A forum on financing for development in Cameroon under the theme "Financing for Inclusive and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development has held in Yaounde. The United Nations Development Programme, UNDP Cameroon organised the forum alongside the ministries of finance and economy with support from the UN Resident Coordination office and the ministry of external relations.
This was a step towards bringing to realization, the Sustainable Development Goal's Fund Cameroon project. Following the recommendations of the International Conference on Financing for Development which held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 2015 suggesting that countries adopt National Integrated Financing Frameworks, the forum set defined objectives for Cameroon, in the National Development Strategy Document 2020-2030 (SND30), to help her emerge by 2035.
These require substantial financial mobilization with the support of partners, international institutions and national development actors.
"Our country is implementing its development strategy for the period 2020 to 2030. We have to mobilize resources because those national policies in different sectors require up to 88 thousand billion CFA” said Alamine Ousmane Mey, president of the forum and Cameroon's minister of the Economy. “We have to use our budget to finance this operation but we have limitations in that.
Therefore, we need to add more other possibilities to the budget. This is the private sector, alternative financing, innovative financing, green financing, climate financing, PPP because this is the best way to avoid the state being the bearer of debt which is certainly not the right direction to take when we need resources like this”. Minister Alamine believes that the workshop would present an opportunity to address all these issues as Cameroon prepares to present her case at the United Nations next September. “We'll be able to assess our needs, identify the resources required and make an appeal for the resources needed to be able to finance our development" he stated.
Under its implementing institutions; the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the UN resident Coordinator, the United Nations Development Program, UNICEF and UNWOMEN, the forum had as objective to get stakeholders to agree on steps and initiatives to take, in order to ensure the effective implementation of the national strategy for the integrated financing of the NDS30.
With an estimated budget of $1,000,000 the period of implementation was set for June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2022.
"Today we had a meeting on the financing of National Development Strategy, to see what efforts we can make in order to mobilise resources to achieve these National Development Strategy Goals. We witnessed several presentations and hope that through this forum, the government of Cameroon will have an action plan which will permit her engage different activities in a bit to mobilize complementary finances for the setting in place of the project" said Alassane Ba, UNPS's deputy resident representative.
As the Coordinator of the United Nations System in Cameroon put it, "Financing development is a big challenge”. Speaking to the press, Alassane said, “as we plan to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the Objectives spelt out in the National Development Strategy (SND) 2030, we need not only resources but also the efficient use of available resources, improve development coordination and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. We need to reinforce the use of innovative financing instruments." He hinted on the United Nations' commitment to support the government of Cameroon to make the country prosperous.
Meanwhile, the minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, also sat in as Co-President of the forum.
Sa'ah Siona Ikei, The Post Newspaper
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