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The Senate began a general debate on the 2021 Finance Bill of Cameroon last night of Thursday 10th, 2020 at the Yaounde Conference Centre.
The plenary sitting was devoted to debates on the 2021 finance bill which contains a state budget of CFAF 4,865.2 billion. The proceedings kicked off at around 2:30 in the presence of the cabinet members, including the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze and the Minister of Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, among others.
According to the State Media reports, the ministers in a question and answer session related to the budget.
Some 10 Senators questioned the Government on each budgetary allocation while raising pertinent issues before the Ministers who in turn are expected to provide solutions.
Senator Leke Phillip quizzed the Minister of Public works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi and the Communication Minister, Rene Emmanuel Sadi.
To Minister of public works, he questioned on the nature of roads in Lebialem, describing the roads as “deplorable and disheartening”. He mentioned that authorities go to Lebialem by air as if to say it is a maritime division. “…I appeal strongly to the good conscience of the Minister,” the senator said.
With his large share of the budget, Minister Djoumessi had promised during the adoption of the Bill at the National Assembly that he was going to tar above 400km of the roads. The senator therefore placed before the Minister the road situation of his area of office, demanding that Lebialem be connected by road to the rest of the South West Region.
Directing his second worry to Minister Sadi, Senator Phillip appealed that the minister should use his powers as a communications boss to ensure that radio and TV signals are connected to the Lebialem “because these signals are very important to the people of that division, so that they will feel that they will feel belonging,’ he said.
Members of the Senate put more than 10 ministers on a hot seat where they had to provide ample clarifications to all the issues raised before the Senators can stamp their final approval on the Finance Bill.
Without the stamp of approval by the Senators, the Bill cannot be valid and this must be backed by satisfactory resolutions to the issues plaguing their different areas of office.
The bill was adopted by the National Assembly early last Saturday December 5th, 2020 and is pending approval and adoption by the Senators.
