By Kini Nsom
The country Director for 
Cameroon at the World Bank in Washington says the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, HIPC-I, will mean nothing for Cameroon if the resources accruing from the debt relief programme are not well managed.
Ali M. Khadr who was on a working visit to Cameroon last week addressed a press conference at the World Bank office in Yaounde Friday, June 2. According to the World Bank official, after the HIPC-I completion point, the major challenge for Cameroon now is to make sure that resources that come from the debt relief be used in development projects that benefit the population.
"It is very important for government to ensure that the way in which those funds are used is a way that is sound, a way that will not be subjected to corrupt practices," Ali Khadr who is also country Director for Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central Africa Republic, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe emphasised.
He said in tandem with international norms, Cameroon must stimulate the onslaught for good governance, intensify the fight against corruption in order to fully enjoy the fall-outs of the HIPC-I completion point.
He said it was quite gratifying for him to see that the Cameroon government was engaged in sustained efforts to fight corruption, and pledged the World Bank's commitment to continue supporting Cameroon in its endeavours.
However, the World Bank official said Cameroon still has a long way to go in the fight against corruption and the transparent management of public resources.He advised that efforts should be made in providing institutional and legal instruments in order to prevent corruption since prevention is better than cure.
He said the IMF and the World Bank support Cameroon's completion point under the enhanced HIPC-Initiative and will grant 100 percent debt relief to the country under the multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.
"After the HIPC-I completion point, we are also able to offer Cameroon new financial support, which I expect will be quite substantial over the next few years, will enable us to finance specific projects and that will be useful in continuing the efforts we have made in reducing poverty in this country," the official stated.
He said the World Bank would continue to advise government in specific sectors such as governance, the fight against poverty and corruption.The World Bank official said the Bank would execute more projects in Cameroon in areas of infrastructure, railways, education, capacity building, environmental management and community development.
The country Director called on the civil society to be on the full alert and make sure that projects earmarked under the HIPC-I project are well executed with a guarantee on the transparent management of public finances.
Evaluating the poverty reduction support programme by the World Bank on Cameroon, the official said they did not achieve results in three years as expected.
According to the country Director, the 125 million US dollar-project did not even go by half. This is why he contacted members of the civil society and government officials to chart the way forward in another two-year support project in Cameroon.
Asked whether the World Bank will continue to dictate as to how resources accruing from the debt relief programme will be used, the official said all projects to be executed are contained in the poverty reduction strategy paper PRSP that was drawn up by Cameroon and adopted by the Bretton Wood institution.
One of the highlights of Ali's visit was the signing of an accord of FCFA 7.7 billion with Cameroon to ensure the security and safety of air transport in the CEMAC sub-region.
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