When basic school and health infrastructure, financed to the tune of nearly 2 billion FCFA in the regions of Adamawa, Far North and West, remain at the state of concrete skeletons, the scandal goes beyond mere accounting subtraction: it consecrates the hostage-taking of the most vulnerable populations.

Suffering the law of unscrupulous contractors who receive full disbursements without making the slightest effort constitutes an intolerable institutional anomaly. Between often under-resourced municipalities in their role as project owners and contractors quick to pocket advances without honoring their commitments, the public spending chain suffers from a chronic control deficit. If field investigations sometimes reveal disbursement delays, they especially expose culpable laxity where public funds too often serve to feed sterile circuits to the detriment of the general interest.


Believing that the administration should indefinitely show administrative tolerance and the desertion of construction sites under the pretext of constraints is illusory. The 21-day ultimatum notified by Ibrahim Talba Malla to failing structures constitutes a first blow to the anthill, but the urgency of unrescindable terminations and rigorous prosecutions imposes itself more than ever. Every CFA franc injected into the State budget must find its concrete translation on the ground, under penalty of seeing the credibility of decentralization and investment policies collapse.


Eradicating the scourge of unfinished construction sites requires from public authority an unshakeable constancy in the application of sanctions and heightened vigilance in the awarding of contracts. It is now appropriate to durably cleanse the contractor file and link each disbursement to strict performance criteria on the ground. To preserve the effectiveness of its reforms, Cameroon must transform public procurement into a true lever of sustainable infrastructure, guaranteeing that every initiated project becomes the foundation of autonomous, dignified and sovereign prosperity.


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EWC, DP

Tags: travaux publics prestataires véreux infrastructures scolaires fonds détournés chantiers abandonnés contrôle des marchés sanctions administratives décentralisation camerounaise commande publique lutte anticorruption