By Doh James Sonkey
The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey defended the bill last June 14, 2023 in front of the National Assembly’s Economic Affairs, Planning and Regional Development Committee.
Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey explained that “In order to give the public private partnership an effective and enables it to support structural transformation ambition of our economy, it was necessary at the dawn of international best practices and other African success experiences that its implementation be readjusted in our country during the cleansing and enrichment of its legal regime.”
The reform according to the MINEPAT boss, envisages orientating towards rationalization of efforts of the different existing contract tools so as to offer to private investors more visibility and judicial security. Instead of simply talking about the Partnership Contract, we will be talking of the Public Private Partnership Contract so as to reassemble under a unique judicial regime, all forms of the Public Private Partnerships with the exception of those regulated by particular texts favouring more coherent and efficiency in the implementation and follow up of complex contracts.
According to Minister Ousmane Mey, the bill submited for scrutiny apart from ameliorating the implementation of the Public Private Partnership in our country with induced positive effects on the development of infrastructures and job creation will contribute to the serenity of the Economic and Financial Programme co-piloted by the government and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
Let’s note that the elaboration of this draft bill was inspired by mitigated results of the evaluation of the implementation of the Partnership Contracts in Cameroon through Law No 2006 / 012 of 19 December 2006 on Partnership Contracts.
As major innovations, this bill submitted for scrutiny clarifies the role of the CARPA expert in the structuring, passing and follow up of Public Private Partnership. It confirms the Prime Minister role as Highest Authority in charge of Public Private Partnership Contracts enlarging the application fields of the PPP while waiting for local councils and public enterprises and establishments etc.
Alamine Ousmane Mey signs FCFA 10.220 bn loan agreement with African Dev t Fund
On the instruction of the President of the Republic, H.E Paul Biya, the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey last June 6 2023 signed a loan agreement worth FCFA 9.545.408.000 in the form of an exchange letters with the African Development Fund ADF for the funding of the Public Finance Governance Support Project. The amount supplemented by an ADF grant worth FCFA 674.761.600 to finance Public Finance Governance Support Project.
Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey in a press release stated that The African Development Bank Group has once again demonstrated its willingness to contribute to the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2020-2030, NDS 30.
With a planned duration of four years, 2023-2026, the Public Finance Governance Support Project aims to contribute to strengthening the institutional and organizational environment for public finance management, through increased mobilization of fiscal revenues and the promotion of efficiency in public spending.
The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development explained in the release that “The specific objectives are to improve the mobilization and security of fiscal revenues, limit budgetary risk by monitoring and controlling budget execution, systematize internal and external audit and verification practices and, combat corruption and illicit financial flows.“