Cameroon Tribune fêtes 40years of journalistic excellence

By Sylvanus Ezieh Acha’ana in Yaounde 

Labour minister decorates SOPECAM GM

The vicinity of the lone bilingual daily newspaper in Cameroon, Cameroon Tribune was yesterday besieged by an unprecedented multitude of senior government officials, journalists, readers and other spectators who turned out to witness the historic launch of the commemoration of the 40^th anniversary of the existence of the newspaper.

The fortieth birth day of the state-run newspaper was marked by the award of labour medals to some 210 staffers for their unbridled commitment to the corporation. The publisher, Marie Claire Nana extolled the workers who she said have always remained unabated despite minor difficulties that crop up once in a while. “...This personnel who in all its diversity, its riches and transformations have always demonstrated ingenuity, assiduity, perseverance, patience and a strong force of morale during trial moments, months without salaries as well as the freezing of some advantages.” The publisher intimated.

The minister of labour and social security, Gregoire Owona who decorated the workers with medals exalted the publisher for perfect management and organization. He said the role that the newspaper plays in the Cameroonian society necessitated his presence at its 40^th commemoration to decorate its staff with labour medals.

For his part, the board chairman of the corporation, Joseph Le told journalists that apart from being the leading newspaper in the country, the management of the corporation also intend to get the newspaper at the top of the print media in the sub region. This according to Le will be successful with the ongoing installation of a new and modern print machine – KBA COMET. The KBA COMET upon installation would have the capacity to print up to 75.000 newspapers of 32 pages of varied colours within an hour.

L-R: Ministers Gregoire Owona, Tchiroma, Joseph Le and SOPECAM GM

The commemoration which runs for four days; Tuesday, July 22 to Friday, July 25 would also witness activities like a football tournament, open-days-visits at the head office, roundtable debates and a gala night.

The newspaper which was first published on July 1, 1974 started as a daily in French language and as a weekly in English language. The national bilingual daily is today at over its 10.000^th edition.

Cameroon Tribune, it should be recalled is published as a subsidiary of the Cameroon News and Publishing Corporation, better know by its French acronym, SOPECAM. SOPECAM also publishes other handouts like Nyanga - a monthly news magazine and a weekly entertainment magazine – Weekend.

Also present at the launching ceremony was the minister of communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary and a host of other dignitaries.