Monday, December 18, 2023, at the (BEAC) Agency in Douala (Cameroon), the last ordinary Board of Directors of this financial institution of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) was held, for the year 2023. This session also marked the end of the mandate of the Republic of Congo as rotating chairman of the Board of Directors of this Central Bank common to the six States, namely Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.

In his opening speech, the Congolese Minister of Economy and Finance, first expressed his renewed gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon, and to the Cameroonian people, for the support and warm welcome he received throughout his mandate. Then, he expressed all his gratitude to the Congolese President, His Excellency Mr. Denis SASSOU-N'GUESSO, President of the Republic of Congo, who, he underlined, “By designating, in 2022, my modest person to the post as Minister of Economy and Finance, offered me the opportunity to rise to the rank of President in office, for a one-year mandate, of both the Ministerial Committee of the African Monetary Union Central (UMAC); Chairman of the Steering Committee (COPIL) of the Economic and Financial Reforms Program (PREF-CEMAC); President of the Action Group Against Money Laundering in Central Africa (GABAC) and President of the Board of Directors (PCA) of the BEAC.

After twelve months in office (year 2023), at the head of the UMAC institutions, the Congolese Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Jean-Baptiste ONDAYE, took stock. At the international level, he said: “we have, during our mandate, worked to make the voice of our sub-region and that of Africa heard, during the various international forums at which we have participated, in particular, in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB); The Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB); African Caucus Meetings; AFREXIMBANK meetings; the CEMAC-France meetings; and Tripartite Meetings with the IMF”. Adding that “during these meetings, we added our voice to those of other African Ministers, to defend the themes linked to the Reform of the Bretton Woods institutions (IMF-World Bank) and multilateral banks, for a financial system international more inclusive and equitable; as well as themes linked to the challenges of rising inequalities and poverty; climate change; and the protection of biodiversity.

Regarding actions under the COPIL of PREF-CEMAC, Mr. Jean-Baptiste ONDAYE indicated: “We led high-level missions which led to the Round Table of donors in Paris, organized on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 November 2023, for the mobilization of financing for the second generation of CEMAC integrating projects. At the end of this Round Table, the total amount of financing mobilized amounts, provisionally, to 9,210 million Euros, or 104.2% of the financing sought.

Concluding his assessment of his presidency at UMAC, the speaker recalled: “We were keen to advance several issues of common interest. Among which, the evolution of monetary cooperation with France; negotiations with the extractive industries sector; reflection on the adoption of a digital currency from the Central Bank and the development of a Community normative framework governing cryptoassets in CEMAC; the recruitment process for BEAC senior management agents, which gave rise to an additional point during this session of the Board of Directors; and the examination of the texts which underpin the governance of the BEAC”.

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.