8 years of debt relief, developments and the way forward

When in 2006 Cameroon reached the point of a Highly Indebted Poor Country, HIPIC, most of her international debts were cancelled, and the debt relief and development program was born to help the ‘very poor’ country to develop. Today, this debt relief and development programme which was put in place by France to enable Cameroon focus on its development, otherwise known in French as the Contrat de Désendettement et de Développement, C2D has made some developments but much is still to be done.

In 2006 when the project was instituted, its priority projects were drafted in line with Cameroon’s Strategic, Growth and Employment Paper. Among the several priority sectors that were earmarked were education, health and agriculture, which were programmed to be executed in two phases estimating 5 years each, which is 2006-2011. The amount of FCFA 556 billion worth 8,636 million Euros was disbursed for the first phase of the development programme, which ended on April 27, 2011. The second phase that began July 11, 2011 and projected to the last to 2016 to a budgeted FCFA 213 billions.

Co-managed by Cameroon and France, it took a participative management approach that included the country’s central administration, sub and local administrators, the private sector and even the beneficiaries; a development method prescribed by modern specialists of Community Development.

Put at the forward are competent Government authorities from both sides; Cameroon’s ministers of Finance, Economy Planning and Regional Development and the French Ambassador to Cameroon who all harmonised to consider only concrete projects, relevant to economic growth and in increasing employment.

Revisiting the projects so far, some 47 bridges have been constructed, while 103 have gotten a face lift; 770km of rural roads have been rehabilitated with 14.6km of roads rehabilitated in Douala, 15.5 km of roads in Yaounde, 6.5km of administrative roads in Yaounde, 6.15km of administrative roads in Douala, reconstructing Carrefour sous prefecture in Yaounde and the 2013 launching of the second bridge over River Wouri in Douala, among others.

Three years into the launch and take-off of the second phase, steps have been made, though but much is still left undone in the priority areas of education, health and agriculture.

The priority education regions of Adamawa and Littoral were recently visited last May 11-16, with the objective to advance the construction and rehabilitation of the schools in those areas. The STADE team visited the building and reconstruction sites of 15 primary schools in the Djerem and Manyo Banyo Divisions of the Adamawa Region and discovered that some of the schools were almost ready for the next school academic year as opposed to a few.

In the same vein, the Minister of Basic Education in the company of the French Ambassador and other members of Government, last April 4, distributed pedagogic kits worth FCFA 321 million to public primary schools in the country with the aim of increasing teachers’ accessibility to teaching materials and 13,000 public primary schools benefitted from the gesture. Private education have however not been left out as they got a slice of the cake during the first phase.

In the domain of health, Yaounde recently hosted a sub regional health forum on public and private partnership as a means of joining forces to combat problems of public health. The seminar that lasted from June 4-6, had as theme; Public and Private Partnership: What is the potential of the health sector in Central Africa? Present during the forum presided on by the Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda, were the French Ambassador, Christine Robichon, the director of the French Development Agency, Herve Conan, and many ambassadors among others.

As of now, FCFA 250 millions has been allocated for the construction of a reference centre for mothers and children, and a first aid unit at the Saint Jean de Malte Hospital at Njombe in the Littoral Region. This project that was inaugurated last March 19, by the Minister of Public Health in the Presence of the French Ambassador to Cameroon is being planned to be an empowerment centre first for Littoral and Southwest women and as a first aid centre for travellers who sometimes unfortunately get involved in accidents.

Still on health, FCFA 30 million has been invested in the procurement of HIV anti retroviral drugs, obstetrical kits and subvention of some private initiatives, among others.

Investing in agriculture has also been remarkable. Through ACEFA, a campaign was recently launched under the auspices of the debt relief and development programme in the Far North, by the Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry.

The agro pastoral farmers of the Centre, East and Northwest particularly, and those of the Extreme North, of Noun Division in the West and Manyu Division in the Southwest have been impacted with technical and economic advice and even supported financially.

The program in the remaining two years of this present phase hopes to change the productivity of many thousands of farmers whom they intend to follow up directly. Only five regions were covered in the first phase but the project is now on the 6th and has covered 30 divisions, expecting to reach others before the end of the phase.

In the domain of research for development, 10 conventions worth FCFA 2.7 million have been signed under the agronomy research support programme known by its French accronym PAR. The Ministry of Scientific Research on March 4, 2014 signed 6 conventions with the Institute of Research and Agricutural Development, IRAD to fund 6 agronomic research projects within three years, 2014-2016.

Four others were singed on December 23, 2013, making 10. These according to the experts will permit the furtherance of research on the ten most consumed agricultural produce which include cassava, potatoes, banana and rice among others.

The entire process of the research that would improve the country’s total agricultural produce would cost some FCFA 5.4 million. The last but one of the programmes is the ASOP which is aimed at inspiring the youth with a better sense of hope for their futures.

It emphasises professionalism and sees to it that, what is taught is put in practice. It aims at increasing agro pastoral productivity among youth. ASOP is geared towards combating poverty and unemployment among the youth and permits them to become actors for the guarantee of their own future.

Many have testified being affected by the laudable works of the development programme, but what about suburbs like those which are still inaccessible by road and whose students and pupils use a benevolent native’s residence as a school? The clock is ticking and two years is but like 2days when considered enough time.