(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Audit Bench of the Supreme Court is preparing to take legal action for financial mismanagement against former managers of the Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (PDCVA). Those likely to face charges include members of the first team that ran the project between 2017 and 2020.
In its final audit report, completed in November 2024 and released to the public in March, the financial watchdog flagged what it called the “excessive and improper use of cash disbursement procedures” for a total of CFA300 million.
According to the report, this money was handed over to go-betweens known as “billeteurs” to handle customs clearance for vehicles and equipment purchased between 2017 and 2019. But the court points out that, under Cameroon’s General Tax Code, goods imported through co-financed projects are exempt from customs duties. These exemptions are granted through a system known as compensation, based on a certificate issued by the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development.
By ignoring this legal channel, the audit found that the project’s financial team opened the door to abuse. The result: large sums of public money were moved in cash, without proper oversight.
Even more troubling, some of the billeteurs—including interns—received a total of CFA111,450,585 to carry out various project activities. However, the money was immediately turned over to the project’s finance and administration chief as soon as it was withdrawn. The billeteurs were then asked to sign financial statements and activity reports for operations they never actually handled.
In the view of the Audit Bench, “this suspicious setup casts serious doubt on the authenticity of the reported expenses and the credibility of the accompanying records.”
Suspicions also surround travel expenses incurred by the former project coordination unit, which was led by Abakar Mahamat from 2016 to 2021. Auditors accuse the former fiduciary team of “systematically exceeding the mission expense limits set by a ministerial order from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.” The team allegedly used an irregular internal memo to override the official guidelines on allowances and benefits payable to project staff.
As a result, the Audit Bench found an overpayment of CFA10.8 million within a CFA50 million sample it reviewed.
The audit also flagged irregularities in the use of funds for renovating and equipping the Youth Agripreneur Business Incubation Centers (YABICs), a key component of the project, which is financed by the African Development Bank to the tune of CFA75 billion.
In one case, renovations were carried out at a cost of CFA181.7 million, far exceeding the CFA51.7 million budgeted under the project agreement—a +251.1% overrun. Similarly, institutional support expenses totaled CFA172 million, nearly double the CFA87 million earmarked in the agreement, representing an overrun of +96.21%, according to the Audit Bench.
As a result, the Audit Bench plans to prosecute the heads of the first fiduciary team for mismanagement. The charges include paying allowances to project staff in violation of the official guidelines issued by the supervising ministry, which had set the limits for fuel, phone, and travel allowances. The team is also being pursued for the abusive use of the cash advance system managed by the project coordination unit, which led to unjustified cash transactions totaling CFA300 million by project staff.
More significantly, the Audit Bench is also considering referring SOTRAC SA to the Attorney General at the Supreme Court for criminal wrongdoing. The company reportedly received a net advance of CFA276 million on July 10, 2019, but has yet to carry out the contracted work.
A senior official from the Audit Bench explained that the Attorney General will alert the Minister of Justice about the SOTRAC case. It will then be up to the Justice Minister to refer the matter to the appropriate judicial authority. Given that the financial loss exceeds CFA50 million, the case will likely be handled by the Special Criminal Court.
