Lavish castle of civil servant continues to raise eyebrows in Cameroon

Photographs of the extravagant home of Antoine Felix Samba have gone viral on social media, with several comments from a poverty-stricken people.

Mr Antoine Felix Samba is the director of administrative and budgetary services at the Ministry of Finance. His home is built on a conspicuous hill at Nkolondom in the Nkoldobo neighbourhood of Yaounde, capital of Cameroon.

The home that looks very much like the palace of a rich Saudi Billionaire comprises several domes, a swimming pool, statuettes, several structures linked by footbridges and some royal –like edifices. The castle is estimated at over $ 40 million.

In a country where people are battling with putting food on their tables, such show of wealth is very unusual, especially from a mere civil servant.

Several comments have followed the photographs. “I saw the images today on Facebook , and people were commenting on it so seriously that I thought it was the home of a different person. When I downloaded the photographs, I recognized it as the home of the DG,” recounts a student from the neigbourhood.

“Even if he were earning CFA 20 million, and had worked for eighty years already, he would still not have built such a home,” reads a post on social media.

ANTOINE FELIX SAMBA DESERVES IT

Those who know the former director general of budget say it is normal for him to have such a mighty castle.

“Mr Samba is a very nice person. I sold the land to him in 2001. He built it before me,” revealed Onana Ombili Rene, the quarter head of the area. Mr Samba had begun with a tiny strip which he later increased with time.

His former colleagues attribute his success to his longevity at strategic positions in government.

 “We must admit that Antoine Felix has been in the corridors of finance since the age of 22. He has occupied several positions within the government, moving from SOPECAM as head of the accounting bureau, and head of the finance and account department to the Ministry of Finance now. All that in under 30 years,” disclosed Jean-Paul Ngantchang, a former civil servant now on retirement.

He claims to have worked with Mr Samba when he was still young.

On his Facebook timeline, Jean Lambert Nang, erstwhile CRTV journalist,  expressed shock at the comments on social media: “Who said a civil servant must remain a poor person , working only for others to amass? Must homes like that remain the exclusive property of people from some regions?...”

The Ministry of Finance has not yet reacted.

At a time when the country is grappling with severe financial crises, people may find it hard to swallow.

Recently, teachers had staged a strike for unpaid and accumulated salaries.

There is Boko Haram in the northern part of the nation.

The Anglophone Problem has not yet ended.

And above all, unemployment is growing more and more alarming.