CEMAC Economies : New Page Opens For Sub-regional Dev’t

If the massive presence of Heads of State of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and the depth and breadth of their 15th Ordinary Session are anything to go by, then the peoples and economies of the sub-region could dream of better days ahead. In effect, all the other five Presidents of member countries (Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea) answered present to President Paul Biya’s invitation for the conclave which held in Yaounde on Friday March 17, 2023 and actively took part in the day-long deliberations that culminated with a revised vision for the future of the sub-region. The development blueprint was profoundly assessed and re-angled with the exigencies of the moment and much more, fresh men appointed to man specialised organs.
With the rotary Presidency of CEMAC Heads of State Conference now in the hands of the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, and the CEMAC Commission to be henceforth piloted by Equato Guinean’s Baltasar Engonga Edjo, hopes are high that already engaged reforms and the new eleven integrative projects retained for the sub-region would receive fresh impetus. For instance, the people of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are therefore looking forward to the construction of a bridge over river Ntem to ensure security and facilitate movement on the transnational Kribi-Campo-Bata road as well as the construction of a 40-km express way on the Lolabe-Kribi road. A 144 km Ndende-Doussala road linking Gabon and Congo and the Kogo-Akurenam road between South-east Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are also on programme among other wide-ranging projects.
Christened a Conference of Solidarity, the Yaounde confab permitted the CEMAC Heads of State to chart a way forward in developing the sub-region. As the outgoing President of CEMAC Commission, Prof. Ona Ondo put in, in a world shaken by convulsions, fractured by inequalities, helpless in the face of new threats, the CEMAC member States have managed to unite their visions, efforts, strategies and actions to remain homogeneous in order to meet the challenges of the multifaceted shocks and keep the flame of solidarity and regional integration burning. 
Indeed, the solidarity showcased by the presence of all the six CEMAC Heads of State in Yaounde; for the first time since November 2019, owing to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, gave the leaders a rare opportunity to handle issues of common interest. Like President Paul Biya said in his opening speech, “The well-being of our brotherly peoples also hinges on a harmonious integration of our national economies through the implementation of our transformative and integrative projects.” All of this cannot be achieved without peace and security within national and sub-regional borders. This explains why the outgoing President of CEMAC Heads of State Conference told his peer...