Presentation before the finance and budget commission of the National Assembly of Chapter 20

• Madam Chairperson Of The Finance And Budget Committee,

• Honorable Members Of The Finance And Budget Committee,

• Ladies And Gentlemen

It Is With The Same Pleasure That I Speak Again Before You After The Session Devoted To The Presentation Of The Economic Report, This Time To Discuss With You About The Strategic And Budgetary Orientations Of The Activities Of The Department Which I Have Expense In 2016.

As Part Of This Presentation, I Would First Like To Review The Contextual Elements That Will Have Impacted The Overall Management Of The Ministry Of Finance In 2015 As Well As Its Performance.

 

Then, I Would Decline The Main Results Obtained, Within The Framework Of The Current Programs. And Finally, I Would Have The Privilege Of Presenting To You The budgetary Plea  of The Ministry Of Finance On Behalf Of The 2016 Financial Year.

• Madam President ,

• Honorable Deputies, Members Of The Finance And Budget Committee,

2015 Was Particularly Marked By The Drastic Drop In Crude Oil Prices. The International Context And The National Conjuncture Which I Had To Present Within The Framework Of The Economic Report, Clearly Show That The Global Environment Has Influenced The Execution Of The State Budget.

Without Going Back To What Was Already Mentioned During My Previous Presentation, I Could Indicate At This Level Some Elements That May Have Impacted Both The Management And The Results Of The Ministry Of Finance. I Would Note In Particular:

• slower Growth In Emerging Countries;

• the Sharp Drop In The Price Of A Barrel Of Oil, With Its Consequences On The Level Of Mobilization Of Oil Revenues;

• uncertainty About The Fed's Monetary Policy;

• geopolitical And Security Tensions In The Middle East;

• the Slowdown In Economic Activities In The North And In The East Of The Country, Due To The Displacement Of Populations For Security Reasons;

• the Congestion Experienced By The Port Of Douala;

In This Context, Both Strategic And Operational Measures Have Been Adopted:

• the Adoption Of A Three-year Emergency Plan (2015-2017) For Accelerating Growth, With An Envelope Of 925 Billion FCFA, Part Of Which (750 Billion) Was To Be Mobilized On The International Financial Markets;

• raising The Precautionary Blocking From 10 To 20% Of The Resources Allocated To The Various Action Managers, Following The Very High Instructions From The President Of The Republic Relating To The Reduction Of The State's Lifestyle; Strengthening The Quality Of Public Spending;

• strengthening Of The Strategic And Operational Management System Through The Effective Implementation Of Management Control Within MINFI Programs;

• the Acceleration Of Reforms Aimed At Optimal Mobilization Of Non-oil Resources.

Thus, The Four Programs Of The Ministry Of Finance Have Been Implemented Since The Beginning Of 2015.

These Programs Relate, For The First, To The Mobilization Of Non-oil Revenues With Also Actions In The Field Of The Business Fiscal Climate. The Second Program Deals With Public Treasury And Debt Management, With Actions Aimed At Better Monitoring The National Financial Market.

The Third Program, Entitled “Improvement Of The Budgetary Management Of The State”, Brings Together A Set Of Actions Oriented Towards The Implementation Of The Major Budgetary Reform Of The State. The Fourth Program Finally, Concentrates Actions Coming In "Support" To The Three (03) Operational Programs That I Have Just Mentioned.

As Of September 30, 2015, The Results Obtained Under Each Program Are As Follows:

Program 271  : "  Optimization Of Non-oil Revenues, Improvement Of The Business Climate And Protection Of The National Economic Space .  "

The Objective Of This Program Is "to improve The Level Of Collection Of Non-oil Revenues And The Fiscal Framework For Business  ". We Plan To Measure Its Performance By The "  Rate Of Mobilization Of Tax And Customs Revenue  ". At The End Of The 3 ^rd quarter Of 2015, This Indicator Shows 1,689.7 Billion FCFA , Out Of The 2,096.5 Billion Expected For The Year 2015. This Represents An Achievement Rate Of 80.6% three Months Before The End Of The Financial Year. .

This Performance Is Largely Attributable To The Dynamism Of The Tax Services Which, Over The Period Considered, Mobilized CFAF 1,172.1 Billion, representing A Completion Rate Of 111.3% . As For Customs, Whose Performance Should Be Assessed Due To The Bottleneck Which The Douala Port Has Suffered For Several Months, It Was Able To Mobilize 517.6 Billion FCFA , Representing A 99.6% completion Rate. over The Period.

As Part Of The Same Program, The Fight Against Customs Fraud And Illicit Trafficking Has Intensified In Relation To The Current Security Context. More Than 3,700 Seizures Were Made Across The Country, At The Same Time Reducing The Level Of Rights Compromised.

To Improve The Business Tax Climate, We Have Taken A Series Of Measures Which Have Significantly Reduced The Time Spent By The Taxpayer On Fulfilling Tax Obligations. This Time Fell From 720 Hours In 2014 To Less Than 600 Hours In Late September 2015.

This Performance Was Made Possible By The Simplification Of Certain Procedures, In Particular The Registration Of Public Orders, The Deadlines From 10 Days In 2014 To 48 Hours In 2015. We Can Also Cite The Implementation Of Modern Tools Facilitation Of Tax Operations. This Is The Case Of The “Mobil Tax” Which, Since The ^1st quarter Of 2015, allows those Liable For The Tax On Land Property (TPF) Based In Yaoundé Or Douala, To Pay This Tax From Their Mobile Phone .

In Addition, The Telephone Call Center For Taxpayer Information Has Been Made Functional, And A Dozen Tax User Guides Have Been Produced And Distributed.

In Financial Terms , 5,911,550,000 FCFA In Commitment Authorization (AE) And 5,796,550,000 In Payment Credit (CP) Were Granted To This Program Under The 2015 Budget. As Of September 30, The Implementation Rate Of Program Spending Is 75.86% . 

Program 272  : "  Management Of State Treasury And Debt, Public Accounting And Financing Of The Economy  "

The Objective Of This Program Is "  Improving The Efficiency Of The Public Treasury And Optimizing The Use Of The Resources Mobilized For Financing The Economy  ". Its Performance Is Measured Through The "  Payment Deadline  " Which Is Its Indicator.

As Of September 30, 2015, The State Expenses Incurred In Normal Procedure Are Paid Within An Average Period Of 60 Days , From Their Date Of Liquidation. This Performance Is The Result Of A Rigorous Monitoring Of Expenses, Through Compliance With The Chronological Order Of Payments, Better Collaboration Between Actors And An Increasingly Active Management Of State Treasury. It Should Be Noted That In The Regions, This Payment Period Varies Between 30 And 45 Days.

Under The Same Program, Significant Activities Were Carried Out Which Enabled The Effective Opening Of The Branches Of The Cameroonian Bank Of SMEs. This Credit Institution Increases The Supply Of Financing For SMEs / SMIs Which Represent, As You Know, More Than 60% Of The National Economic Fabric. It Is Also The Translation Into Reality Of An Engagement By The Head Of State, HE Mr. Paul BIYA , Taken In Ebolowa On The Occasion Of The 2010 Agropastoral Comice.

As Regards The Same Program, And In Accordance With The Very High Directives Of The Head Of State Relating To The Issue Of Eurobond For An Amount Equivalent To 750 Billion FCFA, I Can Say That To Date All The Critical Phases Have Investors Have Generally Expressed Themselves Largely In Favor Of This Issue, And We Are Finalizing The Final Details Of The Process With Regard To Hedging The Currency Risk.

Financially , The Initial Budget Of The Program Was 6,164,736,000 FCFA In AE And the Same Amount In CP. As At September 30, The Program Expenditure Execution Rate Stands At 70.09% . 

Program 274  : "  Modernization Of State Budget Management.  "

The Objective Of The Program Is To "  Foster An Adequate Implementation Of The State Budget Reform  ". The Performance Measurement Indicator Is "  the Level Of Implementation Of Budget Reform  ".

As Of September 30, 2015, This Level Stood At 55% in Relation To The Timetable For Implementing The Reform. In 2014, This Rate Was 40%. This Performance Was Possible Thanks In Particular To The Deployment Of Management Control Within MINFI And MINEPAT, Also Thanks To The Work Carried Out With A View To Transposing The 2011 CEMAC Directives On Public Finances.

Regarding Management Control, The Related Tools Have Been Adopted And Their Implementation Almost Completed In The Two Above-mentioned Administrations. The Charters And Management Protocols Of These Two Ministries Are Being Finalized, And Will Be Implemented From January 2016. A Circular From The Prime Minister, Head Of Government Dated July 06, 2014, Made It Possible To Set Out The Main Principles That Should Govern Supervision Management Within The Cameroonian Administration. A Methodological Guide Is In Preparation At The Ministry Of Finance, To Facilitate The Appropriation Of The Approach By All Stakeholders.

With Regard To The CEMAC Directives On Public Finances, The Work Carried Out Prior To Their Transposition Has Made It Possible To Date To Foresee The Revision Of Law No. 006/2007 Of December 26, 2007 On The Financial Regime Of The State. The New Device Is Ready, And Its Validation Process Could Start Soon.

In The Same Program, Other Ordinary Activities Were Carried Out Without Major Incident To Be Noted. These Are Those Relating To The Preparation Of The State Budget, The Monitoring Of Budgetary Execution, Budget Control, The Management Of Contributions And Public Participation As Well As The Management Of The Balance And Pensions. We Can Be Delighted With The Results Garnered In These Different Segments.

Financially , The Program Budget Was 4,977,767,000 FCFA For The AEs And the Same Amount For The CPs. As Of September 30, The Program Expenditure Execution Rate Is 86.09% . 

Program 275  : “  Governance And Institutional Support.  "

This Program, The Actions Of Which Are Harmonized For All Ministerial Departments, Was Executed Without Great Difficulty. It Should Be Noted All The Same That With Regard To The Appeal Made To The Government, To Reduce The Lifestyle Of The State, We Have Internally, Carried Out Adjustments Aimed At Reducing The Endowments Of Fuel Intended For The Personnel , Tighten The Sizes Of Mission Delegations, Suspend Orders For Administrative Vehicles, Reduce The Number Of Internal Committees And Commissions.

In Addition, The Actions Of The Program Have Been Reinforced In Terms Of Communication, Through The Reopening Of The MINFI Website, Media Coverage Of All The Department's Events, And The Preparation Of Media Aimed At Presenting The Ministry Of Finance Under A More Modern Posture.

With Regard To Advice And Legal Assistance, All Judicial Cases To Which The Ministry Of Finance Is A Party Have Been Adequately Monitored. We Welcome The Good Collaboration Between The Different Structures Of The Ministry In Charge Of Legal And Judicial Matters. This Strengthens Our Efficiency In This Area, And Promotes Better Development Of Legal Skills Within The Department And An Appropriate Defense Of The Interests Of The State. .

With Regard To Capital Operations, It Should Be Noted That The Bulk Of The Resources Provided For Under This Component Concerned The Finalization Of Several Collection Sites And Finance Hotels In The Regions. The Complete Completion Of These Projects Will Increase The Capacity Of Our Decentralized Services. Studies In Various Fields Have Also Been Carried Out, With Results Which Are In The Course Of Exploitation.

Financially , The Program Budget Was 14,396,947,000 FCFA For The AEs And 10,756,947,000 FCFA For The CPs. As Of September 30, The Program Expenditure Execution Rate Is 90.66% . 

Overall, Our Technical Performance Has Reached A Completion Rate Of 86% while The Overall Financial Execution Stands At 87.69%.

Such, ladies And Gentlemen , Is The Economy Of Performance Achieved By The Ministry Of Finance During The 2015 Financial Year Which Is Drawing To A Close. This Appreciable Return Which Results From Our Action, In An Unfavorable Environment, Leads Us To Believe That The Final Results Will Be Even Better Than Those Which Have Just Been Exposed.

But When The Time Comes To Draw Up This Final Assessment, We Will Have To Remember That This Year 2015 Is Also The Last Of The First Three Years Of Programs, Implemented Within The Framework Of The New State Financial Regime.

This Means That 2016 Marks The Start Of A New Triennium Of Programs, A Triennium That Should Benefit From An Improvement In The Formulation Of Programs, A Triennium Where The Program Indicators Would Be More Meaningful, more Realistic And More Achievable, Finally A Triennium Where Ownership Of The Reform By All Actors Would Become A More Concrete Reality.

• Madam President ,

• Ladies And Gentlemen,

The Next Triennium Therefore Presents Itself To Us As An Opportunity To Consolidate The Gains And Ensure Satisfactory Implementation Of The Reforms.

To This End, Over The 2016-2018 Period, The Ministry Of Finance Intends To Make Every Effort To Correct The Dysfunctions Noted During The Last Three Years, Which Have Sometimes Contributed To Reducing The Operational Performance Of The Services.

Among These Difficulties, I Would Cite:

• IT Problems Linked To The Switchover Of Data To The New Budget Management System (PROBMIS);

• a Rather Laborious Appropriation Of The Reform On Public Procurement, Causing Delays In The Launching Of Procedures For The Award Of Contracts;

• insufficient Control Of The Effects Of Certain Innovations Of The New Financial Regime, Creating Unexpected Situations. This Is The Case, For Example, Of The Situation Of The Accounts Of Third Parties (42) Following The Implementation Of The Principle Of Centralization In The Treasury Of All State Revenue;

• still Insufficient Training And Awareness Of The Reform;

• slowness In Bringing Certain Procedures Up To Standard, In Particular With Regard To Expenditure;

• the Delays Observed In The Transposition Of The Directives On Public Finances;

• budgetary Discipline Which Remains To Be Perfected.

All These Observations Are In Reality Only Real Challenges That The Ministry Of Finance Must Meet.

Since Performance Is Not A Given, But A Result, Everything Would Be Done So That These Shortcomings, Which Can Be Observed In Reforms Of Such Scope, Quickly Find Solutions Appropriate To Our Level. And This Is The Reason Why The Ministry Of Finance Would Like To Commit, Over The Next Three Years To:

• accelerate, With A View To Its Completion, The Implementation Of The Budgetary And Accounting Reform;

• finalize An Integrated Public Finance Management System;

• continue Modernizing The Administration By Promoting Results-based Management;

• support The Ongoing Reform Of SIGIPES II;

• strengthen Training And Awareness Of The Reform;

• accelerate The Transposition Into The National Legal Corpus Of The 2011 CEMAC Directives On Public Finances;

• consolidate The Performance Of The Tax Authorities;

• adopt And Carry Out A Long-term Real Estate Program At The Ministry Of Finance. 

• Madam President ,

• Ladies And Gentlemen,

The Current Reform, Irreversible, Places Cameroon Among The States Which Have Chosen Performance As The Cursor Of Their Action. It Is Certainly A Step To Take In Cameroon's March Towards Economic Emergence By 2035, But It Is More A Decisive Step In Terms Of The Positive Effects That Its Successful Implementation Could Have On Public Finances, And On Economic Growth.

We Therefore Intend To Stay The Course Of The Reforms, While Aiming For Better Support At The Budgetary Level, Of The DSCE And Of All The Public Policies Implemented By The Government.

• Ladies And Gentlemen,

The Ministry Of Finance Would Therefore Like To Be A Continuation Of The Programs Implemented So Far. He Is Fully Aware Of The Challenges, And Has The Solutions Necessary To Keep The Department In The Dynamic Of The Positive Results Observed For Some Time.

This Is The Reason Why, We Propose To Your Auguste Commission The Renewal Of The Four Programs Of The Ministry Of Finance, With However Some Modifications.

Program 271 "  Optimization Of Non-oil Revenues, Improvement Of The Business Climate And Protection Of The National Economic Space  "

The Main Change Here Concerns The Action "  Establishment Of A Modern Information System At The DGI And Interfacing With Other Administrations  ", Which Has Been Reformulated To Be Henceforth Entitled: "  Modernization Of The Information System Of The DGI  ”, With The Indicator“  Level Of Automation Of Tax Procedures  ”. This Change Was Necessary Since The Old Action Was Expressed As An Activity.

The Budget Request For This Program In 2016 Is As Follows: 30,146,250,000 FCFA In Commitment Authorizations (AE) And 14,696,250,000 FCFA In Payment Credits (PA).

Program 272  : "  Management Of State Treasury And Debt, Public Accounting And Financing Of The Economy  "

The Objective Of The Program Has Not Changed. Since 2013, It Has Posted The “ Payment Deadline ” As The Sole Indicator   .

For The Next Triennium, It Seemed Necessary To Associate With The Payment Period, Which Is Centered On Cash Management, A Second Indicator Allowing Monitoring Of The Accounting Reform Which Is The Other Important Aspect Of The Reforms Introduced By The New Financial Regime Of The State. This Second Indicator Is Called "  Level Of Implementation Of The Accounting Reform  ".

The Resources Necessary For The Implementation Of The Six (6) Actions Of The Program Are: 12,394,736,000 FCFA In AE And The Same Amount In PA.

Program 274  : "  Modernization Of State Budget Management.  "

It Is Easy To See Today That The Budgetary Reform Initiated Since 2013 Is Well And Truly Underway. The Next Steps Should Make It Possible To Improve Both The Visibility And The Legibility Of The Changes Brought About By The Reform.

And At This Level, We Have Noted For Three Years, That A Certain Number Of Blockages, Very Often Linked To Budgetary Indiscipline, Contribute To Calling Into Question The Important Efforts Made Within The Framework Of The Reform.

And This Is The Reason Why, For The New Triennium, We Have Proposed A New Objective For This Program, Namely: "  Rationalize The Allocation Of Resources To Promote Efficient Budget Management  ".

This Change Aims To Restore Budgetary Discipline To The Heart Of The Concerns Of The Various Public Finance Players. To Achieve This, Two Indicators Are Proposed At The Program Level, Namely: “  Level Of Compliance With The Budget Calendar  ” And “  Date Of Closure Of The Budget Year  ”. These Are Two Important Challenges That We Are Committed To Addressing, Given The Serious Consequences That May Arise From Not Respecting Budgetary Discipline.

Concerning The Actions Of The Program, The Eight (08) Actions Which Existed Until Then Since 2013 Have Been Renewed. However, The Objectives And Indicators Of These Actions Have Been Rearranged To Align With The New Objective Of The Program. I Note Here That The Reform Activities Will Be Monitored And Implemented Within The Framework Of A Specific Action Of The Program.

We Are Requesting Resources For This Program Of 6,209,142,000 FCFA In AE And The Same Amount In CP.

Program 275  : “  Governance And Institutional Support.  "

Finally, With Regard To The Support Program, No Major Changes Have Been Made To The Structure Of The Program. We Have Kept The Same Actions And The Same Indicators. Only The Activities Can Change According To Cyclical Elements.

The budget Request For the Program Is 13,999,872,000 FCFA In AE And 12,949,872,000 FCFA In CP.

• Madam Chairperson Of The Finance And Budget Committee,

• Honorable Members Of The Finance And Budget Committee,

• Ladies And Gentlemen

Here Thus Presented, The Synthesis Of The Objectives Which My Ministerial Department Intends To Pursue In 2016, The Action Programs Which Will Be executed To Reach These Objectives, The Resources Necessary To Reach Them And The Indicators Which Will Make It Possible To Measure The Results Achieved. 

We Therefore Request From Your Auguste Commission, The Validation For Chapter 20, Of The Commitment Authorizations At 62,750,000,000 FCFA , An Increase Of 26% compared To 2015, And 46,250,000,000 FCFA in Payment Credits, I.e. A Decrease Of -1.17%.

By Large Masses It Is 43.35 Billion FCFA for Current Expenses In AE And CP; then 19,400,000,000 FCFA in AE And 2,900,000,000 FCFA in CP Capital Expenditure.

The Requested Envelope Of Your Auguste Commission Will Be Used For The Realization Of The Actions Which I Have Just Evoked, According To The Principles Of Good Financial Management Stated In The New Financial Regime Of The State.

Thank You For Your Kind Attention And Remain Ready To Provide Additional Information Following Your Questions. / -