Three new bills were tabled at the National Assembly on Wednesday November 24, 2010.

The members of the Production and Trade Committee of the National Assembly will soon examine the bill relating to co-ownership of buildings in Cameroon. This was one of the three bills presented at the plenary sitting of the National Assembly yesterday, November 24 chaired by the Vice President, Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka. Other bills included one to authorise the President of the Republic to ratify the statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) signed in Bonn on 26 June 2009 and the second to ratify Ordinance N° 2010/1 of 15 September 2010 to amend and supplement certain provisions of the law N° 2009/18 of 15 December 2009: Finance law of the Republic of Cameroon for the 2010 financial year.

Co-ownership of Buildings

Government in the explanatory statement to the bill said it was intended to achieve the Head of State’s greater ambitions’ programme with one key area being low-cost housing in various towns of the country. The aim of the low-cost housing programme is to facilitate access to decent housing for all the strata of the Cameroonian society. Co-ownership, the bill explains, “is the status of a property whose ownership is shared by several persons, each of them a holder of one or more lots”. It comes on the heels of the laws on the sale of buildings to be constructed and that on lease-access to real estate adopted in 2009. The bill on co-ownership of buildings, seeks to complement the above-mentioned laws. It therefore repeals Law N° 81/3 of 7 July 1983 defining the status of co-ownership and subsequent instruments thereof, whose provisions no longer ensure appropriate control of the management of buildings jointly owned by several persons. The bill comprises 90 sections divided into eight chapters.

Finance Law Ordinance

The Finance and Budget Committee after examining the 2011 budgetary allocations per ministry, will scrutinise another bill. The bill is to ratify Ordinance N° 2010/1 of 15 September 2010 to amend and supplement certain provisions of Law N° 2009/18 of 15 December 2009: Finance law of the Republic of Cameroon for the 2010 financial year. It concerns the Head of State’s decision to adjust the 2010 State budget of FCFA 2,570 billion, slicing it by FCFA 49.4 billion. The new budget appropriations for the consolidated budget of Cameroon in 2010 stand at FCFA 2,520.6 billion.

Renewable Energy

The bill to authorise the President of the Republic to ratify the statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) signed in Bonn on 26 June 2009, will be examined by the Foreign Affairs Committee before its examination and adoption by the entire House. Cameroon signed the statute of the Agency on June 24, 2009 but consent to be bound by the statute has to be expressed by depositing an instrument of ratification or accession with the depository. The agency intends within the framework of its activities, to provide to the member States advice on the possibility of assistance and financing in accordance with the needs expressed in the formulation of the public policies applicable to renewable energy issues. By ratifying the Statute, government explains, Cameroon will fill and correct certain gaps due to lack of appropriate laws and regulations on the issue and better prepare its admission into the circle of emerging countries by the 2035.