An important delegation of the Groupement Inter-Patronal du Cameroun (GICAM), led by its Chairperson Mr Celestin TAWAMBA, was received in audience on 9 November 2020 by Achille BASSILEKIN III, Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts in the meeting room of the ministry.
During the visit, the Chairperson of GICAM presented to MINPMEESA the book entitled ”The White Paper of Cameroonian Economy” which deals with SMEs at the heart of the economic development of our country. According to Mr Célestin TAWAMBA, the purpose of the audience was to share with the Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, all the wishes of the private sector which, apart from being supported, needs also to be defended. “Today, SMEs are struggling with financing, with a tax system that is not adapted to the current context which forces them to stagnate in the informal sector,” says Mr TAWAMBA. The Paper proposes solutions aimed at broadening the tax base “by implementing a tax system that is no longer punitive, but more adapted to these SMEs, allowing them to pay according to what they have”. It proposes, among other things, to review the tax system in order to promote the capacity of Cameroonian companies to create wealth and jobs.
For MINPMEESA, the Paper contains proposals to unleash the growth potential of the Cameroonian economy, whether at the level of the sectors implemented, specific support that SMEs and actors in the Cameroonian economy need, or the institutional incentives mechanism and support.
The two personalities also went through the concerns of enterprises and came up with some proposals on the current economic situation in our country. At the end of the discussions, they agreed to set up a joint MINPMEEESA/GICAM working group to formulate proposals that will improve the advocacy of Cameroonian SMEs. These represent nearly 98% of the productive fabric of our country, and it is necessary to “strengthen the conditions of resilience of the Cameroonian economy and put it on an accelerated path of emergence as prescribed by the Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA,” Minister Achille BASSILEKIN III stressed.