CEMAC Leaders Raise Integration Infrastructure Constraints

At the end of the extraordinary summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) that took place in Yaounde, Cameroon on November 21- 22, 2019, the community leaders have all gone back to their respective countries but burdened by transport and communication constraints that still impede the integration process of the sub-region. After the closing ceremony on Friday, November 22, 2019 afternoon, three of the Heads of State left that evening. The first President of leave the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport was Idriss Deby Itno of Chad. He was the first to arrive Yaounde for the summit and the first to leave. The second Head of State was President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea who came for the CEMAC extraordinary summit the same mourning. The President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso came third. The last personality to leave on Friday was the Prime Minister of Gabon, Julien Nkoghe Bekale, who represented the Gabonese President, Ali Bongo Ondimba. The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadera left the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport on Saturday, November 23, 2019 at 11:55 .a.m.

What remains memorable are the declarations of the Heads of State to the press at the VIP lounge of the airport before departure to their respective countries. They had converging views in their gratitude to President Paul Biya for convening the extraordinary summit that gave them the opportunity to evaluate the implementation of the resolutions of the Yaounde 2016 and N’Djamena 2018 summits. They more importantly harped on impediments to sub-regional integration and economic growth that needs to be tackled. President Idriss Deby of Chad stressed on the need to continue efforts on structural reforms to ensure economic growth and protection of currency. The President of Equatorial Guinea, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo appreciated the significant progress in the economic sector but said governance had to be improved. Stating the priority of regional integration, he said the Heads of State stressed the need to step up efforts in developing infrastructure in order to enable the movement of people and property. While app...