Below is the press release of the Cabinet meeting of October 31, 2012 held at the Prime Minister's Office.
"The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Philemon YANG, today (yesterday) Wednesday 31 October 2012 as from 11:00 a.m. in the main building of the Prime Minister's Office, chaired a Cabinet Meeting attended by Ministers of State, Ministers, Ministers-Delegate and Secretaries of State.
Proceedings centred on the draft 2013 Finance Law. In that regard, two items featured on the agenda, namely:
1. A statement by the Minister for Finance on : the broad lines of the draft 2013 Finance Law and the implications for the effectiveness of programme budgeting;
2. A statement by the Minister for the Economy, Planning and Regional Development on: the broad lines of the draft Public Investment Budget for fiscal year 2013.
The Minister for Finance recalled that the budgetary reforms engaged in 2007 were at a decisive turning point with the draft 2013 Finance Law that marks the transition from resource-based budgeting to programme budgeting.
As concerns the revenue aspect of the draft budget, the tax break will continue to be observed. Greater efficiency will be explored in revenue collection through measures to broaden the tax base, better protection of revenue and application of some corrective and harmonization measures.
The developments contemplated in the customs sector seek to promote exports in general, encourage local processing of timber and facilitate customs disputes procedures.
The Minister for Finance stressed that the issuance of treasury bonds to finance the State budget will continue in 2013, after the good results obtained in previous fiscal years.
The State expenditure profile, for its part, will continue to be marked by higher investment spending which will rise to 29.6% of the State budget to match the policy of Greater Accomplishments. This expenditure should also help to achieve the objectives of the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper.
Lastly, the Minister for Finance dwelled on the implications of programme budgeting, the basis of performance in the implementation of public policies. He revealed that the Inter-ministerial Committee tasked with the consideration of programmes had validated 144 programmes (102 of them operational programmes and 42 support programmes). These programmes contained actions as well as objectives and indicators.
Each ministry's annual performance project is tabled for discussion before Parliament. Appropriations grouped into multi-year commitment authorizations are then considered and payment votes, fungible within a certain limit and capable of being carried forward from one fiscal year to another, are annualized.
Next, the floor was given to the Minister for the Economy, Planning and Regional Development for his statement on the draft 2013Public Investment Budget.
He indicated that capital expenditure will be commensurate with the programme of massive expenditure nationwide prescribed by the Head of State, with a sound mix of overarching investments and basic grassroots infrastructure.
The projects that are listed in the investment budget are not only sufficiently anchored in Cameroon's development strategy but also present a level of maturity that guarantees their rapid start-up.
Minister in charge of the economy also highlighted the positive inputs that budget programming will bring to the State's investment strategy. With commitment authorizations that are valid for three years, works and projects that last more than one year can be executed in a more serene manner. The expected improvements in project governance will concern especially, the strengthening of implementation effectiveness, the mastery of costs and the non interruption of works due to the rigidity of the annual budget principle.
The Minister for Economy, Planning and Regional Development concluded by appealing for a greater use of public-private partnership contracts for the construction of public infrastructure.
At the end of these two statements and the ensuing discussions, the Prime Minister urged the entire Government, pending the budgetary arbitrations of the President of the Republic, to take all appropriate measures to guarantee the success of this milestone which is the effectiveness of the programme budgeting in January 2013.
He further asked the Minister-Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Public Contracts to prepare early the public contracts schedule for 2013 to ensure that budget implementation starts rapidly as soon as the Finance Law is promulgated.
The Cabinet Meeting was adjourned at 12:50 p.m , after consideration of some miscellaneous issues linked to Governmental activity./"
Yaounde, 31 October 2012
GHOGOMU Paul MINGO,
Director of the Prime Minister's Cabinet
All attention is focused on the successful implementation of programme budgeting.
