(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon’s relatively low wages hide the discretionary incentive pay and bonuses that substantially increase the country’s spendings on its civil servants. This is revealed by the World Bank in a Cameroon-focused report it presented to technical and financial partners in Yaoundé on May 25, 2018.

These are namely the daily meeting allowances granted to members of the many committees within the public administration and to the member public companies’ administrative boards.

According to the bank, these unofficial bonuses are largely higher than the minimum wages in the country and they are granted to only a small portion of the civil servants.

For instance, the maximum wage for a grade A2 civil servant is CFA350,000 and CFA200,000 for B2. But, for a technical committee member, the daily meeting allowance ranges from CFA150,000 to CFA300,000. Members of administrative boards receive up to CFA550,000.  

Because of those allowances, the beneficiaries could delay decision-making processes to maximize the bonuses, the World Bank estimates.

It also deduces that with those allowances not being related to any performance, and the payments unregulated, there could be some misappropriation.

Brice R. Mbodiam