Securities demateralisation: MINFI boss launches training of lawyers, notaries in NW, SW.

The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, opened the training.

According to Motaze, the reform of securities dematerialisation brought about by the 2014 law is central to the National Development Strategy 2020–2030 and the building of trust in Cameroon’s financial system. 

“Behind the dematerialisation of securities lie issues that directly affect the quality of our economic environment, the security of securities transactions, the protection of rights and the strengthening of confidence in institutions,” he stated.

The minister stressed that a reform is only complete when those involved understand their role, master the procedures and are able to explain to users the rights, obligations and safeguards attached to the new system. 

The country’s legal diversity, he insisted, must be transformed into a strength not a point of friction.

“There should not be, on the one hand, professionals who are fully integrated into the new procedures and, on the other, professionals who face lasting difficulties in accessing information or understanding the system,” the finance minister stated.

He insisted that “modernisation must reduce distances, bring stakeholders closer together and guarantee the consistent application of the law throughout the national territory". 

The minister urged those being trained to be advocates of reform. “We must modernise without weakening, undermining safeguards or accountability,” Motaze stressed. 

10 of 770 companies in NW, SW dematerialised

In his address, the Director General of CAA, Adolphe Noah Ndongo, revealed that according to the National Institute of Statistics, NIS, Cameroon had 1,149 public limited companies in 2023.

Ndongo said to date, just under 790 Public Limited Companies and Simplified Joint Stock Companies are registered with the CAA. Of this number, he remarked that: “Only about ten of them come from the North West and South West regions"

Noah Ndongo said "…our objective is clear: to have all issuing companies from these two regions codified and have their issuances registered in accounts with the CAA".

He said dematerialization in Cameroon is governed by Law No. 2014/007 of April 23, 2014. It implementing decree, Ndongo added, replaces physical share certificates with electronic account entries.

The process, he explained, has three phases viz; taking over issuances, collecting physical certificates, and the day-to-day management of dematerialised securities.

The CAA, Ndongo noted, is the central depository which coordinates, controls, holds in custody, and supervises all dematerialisation operations in line with the law. 

He disclosed that the training would be delivered in three successive cohorts built around three modules; the legal framework, the operational process, and notarial best practices.

To the lawyers, he said the CAA expects those performing notarial functions to provide the list of companies in their records. 

Ndongo said they are also expected to report new issuances, transmit securities encumbered with charges, and support companies to update statutes in line with Article 908 of the OHADA Uniform Act.

The President of the Cameroon Bar Association, Barrister Mbah Eric Mbah, said the seminar is a testament to the fact that the Ministry of Finance and the CAA are committed to ensuring lawyers in the two regions operate without hitches.

Knowledge acquired, Barrister Mbah said, would be beneficial to lawyers, the community and public. Lawyers and companies still outside the law, he said, risk consequences. 

“…shareholders and companies that have not been dematerialized are not entitled to dividends. You cannot transfer the shares of the company if the shares have not been dematerialized,” the Bar President said, adding that: “All those share certificates that people have in their cupboards and are keeping so jealously, are just as worthless as any other thing”.

Officials said dematerialisation is more than digitization, offering traceability, record-keeping, speed of transactions and the security of information relating to securities. 

After the training, organisers said lawyers should be able to advise clients on compliance and help companies access wider markets.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3862 of Wednesday July 29, 2026