Gov’t restates resolve to prioritise citizens’ wellbeing in 2025.

The commitment was re-echoed Tuesday as the entire state apparatus converged on Yaounde to begin brainstorming on how the 2025 State budget could bring much needed relief and make life better for Cameroonians.

The two-day event, scheduled to end today, is christened: “Seminar to launch activities for the preparation of the State Budget for the 2025 Fiscal Year”.

The theme chosen by government for the seminar revolves around empowering the country’s private sector operators so that the industrial base of the nation could be refocused; with principal aim being that living standards of Cameroonians keep improving on a sustainable basis.

Predominantly, government believes that when choices as to where government expenditure is directed are improved; production supply chains and citizen capacities enhanced; Cameroonians in general will get the feel-good effect that will give them a new lease of life.

Put simply, the government wants all high-ranking officials, financially privileged private sector operatives, financing partners and representatives of international financing institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.

This is to brainstorm on the theme of the 2025 State Budget, which is: “Effectiveness of Budgetary Choices for Strengthening Supply Capacities with a view of Industrial Transformation and Improving the Living Conditions of the Population”.

At the end of which deliberations, applicable measures are taken that will guide President Biya in taking key decisions relating to the preparation and execution of next year’s budget. 

This, officials have said, will enable the state meet the aspirations enshrined in the National Development Strategy, SND-30.

From the horse’s mouth

For the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, government expects the 2025 State Budget to make significant impact towards ameliorating socioeconomic conditions in the country, especially on the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Therefore, deliberants and other actors need to focus on how the execution of ongoing grand projects works effectively towards attaining this objective.

How access to energy to industries, both in quantity and quality, could also work towards improving overall socioeconomic conditions in Cameroon, so that national wealth is shared more equitably, at the same time, reducing gnawing inequality through the way national wealth is shared or distributed.

Similarly, Motaze implored stakeholders to take advantage of the seminar to explore ways through which the implementation of government’s import substitution policy could help in achieving government’s integrated plan on revamping agriculture so that the sector serves as a bulwark for import substitution, if diligently implemented could go a long way towards ameliorating the socioeconomic climate.

Even more import, the Minister of Finance said, if patriotic follow up is given way in the area of implementing projects under the Initial Impulsion Programme, (Programme d´Impulsion Initiale), P21, it will also contribute towards improving socioeconomic conditions for the benefit of the masses.

Minister Motaze also hinted on how the effective implementation of the Universal Health Coverage Programme, CSU, during the coming fiscal year, could also work to improve the living conditions of Cameroonians. 

As well as beefing up effort towards improving social cohesion through entrenching the decentralisation process.

Government also sees reconstruction of war-torn parts of the country as another area through which the living conditions of Cameroonians would be improved during the 2025 fiscal year.

Therefore, Minister Motaze gave assurance that reconstruction works would be stepped up in parts of the Far North Region that have been ravaged by Boko Haram.

He also mentioned the reconstruction of the North West and South West Regions where separatist fighters have been sowing mayhem for over seven years.

To this, Minister Motaze added renewed effort to ensure effective presences of state institutions and related state establishments in these ravaged parts of the country; while also fighting to improve and guarantee overall security of persons and their properties in all troubled parts of Cameroon. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3178 of Wednesday July 24, 2024