Sourcing Investment Opportunities : Initiatives That Yielded Palpable Fruits

In an effort to get national and international partners to sponsor certain development projects in Councils within the framework of Public-Private Partnerships as highlighted in the General Code on Regional and Local Authorities, some events have been organised to portray the potentials of Councils. One of such events that yielded fruits was the International Economic Days of Councils, abbreviated JEICOM21, that was organised from December 3 to 5, 2021 in Yaounde by the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon (UCCC) to showcase the enormous capabilities of the country’s 374 City and Local Councils. The three-day get-together ended with the signing of several partnerships and Councils getting funding for their projects. The City Council of Kumba for example, got investors in the agriculture sector. Their objective is to boost maize, soya beans and animal husbandry in the town so as to be able to guarantee exportation to other regions of the country and neighbouring countries.  The City Council also signed a partnership with the Union of Cities and Local Government in Africa (UCLG Africa) bank to become a pioneer shareholder after investing FCFA five million. This will help the City Council get sponsorship for development projects in the town of Kumba, Meme Division of the South West Region, at a relatively lower interest rate.
There is also a Memorandum of Understanding between the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) and the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council that was signed in December 2022. The partnership seeks to exchange expertise in development within the context of enhancing decentralisation in Councils. A special session was to that effect organi...