Parliament frowns at low execution of PIB as 2015 Finance Bill is awaited

Parliament has asked government to take special measures so that next year’s state budget should not suffer from the same low execution rate of the Public Investment Budget P.I.B before the 2015 Finance Bill is tabled.

The hard tone was given by House Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril at the beginning of the November Ordinary Session of Parliament dedicated to the scrutiny of next year’s state budget.

Speaking in the presence of the President of the Senate, Niat Njifenji Marcel, government officials led by Prime Minister Yang Philemon, Supreme Court President, Alexis Dipanda Mouelle, Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Minister Director of Civil Cabinet of the Presidency, Martin Belinga Eboutou, diplomats and civil society leaders, the House Speaker said such low execution of the public investment budget retards economic growth and development of the country.

He decried that « the physical execution rate of public investment budget as of 24 October 2014 stood at just 37%. This will unfortunately slow down growth and strategies for the fight against poverty in our country.”

Talking directly to the Prime Minister Philemon Yang, Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril proposed that “It is certainly time for the government to open a reflection in order to identify the root causes of hindering the execution of the state budget.”

At the Upper House of Cameroon Parliament, Senate President, Niat Njifenji Marcel in his opening speech congratulated President Paul Biya and the military for victories recorded against Boko Haram insurgents in the Far North Region. He explained that President Biya’s recent restructuring of the military and allocation of adequate resources had largely contributed to the victories.

On the 2015 Appropriation Bill to be discussed by the Senate, Marcel Niat Njifenji, called for the allocation of adequate resources to enable the President’s Greater Accomplishments policy succeed.

A minute’s silence was therefore observed in memory of Mrs. Rosette Mboutchouang, mother of First Lady, Mrs. Chantal Biya, and Mayor of Bangou in the Upper Plateau Division of the West Region, who died last month.

Others included Senator Francis Nkwain who was buried over the weekend in his native Njinikom, Boyo Division of the North West Region, and the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Dr William Shija, who died last September.