Cameroonian Women Protest High Cost of Living
Thousands of women in
Cameroon took to the streets on Wednesday, International Women’s Day, to
protest the high cost of living. The government blames soaring food and energy
prices on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Hundreds of Cameroonian
women blow trumpets and whistles on the streets of the central African state's
capital Yaounde, shouting and decrying the high cost of living amid surging
inflation.
The women say they want
the government to help them cope with price increases.
Suzanne Menanga is
coordinator of the Cameroon Female Consumers Union that organized the protest.
She says her group
protested on International Women's Day because more than 80% of Cameroon's
roughly 14 million women are either unemployed or earn very low wages that make
it difficult to cope with the high costs.
She says a February
2023 minimum wage increase for private sector workers from about $60 to $68 and
the 5.4% salary increase for government workers has not improved the living
conditions of Cameroonians.
Menanga says food price
inflation increased from 25% in 2022 to 40% in 2023, adding that it is
difficult for families to purchase everyday items like bread, sugar, fish,
salt, soap and vegetable oil, whose prices are up by between 18 and 45%.
The women say the
minimum wage for private sector workers should be increased to at least $100.
The government should increase the salaries of state workers by 20%, according
to the women.
The government says
protests took place in several towns including Bamenda, Bafoussm, Ngaoudere and
Ebolowa on Wednesday.
Cameroon’s trade
minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana says Russia’s war in Ukraine has led to
an increase in the prices of basic commodities all over the world.
Atangana says Cameroon,
like the World Bank and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), blames the
current high inflation and slow economic growth in low- and middle-income
countries that rely heavily on Ukraine and Russia for grains and plant oils on
disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He says Cameroon is one
among scores of low-income countries where high fertilizer prices have become
an obstacle to food production. Atangana says Cameroon is lucky that it is not
experiencing food shortages.
Atangana said civilians
should learn to live with the price increases. He adds that living standards
are affected all over Africa and may only be reduced when Russia stops its
aggression in Ukraine.
Last year, the
Cameroonian government said President Paul Biya ordered an immediate
disbursement of more than $15 million to grow wheat and rice in the central
African state.
The government asked
civilians to eat locally produced food instead of imports.
The women say it is
difficult for them to obey government instructions to stop overdependence on
expensive imported rice, maize and beans because a 60% increase in prices for
fertilizer is making it difficult to grow crops locally.
The agriculture
ministry says it has already spent one million dollars on fertilizer subsidies
since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year.
International Women's
Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of
women. It also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
VOA
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