To combat poverty, improve living conditions of teachers: SCB Cameroun seals deal with Cameroon Teachers’ Initiative for Mutual Assistance.

The deal was sealed in Yaounde on Thursday May 23. This was during a ceremony at the Ministry of Basic Education. 

The Director General of SCB Cameroun, Alexandre Beziaud, signed the framework agreement on behalf of the financial institution while the National Coordinator of CTIMA, Bidjang Bekale, and the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Shelters and Real Estate Sarl put pen on paper for their respective organisations.

The Secretary of State to the Minister of Basic Education, Dr Asheri Kilo, represented the Minister of Basic Education, Prof Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, at the event.

SCB Cameroun Director General, Alexandre Beziaud, disclosed that the agreement with CTIMA and Shelters Sarl is to support teachers realise development projects and also improve the living conditions of the population.

Beziaud said SCB Cameroun was seduced by the compelling project of CTIMA to facilitate access to property ownership and other services such as health care for its members. 

He said the financial institution was  all the more attracted to the project given that it concerns all MINEDUB staff as well as to promotes the “One Teacher, One roof” scheme.

He also disclosed that the main areas of collaboration between SCB Cameroun, CTIMA and Shelters Sarl are; “facilitating access to banking products and services, providing CTIMA and its members with tailored banking services and financing the acquisition of plots of land, financing of CTIMA projects and the construction of housing for CTIMA members”.

The SCB Cameroun boss seized the occasion to the remind public that the agreement with CTIMA and Shelters Sarl was part of SCB Cameroun’s corporate social responsibility. 

He restated that SCB Cameroun remains committed to supporting the development of the national economy through the financing of innovative projects. 

He also promised that SCB Cameroun shall leave no stone unturned to ensure that the partnership yields fruits.

Speaking earlier, the National Coordinator of CTIMA, Bidjang Bekale, said that the tripartite agreement was an important step to reduce poverty and ensure that every teacher lives in a comfortable environment.  

Bekale was also confident that by bettering the standard of living, it will also boost their performance.

On his part, the CEO of Shelters Sarl, which specialises in real estate projects, Assiga Appolinaire, thanked the minister for supporting toward CTIMA members. 

Assiga also heaped praises on SCB Cameroun for coming to the rescue of the teachers via the partnership.

Enter Minister Aheri Kilo

The Secretary of State to the Minister of Basic Education, Dr Asheri Kilo, underscored that a well-balanced teacher is more productive. 

She labelled the agreement between SCB Cameroun, CTIMA and Shelters Sarl as a “great example of cooperation”. 

Dr Asheri Kilo added that the partnership “should serve as a model for other initiatives concerned with the future of teachers”.

“We are hoping by this to improve the quality of life of our teachers. You know that in the hinterlands where we find our teachers, accommodation has always been a problem,” she said, adding that: “That is why many of them will want to run away and come back to the cities. But this is an opportunity to develop accommodation and infrastructure in the most remote parts of the county where our teachers are diligently and serviceably doing their duty”.

Dr Asheri Kilo promised that as the supervisory ministry, they would spare no effort to remain attentive to the needs of staff. 

She also said actions will continue to provide teachers advice they require for the good of CTIMA. Dr Asheri also urged teaching staff to massively support “this important innovative project” in order to achieve their common objectives.

It was also an occasion for the Secretary of State to recommend sound management of the human and financial resources provided to CTIMA. She also thanked Shelters Sarl for “helping the staff since it is a determining factor in the stability of government personnel in general and teachers in particular giving the difficulties of acquiring a piece of land”.

She encouraged SCB Cameroun to support CTIMA in its fight against poverty to provide better housing for staff.  

Dr Asheri Kilo said basic education ministry staff form a majority and major part of the Cameroon civil service with over 80,000 employees. She lamented that although teaching is a noble profession, it “exposes teachers to certain risk and even insecurity”.