Category
📺
TVTranscription
00:30Our honor, ladies and gentlemen, welcome you to another edition of Press Hour.
00:38Cameroon is a special country, and we Cameroonians are blessed people.
00:43Of the many blessings we have counted in the week that just ended, we shall pick two as
00:50our talking points.
00:51The election of His Excellency Mr. Jan Philemon to the prestigious post of the United Nations
00:59General Assembly President, that is the 79th General Assembly, and the victory of the Indomitable
01:07Lions over Kabo Verdi.
01:10We trust you know, but we wish to remind you, ladies and gentlemen, that small and medium-sized
01:16enterprises and the social economy are the backbone of the Cameroonian economy.
01:22They account for over 90% of businesses and over 70% of employment.
01:31In the wake of an international conference in Cameroon, in the domain, our question is,
01:37what is the role of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as that of our social
01:42economy in economic transformation?
01:46That will be our focus.
01:48And we're going to treat this topic with the experts in the field.
01:53We want to welcome Dr. Tuminta Kennedy, who is an economist.
01:59Doctor, welcome once again.
02:01It's always a pleasure to welcome you on Press Hour set.
02:04Yeah, the pleasure is mine.
02:05It's always great being on Press Hour and to share this distinguished panel with my
02:10co-panelists and great experts of our time.
02:13Thank you.
02:14Last night, you were on the plane flying back to Cameroon, and you promised us you
02:18were going to be on this set.
02:20You are right here.
02:21Thank you for that sacrifice.
02:22You're welcome.
02:23And just next to you is Dr. Tata Emmanuel Fon, who is an expert in machine building
02:30and agricultural value chain engineering.
02:34He actually is in the field doing what we are saying has to hold the Cameroonian economy,
02:42small and medium-sized enterprise.
02:44Doctor, once again, welcome to Press Hour.
02:48Thank you very much.
02:49It's always an honor to be on CRTV, to be particularly on Press Hour.
02:55I want to say greetings to all the other panelists, and hopefully we're going to have a nice time
03:02here discussing this very interesting subject.
03:05Thank you very much.
03:06And our own Elias Ngalame, Elias Ngalame is the producer, is the publisher of Economic
03:15Outlook.
03:16Simply, he puts it officially as Eco Outlook.
03:19Elias, welcome to Press Hour.
03:22Thank you, Kilian.
03:23Thank you for inviting me once again after a while.
03:26Thank you.
03:27How is Eco Outlook doing?
03:28Well, we are pushing on.
03:30The economy is very strong, it's very difficult, but we just have to keep the flag flying.
03:37And that's why we've invited you to come and enlighten us, because that is your area of
03:42specialty.
03:43I'm talking about your paper.
03:46And we have been talking about choosing two points out of the many blessings that we had
03:52during the week.
03:54We always start this program with press review, what the press fed on in the week that just
03:59ended.
04:00Yoti Kalele-Songe, read the newspapers for Press Hour.
04:03Yoti.
04:04It has made and is still making major headlines at home and abroad.
04:16Cameroon's Philemon Yang has been elected president of the 79th United Nations General
04:22Assembly.
04:23To municipal updates, Cameroon has scored a major diplomatic victory, a win that according
04:28to the Guardian Post, has put Cameroon on the global stage again, meaning that as far
04:34as the 79th UN General Assembly is concerned, Philemon Yang is in command, writes Cameroon
04:41Tribune.
04:42Meanwhile, turbulence still reigns at the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation,
04:48PCRN.
04:49The papers report that the PCRN founding father has defied the court and held a congress expelling
04:55the national president, Kabrali B, and 20 others from the party.
05:00Readers had a chance to read on the Kona-led faction justifying their actions on the Guardian
05:05Post, while Eko Outlook was keen on the Douala Airport Customs Services seizing a huge quantity
05:12of cocaine, about the same time doctors are saying no medication should be sold without
05:18prescription.
05:19Meanwhile, This The Horizon Reveals is in reaction to pharmacists shutting down the
05:24Beaume-Francois factory for non-conformity.
05:27The Herald Tribune on its part took an interest in rehabilitation workers who gathered for
05:32a training on intensive child neurology.
05:35Meantime, the National Observatory on Climate Change has predicted imminent floods and violent
05:41winds in six regions of the country.
05:44Football also featured amongst articles on newspaper columns.
05:48The Guardian Post informs readers of the Cameroon Football Federation Fekafoot on leashing
05:53a killer punch on the government with regards to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, a fit that
05:59catches the attention of Gregoire Owona, whom The Horizon has on record calling for dialogue
06:05to resolve the conflict between Fekafoot and the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education.
06:11In the same newspaper publication, Akerem Muna regrets that football is now the subject of
06:16a sordid spectacle in Cameroon, a saga that deepens further, underlines The Guardian Post.
06:23Nevertheless, the Cameroon-Cabo Verde clash happened on Saturday, as per the calendar
06:29for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
06:38Thank you very much, Yoti Kalli, Le Songhe, for updating us with what the newspapers fed
06:46on in the week that just ended.
06:49We talked about two very, very important issues, as important as so many others that we're
06:55not going to talk about, as blessings that Cameroon had in the week that just ended.
07:02We're going to talk, first of all, about the prestigious post of the president of the
07:0879th General Assembly of the United Nations that the Cameroonian, His Excellency Mr. Jan
07:16Philemon, got through an election, and not only an election, but by acclamation in the
07:22United Nations in New York.
07:25We're going actually to talk about this, an honor to Cameroon, who's going to talk first.
07:29I start with the press man.
07:31Yes, Kilian, I think it's a big diplomatic victory for Cameroon, but more specifically,
07:41an added feather in the cap of Philemon Young, who has had a very brilliant career.
07:46We observed that he has been upscaling since he started in 1975 as a minister at the age
07:53of 25, and moved and served for a long time as a Cameroonian ambassador to Canada.
07:5820 years.
07:5920 years.
08:00And again, the longest serving prime minister so far in Cameroon.
08:04I think this is quite brilliant of him.
08:06Exactly.
08:07Today he is the president of the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations, the world's
08:16biggest organization.
08:18Yes, Dr. Tata?
08:20Well, Kilian, I think it's, of course, something we should join him to celebrate, but then
08:26we should also look very closely at the challenges that lie in front of him, because what is
08:34the importance of an appointment that might end up embarrassing us if we do not guide,
08:38if we do not look at the intrigues?
08:40Because you see, we have a lot of challenges in Cameroon, and having the responsibility
08:45of being able to chair the United Nations means that, you see, it's usually said that
08:52when you want to dine with the elders, you have to wash your hands clean.
08:56What that means is that if we're having a lot of challenges in Cameroon, it might place
09:01him in a very difficult seat to be able to intervene, to share his opinion, and to cast
09:08opinions on issues at the United Nations General Seating.
09:14So I just feel that, yes, it's an achievement we should celebrate, but then we should not
09:19forget the fact that it is also an assignment, and it is also a challenge for Cameroonians
09:25to join hands with him, support him, so that he can go through this task that has been
09:29given to Cameroon.
09:30Yes, Dr. Kennedy, when the world's presidents sit, he is the one who is going to chair.
09:38He's talking about challenges, Cameroon has a crisis, Cameroon has some other challenges.
09:44He's not working for Cameroon, but he cannot forget where he comes from.
09:48Exactly.
09:49I think that he stands a good chance to chair these global meetings.
09:54He has the experience, having been in Cameroon, seeing the different challenges we are going
09:58through, and looking at the global arena, where we have to forge a partnership to build
10:08a new global social cooperation.
10:10He stands a great chance to bring a world of experience.
10:15Of course, Cameroon is going to benefit from this.
10:19Cameroon is back on the global stage, not only because of football, but now chairing
10:23the General Assembly.
10:25And this also gives Cameroonians a lot of assignment to clean their houses, and to make
10:32sure that they give, let's say, good news, and for him to be able to do his job fruitfully.
10:41Thank you.
10:42We took our microphone to the street, and we met one person who knows His Excellency
10:49Mr. Young Philemon personally, and who has worked with him.
10:53And we asked, this is Honorable Ojamben Stephen, and this is the appreciation he has of the
11:02election of Mr. Young Philemon.
11:10I'm really happy, because the person who has been elected, Prime Minister Emeritus Philemon
11:17Young, is a father I know too well.
11:20He's somebody who is serious, and has a lot of concern for his people.
11:30He's a citizen diplomat and administrator.
11:32No doubt, President Paul, we are the father of the nation, who knows his people and knows
11:39their capability, decided that he should be the candidate to represent Cameroon.
11:45As a Cameroonian, I should be very happy that one of us has been given that opportunity
11:53to hit the diplomacy of the world.
11:56Cameroon is on the top of diplomacy in the world today.
12:00It's a pride to all Cameroonians.
12:02It's a pride to all the people from the northwest and southwest, because one of us is heading
12:09the diplomacy of the world.
12:11One thing I like with his excellency President Paul Biya, is as a father, who is down to
12:16earth, he listened to his people, he watched them closely, and knew the ability of one
12:24another.
12:25And so, remember, he said, I was born in Cameroon, I live in Cameroon, and I shall die in Cameroon.
12:35Again, he came to Bahaminda, and said, Bahaminda is my second home.
12:41And we are seeing it diplomatically, gradually he's getting there, to prove to Cameroonians
12:49and the people of the northwest that Bahaminda is his second home.
12:52No doubt the choice of the person he chose to represent Cameroon at this prestigious
13:00office.
13:01Northwest, southwest, and Cameroon has a lot of conflict here and there.
13:07It takes only somebody who masters the field of conflict, like he has already witnessed
13:14what is going on in the northwest, and in the southwest, to be able to look at similar
13:20situations happening elsewhere in the other countries, to see that Africa, the conflict
13:26which is ravaging all the African countries, can be minimized to a minimal rate.
13:33I don't doubt who has been elected.
13:35I know he's going to be up to the task, and in the days ahead, we Cameroonians will live
13:42to say, thank you, President Paul Bia, for choosing one of us, and not making a mistake
13:47with the candidate, but somebody who is grounded, he's knowledgeable, he is that person who
13:56listens to the people, he is a diplomat, a citizen, a diplomat, again, a father, who
14:04has worked in the administration, he has worked in all the offices of the administration
14:09in Cameroon, and we don't doubt his capability.
14:16I believe he will be up to the task.
14:20Yes, we believe, we see with you, Honorable Ojambe, that His Excellency, Mr. Jean Fillimon,
14:31will be up to the task.
14:33For one year, he's going to chair the United Nations General Assembly.
14:38That is the 79th United Nations General Assembly.
14:42Now, we're going to move on to some other thing that happened in Cameroon, and all Cameroonians,
14:49again, found themselves in a coalition, communioning, with the lions, and everybody was clapping
14:59yesterday.
15:01For a few who did not clap, we are not talking about them, because we're talking about country,
15:06we're talking about Cameroon.
15:08The indomitable lions of Cameroon won the Cabo Verde yesterday, four goals to one, and
15:16sports people call that thrashing.
15:19Yes, this victory was special because our sports in the past weeks, in the past months,
15:24have had some internal bickering.
15:27This was very good and timely.
15:29Yes, Kilian, the lions made Cameroonians proud again, we were able to relieve some of those
15:36glorious moments in our football history, which is victory, and we only pray that they
15:43keep the spirit of victory in their next match, I think at least that is going to really convince
15:49spectators there that they are back on the rails.
15:52Thank you very much, and Dr. Tata, Emmanuel Fon, it's not only victory.
15:58We had again the type of dream team that Cameroonians used to have.
16:03Yes, Kilian, you're very right, I enjoyed the team, honestly speaking, I really did
16:09enjoy the team.
16:10I was really fascinated by what went on after all the trouble that we've had.
16:16So it proves that dialogue is possible in this country, in every aspect of our lives.
16:22It proves that we can sit down and have a conversation, and at the end we win whatever
16:27battle we are fighting.
16:28That is what it proves in this country.
16:30So I was very happy, and I celebrate the Lions' victory with every Cameroonian.
16:34Thank you very much, and you were in the plane, I don't know whether you watched the match,
16:39Dr. Kennedy.
16:40Did you watch, even if you didn't watch the match, I watched the broadcast, the various
16:45reports.
16:46Yes, of course, on transit in Istanbul, I actually went online, saw the beginning of
16:53the match, which was a little bit timid.
16:55But I was so surprised that when we landed at 1 a.m. and we heard about the victory 4-1,
17:04which was really great, I think that, as Dr. Tata said, it proves that impossibility is
17:12not Cameroonian.
17:13So we can go beyond certain obstacles, and it means a lot for the economic dispensation
17:21of our country, because sports attracts people, and when people are attracted, their hearts
17:27open.
17:28When their hearts open, they tend to look for investment opportunities, and that's what
17:31we are looking for.
17:32Thank you very much, and you saw the government on the field at the Omnispore Stadium in Yaoundé.
17:41His Excellency the Prime Minister, Chief Dr. Joseph Ndungute himself was there.
17:49The mobilization of the government, because we're talking about Cameroon, the Indomitable
17:54Lions of Cameroon, the mobilization of the spectators, the distinguished dignitaries
18:01that we had, they showed how Cameroonians were hungry for victory, how they wanted that
18:07fighting spirit to come from the Indomitable Lions, and that is exactly what we had.
18:13There is no doubt that even if we lose any match ahead, the team has come back to what
18:19we expected to have.
18:21Thank you very much, the Prime Minister, for moving right to the stadium to support the
18:27Lions.
18:28We are behind you.
18:29We are behind the Indomitable Lions.
18:31We should look for a piece of collar to give to the PM for cheering up our own Lions.
18:37And at this moment we're going to move into our focus for today on Press Hour and it is
18:44economic transformation.
18:47What is the role of small and medium-sized enterprises and the social economy?
18:53Now we'll start with the economist.
18:57When we talk about the small and medium-sized enterprises, which are these enterprises we're
19:04talking about?
19:06Well, according to the definition laid down by the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized
19:14Enterprises in Cameroon, small and medium-sized enterprises could be distinguished either
19:21by size, either by the volume of their investment, meaning by job creation size, volume of investment
19:30and job creation.
19:32But in fact, small and medium-sized enterprises are those companies, businesses that provides
19:40goods and services at a certain threshold that creates jobs, that fosters innovation,
19:48that actually contributes to the development of the nation's gross domestic product.
19:55These are all activities that are being created, produced within the countries for the attainment
20:04of their specific objective and the production of goods and services for the economy.
20:12You will see this definition looking at either above 10 million CFA number of jobs.
20:22I don't want to go into details in this definition because with the advent of the digital economy,
20:28you can have a company with two people that creates a turnover of approximately 50 million.
20:37So just take it simple, small and medium-sized enterprises are those companies, institutions,
20:46establishments within the company that produce goods and services above a certain threshold.
20:51Thank you.
20:52Dr. Tata Emanafon, you are the CEO of AfroBrainz.
20:59Is your enterprise, your company, small, medium or bigger than that?
21:07Thank you very much, Killian.
21:10You know, in Cameroon, generally, it's very difficult to tell what a company is small,
21:19what a company is medium or what a company is large because you see, we don't have an
21:23economy in Cameroon, generally, because an economy would mean that there is a section
21:29of the business going on in the country which is producing, there is a section which is
21:37into distribution and there is a section, maybe there are consumers and there is export.
21:42Once you have a system where there is no production, you cannot describe that as an economy.
21:48So the truth is, because of our level of production, which is almost zero, we are
21:54not an economy.
21:56We are a commerce, we are a buy and sell system where we do not really have a base that we
22:03can consider as production.
22:05So basically, my company will consider itself in the category of small and medium-sized
22:12enterprise if we were to superimpose the small and medium-sized enterprise as it is
22:19supposed to operate in a normal economy.
22:21So basically, that is where we find ourselves.
22:24Now, when you talk about production, you are not talking about transformation.
22:29The problem I know we have in Cameroon is transformation, not production.
22:33Please, can we understand why you say we are not an economy when I know that we produce?
22:38Yeah, well, you see, in Cameroon, we have a system where what we refer to as we produce
22:47is not manufacturing, it is not like building, it is not like value addition.
22:53What we have is probably buying and selling from other economies because, for example,
22:57Cameroon, you would find Cameroonians buying even things like gypsum and they will sell
23:04to other countries.
23:05You will find Cameroonians buying a lot of products from other countries and then sell
23:08to other countries.
23:09You will find a lot of Cameroonians, you go to the port, you would find a lot of goods
23:13that have been imported into Cameroon and they are importing them to sell to other countries,
23:18maybe because of certain incentives at our ports or something like that.
23:22But when you go to manufacturing, when it goes to value addition, when it goes to creating
23:27value from a natural environment, that is what makes an economy to boast.
23:33Take, for example, we have our CDC, which is the top producer of banana in Africa.
23:39Ah, so we produce?
23:40Of course.
23:41Aha.
23:42You gave me the impression that we are not producing.
23:44I am going to come to some of those examples.
23:46We produce bananas, you see, we produce cocoa, we produce even wood, we produce so many other
23:54things.
23:55It is exciting to hear that we produce bananas, right?
23:58But 80% of the banana produced and exported from Cameroon is not by Cameroonians.
24:04It's French company that has been able to do the 80%, I'm talking about 80%.
24:10Cameroon produces a little above 16,000 tons of bananas and export each year.
24:16But out of the 16,000 tons, just about 7,000 tons, so just a little of it is produced by
24:21actually Cameroonian companies.
24:22I will not push that argument because I am even told that you have traveled more to the
24:31Americas and to Europe and to Asia more than me.
24:34I am told that the IT that you have in the United States is more by people who are of
24:40different origins, India and the rest.
24:42So it is not because there are French people producing in Cameroon, we don't say it's in
24:46Cameroon.
24:47Will you add something to that?
24:50I just want to say I can understand the perspective where the doctor is coming from, as a champion
24:57of processing industry in Cameroon, he always wants to make a distinction about the production
25:04in the transformative industry, the processing industry.
25:08But of course, what he's trying to say is that we have the primary sector, the primary
25:14industry is there, has dominated our production capacity for the past years.
25:20But as we move ahead towards the second phase of our industrial transformations, we do not
25:26find a lot of processing industry in Cameroon.
25:30We still import a lot of products.
25:33That is why the policy of import substitution came up.
25:37But I think he's not negating the fact that we have the primary sector production, banana
25:43and so on.
25:46But he's trying to say that the second phase, which is the processing industry, is a hope
25:51for us.
25:52And if you look at that, processing economy is a big challenge.
25:56But the last part, which will be service, which is a tertiary and service sector, is
26:01also coming.
26:02But I think that we need to make a balance between the primary sector, the secondary
26:10and industrial sector.
26:11The tertiary sector.
26:12Thank you.
26:13I feel a bit comfortable, because when I hear we are not producing, it's so worrisome
26:20for me.
26:21Thank you for bringing down or balancing up, as you've put it.
26:27Yes, Elias, our economy.
26:30Yes, the experts there are looking at, I want to think that they're looking more at the
26:35bigger picture.
26:36Me, I want to look at the informal sector here.
26:39I'm looking at the small trader.
26:41I'm looking at the small farmer.
26:43You know, I'm looking at this by myself in the market.
26:49When you mention in your entry there that they employ 70 percent of the population,
26:55this is true, because this is how the informal sector is like the engine of the economy.
27:01When an economist tells you that the economy is buoyant, it means money changes hands easily.
27:07And these are the people who are behind that engine.
27:11So I think that they are quite important.
27:13Now the problem is how the sector is organized and how the sector is permitted.
27:19Is there an enabling environment for their growth?
27:21Yes, and when we sent out the poster, there is one fervent viewer or presser of CRTV programs,
27:32Dr. Joe Ngali, who is based in the United States of America.
27:38And this is what he had to say about the role of small and medium-sized enterprises.
27:47He says small businesses are a vital part of the American economy, accounting for 44
27:57percent of economic activity and 99 percent of all U.S. firms.
28:06It will have that, please.
28:07Let us have that again.
28:09Let me take it.
28:10Yes, small businesses are a vital part of the American economy, accounting for 44 percent
28:17of economic activity and 99.9 percent of all U.S. firms.
28:23Small and medium-sized enterprises, the SMEs, he says, are the backbone of the Cameroonian
28:29economy, accounting for 90 percent of all businesses and over 70 percent of the employment
28:38force.
28:39He quotes the statistics that are as recent as we can say March 4, 2024.
28:46In 2020, he continues, Cameroon scored 46 points in the Ease of Doing Businesses Index.
28:53The country does not offer a particularly favorable environment for conducting business
28:59activities.
29:00Here again, he quotes April 28, 2024.
29:05This is Dr. Joe Ngali Awasome, who is based in the United States of America.
29:14Now, we will come back to him.
29:16He had more to talk about the economy.
29:18Let us comment on what he has said.
29:20Dr. Kennedy.
29:21Yes.
29:22I want to take two things.
29:24One is the informal sector.
29:25What he is saying is right.
29:26The statistics, the definition, but what is the size, what is the productive, what is
29:34the survivor rate and what is the productive capacity of this?
29:37Let me take survivor rate.
29:39As our co-panelist rightly said, the informal sector is full of innovation, creativity and
29:47innovation.
29:48It absorbs school drops out, absorbs most of the imperfection in our economy.
29:56But what is the process of migrating this informal sector into the formal sector?
30:00Of course, the government came out with rules and regulations, policies.
30:05And that is where we say that if we improve from what he said, the business climate, if
30:11we continuously create conditions that are favorable, we will be able to migrate.
30:16Today it is possible to create a company for two weeks in Cameroon, but creating is
30:21not enough.
30:22I mean, 24 hours to two weeks is not enough.
30:26The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises is doing a lot.
30:29But the conditions, other conditions on the ground is not making sure that the country's
30:34economy is being driven by the private sector.
30:37I want you to understand something.
30:39He said that we do not have an economy.
30:41We need to understand that our economy is migrating from a tender-driven economy, what
30:46we call, some economists call economy de marché public, meaning that everybody creates company
30:51to get a public tender.
30:53We are now migrating from a tender-driven economy to a production and transformative
31:01business economy where the private sector runs the economy.
31:05That is why you see most of the outings of the head of state, the prime ministers and
31:09other ministers.
31:10They are only saying that we need to invest, we need to improve conditions for the private
31:14sector so that it can become good and the engine of growth for the development and transformation
31:22of our economy.
31:23Ghali is right to say that in the American economy, it is the small and medium-sized
31:27enterprises.
31:28In the German economy, there is a small and medium-sized enterprises.
31:32The National Institute of Statistics report saying that the small and medium-sized enterprises
31:38does a lot.
31:39That is true.
31:40But below this report, we see a lot of imperfections and that is the role that the informal sector
31:47plays and the migration strategy is not yet fine-tuned.
31:51Yes.
31:52And let us finish with the contribution of Dr. John Ghali.
31:57This is what he says when you are reacting to that, he talked about the environment,
32:02which he raised in his contribution.
32:05This again is what he says about the environment.
32:08That 75% of small businesses fall in Cameroon within the first five years of operation due
32:16to two main reasons.
32:18The first is the complex tax system.
32:21The second is high employee theft.
32:25Now these are the various things that he has raised.
32:31That's John Ghali and he is a senior auditor at the United States Department of the Treasury.
32:39He has added something to what you said.
32:43Before we come to Dr. Tatafon, you see he completed some of the things that you talked
32:48about.
32:49Yes, I think I love that because that course takes into consideration two elements.
32:53One is the role of individuals and the employees ethics.
32:58Employees theft, employees disloyalty, employees productivity in our country is a big problem.
33:07So the tax system, of course, is a little bit questionable because you cannot have an
33:11economy that everything that finances government's income is high taxation.
33:18We need to come in with a system where we help those little companies, those startups
33:24that are coming in.
33:25We need to give them the opportunity to carry out tax redistribution because government
33:30collects these taxes, create public goods, and they redistribute it.
33:35So allow the private sector to use this money, give them responsibility to create the environment
33:41around them, training for their employees, give them tax breaks so that they can create
33:46this minimum environment and tax them later.
33:49So I think Ngali is right.
33:51But something which is very striking is the creation, survivor, and sustainability rate
33:58of these enterprises.
33:59That is why I'm happy that the percentage of the survivor rate has improved.
34:06But it is very, very difficult when you open a company, you do not have ethically driven
34:14employees that are capable of producing the goods and services, respect the responsibility
34:23of the companies.
34:24It is very, very difficult to make sure that you can produce.
34:27So we have to improve the productivity and moral dispensations of workers.
34:33Theft is a serious issue.
34:35Most of us that came from Europe, investors here, we can write encyclopedia about the
34:40type of behavior some of our employees have.
34:43Dr. Tata Emanuel Fon, you have a company.
34:48Have you gone through this very difficult tax system and employee theft?
34:56So how are you surviving?
34:57Yes.
34:58Thank you very much, Kilian.
35:01You see, in Cameroon, the first thing when you set up a company is to train your staff
35:07because honestly speaking, the mindset of Cameroonians is not a mindset that can sustain
35:13in a company, a startup company.
35:16If you want to start a company in Cameroon, you should be ready to change at least 10
35:23sets of staff before you even get to the point where your company can be very stable because
35:28a lot of Cameroonians do not have the mindset.
35:31Because of the quality of education that Cameroonians have, they do not have the mindset of surviving.
35:38Cameroonians just believe that they can achieve everything from a job.
35:43Cameroonians don't believe that they can learn even from those that employ them because it's
35:47possible that I can employ somebody and the person learns from my spirit of entrepreneurial,
35:54my entrepreneurial spirit, and then becomes an entrepreneur on his own.
35:58But the mindset of Cameroonians, it's just that they come into a company to drain, they
36:03don't have a focus as to if the company is succeeding or not.
36:08They don't have that focus.
36:10And it's very disturbing in a society like Cameroon where we were supposed to be developing.
36:16But you see, if we ask ourselves a question, what quality of entrepreneurship do we have
36:23at our educational base?
36:25Our educational base, our educational system is not oriented to give Cameroonians that
36:31possibility to be sustainable in the way that they look at, in the way that they live.
36:39They feel that maybe a job is the same as work.
36:42Meanwhile, it is not the same.
36:44So I just think that the difference is purely clear.
36:49The work of a man is the system that he sets into place that can give him renewable income
36:56even when he doesn't have the strength to work.
36:59But a job is simply exchanging your time and your energy and your effort for income.
37:07So it's pretty much very different.
37:09But Cameroonians have developed this tendency of thinking that job is work.
37:16And when they get to job, they behave as though they were at work or they tell people they
37:21are at work, which is very different.
37:23Yes, doctor.
37:24Before you continue, I wish to say you should say some Cameroonians because you are a Cameroonian
37:32and you don't have the same spirit.
37:33And there are so many of you.
37:35Am I wrong?
37:37You're excellent.
37:38You're perfectly right.
37:39The majority of Cameroonians have that tendency.
37:42And obviously speaking, the reason why we're saying this is because it is in our own, it
37:47is our wish that Cameroonians begin to see themselves as global citizens.
37:52They should begin to see themselves as people who can live in Cameroon, they can live in
37:56the US, they can live anywhere else in the world, and they can maintain the same behavior,
38:01the same character, and they can succeed.
38:02Thank you very much.
38:03Yes, you have a reaction to that.
38:06And after the reaction, you have your own question, which is, you are the publisher
38:11of a newspaper, Echo Outlook.
38:15After your reaction, tell us, which of the enterprises or companies are you, small, medium
38:21size, big size?
38:22That is just where I was coming.
38:23We interest you to know that we also fall within that realm of small and medium sized
38:28enterprises.
38:29And as he mentioned, a good number of these enterprises rely on tender.
38:34You know, there is one thing doing that service, and there is another thing getting paid.
38:40If you wouldn't imagine that it takes three, four, five years for a single bill to be paid
38:45at the level of the Ministry of Finance.
38:48I just read last week in the newspaper that the minister has pulled a location of some
38:52billions for addressing the problem of small and medium sized enterprises payment.
38:58That would take another two years before that decision becomes effective.
39:02And that brings me to the point of workers toying with company money.
39:08You imagine a worker working with a small enterprise, go for six, seven months without
39:11payment.
39:12When the enterprise does not get the bills paid, how does the proprietor pay the workers?
39:16So it's a very big challenge.
39:18It's an issue to be addressed squarely.
39:21Yes, we are going into the role of the media.
39:25What's the role?
39:26Where is the media failing or where is the media not doing their work?
39:31Yes, it is really not surprising in a way because the media does not cover this area
39:39very much.
39:40You know, the focus of the media is more on where they will have funding to run their
39:48newspapers.
39:49The small trader, the small business enterprises, it's not really pulling their attention.
39:58You can readily understand this because the private press does not get the backing that
40:02the government is supposed to give them.
40:04So they look for where it is a business.
40:07They are running a business as well.
40:08So they look at for where profit will come in, you know.
40:11Thank you.
40:12Yes, doctor, you have an explanation on that area to make.
40:17And after that, I'm going to ask you the economist and the CEO and entrepreneur specific
40:22questions.
40:23Yes.
40:24Yes.
40:25So I want to.
40:26He actually raised that point.
40:27And that is the missing middle in Cameroon.
40:29The media.
40:30Nobody finance them.
40:31These guys are providing what is called public goods.
40:34They are the correction mechanisms.
40:36So if you do not give them incentive to become impartial and provide adequate information,
40:43the business sector is not is not being does not finance the press to advertisement.
40:47Why is because they left over by the business sector is not sufficient enough to pay for
40:54publicity and advertisement.
40:56What happens, as he said, the sole provider of the tender economy, the engine of the tender
41:04economy is the government.
41:05And once you keep bills, once you do not pay, then you destroy the growth, the wealth production
41:12process.
41:13Therefore, I am I'll be very happy if there are discussions between the media and the
41:17minister of small and medium sized enterprises, the minister of finance, to be able to allocate
41:22specific budget additional.
41:25We know that give additional budget to allow them to play their third that third month's
41:31role in the economic transformation and social contract within the society.
41:36If the economy's economics is not being covered, I'm happy that the eco outlook tries to give
41:43on the economic dispensations.
41:46But who pays them?
41:47He will pay.
41:48He will pay the pipers.
41:49So that is why he's right.
41:53They are profit center.
41:55I like the topic because you talk about the social economy.
41:57They are social business.
41:58They solve social problem, but they have to survive like a business.
42:02Yes.
42:03Yes.
42:04Just to say before I go into some specific questions, the minister of communication gives
42:09you the public assistance to private media.
42:14And apart from that, when the public investment budget is is is made public, you some of you
42:24are selected.
42:25You are involved in one, two regions or even sometimes three regions.
42:31And there you have some money coming in from the minister of finance and the economy.
42:37Yes.
42:38Well, you are right.
42:39But how much is the amount?
42:41You know, an average private press spends maybe no less than one hundred and one hundred
42:47and twenty million, 80 million a year to print the newspaper or to run for production of
42:54the newspaper.
42:55And the minister comes up to give you a one point five million for the whole year.
43:00You can imagine it cannot print two issues of your newspaper.
43:03So it is really it is really quite small.
43:07And I think the private press needs to be encouraged.
43:10Yes, I agree.
43:11Because I think the public, you know, they are serving the same as you said, they are
43:15providing a social service.
43:18The taxpayer's money goes to see our TV.
43:20Just five percent of that amount given to the private press will solve a lot of problems.
43:24Now, I should add to that amount, which is not the same for all the media.
43:31You just give an example, because there are some media houses that get three million and
43:36things like that.
43:37Now, in addition to that, when the public investment budget is published, let me let
43:44me tell you whether it was double or not, it's just for every newspaper, if you are
43:50shortlisted for one region, you have about two point five to three million.
43:54And there are some of you who are shortlisted for three regions and you add that two point
43:59five, three million times three, it takes you up to one hundred.
44:05We have to just get the facts.
44:06I'm not saying it's enough.
44:07Yes.
44:08Yes.
44:09If we are giving the facts, we should give all the facts.
44:10No.
44:11And mind you, the private press is not limited to the print.
44:13You have private radios, you have private TV, television, you have online media.
44:17Now, I have some specific questions to the economists and to the CAO, who are people
44:26who are now the economists.
44:29What is happening to the economic growth rate of Cameroon that has been stagnating
44:36between three and four?
44:39We even announced six percent, but we always come up with three, four, three, four, and
44:43you will get up to five.
44:45We are clapping.
44:46We are jubilating.
44:47What is happening?
44:48Yeah, I think there are many issues.
44:53The attractiveness of our economy, the propensity of our attractiveness or the coefficients
45:03of attractiveness is very small, meaning that despite the efforts that the government has
45:08made in putting in certain rules and regulations, system laws, the attractive rate of our economy
45:14is being stopped by many things.
45:17On the other part, the instability that happens in the northern part of the country continuously
45:23push away a very critical source of income, which is attracting tourists to visit our
45:29Waza Park and so on, because the way pure income that were taken into that part.
45:35But the advantage with that is that because people cannot get into the park, the animals
45:39have now grown and the value of that park has increased, meaning that if we invest more
45:43money to improve the attractiveness of that part, it's fine.
45:47Secondly, the policies that the government has put in place are now coming up.
45:53For example, some of the infrastructural projects that we put are now getting to completion.
46:02We need to...
46:03There are other issues.
46:04The entrepreneurial mindsets pumping in money to the small and medium-sized enterprises.
46:09We do not...
46:10Going back, I think it's in your questions.
46:13We do not have the small and medium-sized enterprises bank that is geared towards providing
46:18money to small and medium-sized enterprises that need it.
46:21That was created?
46:22We have it, but the market capitalization...
46:24Where is it created?
46:25Yes, yes.
46:26The financial endowment of the small and medium-sized enterprise bank is very small.
46:31I mean, if you look at the 90% of this role that the small and medium-sized enterprises
46:37play, and then you look at the capital endowment, meaning the financial capacity of this small
46:42and medium-sized enterprise bank is very small.
46:45That is why we are...
46:46Economists are asking the government to capitalize, capitalize this economy, and to capitalize
46:51this bank so that it can provide revenue.
46:54Another part is the imperfection that we have within the managerial process, meaning that
47:00bottlenecks, we still have certain bottlenecks, you might call it corruptions or so on.
47:05But we are...
47:06I mean, the government is doing a lot to eliminate, but they need to do that in a very strong way
47:12so that they can be able to give courage, encourage small and medium-sized enterprises.
47:17Another part is the non-respect of payment dates.
47:22It kills an enterprise when it performs services, and then at the end of the day, the bills
47:27are not paid in time.
47:29You know, the fixed cost, whether you pay or you do not pay, the fixed costs keep on
47:33accumulating.
47:34And if you got that loan from a bank, the interest accrues, and you end up not having
47:41anything from the final thing that you get.
47:44Thank you very much for the explanation.
47:46Now, to you, Dr. Tata Fon, what are the areas, priority areas, in the small and medium-sized
47:54enterprises that should be focused on for the economy to be transformed?
47:59Are there priority areas, sectors, that focus should be laid on?
48:05Thank you very much, Kilian.
48:06Actually, the question you've asked is right on the spot.
48:11You see, it's more than a year that the head of state, His Excellency President Paul Biya,
48:18came out and everybody was very happy and actually defined the direction of the politics
48:24of Cameroon up to 2035.
48:28What he said was the import substitution.
48:32Cameroonians were expecting the Ministry of Commerce to come out and say, okay, Cameroon
48:37is importing about 5 million, 1 million tons of wheat flour.
48:43Can we take it down by about 30% so that we can give room?
48:48Cameroon produces about 6 million tons of cassava.
48:52If we, this cassava flour that we are producing in Cameroon, can we substitute the wheat that
48:57we're importing by just about 30% to start with, so that we can start by encouraging
49:01the people locally, if we could do that?
49:05Is it also possible for us to do the same with other crops?
49:12What about the Ministry of Transport?
49:14What about the Ministry of Agriculture?
49:17What are some of those moves that they've made to show that they have embraced the head
49:22of state's vision on import substitution?
49:25You see, it is unfortunate that those of us entrepreneurs who believe the head of state
49:31in all his words and everything, we knew very well that when the head of state defines
49:37the political vision in this way, other ministries will embrace it.
49:42We will go to talk and talk about taxation.
49:46Taxation should have come out and said, okay, what about those who are producing?
49:49What can we do for them that can encourage them to produce more?
49:52Because you see, when we talk about manufacturing, when we talk, that is what holds an economy.
49:58We cannot build an economy on buy and sell.
50:02Our banks, what are our banks doing to encourage local entrepreneurs, to encourage local production?
50:12Take a proposal to a bank and tell them that you want to produce these goods, even if that
50:18proposal is coming from a local company here that has the money cash.
50:21As long as you tell the bank that you are going to produce those goods here locally
50:25in Cameroon, they're not going to give you the money to produce it.
50:28You have a company that is ready to pay you money cash for the production, the local production
50:34of a particular good.
50:36The banks will not give you the money.
50:38The banks want you to buy these things from abroad and then supply because they don't
50:43believe that we can start building our own local production capacity.
50:47You are speaking from experience.
50:48Exactly.
50:49I'm speaking from experience.
50:50Of course, I'm speaking from experience.
50:52These are things that happen, and these are things that kill local companies.
50:55Because I assume that our banks should be our companion, as they claim, accompanying
51:01the government to the development.
51:04We are supposed to be able to work with our banks so that they can encourage our production.
51:09Because if banks start to finance production, local production, agriculture, because they
51:14see the risk, you know, they are meandering between the level of the risk and those kind
51:20of things.
51:21How are we going to get out of the situation we are in?
51:24China, for example.
51:25I have written proposals to the Ministry of Agriculture, to the Ministry of Small and
51:31Medium-Sized Enterprise, the Ministry of Finance, to encourage the ministries so that we can
51:36set up multiproduct food transformation units at the various regions.
51:41What is the importance of this?
51:42This will encourage our farmers in all the regions to bring their crops.
51:47Remember that the problem of Cameroon is that we do not add value to the local resources
51:52and God's blessings that we have in this country.
51:55If we could have at every region in Cameroon, we have a multiproduct food transformation
52:01unit.
52:02What will happen is that it will employ about 500 Cameroonians.
52:06I'm talking about 500 Cameroonians in each of these units.
52:09In that vein, you are an expert in machine building and agricultural value chain engineering.
52:17Now, what are you producing?
52:21What are you producing and what value are you adding to the things that you have in
52:25Cameroon?
52:26Please, two minutes, because we have to...
52:27Yeah, we produce machines for agricultural value chain addition, meaning that we develop
52:32value chains, meaning that we identify crops.
52:35We can identify a local crop like, for example, cocoa yams, and we say, okay, what values
52:40can we get from cocoa yams?
52:41People eat at you in Cameroon.
52:43Can we create a value chain such that we can supply cocoa yams?
52:46Remember that in our local markets in Cameroon, all the supermarkets you see, just less than
52:512% of the products that we find in our supermarkets is made in Cameroon.
52:56We have to produce local products and flood all our supermarkets.
53:00Cameroonians need to start producing developed products.
53:03As I was saying, accompanying the head of state in the division, institutions like ANOR
53:08has to start developing local standards so that we can push more products into our local
53:14markets.
53:15So that is what is going to move Cameroon from where it is.
53:18But if we just have to continue to sing the song of import substitution, it's not going
53:21to change anything.
53:22Thank you.
53:23The last question, we don't have so much time left, is we have crisis in Cameroon, especially
53:29in the northwest and southwest regions.
53:32And these two regions, especially the northwest, was reputed.
53:38I'm putting in the past tense, because it has been affected, the social economy, which
53:44so many people said was going to overtake so many others, was basically had the grounds
53:50in northwest and southwest.
53:52Now, how has the crisis affected social economy?
53:56I think the first sentence I can make is that we cannot use the military to solve poverty
54:01and unemployment.
54:04What we have to use is economic strategies.
54:07What we have to use is people are complaining of poverty, people are complaining of hunger.
54:12What can we do?
54:13We are going to bring them factories, we're going to build factories, we're going to create
54:17employment.
54:18That is how we solve poverty.
54:19We don't solve poverty with a gun.
54:21We don't shoot poverty to death.
54:22What we do is that we get factories into those places.
54:26There's a lot of raw materials.
54:27We need bees before we build factories.
54:29Well, the thing is that the situation where we find ourselves, I can tell you with all
54:34certainty that if we start setting up factories at the level of Santa, we start setting up
54:38factories and descending, it will work.
54:41Let us stop.
54:42People are complaining of hunger and all those things that we're going to shoot hunger to
54:46death.
54:47Doctor, you go and you start building a factory, somebody comes and burns it down.
54:51We need to make sure that it is not burned down before we build.
54:54That's what we are saying.
54:56No, the thing is, you see, these are our children.
54:58Let's not act all of a sudden as if they have become sort of people.
55:03These are people who are complaining about the fact that they are hungry.
55:07They don't have jobs.
55:08You see, even in young days, not just in the north, west and south, what are we talking
55:11about?
55:12Did we not just get information the other day that a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
55:17a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
55:19a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
55:20a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
55:49a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
56:01a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
56:18a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a
56:48a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
57:18a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
57:48a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a
58:18a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
58:48a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
59:18a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
59:48a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a