The Committee on Production and Trade examined the bill on Tuesday, April 2.
Members of the Committee on Production and Trade of the National Assembly, yesterday, April 2, 2013 examined the bill to lay down Private Investment Incentives in the Republic of Cameroon. The bill which “supplements the Investment Charter would help to significantly improve the business environment, promote the creation, establishment and development of businesses in Cameroon, increase national production and ease job creation, thereby contributing to strong and lasting economic growth likely to make Cameroon an emerging economy by 2035,” government said in the explanatory statement.
The Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Emmanuel Bonde and that of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey, defended the bill in the presence of the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies, Amadou Ali. “The bill lays down the incentives regime for private investments in the country, applicable to Cameroonian or foreign natural or legal persons, residing in Cameroon or not, in the conduct of their activities or participation in the equity of Cameroonian companies, in order to encourage productive investment, promote job creation and develop activities geared towards strong, sustainable and shared growth,” government explained. If adopted and promulgated into law, there will be a single regime for all investors through which, during their establishment and operation phases, they are granted some common tax, customs, financial and administrative incentives and also special incentives for investment.
The bill makes provision for the setting up of two offices to receive approval files. One of them is lodged within the body in charge of promoting small and medium-size enterprises, for local SMEs and the other within the entity in charge of investment promotion, for the other local and foreign investors. It further provides for the setting up of a Control Committee to work in conjunction with services of the ministries in charge of finance, private investment and labour and also a Joint Monitoring Committee to ensure, in liaison with the Competitiveness Regulatory Board, the stability of incentives granted to investors.
