CONAFE comprises the following bodies:
- The Strategic Orientation Committee (SOC)
Chaired by the Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office, the SOC is the strategic arm of CONAFE. It defines the strategic orientations of CONAFE’s activities and evaluates their implementation. As such, it approves CONAFE’s annual action plan and budget, ensures the implementation of its resolutions and recommendations, reviews and approves CONAFE’s activity reports, ensures the strategic steering and evaluation of the implementation of the National Roadmap on Trade Facilitation, and evaluates the execution of CONAFE’s action plans.
The Strategic Orientation Committee comprises two vice-chairpersons and the following members, representing both the public and private sectors:
- the Minister in charge of Transport;
- the Minister in charge of Finance;
- the Minister in charge of the Economy;
- the Minister in charge of Industry;
- the Minister in charge of Agriculture;
- the Minister in charge of Public Health;
- the Minister in charge of External Relations;
- the Minister in charge of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries;
- the Minister in charge of Defence;
- the Minister in charge of Forestry;
- the Minister in charge of the Environment;
- the Minister in charge of Public Works;
- the Delegate General for National Security;
- one (1) senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office designated by the Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office;
- the Director General of Customs;
- the Director General of the National Ports Authority;
- the Director General of each Port Authority;
- the Director General of the National Shippers’ Council of Cameroon;
- the Director General of Cameroon Airports;
- the Director General of the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority;
- the Director General of the Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR);
- the Director General of the One-Stop-Shop for Foreign Trade Operations (GUCE);
- the Managing Director of the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS);
- the General Manager of the railway transport company;
- the President of the Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock and Forestry of Cameroon (CAPEF);
- the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Crafts (CCIMA);
- the President of the Cameroon Employers’ Union (GICAM);
- the President of the Cameroon Entrepreneurs’ Movement (MECAM);
- the President of the Mouvement patronal Entreprises du Cameroun (ECAM);
- the President of the Union of Industrialists of Cameroon (SYNDUSTRICAM);
- the President of the Cameroon Exporters’ Group (GEX);
- the President of the Cameroon Importers’ Group (GIC);
- the President of each Union of Authorized Customs Agents;
- the President of the Professional Association of Stevedores of Cameroon (GPAC);
- the President of the Union of Shipowners of Cameroon (UCAM);
- the President of the Association of Insurance Companies of Cameroon (ASA);
- the President of the Professional Association of Credit Institutions of Cameroon (APECCAM);
- the President of the Cameroon Banana Association;
- three (3) representatives of road transport unions designated by their peers.
At the end of each SOC meeting, a report is forwarded to the Prime Minister, Head of Government, at the request of the Chairperson.
2. The Technical Secretariat
Placed under the authority of a Coordinator who is a senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Technical Secretariat is the technical arm of CONAFE. Thus, it is responsible for coordinating the preparation of CONAFE’s action plans and budgets; monitoring the implementation of CONAFE’s action plans; coordinating the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the National Roadmap on Trade Facilitation; monitoring the implementation of SOC resolutions and recommendations.
The Technical Secretariat comprises representatives of all bodies that make up the SOC. At the end of each meeting, a report is forwarded to the Chairperson of the SOC, at the Coordinator’s request.
Since its inception, the Technical Secretariat of CONAFE has had three (03) coordinators, namely: Mister NGO’O Cyrus, now General Manager of the Port Authority of Douala; Mister EDOA EFFA Yves Christian, now Secretary General of the Ministry of Territorial Administration; and Mister OKONO EBANGA Serge Dimitri, current Coordinator and Attaché at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Consultants may be recruited as required by the Chairperson of the SOC to assist the Technical Secretariat. Such is the case with the consultant MOUDOUTHE Charles Melchior, recruited through contract No. 020/C/SG/PM/2019 of 13 February 2020 to support CONAFE in the implementation of activities resulting from its 2020, 2021 and 2022 action plans. This Consultant has already submitted his 2020 and 2021 activity reports to CONAFE.
The Technical Secretariat of CONAFE may also enlist experts to address specific issues. This is particularly the case with Doctor TANG AHANDA Barnabé, Special Adviser No. 3 of the Prime Minister and former General Inspector at the Ministry of Public Works. During the 19th session of the Technical Secretariat of CONAFE held on Wednesday, 24 August 2022 in Douala, he made a presentation on the theme “monitoring and evaluation method of the NRTF as part of the activities of the Specialized Commissions of the Technical Secretariat”.
This is also the case with Mister NGUENE NTEPPE Joseph, Head of the Division of Analysis, Forecast and Cooperation at the Douala Port Authority and former Permanent Secretary of CONAFE, who had intervened on several occasions as expert. During the 19th session of the Technical Secretariat, he gave a presentation on the NRTF and reviewed the administrative formalities left to ensure Cameroon’s compliance with the WTO with regard to the Trade Facilitation Agreement. He also provided assistance during the deliberations of the Workshop to categorize measures B and C of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, organized on 2 and 3 March 2023 at the SAWA Hotel in Douala.
3. The Permanent Secretariat
Coordinated by a Permanent Secretary, the Permanent Secretariat is the operational body of CONAFE. Under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat, it is notably responsible for: elaborating and monitoring action plans; elaborating draft budgets; the logistical planning of meetings; drafting reports and minutes; preparing documents required for deliberations; drafting all analyses needed for a good understanding of issues addressed by CONAFE; organizing all activities and preparatory meetings deemed necessary; monitoring the implementation of the resolutions and recommendations of CONAFE; monitoring the activities of bodies and institutions handling issues similar to those addressed by CONAFE; ensuring the institutional promotion of CONAFE; any other mission entrusted to it by the Chairperson of the SOC or the Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat as part of the duties of CONAFE. The Permanent Secretariat is placed under the authority of Mister OWONO Guy Fridolin, Management Expert, appointed by Decision No. 055/SG/PM of 8 March 2022 to appoint a Permanent Secretary to the National Trade Facilitation Committee.
The Permanent Secretariat comprises permanent contract personnel, including senior staff and support staff. The senior staff, whose maximum number is five (5) persons comprises: two (2) logistics, transport and international trade experts; one (1) expert in planning, audit and evaluation; one (1) expert in financial, tax and accounting matters; one (1) business communication expert. The support staff, whose maximum number is three (3) persons, comprises: one (1) Secretary; two officers in charge of mails and liaison as well as any other routine tasks.
A recruitment process has been launched for three (3) senior staff and two (2) support staff.
4. Specialized Commissions
Four (4) Specialized Commissions have been set up by the Chairperson of the SOC, through Decision No. 010/SG/PM of 31 May 2022 on the establishment, organization and functioning of Specialized Commissions within CONAFE .
Specialized Commissions are consultative bodies responsible, under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat and Permanent Secretary of CONAFE, for ensuring, monitoring and evaluating, as well as implementing, where appropriate, measures and actions contained in the National Roadmap on Trade Facilitation (NRTF). They are particularly dedicated to the respective monitoring of each Strategic Component of the National Roadmap on Trade Facilitation, as follows:
- Specialized Commission 1: “streamlining measures for the accommodation of vessels and other means of transport”;
- Specialized Commission 2: “simplifying import and export procedures through logistics platforms”;
- Specialized Commission 3: “facilitating transit and transhipment procedures”;
- Specialized Commission 4: “strengthening governance and implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement”.
The Specialized Commissions operate according to the principle of autonomy, as they are responsible for implementing their missions. Their composition is based on the principle of representativeness of the public and private sectors, without prejudice to the consideration of the sector-based speciality and the possibility of being reinforced by the Permanent Secretariat and certain experts at the request of the Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat.
Specialized Commissions, each of which has a bureau comprising a Chair, Vice-Chair and a Rapporteur elected for a period of one (1) year renewable, have the powers to conduct analyses and technical investigation. They examine all issues within their area of competence and develop their annual work plans.
5. The Permanent Commission
In charge of operations concerning the recruitment, monitoring and evaluation of the personnel of the Permanent Secretariat and CONAFE consultants, established by Decision No. 011/SG/PM of 20 June 2022.
This Permanent Commission received the Consultant’s reports and is conducting the ongoing process to recruit the personnel of the Permanent Secretariat.
6. Support bodies
These comprise Commissions, Sub-Commissions and Working Groups set up by the Chair of the SOC to address specific issues. Since the creation of CONAFE in 2016, we can note:
- the ad hoc Commission tasked with finalizing the categorization of measures B and C of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which specifically enabled Cameroon to notify the WTO, on 5 July 2019, of categories B and C measures, with their tentative implementation dates and final dates for category B measures;
- the ad hoc Commission tasked with developing the NRTF, which helped to finalize the document adopted by Government in 2021;
- the ad hoc Commission tasked with proposing measures inherent in the optimum implementation of the NRTF, created by Decision No. 012/SG/PM of 11 June 2021 , which formulated proposals concerning: cost evaluation and the development of a costed strategy for the popularization and communication of the NRTF; identification of an integrated monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the NRTF.
- the Working Group in charge of redesigning CONAFE’s website, created by Decision No. 002/SG/PM of 27 January 2023, which has helped to secure and update CONAFE’s website found at the address www.conafe.gov.cm
It is the report of this ad hoc Commission that led to the reform of CONAFE.