The first edition of the exchange forum between the Ministry of Finance (MINFI) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) was held from 27 to 28 October 2022 at the Mont Fébé Hotel on the theme "Public Finance Management Reform and Citizens' Welfare in a context of multidimensional crises".
The opening ceremony was presided over by the Director General of Budget (DGB), Mr. Cyrill EDOU ALO'O, representative of the Minister of Finance (MINFI) on October 27. In his introductory remarks, the Director General of the Budget recalled the context of this information and exchange forum between MINFI and CSOs. "It should be recalled that the generation of reforms that we are carrying out today have their source in the law on the financial regime of the State adopted in December 2007. This law lays the foundation for transparent financial management," he said. Consequently, "the holding of this forum is a new step in the vast project of citizen participation in the city. It aims on the one hand to lay the foundations for a structured dialogue between civil society organisations and the Government represented by the Ministry of Finance, and on the other hand, to strengthen the capacities of civil society organisations in order to optimise interventions in the area of Public Financial Management", added the representative of the Minister of Finance.
The opening ceremony was also marked by the presentation of Mrs. ANDELA, President of the Civil Society Reference Group for Public Finance Transparency, on the "Citizen Lenses Report 2022". A study elaborated by the Civil Society platforms and considered as the "glasses" of the CSOs on the process of elaboration and monitoring of the State budget. This work is articulated around four themes, namely: Citizen participation, preparation and monitoring of the state budget of Cameroon in a context of multidimensional crisis; Mobilisation of domestic resources for post-crisis economic recovery in Cameroon: issues and challenges for the well-being of citizens; Public debt and citizen well-being: analysis of Cameroon's debt between 2006-2022 in light of the construction and maintenance of hydroelectric dams; and Public procurement: how effective are preferential measures for the award of public contracts for the well-being of citizens affected by multidimensional crises? As a result of this assessment, the Citizen Lenses Report 2022 formulates 09 key demands for public financial management reform.
The opening ceremony ended with a visit to the stands of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), such as CRADEC, which will exhibit their various works during the two days of the Forum.
It should be recalled that CRADEC participated in three (03) Themes having the Lead of one of them namely Mobilization of domestic resources for post-crisis economic recovery in Cameroon: issues and challenges for the well-being of citizens.
