VINCENT BOLLORE: THE MAN WHO BELIEVES THE CAMEROONS ( AFRICA) IS HIS TOY: Exploitation and Modern SLAVERY in Africa:Bolloré’s plantations in Cameroon:Cameroon, a former French colony, continues to be governed by an oligarchy that cares more about serving its own interests and those of France than the public interest of its own population (Transparency International ranked Cameroon as the most corrupt country in sub-Saharan Africa in 2009). Many Cameroonians view the control of strategic sectors by large French companies as a form of neo-colonialism. It is not unusual to see Bolloré group executives swanning about in public with President Paul Biya, his wife Chantal or top government officials. For Pius Njawé, director of the newspaper Le Messager, the Bolloré group’s interference in the political life of Cameroon is beyond doubt: “It is a sort of state within a state… a perfect example of so-called Françafrique” (a pejorative term coined by combining the French names for France and Africa).In Cameroon, the Bolloré group controls vast oil palm and rubber tree plantations, either directly through SAFACAM (which operates 8,400 hectares of plantations), or indirectly through SOCFINAL (which administers 31,000 hectares), together with the two families of the Rivaud group (acquired by Bolloré in 1995): the Fabri and Ribes families. Bolloré holds close to 40% of the shares in SOCFINAL, one of the various Rivaud holdings listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange. One of its subsidiaries, Inter-cultures, runs SOCAPALM (Société Camerounaise de Palmeraies), the company implicated in the two lawsuits mentioned above. Of SOCFINAL’s total annual profits, no less than 45% come from SOCAPALM. Established through a government programme in 1963 with the support of the World Bank, SOCAPALM was privatized in 2000 and taken over by the group.SOCAPALM has been a constant source of serious social and environmental problems, as reported by WRM on numerous occasions (Bulletins 112, 116 and 134 and WRM Series on Tree Plantations No. 13). When it was owned by the state, it confiscated lands that were historically the property of local populations without any sort of compensation. Today, it continues to expand without regard for neighboring ecosystems, thus seriously endangering the food sovereignty of those same populations. In addition, the agrochemical products used on its monoculture plantations and the waste effluents discharged by its factory in Kienké have drastically contaminated the area’s waterways. On the plantations, living and working conditions are abominable: insalubrious living quarters and shared latrines, lack of regular access to water and electricity, mostly temporary employment at miserable wages, etc. Hundreds of workers work six days a week, in some cases from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with no social security coverage or adequate protection, for approximately 1.6 euros a day, as long as the subcontractors don’t forget to pay them. This situation has given rise to numerous strikes and protests, but in 2007, when a resistance movement against these labour practices emerged, its leader was immediately arrested by the police, and the authorities let him know that “if he kept it up he was going to get killed.”
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:14:08 +0000
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