The occupying regime’s long-serving leader, Paul Biya, has now spent 52 days outside La République du Cameroun. Meanwhile, fresh remarks from Labour Minister Grégoire Owona have intensified debate over the ageing ruler’s prolonged stay in Geneva, Switzerland.
Owona stated that every state employee, including the president, is entitled to annual leave. However, he argued that any worker who fails to resume duty after 80 days is deemed to have abandoned the post under the Labour Code.
His remarks have fuelled fresh speculation over Biya’s continued absence from Yaoundé. According to the Presidency’s Civil Cabinet Director, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, Biya remains in Europe for what officials describe as “a brief private stay.”
Since the regime has not declared an official state mission, many observers consider Biya to be on annual leave rather than conducting official duties abroad.
Consequently, questions continue to surround presidential decrees issued in Yaoundé while Biya remains in Geneva. Critics argue that the Constitution places the seat of state authority in Yaoundé.
Meanwhile, Communication Minister René Emmanuel Sadi insists Biya continues supervising state affairs from Switzerland. Nevertheless, the government has offered few details about how those responsibilities are exercised.
If Owona’s interpretation of the Labour Code is applied literally, Biya has only 29 days remaining before reaching the 80-day threshold he referenced.
“His Excellency Paul Biya, elected and paid by the Cameroonian people, is a worker entitled to annual leave,” Owona said. He added that the president informed his employer before leaving and would do the same upon his return.
Owona further described Biya as a civil servant serving fixed-term mandates since 1982. He concluded that the Labour Code allows an annual leave period of up to 80 days before ending his statement with the words, “Game Over.”
For many Ambazonians, Biya’s prolonged absence symbolises the deepening decline of a regime they blame for decades of repression and the war against the people of Ambazonia. They maintain that the resilience of Ambazonia restoration forces and the sacrifices of countless heroes continue driving the struggle for the complete restoration of Ambazonia’s independence.
By Lucas Muma | BaretaNews
