As the euphoria of the October 2, 2015 cabinet shake up dies down after the installation of new entrants and those who changed ministries, expectations are already rife on what could change with the readjustment.
One of the sectors where much will be expected, no doubt, will be the economy notably as the cabinet reshuffle greatly touched economy-related ministries.
It couldn’t be otherwise given the long-term government’s development plan contained in the Growth and Employment Development Paper pegged on the Head of State’s ‘Greater Accomplishment’ programme.
That the October 2 cabinet reshuffle concerned the Ministries of the Economy, Agriculture, Public Works, Posts and Telecommunications, Mines and Transport signals a deep-rooted desire by the Head of State to stimulate the country’s economy. These sectors, for example, have a direct bearing on the life of the population through job creation and wealth generation. And no economy in the world can develop if these sectors are not robust. Cameroon in her 2035 vision of becoming a middle-income economy depends largely on well planned development objectives, quality and quantity agricultural productivity, good roads both urban and rural, efficient and cost-effective telecommunications, effective mineral production and a well developed transport network be it road, air, rail or maritime.
The men and women brought in to man these ministries are no greenhorns in the country’s economy. While waiting for their roadmaps and orientations, and in the spirit of continuity in government action, the economy-related Ministers will obviously embrace the good projects of their predecessors. They will equally need to right their wrongs.
Louis Paul Motaze, for example, is staging his comeback to the Ministry of the Economy. He is even credited for drafting the 2010-2020 Growth and Employment Strategy Paper. Besides receiving his hierarchy’s blessings to ensure the follow up of the development strategy, he will also have an uphill task ensuring efficiency in the consumption of the Public Investment Budget. He knows the country’s growth projects. Hope is that he ignites efficacy.
Cameroon has barely 10 per cent of her roads paved. Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi will have a challenging mission piloting the Ministry of Public Works; government’s engineer, to give Cameroonians the best of roads in quality and quantity. Meanwhile, Henri Eyebe Ayissi will certainly continue from where Essimi Menye left for Cameroon’s dream of second-generation agriculture to come true. Mrs Libom Li Likeng née Mendomo Minette is expected to replicate her ingenuity in the customs administration to the Ministry of Posts and Telecomunications for better telecommunications services. Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o absolutely needs to overhaul the transport sector especially air transport with the lone air carrier in limbo. The least of hopes will not be from the mining sector where Ernest Ngwaboubou is expected to transform the country’s minerals from reserves to veritable development tools.
The task might look daunting especially given the development vision and the damages that have been caused in the past either through inertia, selfish decisions, insubordination or even bad faith. But results are imperative. Cameroon absolutely needs to attain a double-digit growth rate and sustain it for years if the emergence vision must not be an illusion. The Head of Government while saluting the renewed confidence in him by the Chief Executive said, “we are determined to work and keep working as we have done before and if we can work better, we will do that.” There is therefore need for collective action and respect for hierarchy. The population needs sustainable development and there should be no justification for failure. It may be necessary to equate the government with a football team where in this case, the coach, President Paul Biya and captain, Prime Minister Philemon Yang brought in fresh blood to engender efficiency. Team spirit and an all-round pursuit of a common goal are vital here.
