CEMAC Heads of State Summit: Hot files staring leaders as session holds in Y´de today.

Experts say if the summit must make meaning, they must handle these issues. It is a bloc which many say is good at coming up with good policies that are hardly ever implemented. One of such is the agreement to accelerate sub-regional integration.

The decision was taken during the CEMAC Extraordinary Summit in Ndjamena, Chad, October 31, 2017. It was also at that summit that President Biya pushed for the cancellation of entry visas for CEMAC nationals.

This was seen as a strategy to accelerate sub-regional integration and the attainment of economic emergence. But countries like Equatorial Guinea are not only restricting the entry of CEMAC nationals, but deport those that are already residing and doing business in Malabo, especially Cameroonians.

On paper, they still accept that effective free movement of people and goods have potential of speeding up all round development. Just as the ambition to fuse the different sub-regional markets into one to speed up economic integration is yet to materialize.

The international community categorizes the CEMAC sub-region as the least integrated in Africa, in terms of free movement of goods, persons and moving towards forming a common market.

CEMAC leaders have continued to shelve the integration agenda, even though they have agreed to see actual integration becoming a reality by 2025.

The next step is to make the CEMAC in 2025, an integrated and emerging economic space, where security, solidarity and good governance reigns with the aim of fostering human development.

This vision is shared by all member states for the sole purpose of successfully achieving the Regional Economic Programme, REP. The REP is developed by the CEMAC in order for its member countries to grow together and become an emerging economic block by 2025.

To this end, five major pillars of growth have been identified: Energy; agro-industry; forestry; livestock and fishing; mining and metallurgy.

The REP is being implemented in three phases:  Phase 1 covered the period 2010-2015; which consisted of building the foundations of emergence for the CEMAC to become a fully integrated sub-region.

Phases 2 and 3 covering the period 2016-2025 are aimed at getting the CEMAC to actually become emergent. So, as the leaders head towards the end of REP, they expect to see an economic environment that is attractive to investors, in a more integrated sub region.

Monetary policy

The aspiration to expand the monetary union to include member states of the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, has been on hold because of the monetary policy of CEMAC.

ECCAS member states who are not members of CEMAC, like Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda all have their independent currencies.

Whereas, the six CEMAC member states use the Franc CFA which is attached to the French Treasury, and pecked on a fixed exchange rate with the European common currency, the Euro.

This, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, says, does not fit much with a financial system that is very liquid. This has adverse effects including underdeveloped interbank markets because they cannot rely on government securities market.

However, the exchange rate is in line with fundamentals and has been stable since the last devaluation. Besides, there are some advantages that the CEMAC sub-region draws from it.

What the IMF advises is to improve monetary policy by reviewing management tools of the Bank of Central African States, BEAC.

Therefore, to promote the development of the interbank market, the authorities are encouraged to accelerate reforms to reduce counterparty risk and improve borrowing conditions.

Security challenge

Another hot file that will mesmerize and give leaders headache during this Yaounde meeting is security within the sub-region. Though Cameroon and Chad claim to be winning the war against Boko Haram, other CEMAC member states still consider the Lake Chad area as a no-go zone because of the atrocities of this terrorist sect.

Then, there is maritime piracy, which has taken a strong hold on the Gulf of Guinea, constituting a significant threat to international trade between and among CEMAC member states.

Added to this, is trans-border criminality, which promotes smuggling and movement of firearms and small weapons.

Above all, some member states like Cameroon and Central African Republic are going through sociopolitical crises that need to be addressed.

This, is in order to push forward other initiatives like the free movement of goods, persons and fusion of sub regional markets into one.

For Cameroon however, the Anglophone crisis remains a security threat that the government must try to resolve as soon as possible.

Observers say if that is done, it will encourage other CEMAC member states who want to trade and move in and out of Cameroon to do so without fear of harm, either to their investments or personnel.

President Biya´s balance sheet

Member states agree that President Biya has had a fruitful mandate as CEMAC Head of State. From when he took over on March 24, 2019, he has put all his experience to make sure the sub-region moves to emergence, despite the volatile international economic and sociopolitical climate.

Even before he took over, and because of the economic crises precipitated by the drastic fall in the prices of petroleum products, President Biya convened an extraordinary conference to deliberate on how best to overcome the challenges as a group.

In November 2019, barely eight months after he took over the CEMAC Presidency, Biya convened an extraordinary summit in Yaounde.

During that meeting, the Heads of State reviewed the extent to which member states had implemented structural reforms recommended in 2016, and how their economies were faring thereafter.

Leaders agreed that due to the interventions and actions recommended by President Biya, they were able to avoid another devaluation of the Franc CFA; their common currency.

As President Biya prepares to hand over to another leader, his ambition is to see member states reinforce internal and external structural adjustments in order to keep their economies growing and the living standards of populations improving.

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Experts say if the summit must make meaning, they must handle these issues. It is a bloc which many say is good at coming up with good policies that are hardly ever implemented. One of such is the agreement to accelerate sub-regional integration.

The decision was taken during the CEMAC Extraordinary Summit in Ndjamena, Chad, October 31, 2017. It was also at that summit that President Biya pushed for the cancellation of entry visas for CEMAC nationals.

This was seen as a strategy to accelerate sub-regional integration and the attainment of economic emergence. But countries like Equatorial Guinea are not only restricting the entry of CEMAC nationals, but deport those that are already residing and doing business in Malabo, especially Cameroonians.

On paper, they still accept that effective free movement of people and goods have potential of speeding up all round development. Just as the ambition to fuse the different sub-regional markets into one to speed up economic integration is yet to materialize.

The international community categorizes the CEMAC sub-region as the least integrated in Africa, in terms of free movement of goods, persons and moving towards forming a common market.

CEMAC leaders have continued to shelve the integration agenda, even though they have agreed to see actual integration becoming a reality by 2025.

The next step is to make the CEMAC in 2025, an integrated and emerging economic space, where security, solidarity and good governance reigns with the aim of fostering human development.

This vision is shared by all member states for the sole purpose of successfully achieving the Regional Economic Programme, REP. The REP is developed by the CEMAC in order for its member countries to grow together and become an emerging economic block by 2025.

To this end, five major pillars of growth have been identified: Energy; agro-industry; forestry; livestock and fishing; mining and metallurgy.

The REP is being implemented in three phases:  Phase 1 covered the period 2010-2015; which consisted of building the foundations of emergence for the CEMAC to become a fully integrated sub-region.

Phases 2 and 3 covering the period 2016-2025 are aimed at getting the CEMAC to actually become emergent. So, as the leaders head towards the end of REP, they expect to see an economic environment that is attractive to investors, in a more integrated sub region.

Monetary policy

The aspiration to expand the monetary union to include member states of the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, has been on hold because of the monetary policy of CEMAC.

ECCAS member states who are not members of CEMAC, like Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda all have their independent currencies.

Whereas, the six CEMAC member states use the Franc CFA which is attached to the French Treasury, and pecked on a fixed exchange rate with the European common currency, the Euro.

This, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, says, does not fit much with a financial system that is very liquid. This has adverse effects including underdeveloped interbank markets because they cannot rely on government securities market.

However, the exchange rate is in line with fundamentals and has been stable since the last devaluation. Besides, there are some advantages that the CEMAC sub-region draws from it.

What the IMF advises is to improve monetary policy by reviewing management tools of the Bank of Central African States, BEAC.

Therefore, to promote the development of the interbank market, the authorities are encouraged to accelerate reforms to reduce counterparty risk and improve borrowing conditions.

Security challenge

Another hot file that will mesmerize and give leaders headache during this Yaounde meeting is security within the sub-region. Though Cameroon and Chad claim to be winning the war against Boko Haram, other CEMAC member states still consider the Lake Chad area as a no-go zone because of the atrocities of this terrorist sect.

Then, there is maritime piracy, which has taken a strong hold on the Gulf of Guinea, constituting a significant threat to international trade between and among CEMAC member states.

Added to this, is trans-border criminality, which promotes smuggling and movement of firearms and small weapons.

Above all, some member states like Cameroon and Central African Republic are going through sociopolitical crises that need to be addressed.

This, is in order to push forward other initiatives like the free movement of goods, persons and fusion of sub regional markets into one.

For Cameroon however, the Anglophone crisis remains a security threat that the government must try to resolve as soon as possible.

Observers say if that is done, it will encourage other CEMAC member states who want to trade and move in and out of Cameroon to do so without fear of harm, either to their investments or personnel.

President Biya´s balance sheet

Member states agree that President Biya has had a fruitful mandate as CEMAC Head of State. From when he took over on March 24, 2019, he has put all his experience to make sure the sub-region moves to emergence, despite the volatile international economic and sociopolitical climate.

Even before he took over, and because of the economic crises precipitated by the drastic fall in the prices of petroleum products, President Biya convened an extraordinary conference to deliberate on how best to overcome the challenges as a group.

In November 2019, barely eight months after he took over the CEMAC Presidency, Biya convened an extraordinary summit in Yaounde.

During that meeting, the Heads of State reviewed the extent to which member states had implemented structural reforms recommended in 2016, and how their economies were faring thereafter.

Leaders agreed that due to the interventions and actions recommended by President Biya, they were able to avoid another devaluation of the Franc CFA; their common currency.

As President Biya prepares to hand over to another leader, his ambition is to see member states reinforce internal and external structural adjustments in order to keep their economies growing and the living standards of populations improving.