The 18th International Day of Secretaries was marked in Yaounde on April 15, 2016.

Secretaries, office and personal assistants belonging to the Organisation for Secretaries and Personal Assistants of Cameroon, OSAD Cameroon, on April 15, 2016, at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, gathered to celebrate their profession. It was the 18th International Secretaries’ Day on the theme, “Secretaries, Personal Assistants, Develop A Spirit Of Quality Service And Promote The Image Of Your Company.”

Addressing OSAD members, Gabriel Bengono, the guest of honour and General Manager of the Cameroon Real Estate Corporation, SIC, noted that good governance in State offices was indispensable, thus the need for competent and responsible secretarial staff and more investments in retraining them. He called on secretaries, office and personal assistants to get used to the evolving socio-economic environment in the country, pointing out: “Your efficiency depends to a large extent on that of your company.”

The General Manager expressed joy at the choice of topics for discussion such as the development of quality service, promotion of employers’ image, good communication, better work planning and handling of files, and better adaptation to the evolving work environment. Gabriel Bengono urged secretaries and personal assistants to get involved in innovative training programmes. Facilitators at the one-day sensitisation on the role and expectations of a secretary were Alain Claude Mbarga and Dr Fernando Kemta Lekpa.

Earlier, the President of OSAD Cameroon, Josephine Nzengue, expressed joy that the secretarial profession has not disappeared, contrary to predictions 20 years ago that this will happen as a result of the advent of Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs. Rather, secretaries have over the years become more and more specialised in diverse areas with added value, thus able to hold their own.

“Today and more than ever before, the office assistant has become an indispensible part of the changing professional world,” she noted. Josephine Nzengue pointed out that “The profession of a secretary is a noble one that demands particular attention.”