AfDB honours Cameroon, inaugurates sub regional office in Yaounde.

The appreciation was made April 12 at the Carrefour Golf neighbourhood of Yaounde, when government officials, accompanied a delegation of the continental bank gathered for the official inauguration ceremony of the regional headquarters.

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, who represented President Paul Biya in performing the official opening, lauded the decentralisation programme initiated by the AfDB Group.

He said the move had necessitated the creation of a sub-regional office to take care of the six countries that make up the Economic Community of Central African States, CEMAC, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, CAR. 

Therefore, the new office will henceforth serve Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo Brazzaville, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

PM Dion Ngute commended the AfDB Group representative, in the person of Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, whom he said had made encouraging remarks that portray the kindness, goodwill and commitment of the Bank Group to foster economic viability in the aforementioned countries.

The PM recalled that it was in 2019 that the agreement was signed to build a CEMAC headquarters of the AfDB in Yaounde, and barely five years after, the vision had become a reality.

Describing the inauguration as a turning point in the integration effort of governments of the sub region, the PM recalled the admonition President Biya made to his counterparts during the March 17, 2023 CEMAC summit, that the world is changing fast and moving forward, and the sub region cannot afford to be left behind.

He also lauded the continental bank for remaining a strategic partner in the sub region’s aspiration to fast-tract its integration process as enunciated by President Biya in collaboration with his counterparts in the sub region.

Enter AfDB Group Vice President 

For her part, the Bank Group Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, reiterated that the African Development Bank Group remains a major development partner to its Central African member countries; which as of April 1, 2024, had an active portfolio of multinational operations comprised of 26 operations totaling $2.49 billion in the region.

The head of delegation further disclosed that the new regional base for Central Africa underscores the African Development Bank Group’s dedication to strengthening cooperation with bilateral and multilateral development partners to enhance the effectiveness of development initiatives and promote sustainable growth across the region.

According to the Bank's semi-annual “Africa’s Macro-Economic Performance and Outlook” report published in February, economic growth in Central Africa is projected to slow to 3.5 percent in 2024, with a potential rebound to 4.1% in 2025 driven by increased private consumption investment in mining and exports.

Overwhelming presence of AfDB Group

The ceremony created an opportunity for the Prime Minister and his guests to unveil the numerous projects already being executed or still ongoing that the continental bank is engaged in within the sub region.

The PM asserted that the AfDB has no fewer than 26 projects that are either completed or are at an advanced stage of execution.

The PM expressed optimism that efforts at upgrading the economies of the sub region for the benefit of populations would be given added impetus now, because of the inauguration of the sub regional office.

On the spot, the government and the AfDB Group signed a loan agreement to enable Yaounde secure a financial allocation of 130 billion FCFA to upgrade infrastructure and boost private sector investment in the Far North Region. 

To this was added another agreement through which the government will benefit from a financial donation of 30 billion FCFA. The PM witnessed as the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT, Alamine Ousmane Mey, signed on behalf of the government; while the Bank Group Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, who headed her institution’s delegation to Yaounde, signed for the AfDB Group.

This adds to the already heavy package that the AfDB is carrying out within the sub region, evaluated at not less than 1,500 billion FCFA, involving 26 development and integration projects across 120 operations. 

PM Dion Ngute cited the construction of a bridge over the Logone River in the town of Yagoua to link Cameroon and the Chadian town of Bongor, through the Far North Region.

There is also the Light Africa Project that is extending electricity supply from Cameroon to Chad; projects to boost restructuring of the region’s industrial base, and other road projects linking the southern part of Cameroon to Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo Brazzaville.

Other projects include Zambi-Kribi road, the Ring Road in the North West Region; the road to disenclave the Kribi industrial zone; bridge over the Ntehm River, and the Grand Zambi-Kribi road. 

Above all there is the completion of the Bamenda-Enugu corridor road and the construction of a new bridge over the Cross River at Mfum, the opening of the Southern Corridor with the construction of the Djum-Mintom, Nandeke-Mbere road; the completion of Lom Panga dam to boost energy supply, among other projects.

Equally important is the move to accelerate the free circulation of goods, services and persons with the kick-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and other projects to boost the structural transformation of economies, in the areas of transport and improved water supply.