Le secteur postal au Cameroun de 1887 À 2006 : Approche historique

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the Postal Sector of Cameroon from 1887 to 2006: a historical approach. The post is one the oldest networks of communication in the world, probably introduced by King Cyrus of Persia around 500 BC with horse relays on the roads of his vast empire. Napoleon I was the first to make the post office a full-fledged public service in Europe. In Africa, there was no organised postal system before the arrival of European colonizers. Apart from pedestrians and horsemen at the service of the King and his provincial chiefs, communication was also done with drums, carrier pigeons and by smoke in pre-colonial Cameroonian societies. Originally, the traditional mission of the post office was the collection, transportation and distribution of correspondence and parcels. In the course of its development other activities like the money orders, postal cheques, saving banks and cash-on-delivery items generally grouped under the heading"postal financial services" were added. This study presents an economic and social institution whose first manifestation could be traced back to 1887 with the construction of the very first post office in the city of Douala during the German Protectorate under Governor Von Soden and later, under the domination of France and England. Presenting its history, organisation, evolution, functioning, actors and its relation with other institutions as-well-as its achievements permits us to understand the issues at stake in its creation and analyse the circumstances of its expansion and gradual advent of Postal Financial Services. The post-colonial period in the context of economic crisis, liberalism, and all kinds of changes, appears to be littered with challenges for the postal sector, coupled with a technological environment and the introduction of ICT, the future of this sector is threatened with extinction. This study is an effort to analyse the contribution of the postal sector in the economic and social development of Cameroon and propose perspectives for its long-term survival.