By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), Alamine Ousmane Mey, has urged 108 graduating students from the Sub-Regional Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (ISSEA) to maintain cutting-edge skills to effectively support public policy and economic development.
Minister Ousmane Mey made the statement during the institution’s graduation ceremony on July 31 in Yaounde. He presided over the event accompanied by Director General of AFRISTAT, Paul-Henri Nguema Meye; the Director General of ISSEA, Dr. Marcel Opoumba; the Governor of the BEAC, Yvon Sana Bangui; and the Representative of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ISSEA, Congolese Ambassador to Cameroon, Daniel Ngassiki.
In his address, the Economy Minister emphasized the growing importance of statistical information in conducting public policy. He noted that the acceleration of digital transformation and the emergence of artificial intelligence-based technologies require states to access reliable and up-to-date information to guide their development strategies effectively.
Minister Ousmane Mey stressed that data quality now determines the relevance of decisions made in fields as diverse as health, education, infrastructure and the fight against poverty. He encouraged the new graduates to demonstrate professionalism, methodological rigor and ethics in carrying out their future responsibilities.
“Knowledge and skills are never enough,” Minister Ousmane Mey said, stressing the importance of ongoing training to remain competitive. He encouraged the young statisticians and economists to maintain cutting-edge skills to effectively support public policy and economic development.
Meanwhile, the boss of AFRISTAT, Nguema Meye urged the graduates to demonstrate integrity, humility and perseverance as the pillars of their careers.
“Your reputation will be your greatest asset… Your integrity can never be taken from you,” Nguema Meye said, urging the future leaders to exercise leadership based on service, the courage to make decisions and talent development.
Nguema Meye added that the 2026 generation has a historic opportunity thanks to artificial intelligence and collaborative tools. He called on them to “invent African solutions to African problems” to strengthen digital sovereignty and produce data for the benefit of Africa.
The Director General of ISSEA presented the institution’s major strategic directions. In response to the evolving fields of statistics and economics, Opoumba announced the continued modernization of training programs, which now integrate artificial intelligence, Big Data, geospatial data and new analytical methods.
He used the opportunity to confirmed the upcoming creation of a doctoral school, made possible by the institution’s evolving status.
“ISSEA is thus becoming not only a vocational training school, but also a fully-fledged higher education institution,” Opoumba said, expressing his ambition to make the institute an African center of excellence in statistics, economics and data science.
Representing the Chairman of the Board of Directors, H.E Ngassiki commended ISSEA’s 42 years of contribution to training the subregion’s leaders. He stressed the need to support this momentum by establishing a doctoral school and expanding the institution’s infrastructure.
To the Cameroonian authorities, Ngassiki reiterated his plea for the allocation of land to house the institute’s future campus. To the graduates, he recommended “integrity, lifelong learning, and loyalty to ISSEA,” reminding them that the school’s name is now synonymous with competence and rigor across the continent.
A total of 108 graduates received their diplomas in a context marked by the rise of artificial intelligence, data science and profound changes in statistical systems. The graduating class included 19 advanced statistical technicians, 32 statistical analysts, 42 statistical economists and 15 long-cycle statistical economists.
