination of two potent factors. The first is the dubious nature in which the Tole Tea Estate alongside its sister Ndu Tea Estate where privatized. Economic historian Piet Konings highlights this scam in his book Crisis and Neo-Liberal Reforms in Africa. “The privatization of the CDC tea estates soon became a national scandal” says Konings,” when it emerged that a handful of politically well connected national elites were going to benefit at the expense of the national treasury and the native land owners.”
The second factor was the evident lack of experience in the management of the estates by the new owner and his quest for fast profits. This led him to close down all social amenities which gave the Tole Tea Esatate its true face. The estate clinic, recreational club, shopping hall and even the estate’s nursery school were all shut down. The final mark of absolute incompetence and cruelty was the demolition of the camp which housed the workers. This demolition was the CTE’s reaction to the first crippling strike action in 2006 which drew attention to the plight of the labourers.
Labour Unrest and Recurrent Strike Actions in the Tole Tea Estate since Privatization
Strike actions in the plantations of the CDC are not uncommon. Over the years, they have helped to define the treatment of workers since the CDC was created. With the coming of privatization, however, the reaction of peasant workers to their inhumane treatment cannot be defined simply as strike actions. “Money or death,” was the way one frustrated worker, Simon Bateh swore the situation to the Postnewsline. For many of these desperate peasants, death was no stranger and in taking to the streets, they had nothing to lose especially as they felt betrayed by their former employer – the CDC, their current employer the CTE and a passive government.
This conspiracy of the government and the CDC in the betrayal of Tole is further explained by Konings. “Neither the government nor the CDC’s management had felt it necessary to inform the Tole tea workers of the planned privatization of their estate so they only came to learn of it through the media.” The people of Tole were thrown into doubt, fear and uncertainty especially as these illiterate peasants did not know what privatization was all about and what it held for them. For the most part, it was state media that preached the glories of privatization.
In this climate of anxiety, the workers of Tole tea estate came under a new administration in 2002. Their fears were confirmed when new faces began arriving to replace the former CDC management. Things moved fast and in the wrong direction, workers’ wages were slashed, discontent grew and negotiations failed. On February 26, 2006, the workers announced their intention to go on strike until the following demands were met;
-Payment of severance benefits from the CDC to date
-Payment of accrued leave allowance from 2003 to 2006
-Payment of good separation bonus
-Their share of the 5% share as stipulated in the privatization agreement
-Their social insurance dues and credit union contributions which were not transferred by CTE to the credit Union
-Payment of balances owed to retrenched workers since 2004.
The CTE’s refusal to meet these demands unleashed an army of peasants on the streets of Buea and the headquarters of the CDC in Limbe. This strike which resulted in the closure of two elitist catholic schools in Buea – Saint Joseph’s College Sasse and Bishop Rogan College received the sympathy of the former Bishop of Buea, Mgr. Pius Awah. It was partially resolved when some arbitrary payments were made with commitments by the authorities to pay the complete dues in the nearest future. The peasants promised to be back if these promises were not respected.
Like the legendary Reggae superstar Bob Marley said “you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” The peasants of Tole tea estate are back on the streets, this time sleeping on the cold floors of the Regional Delegation for Labour in the South West Region of Cameroon.
See Also
Female Labourers in Tole Tea Plantation, Cameroon
Sources
Mbom, Tim Franncis and Mbonteh, Roland. ``CTE Tole Workers Besiege CDC Head Office`` The Postnewsline.com, 27 July 2006.
Konings, Piet. Crisis and Neoliberal Reforms in Africa. Civil Society and Agro-Industry in Anglophone Cameroon`s Plantation Economy. 2010.
Tongkeh Joseph Fowale - Tongkeh Joseph Fowale is a post graduate student of International Public Affairs at LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome - Italy.
