NW, SW regions: FEICOM cancels over 4 billion FCFA debts of councils.

The board approved the cancellation based on a proposal from the management of FEICOM.

This was during the 38th and 39th Extraordinary Session of the Board of Directors of FEICOM. The meeting took place in Limbe, Fako Division of the South West Region, on August 30 and 31, 2024. 

This was under the chairmanship of the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Georges Elanga Obam, who is also Board Chairperson of FEICOM. 

In a statement issued at the end of the meeting, the Board Chairperson of FEICOM indicated that: “With regard to the debts owed FEICOM by councils in the North West and South West Regions, the General Manager noted that these municipalities are facing difficulties as a result of security crisis, marked by a slowdown in economic activities and the deterioration of infrastructure and facilities”. 

Elanga Obam, in the note, also said the situation has rather increased the operational cost of concerned municipalities and “their indebtedness towards FEICOM”. 

The FEICOM Board Chairperson added that: “On the basis of the principle of solidarity that governs FEICOM's operations and the low impact of the outstanding debt on the institution's financial balance and the overall improvement of the security situation, the Board has approved the proposal made by the General Management to cancel the debt of the 62 municipalities concerned, to the tune of 4,660,682,625 FCFA, 75% of the outstanding debt”.

The statement which sanctioned the meeting also indicated that the Board urged the General Manager of FEICOM to “…implement the resolution relating to the alleviation of the debt of the councils concerned”. 

The release that sanctioned the Limbe discussion equally said the General Manager of FEICOM also updated the Board on progress relating to the Climate Change Adaptation Fund, CAF. 

The Board Chair wrote that FEICOM is enjoying support from the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development, MINEPDED, on the scheme, “through the designated national authority and by the Ecological Monitoring Centre, EMC, in Dakar, Senegal”.

Elanga Obam detailed in the release that if the application of FEICOM sails to the end, it will get more financial resources to finance Climate Change Adaptation in local and regional authorities nationwide.

The Board Chairperson further disclosed that a review of the progress made and the significance of the application resulted in the Board approving FEICOM’s documents to complete its application. 

Elanga Obam noted that CAF presents a new opportunity to finance local development in line with contemporary issues related to Climate Change.

The documents approved, the minister further indicated in his release, are the Project Cycle Management Manual, the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Manual, the Environmental and Social Management Framework, the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Manual, the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Manual, the Environmental and Social Management Framework, the Mechanism for Managing Environmental, Social and Gender Complaints and Grievances relating to Projects.

Others also cited in the release are; Procurement Manual, the Anti-Fraud Policy, the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Policy, the revised Internal Audit Charter and the Strategic Performance Plan.

At the end of deliberation, the statement signed by Minister Elanga Obam indicated that the Board lauded the work of FEICOM management. 

The board members, as per the same statement, also urged management to “monitor the successful completion of FEICOM's accreditation to the Climate Change Adaptation Fund”.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3220 of Thursday, September 5, 2024