Supporting The Public Sector of Cameroon

public-sector

Education

Public spending on education was 3.1 per cent of GDP in 2012. There are six years of compulsory education starting at the age of six. Some 57 per cent of pupils complete primary school (2010). The private school sector in Cameroon is significant – faith schools play an important role in the education system and are partly subsidised by the government. There are a number of public universities, including the University of Yaoundé and the University of Douala.

 

Health

Public spending on health was two per cent of GDP in 2012. There are three referral hospitals, approximately 70 general hospitals, 50 private hospitals, plus a wide network of public and private health centres. Faith-based organisations fill the gap in government funding, providing 40 per cent of clinical services in Cameroon at affordable prices, largely operating in rural areas.

The Expanded Programme on Immunization was a public–private partnership that operated from 2001–11 to provide life-saving vaccines to children in developing countries. The charity-based GAVI Alliance contributed $172 million to the scheme. In 2010, a private–public partnership commenced with the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company, the corporation using the Chad–Cameroon pipeline, to overcome the endemic malaria found along the pipeline corridor area. Malaria currently stands as one of the main public health concerns in Cameroon, accounting for 40–45 per cent of medical consultations. The German Cameroonian Health and AIDS Programme also operates on a PPP basis to deliver information workshops.

 

Transport

There are 51,350 km of roads, eight per cent of which are paved. The rail network runs 977 km north–south from Ngaoundéré to Yaoundé, with connections between Douala and Yaoundé, and from Douala to Nkongsamba and Kumba. Douala is the principal port, Kribi handles mainly wood exports, Garoua on the Benue river is navigable only during the wet season and Limbo–Tiko is a minor port, severely silted up. International airports are at Douala, Yaoundé and Garoua.

Roads: In 2012, the new Ayos–Bonis highway was opened by the Prime Minister, linking the east region to the capital, Yaoundé, as well as to Chad and the Central African Republic. Further projects subsequently commissioned include: the Douala–Yaounde Expressway; the Ebolowa–Kribi stretch, passing through Lolodorf and Akom II; the Kumba–Mamfé major highway; the Ntui–Yoko–Ngaoundéré road; and the Ring Road.

Rail: Railways are mainly operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré, which holds a 20-year concession to operate the national railway. In 2013, the construction of the Edea–Kribi and Douala–Limbe railway lines was designated for public–private partnerships. Bouygues and DTP Terrassement, a French consortium, are due to build the Edea–Kribi line, which will span 100 km and mainly be used for freight. Flasworx Capital Management, a South African company, will construct the 70-km Douala–Limbe railway.

Ports: The simultaneous PPP construction of Kribi Deep Sea Port Multi-purpose Terminal and Limbe Deep Seaport Complex are planned to coincide with that of the new railway lines. The Kribi Deep Sea Port project will be a multipurpose terminal contracted under the build–own–operate–transfer model. The French firm Bolloré Africa Logistics has been awarded the contract. Another specialised port will be constructed in Limbe by the Guemgang/LPDC consortium to service the G Power Cement plant.