Cameroon's president, Paul Biya, has officially appointed Mr Frédéric Mbotto Obounou the new Managing Director/CEO of the country's national carrier, Camair-Co (QC), and Mr Edouard Akame Mfoumou as the Chairman of the airline's board of directors with effect from September 11.
Mr Obounou now becomes the fourth MD of the eight-year-old carrier after Matthijs Boertien who was appointed earlier this year. Mr Boertien had himself replaced fellow Dutchman Alex Van Elk whose contract expired last year. Previously, Mr Obounou had held the position of regional representative for Pan African air navigation provider, L'Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar (ASECNA) before becoming the Deputy Managing Director of Camair Co in July.
Mr Mfoumou was a former Minister of Finance as well as the ex Managing Director of the now defunct Cameroonian bank, Banque pour l'Industrie et le Commerce du Cameroun (BICIC).
It is uncertain as to what role, if any Mr Boertien will play at the carrier. Further to that, it is even more uncertain as to what direction Mr Obounou will take the loss-making Cameroonian carrier in. Earlier this year, Mr Boertien had outlined an ambitious 5-year expansion plan aimed at developing Douala into a regional passenger and cargo hub while dramatically expanding Camair-Co's fleet in a bid to boost traffic and profitability.