By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The Interim Minister of Mines, Industry, and Technological Development (MINMIDT), Prof. Calistus Fuh Gentry, says promoting local technological solutions will help lay the foundations for a stronger, more diversified, and more inclusive economy for future generations.
Prof. Calistus made the statement on November 20 in Yaoundé during celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the Africa Industrialization Day. The 2024 edition is celebrated under the theme, “Taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) and green industrialization to accelerate Africa’s structural transformation.”
Celebrations marking the 35th anniversary come at the moment when the 9th edition of the National Technology Days (JTN) is taking place under the theme, “Local technological innovations, a lever for import-substitution.”
“By promoting our own technological solutions, we are not only meeting the needs of today; we are laying the foundations for a stronger, more diversified, and more inclusive economy for future generations,” Minister Calistus said.
Stressing that technologies are evolving at a frantic pace, constantly redefining the economic boundaries between nations and the opportunities available to them, he added that for Cameroon, the challenge is daunting.
“It is about building a future where local innovations and endogenous technology will meet the needs of our society, reduce our dependence on imports, and stimulate the creation of quality jobs. Import substitution, far from being a simple economic concept, then becomes a promise of self-sufficiency, prosperity, and resilience for our nation,” he said.
In order to take full advantage of the natural factorial endowments that abound in Cameroon to definitively position itself on the paths of structural transformation, Minister Calistus noted that it is essential, in the spirit of the times, for a faster development of local technological innovations, which will undoubtedly serve for a better implementation of the import-substitution policy, that Cameroonian youth are more interested in artificial intelligence techniques.
Talking about the National Technology Days, which he says comes at the moment of the celebration of the African Industralisation Day, he said the technologies presented by the youths, born from Cameroonian ingenuity, demonstrate the potential to become a key player in the African and global technological economy.
To meet the challenges that come with industrialization, he said, Cameroon has adopted a number of reforms resulting in innovations at institutional, legislative, and regulatory levels, as well as in infrastructure.
“At the institutional level, the country has adopted a new roadmap, the National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (SND30), which focuses on the structural transformation of the productive fabric and industrialization through import substitution,” he said.
Besides Legislation and Regulations, the Minister indicated that the State of Cameroon, in line with the achievements of the first phase of its Vision of Emergence, has undertaken major investments to make the country an attractive destination for private investment in three areas: physical, energy, and cognitive.
“New physical infrastructures have been built, notably the hydroelectric dam on the Sanaga River at Nachtigal, with an installed capacity of 420 MW, as well as new universities and training schools, geographically distributed throughout the country,” he added.
He, however, stated that the past year has been marked by significant achievements, which clearly illustrate the dynamism of Cameroon’s industrial sector, driven by the strong actions mentioned above, but above all by the political will to develop locally, the value chains of all kinds of wealth present in Cameroon’s soil and subsoil.
This includes the inauguration in Kribi of the CADYST Group wheat processing plant and also CIMPOR Cameroun S.A cement production plant in Kribi, the award to CAMALCO S.A. of the industrial exploitation permit for Minim-Martap bauxite, as well as visits over the past month to major industrial projects completed or under development, relating to the establishment of automotive oil manufacturing plants, domestic gas cylinder manufacturing plants, and tire manufacturing plants among others.
He said these projects, which demonstrate the attractiveness of Cameroon’s business environment, are in line with our import-substitution policy, in accordance with the requirements of sustainable development and resilience of the national economy.
“The 35th Africa Industrialization Day reminds us of the imperative to redouble our efforts to ensure the achievement of the targeted objectives. It invites us all together, Governments, private sector actors, development partners, and civil society, to work towards sustainable and inclusive industrialization, a guarantee of a prosperous Africa with integrated economies,” he noted.
Africa Industrialization Day, celebrated every 20 November since 1989, was instituted by the Organization of African Unity and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. Its mission is to raise awareness among governments, the private sector, civil society and international partners of the challenges of industrialisation in Africa, while mobilising greater support for its sustainable economic transformation.
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