Cry over spilled milk: Anglofools sidelined from influential posts in new appointments at CRTV ⁰

Instead of going back to Southern Cameroons, some Anglophones are crying foul following Friday’s appointments at the Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV.

Many are of the informed opinion that the decisions signed by CRTV’s Board Chair, Rene Emmanuel Sadi at the end of the June 26, 2020Ordinary Session of the Board of Directors kept Anglophones away from influential positions at the corporation.

“CRTV is a crazy house. Everyone is shocked by the appointments. Some people who never come to work, like those who hardly go on air, were catapulted to higher portfolios. Anglophones who have been burning the midnight oil were rather sidelined,” said a CRTV staff told Cameroon-Info.Net, but did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.

Although those contacted denied commenting on record for fear of the unknown, Cameroon-Info.Net understands that Anglophones were carefully sidelined from the positions that matter at the corporation.

Going by the appointments read over CRTV Friday night, Dr. George Ewane was named Central Director for Radio while Chia Theophilus is new Central Technical Director.

“These are more of ceremonial positions, just like the position of Deputy General Manager. It is true that Dr. Ewane is Central Director for Radio but his role is only to oversee work. It is ceremonial because the General Manager can decide to work directly with any operational director without consulting him,” said someone familiar with the goings-on at the national broadcaster.

Cameroon-Info.Net understands that operational directors at CRTV are those who head departments with staff answerable to them and with direct bearing on content. Such departments include news, programmes, technical affairs, finance, human resources and CRTV Marketing and Communication Agency (CMCA).

“None of these juicy portfolios are occupied by an Anglophone. If you are not an operational director, and you do not have personal relations with the General Manager, then you are a ceremonial director,” a disgruntled CRTV member of staff said.

Anglophones at CRTV bemoan the fact that two of theirs who occupied operational portfolios were removed and sent to peripheral positions – offices that do not even exist on the organizational chart of the corporation.

“We had two Anglophones who were operational directors.  Wain Paul Ngam as Director of Programmes Radio was removed and rather appointed Technical Adviser No. 3 to the General Manager – a post that does not even exist on the organigramme. Valery Dikos Oumarou is now Director of Programmes Radio,” our source at CRTV said. “Tehwui Lambiv was Director of Productions which covers Radio and TV. He was replaced with Josephine Ndagnou.”

According to the appointments, Tehwui Lambiv is new Mediator at CRTV. It is said that the Mediator at CRTV is a peripheral position – someone who serves as liaison between the corporation and the public. The Mediator also manages the social climate within the establishment.

Quizzed if the ceremonial positions reserved for Anglophones is because there is only one Anglophone in the CRTV Board of Directors, some journalists at the state-run broadcaster responded in the negative.

“They see us as a tribe. They will tell you that they appointed one Bassa, one Beti, One Bamileke and one Anglophone,” a staffer quipped.

With the uneasy social climate created by Friday’s appointments, Tehwui Lambiv also has a lot to handle when he assumes the office of Mediator.

It is an open secret that an Anglophone has never been General Manager of the CRTV, 57 years since 1963 when the first English language broadcasters were recruited into Radio Cameroon Yaoundé, following the Reunification in 1961.

Source: CIN with additional reporting from Camcordnews