(Business in Cameroon) – On July 31, 2024, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Minister of Public Works, announced the termination of 27 contracts awarded to construction companies between 2019 and 2024. The announcement was made during a meeting in Yaoundé with companies, technical study offices, and industry firms. The meeting aimed to address challenges in executing projects, such as road and bridge construction and rehabilitation. Djoumessi expressed concern over project abandonment, delayed deliveries, and numerous organizational and financial issues faced by the sector.
Among the terminated contracts was one announced on June 3 and made public on June 10, involving the Cameroonian consortium Precocam/ETS Sentinelle. This contract was for paving the Pont de la Mape-Carrefour Mwoumban road, a 24 km section of the larger Banyo-Mayo Darle-Nyamboya project (147 km) on National Road 6 in the Adamawa region. Valued at CFA4.9 billion, the contract was awarded following a national tender in 2022. The Minister of Public Works justified the termination due to the consortium’s failure, with the project’s progress only at 19.5% at the time of cancellation.
The reasons for these cancellations are varied but generally revolve around non-compliance with contractual obligations. Djoumessi emphasized that the cancellations primarily resulted from missed deadlines, unsatisfactory performance, and a lack of clarity and planning regarding project completion. Through these decisions, the government aims to send a strong message to the industry, urging companies to honor contractual commitments and maintain high performance standards. To avoid future failures, he called on companies to rethink their organization, improve their structuring, open up to investors, and collaborate to capture new market shares, both in Cameroon and internationally.
A list published in 2022 by the Minister of Public Contracts, Ibrahim Talba Malla, had already warned 101 companies threatened with contract termination for project abandonment. Many companies awarded contracts valued between CFA50 million and CFA100 million had not started work for over a year, despite delivery deadlines of three to four months. Some contracts awarded since 2018 remained unexecuted four years later, highlighting severe failures in managing public procurement.
