Finance Minister defended the bills on November 19 in the Committee on Finance and Budget.

The Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey was once more at the National Assembly Tuesday, November 19, 2013 where he defended the two bills on the ordinances of the President of the Republic. This was in the Committee on Finance and Budget in the presence of the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies, Amadou Ali.

Public Investment Expenditures

Members of the Committee on Finance and Budget scrutinized the bill to ratify Ordinance N0. 2013/1 of 5 November 2013 to extend the deadlines for committing and authorizing public investment expenditures as well as the additional period for the 2013 financial year. It is justified by the fact that at the end of the third quarter of the current financial year 2013, the level of execution of the public investment budget was abnormally low. The bill therefore extends the end of commitments to December 31, 2013 instead of November 30, 2013; end of authorizations to January 31, 2014 instead of December 31, 2013; and end of additional period to March 31, 2014 instead of February 28, 2014.

Loan Agreements

The bill to ratify Ordinance N0. 2013 /2 of 6 November 2013 to amend and supplement some provisions of Law N0. 2012/14 of 21 December 2012: Finance Law of the Republic of Cameroon for the 2013 financial year, aims to enable government to negotiate and conclude loan agreements above the debt ceiling fixed by the finance law. Government explained that it had already concluded loan agreements estimated at FCFA 164 billion and wished to conclude further agreements with the World Bank, African Development Bank and French Development Agency. Government as per the bill wants to raise the debt ceiling from the initially fixed FCFA 200 billion to FCFA 500 billion. The aim is to finance projects such as the Flood Control Emergency Response Programme in the Far North Region, Yaounde Drinking Water Supply Project and the construction of the Yaounde-Nsimalen highway.