Yaounde, Cameroon Africa(Cameroon News) – The actual challenge is for Cameroon bankers to devise a system that will overcome the mistakes that they made in the past years.
The Agropastoral show came into Cameroon with a total makeover after 22 years of deep sleep evoking a sense of energy and rejuvenation, which is fuelled by the heart felt desire to change the country’s agricultural sector from the rudimentary stage it has been trying for a long time to get out of, to modernity so as to be in tune with the demands of the hour.
In a desperate attempt to bring into reality the dreams that the Head of State revealed at the Ebolowa Agropastoral jamboree to put in place an agriculture bank, authorities of the Ministry of Finance, those of Agriculture and Rural Development and of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft, set up the first Constituent Assembly to create a solid foundation for two new banks, one for agriculture; Cameroon Rural Financial Corporation (CARFIC) and the other for SME, Banque Camerounaise des PME (BC PME S.A).
The early present overview of the conglomeration looks pretty bright what with a sum of FCFA 10 billion being allocated as working capital for each of the banks. That included and considering the official certification by the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), the doubt that is in the minds of devout Cameroonians, especially those who are aware of the history of agriculture-oriented banking system in Cameroon is whether the promises would actually be fulfilled. The history, which is quite pathetic, leaves no one in doubt. Consequently, the Minister of Finance while addressing a press conference after the Constituent Assembly chose to ignore the rampant requirement to address the serious mistakes that had been made in the past.
It is a matter of shame in the first place that such mistakes had happened, but that does not in any way , mean that those mistakes need not be corrected and that fresh lessons need to be learnt from those mistakes especially as the two new outfits strive for sustainability. The management team from previous experience should certainly ensure from previous experiences that the loans are not sanctioned to fraudulent people or imposters who conk up stories of impossible agricultural products while being perfectly aware that they belong to a totally different profession. The management team should also be putting in place stop-gap steps to safeguard the banks from total destruction thereby setting up and building feasible projects in the agriculture, livestock and fishery sectors.
Agriculture, as the common knowledge indicates, is a highly sensitive sector, especially in a country like Cameroon where stakeholders are heavily reliant on the forces of nature such as climate, soil, and vegetation, for basic existence. These, misconceptions need to be altered through adequate sensitization and regular follow up. It is absolutely necessary that the operations of the two banks , be in accordance with the rhythm of these forces and to guarantee that clients who ask for loans have the prerequisites expected from a person in the farming profession. The new banks will only be winners if they can bring into their operational pattern the spirit of business and have all positive strategies that have been the reasons behind the survival of some private banks in Cameroon. Commercial Banks make sure that a loan is provided only if the security is proper. Even when proof and the documents have been furnished, a team from the bank is dispatched to the field to verify. These are some things that the new banks would need to do if they do not wish to repeats the same stories of the past.
