The budgetary defence by cabinet ministers may not be indicative of the cash in hand to cover state expenses for the next fiscal year, but it goes beyond a mere ritual to indicate where the country is heading for in 2011. Prime Minister Philemon Yang’s pronouncement in front of the parliamentarians added another compass for the MPs to better read the direction to which government action is being oriented as far as the living conditions of Cameroonians is concerned. With a trend that shows an overall drop in the running budget of most ministries and an increase in capital expenditure, it is obvious that there exist elements to advance the development ambitions of the Head of State, President Paul Biya, for Cameroonians to be able to say how much improvement they are recording in their standards of living. This would imply that all managers in the country should be capable of exercising their powers, conscious of the development stakes and challenges that Cameroon faces today.
Presenting the report to the National Assembly on Monday November 15, 2010, Prime Minister Philemon Yang indicated a set of actions that are intended to make the living conditions of the people better. And of course, looking at government activities within the past years following the attainment of the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 2006, the government has persistently stated a determination to focus on improved living conditions for citizens. Efforts have been made towards the recruitment of teachers into the nursery, primary and higher education sectors in the country with the staff strength of the primary school milieu witnessing an increase of over 37,000 between 2007 and 2010 thanks to HIPC funds.
By announcing the creation of 120 additional community telecentres across the country, the Prime Minister was as such underlining the need to bridge the digital divide that exists between the rural and urban environments in the country. Not only do Community Telecentres have the capacity to open a window of exposure to the global village for rural inhabitants, they also have a world of opportunity for the rural masses in terms of job creation and acquisition.
The priority for 2011 is clearly on boosting the energy sector, the high need for food processing in Cameroon that is indispensable for the industrial take off and the transformation of the country into an emerging economy by 2035. This might include the localisation of some major industries in the countryside to create jobs thereby improving on the living conditions of the population.
Undoubtedly, the development chain must also include the fight against price hikes that have been frequent in the country especially with the approach of end of year festivities. It was evidently for these reasons that before settling down to scrutinise the 2011 Draft Budget, Members of Parliament had the occasion to hear from the Prime Minister where government intends to take Cameroon next year.
