BY NDUMBE BELL JOSEPH GASTON IN DOUALA
A budget of FCFA 5,000,834,913 was adopted at the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Plenary Assembly for the CCIMA for the 2020-2024 mandate that held on Thursday, December 23, 2021 at Sawa Hotel.
In his opening address, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Christophe Eken to members of the four consular services said, the year 2021 had been a very difficult year for the government because of diverse investment in infrastructural projects, the hosting of the African Cup of Nations, the vaccination efforts made in trying to roll back the Covid-19 pandemic, the presidential plan for the reconstruction of the NW and SW conflict zones and the war against Boko Haram in the Extreme North, among others.
So, with the State subvention that was made available to the Chamber, they were able to use this to finance the upgrading of personnel and the purchase of backup equipment for the consular services, the inauguration of the second generation Pilot Incubation Centre at Bwadibo in the presence of the ministry of Mines and Technological Development, the celebration of the Chamber’s 100 years in existence, the organisation of the Investment Forum, among a long list of other achievements.
The Chamber’s President made known some of these issues in the presence of the minister delegate of MINEPAT whose coming he appreciated for honouring the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce as an emissary of the Prime Minister and Head of Government, with a particular mission to appeal to the private sector to join the presidential plan for the reconstruction of the North-West and South-West, which he did. “There is hope” after outlining statistics on the growth of school attendance and other sectors.
The president of the Chamber talked to members on the importance of basing consular action on government objectives especially on the promotion of made on Cameroon goods and instead of taking a defeatist stand in view of the pandemic, it should become a source of opportunity to create a new economic model.
Also included in the activities of the day were two young Cameroonian entrepreneurs all who had been capacitated among the hundreds at the Pilot Centre and had won national and international recognition in food processing such as juice production and rice cultivation in Yagoua, Extreme North by a young Lady and a young man, who were respectively benefitting from the CCIMA-Pierre Castel fund arrangement.
The Plenary Session was seen to be adequate time for the presentation of the partnership agreement between CCIMA and FAGACE on the financing of SMEs and also the signing of another partnership agreement between CCIMA and the United Bank for Africa for the financing of SMEs.
A plea was made by Barrister Nico Halle for government to astronomically increase the budget of the Chamber of Commerce so that it can accomplish its traditional role of attracting investments and in the process help to eliminate poverty. Barrister Nico Halle was equally vocal in the presence of minister delegate, Paul Tassong, that he, as an advocate of peace, was proposing to government to organise a truth and reconciliation commission as a pre-emptive step to resolve the five year old problem of the North-West and South-West regions.
“The ball is now in their court” stated Paul Tassong. Those willing to participate in the reconstruction will sign concrete conventions with the UNDP who are disbursing funds to the project. “There will be absolute transparency”, he confirmed in a press briefing. CCIMA said it is up to the members to decide.