33 projects examined at 1st session of National Committee for the Maturation of Public Investment Projects and Programmes
By Doh James Sonkey
Members of the National Committee for the Maturation of Public Investment Projects and Programmes have examined a total of 33 porgrammes and projects at the first session for 2026 at Amphi300 of the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development in Yaounde last August 4, 2026.
Chairing the session, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development in charge of Planning, Paul Tasong explained that the session is the first to take place within the framework of a renovated programme instituted by the Prime Minister, Head of Government through Decree No. 225 Bar 1081-PM of June 17, 2025, which sets the rules for the process of maturation of public investment projects and programmes.
The Minister Delegate stressed that, "the Prime Minister did not simply want to make a name change. A National Committee means a framework of work at the service of the Nation. This calls for more commitment, more rigour in the conduct of the evaluation of the projects and programmes submitted by the masters of the work."
He added that "this reform takes place in a context where our country continues with determination the implementation of its National Development Strategy 2020-2030 in a fairly difficult economic environment, characterised by security, health and instability crises in the Middle East. The needs for investment are important. Public resources, among other things, remain limited. This reality imposes on us a collective responsibility. We must now ensure that every franc invested by the State produces the maximum of economic and social impact. We must also demonstrate inventiveness to propose bold solutions that take into account the situation of our public finances in order to ensure that each project is prepared in the perspective of a global financial closing that favours payments in the time period of the projects."
Minister Paul Tasong explained to reporters that ‘‘the first batch of ten projects was projects which are in the process of maturity, such as to say yes, we give you clearance, but continue. Of the ten that were presented to the committee, nine were approved and one was effectively requested to completely reorientate. The second batch of projects, 23 of them, were projects for which the committee had simply to approve that they be inscribed, eventually, if funding permits, in the state budget for 2027 and after. Of the 23 projects that were presented to the committee, 21 were approved and two were returned to our technical secretariat to continue to work with the project owners to ensure that all the maturity elements are in place for the projects to be inscribed in the state budget.’’
The Minister Delegate reminded members that "in accordance with the provisions of the new decree, we must ensure respect for maturation in two stages in particular. First, the selection, preparation and formulation of integrated projects. This is to ensure that, in the context of a unique master's degree, all connected projects are prepared at the same time and taken into account in the financing of the project. This approach will prevent us from having the infrastructures completed, even if the connections for the full functionality of the project are not yet in place. We must make an analysis of the adequacy between the programmes of implementation of the programmes and projects, their planning and budgeting capacities of the State. We must also ensure the full contribution of the country's economic development projects by ensuring that the technical specifications retained orient as much as possible the local materials and staff involved."
Minister Delegate Paul Tasong speaking at the occasion
