"The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr Philemon YANG, on Wednesday 31 July 2013 as from 11:00 a.m. chaired an important Cabinet Meeting in the main building of the Prime Minister's Office. In attendance, apart from his close aides, were Ministers of State, Ministers, Ministers-Delegate and Secretaries of State.
Two items featured on the agenda:
"Government's policy on cinematography", presented by the Minister for Arts and Culture;
"The organization of the domestic timber market", presented by the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife.
Taking the floor after the Prime Minister's preliminary remarks, the Minister for Arts and Culture presented a diagnosis of the cinematography sector in Cameroon, revealing that the brightest pages were written in the 1980s when the public authorities set up the Cinematography Industry Development Fund (FODIC). Thereafter, the economic crisis led to the disappearance of this Fund which enabled the production of 75 films yearly until the early 1990s and the abrupt decline of the film business in Cameroon leading to the closure of all cinema theaters.
Continuing her statement, the Minister in charge of arts revealed that despite budgetary constraints, the Government has continued to promote this sector via the Special Earmarked Account opened to support the cultural policy. In the last four years, investments in Cameroon cinema totaled over CFAF 800 million.
Given the problems facing the cinema business in Cameroon, especially insufficient financing, the not-so-good quality of local production and the lack of professionalism of sector stakeholders, Government's strategy for reviving cinematography hinges on five strategic thrusts: (i) re-opening film projection facilities through the ongoing rehabilitation of two cinema halls in Yaounde and construction of new halls with capacity of 200 seats in regional headquarters, (ii) increasing technical and financial support for cinematographic projects, especially with the commissioning of the National Institute of Arts and Culture (NIAC), (iii) reducing film production and distribution costs, (iv) forging partnerships and (v) promoting Cameroon as a film-making destination.
Next, the Cabinet followed the statement of the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife which revealed that the domestic timber market (DTM) is a virtual and/or physical platform of commercial transactions between timber producers, consumers and other stakeholders across the national territory. Instituted in 2010, this arrangement allowed inter alia for increasing the supply of legally-sourced timber to the local market from 98,000 cubic metres in 2012 to 300,000 cubic metres in 2013.
Further, a computerized system was put in place to collect and disseminate information on demand and supply of timber likely to be marketed. Also the Timber Promotion Centre in Yaounde was equipped to boost its output in terms of promotion of timer species, training and supervision of craftsmen in the timber trades.
The Minister in charge of forestry pointed out that the domestic timber market expected by 2015 to increase the volume of legally-sourced timber to 700,000 cubic metres to cover national and sub-regional demand. There are plans to extend the market to all regions as well as to deploy the virtual platform, train users, further involve the private sector in its operationalization and create timber clusters in Yaounde and Douala as part of the Competitive Value Chains Project.
The ensuing debate enabled Cabinet members to deepen discussions on the need to: (i) place emphasis on the quality of Cameroon's cinematographic products highlighting technical, industrial and artistic aspects and (ii) create synergy among stakeholders to structure the domestic timber market.
After the discussions that followed this statement, the Prime Minister asked the Minister in charge of arts to work for the proper implementation of scheduled actions. He also instructed her to ensure the restructuring of the Cameroon film industry and to preserve and develop the national cinematographic and audio-visual heritage.
The Head of Government instructed the Minister in charge of forestry to conduct a regular institutional and financial assessment of the domestic timber market and to implement all measures aimed at optimizing the performances of this platform.
The Cabinet Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.."
Yaounde, 31 July 2013.
Louis Paul MOTAZE,
Secretary-Gneral of the
Prime Minister's Office.
