(Business in Cameroon) - The  73.7% votes cast by employers’ organization GICAM’s members approving the merger with ECAM, another employers’ organization is not enough to pursue the project.  In a letter sent on July 19, 2023, to Célestin Tawamba, President of the GICAM, Richard Howe -head of the employers’ organization’s expert panel- referred to paragraph 3 of article 17 of the organization’s articles of association to base this conclusion.  

According to the said provision, to amend part of the article of association, the President of GICAM has to submit a proposal to the expert panel. Should the panel reject that proposal, the amendment can be put to vote during an extraordinary general meeting for all members to decide its fate.

The project will be validated once it receives 75% of the vote. If not, it will be rejected. For Richard Howe, this is currently the case. He likens the merger agreement between ECAM and GICAM to an important amendment to GICAM’s articles of association since it will entail the dissolution of GICAM. For the expert, it will cause an amendment to articles 1 and 6 relating to the establishment and duration of GICAM. 

During a meeting in Douala, on May 25, 2023, the expert panel reviewed the request submitted by the GICAM president, who was seeking “strategic guidance and advice” on the merger agreement. The panel, however, rejected the agreement. 

After that meeting, on July 11, an extraordinary general meeting was held to decide the fate of the merger, and 73.7% of the votes were in favor of the merger. 

In his July 19, 2023, letter, Richard Howe indicates that most members of the employers’ organization, himself, and the panel he chairs support the “commendable” initiative to unify the two employers’ organizations. However, he personally prefers ECAM should be reinstated as an institutional member instead of dissolving GICAM, which is a  66-year-old institution.

The position stated by the expert is coherent with the four GICAM members who are criticizing the merger project and even filed at least two legal proceedings to get it annulled. They are not much against the initiatives but, their preference goes to a merger-absorption instead of the merger-creation model adopted in the agreement. This merger will lead to the dissolution of GICAM as it is, creating a new employers’ organization in January 2024. The critics believe that this is a ploy by Célestin Tawamba to remain at the head of Cameroon's employers' federation, notably by taking over the new employers' federation. Indeed, current GICAM articles prohibit its presidents from running for a third term. Meanwhile, Célestin Tawamba’s second term in office will end in December 2023. Therefore, critics think the chosen merger model will allow him to remain president.

BRM