Vera Songwe has been appointed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to his country’s highly prestigious Economic Advisory Council. This is an advisory body responsible for proposing guidelines on issues of openness to the ecosystem of members, employability and entrepreneurship, as well as societal issues.

The renowned Cameroonian holds a doctorate in mathematical economics, a Master of Arts in law and economics and a postgraduate diploma in economic and political sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. She also holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan.

Dr Vera Songwe is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, co-chair of the high-level panel on climate finance appointed by the UK and Egyptian governments alongside Lord Nick Stern. She is the former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

She has led many efforts to bring greater prosperity to Africa. She has worked with African heads of government, finance ministers and central bank governors, international organisations and the private sector on macroeconomic stability, monetary policy, financial innovation and inclusive growth, economic integration and trade, and private sector development.

She is a globally recognised and respected leader and has provided policy advice to many continental and institutional leaders worldwide. Previously, Dr. Songwe was Regional Director of the International Finance Corporation, covering West and Central Africa. She oversaw a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio in energy, transport, manufacturing and technology. She has also held a number of positions at the World Bank, including Country Director and Adviser to the Managing Director for Africa, Europe and Central and South Asia. She spent 10 years of her career working and living in Asia.

She joined the World Bank as a young professional. Prior to joining the Bank, she was a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota and the University of Southern California. Dr Songwe was named African Icon of the Year in 2022 by the African Bankers Association for her work on SDRs, inflation, debt management and domestic resource mobilisation. She was named one of the ‘100 Most Influential Africans’ by Jeune Afrique in 2021 as well as the top 50 most influential African women by Forbes magazine in 2019 and one of the 25 Africans to Watch by the Financial Times.

By Rita Akana

A mother-of-three who had spent more than €100 buying clothing to bring home to children in her native Cameroon has been fined after stealing extra items.

Caroline Kepnang appeared before Letterkenny District Court charged with theft at Penneys in Letterkenny on June 13th last.

Garda Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that Ms Kepnang, of Cruach Mor, Mountain Top, Letterkenny, entered the store and bought a number of items which she paid for.

However, she was stopped by security leaving the store after she had failed to pay for six pairs of leggings and a t-shirt.

She had pleaded guilty to the theft of the other items valued at €17.30.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Frank Dorrian said his client’s mother had just died in Cameroon and she was returning home for her funeral having lived in Ireland for several years.

She had purchased a number of items of children’s clothing including pyjamas and t-shirts with cartoons on them to the value of more than €100.

She had planned to distribute the clothing to local children once she got home to Cameroon.

However, Mr Dorrian said his client had exhausted her funds and took the other items.

The court was told that Ms Kepnang had a previous conviction for theft but it went back as far as 2017.

Judge Eiteain Cunningham noted there was a previous conviction but said it went back to 2017 and fined Ms Kepnang €100 and allowed her the maximum time of six months to pay.

Source: Donegaldaily

On Tuesday 19 November 2024, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute chaired a cabinet meeting.

Cameroon Concord News understands the meeting focused on the presentation of the aggregates of the 2025 preliminary finance bill: its general configuration and the main thrusts of the public investment budget.

Dion Ngute called on his government team to comply with the guidelines set out by President Biya in a circular dated 23 November 2024 on the preparation of the State budget.

‘I invite my team to respect the guidelines contained in the Presidential Circular of 23 October 2024, and to take into account the requirements induced by the principles of rationalisation and prioritisation’, insisted Chief Ngute.

The circular signed by the Head of State defines the overall objective assigned to the State budget for the 2025 financial year.

‘During 2025, the overall objective of public action remains the strengthening of the economic growth dynamic, as well as its inclusive nature, in order to promote the industrial transformation of our productive fabric and an improvement in the living conditions of the population. To this end, the following levers of action should be implemented as a matter of priority’, states the Biya document.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

As part of the second phase of the Multiannual Indicative Program (MIP) 2025-2027, the European Union (EU) has announced it will mobilize €91 million (around CFA60 billion) to fund infrastructure projects in Cameroon. This initiative seeks to support the country’s economic and social development, strengthen key sectors, and promote regional integration within Central Africa. The announcement was made during the third session of the Economic and Technical Dialogue on the Cameroon-EU partnership, which took place on November 14, 2024, in Yaoundé.

Among the projects benefiting from this funding are two major initiatives: the construction of a bridge over the Ntem River between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, and the extension of Cameroon’s railway network to Chad. Other key projects include the Yaoundé bypass road, which aims to reduce traffic congestion in the capital, and the Kikot hydroelectric project, which will strengthen the national power supply.

“These strong commitments from the European Union, in the form of grants and budget support, aim to accelerate the completion of key infrastructure projects and reinforce structural reforms for better public financial management and enhanced competitiveness for Cameroon,” stated the Ministry of Economy’s communication service.

The EU is already involved in funding major projects that are transforming Cameroon’s infrastructure. One example is the Nachtigal hydroelectric dam (Central Region), which has a capacity of 420 MW. Supported by the EU, this project will provide nearly 30% of the electricity to the southern interconnected grid of Cameroon and play a key role in stimulating the country’s industrial growth. Another important project is the construction of the bridge over the Logone River, which will connect the Cameroonian city of Yagoua to the Chadian city of Bongor. Once completed, this bridge will provide a third official crossing point between the two countries, strengthening trade relations and contributing to sub-regional integration.

In addition to infrastructure projects, a significant portion of the discussions during this session of the Economic and Technical Dialogue focused on improving the business climate in Cameroon. The EU and the Cameroonian government are working to make the country more attractive to private investors by facilitating access to funding that supports entrepreneurship and stimulates economic activity. The EU plans to implement financial mechanisms through the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe) and the Global Gateway program. These initiatives will particularly target small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in the infrastructure and energy sectors. Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey emphasized that the growth of the private sector is crucial for job creation and wealth generation. “A vibrant and productive private sector means more jobs, more wealth, and a better quality of life for the people. This is a priority for us, and through our cooperation with the European Union, we believe we will receive more support,” he said.

The announced funding is part of the MIP 2021-2027, which was officially launched in February 2022 in Yaoundé. The MIP is designed to structure and strengthen the EU’s response to the multiple challenges Cameroon faces, particularly in governance, democratic consolidation, peace, and stabilization. The program focuses on inclusive growth, with particular attention to the private sector, the creation of decent jobs, and environmental sustainability. The program spans seven years, with a solid commitment for the 2021-2024 period. The EU has allocated an additional CFA88 billion for the 2025-2027 period, with new priorities, including digitalization, which has been added as the fourth priority area of the program.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The government has dismissed 1,172 public servants, including civil servants and state employees, according to a statement released on Monday, November 18, by the Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform (Minfopra), Joseph Le.

The latest round of sanctions adds to the previous 1,981 dismissals and 424 terminations, bringing the total number affected to 3,577. The statement explains that these decisions were made under decrees issued on October 7, 1994, defining the general civil service statutes, as amended by the decree of October 12, 2000, and a decree from November 9, 1978, specifying common provisions for state employees under the labor code.

The sanctions stem from a physical headcount operation, known as Coppe, launched in 2018 to identify and remove irregularly listed employees from state payrolls. Irregularities were often due to unexplained absences, resignations, or unreported deaths. The operation is expected to conclude in 2025, at which point all identified personnel will be removed from the civil service, following the President’s directive in the 2025 budget circular signed on October 23, 2024.

Joseph Le revealed that the dismissed and terminated employees are part of a broader group of 8,766 public agents at risk of disciplinary action. Despite repeated notices from the Ministers of Finance and Public Service, only 601 individuals responded to requests for clarification, with some attending hearings with the Permanent Public Service Discipline Council.

Following disciplinary procedures, some personnel were reinstated, while others were terminated for submitting fraudulent documents “intended to mislead the administration.” At the start of 2024, numerous public employees remained suspended from payroll for unexplained absences, including 2,326 teachers flagged as absent following a call for reporting by Secondary Education Minister Nalova Lyonga.

Minister Le emphasized that this “significant operation” aligns with President Paul Biya’s directives to combat chronic absenteeism among public servants. In July, Le warned that any public employee absent for 30 consecutive days would face immediate dismissal or termination. “If a public servant fails to be at their post for 30 days, they simply merit dismissal or termination. Many other measures are stipulated in the Civil Service Statute and related regulations. Salaries are compensation for work performed, not work to be done. Absenteeism and indiscipline must end,” he stated after a cabinet meeting on July 25.

The Coppe operation, conducted between April and June 2018 by the Ministry of Finance, identified and removed 10,000 fictitious employees from the payroll, generating an annual budget saving of approximately 30 billion CFA francs in 2019, according to Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze.

Source: Sbbc