“The members of the Central African Economic Monetary States came together on Thursday 27th July 2023 at the Douala BEAC agency for the institution’s Economic and Finance Reforms Program (PREF-CEMAC) steering committee for the 19th ordinary session”.
This ordinary session was dedicated for the follow up of the resolutions adopted during the previous work sessions, the putting into place the decisions and recommendations outlined by the steering committee, the examination of the stakes of actions and reforms of priority in various pillars, the view on the operationalization of the United financial markets and the putting in place of the STAT-CEMAC Program.
The president of the steering committee H.E Jean-Baptiste Ondaye who doubles as the minister of Finance and the Economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the event did not fail to express his gratitudes to the head of the Cameroonian state H.E President Paul Biya for the warm welcome given them in the Cameroonian territory and also to the various delegates who made it at the event which comes in after a wind of hope from the resumption of economic activities faced with several injunctions in the subregions.
It is worth noting that this steering committee meeting of the 19th ordinary session precedes from five others after the extraordinary summit of Heads of states of the CEMAC zone held on the 18th of August 2021. During this summit, some 24 resolutions were adopted, and these resolutions stands as the basis of the mastered revised reforms and basic actions of the second generation of the Economic and Finance Reforms program of the CEMAC (PREF-CEMAC) for the 2021-2025 ongoing period. These outline the various needs and problems the subregions are currently facing amongst others, security, climate change, economic and financial crises.
The president of the steering committee H.E Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, ministre of the Congolese Economy and Finance while in his speech enumerated some of the major achievements of the steering committee of the PREF-CEMAC which he says the committee gave way for the economies of the subregions to show proof of it’s resilience recording an increase rate of 3.0% in 2022 as compared to the recession it had in 2020(-1.8%), and in 2016, (-1.4%). The president added that the new reserves of exchange got up to 6 853,2 billion at the end of 2022 whereas it stood at 3 093 billion in December 2016 indicating that despite the increase of prices of some commodities, those of energy and food products remains globally controlled in the entire subregions. Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye equally applauded the fact that the International Monetary Fund on June 21st, 2023, saluted the progress of achievements in the putting in place of structural reforms, governance, and transparency in the administration of the PREF-CEMAC together with great realisations attained by the said committee.
After the official opening of the ordinary session by it’s committee president, working sessions were unveiled amongst others five pillars which will better guide the committee. Recommendations and adoptions were made whereby a final communiqué was adopted at the end. Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye while closing the session remarked that the achievements of the steering committee reached at during the working session stood at 55.6% on the entire pillars of the program during 2022 as compared to 45.3% recorded in 2021. He therefore called on the various parties of the CEMAC to play their individual roles in the execution of the various decisions adopted.
All is good that ends well the ceremony ended with a family photo and banquet offered to the delegates.
By Juliette MESAME
