Monitoring the physical, financial and accounting execution of road projects

the MINTP chaired a work session on March 20, 2024.

The first session of the Interministerial Committee for monitoring the physical, financial and accounting execution of projects, chaired this Wednesday March 20, 2024 by the Minister of Public Works Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, made it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of this consultation platform on the execution of road projects.

The work chaired by the Minister of Public Works in person and by videoconference made it possible to take a critical look at the physical, financial and accounting execution of road projects during the year 2023 and to evaluate the performances already achieved since the beginning of the year 2024. Around the table, several administrations and institutions including MINMAP, MINFI, MINEPAT, CAA, the Road Fund, which support MINTP in the implementation of road projects. In his opening remarks, the Minister of Public Works underlined the importance of the work of this Committee, at a time when several projects are being implemented across the national territory, in particular.

Specifically, he noted the continuation at a good pace of construction work on the Lékié loop, as well as the Kumba-Ekondo Titi and Babadjou-Bamenda roads. He mentioned the need to accelerate the procedures for the launch of construction work on the much-awaited Ebolowa-Akom II - Kribi road, as well as the rehabilitation of the Ngaoundéré-Garoua road, not without emphasizing that the reconstruction work of the first section of the Mora-Dabanga-Kousseri road, with the ongoing installation of the company, has started.

Regarding the physical performance of the projects In 2023, it appears that the MINTP has achieved more than 70% of the objectives it had set. As for the projects scheduled to start in 2023, out of 27 expected projects, only 13 projects have actually started corresponding to a length of 337.42 km of roads and 495.28 km of structures.

As of March 20, 2024, the MINTP has achieved nearly a third of the objectives formulated at the start of the year and have actually been achieved. As for the projects financed by the Road Fund window, we note that the difficulties encountered during the year 2023 concern the irregularity of the monthly automatic debit, the absence of budgetary coverage of several statements from the Investment Window and non-compliance with Road Fund procedures in the preparation of contract statements and projects.

In general, we note with regard to the payment of statements that although these are done in a laborious manner, it should be noted that several services were paid during the year 2023 and at start of the year 2024. The specialized services of MINFI attached to the Ministry of Public Works have in this context formulated recommendations to improve the payment chain of statements produced by companies.

The specific case of markets will have constituted a salient point of the work of this first session of the Interministerial Committee for monitoring the physical, financial and accounting execution of road infrastructure projects. From the presentation presented by the Director of Contracts at MINTP, it appears that at the end of 2023, 103 contracts had been signed, including 60 financed by the BIP and 43 by the Road Fund. For this year 2024, the signing of 95 contracts is expected (54 financed by the BIP and 41 by the Road Fund). In order to avoid delays, the Minister of Public Works has instructed for a period of 10 blocked days (until March 29), the finalization of all tender files.

At the end of the work, the Minister of Public Works instructed more efficiency in the exchanges between the actors, the strengthening of monitoring measures at the level of the structures and the fluidity in the processing of accounting documents.

Clément Noumsi