Deliberations: Eleven Bills Adopted

S ome eleven bills were examined and adopted during the June session of Parliament by lawmakers. All adopted legal instruments seek improving the wellbeing of the population, especially in the sectors concerned. There was notably the bill to authorise the President of the Republic to ratify the defence and security cooperation framework agreement between Cameroon and Egypt, signed in Yaounde on October 11, 2022, and the bill to ratify the bilateral cooperation agreement between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea for the exploitation of crossborder oil and gaz fields, signed in Yaounde on March 17, 2023. The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo and the interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Fuh Gentry Calistus respectively defended the documents before legislators. The latter also presented and defended a security cooperation agreement with Algeria. Another legal instrument adopted was the Ordinance of June 2, 2023 which amends and supplements certain provisions of the Finance Law of Cameroon for the 2023 financial year. The said Ordinance which increases the 2023 State budget from the initial FCFA 6,345.1 billion to FCAF 6,726.9 billion, Finance Minister, Louis Paul Motaze stated, is in order to meet up with internal and external shocks notably the increase in fuel prices, accompanying economic measures to contain the situation and the depreciating values of the dollar as compared to initial forecast. Also adopted is the bill to institute the Charter on child online protection in Cameroon. Providing more clarifications, the Minister said the legal instrument seeks to enhance the normative and institutional framework and give more powers to electronic communication sector regulators to address the adverse effects of the internet and build digital confidence. The bill governing guarantees and debt recovery by public entities enjoying the Treasury’s preferential rights, is equally amongst the 11 legal instruments adopted. Finance Minister, Louis Paul Motaze convinced the legislators that the document constitutes a significant process in the c...