The official presentation of the Code of Good Governance for companies in Cameroon and Central Africa, drafted by the Groupement interpatronal du Cameroun (Gicam), AFD and Proparco, is scheduled for Friday 31 March in Douala.

This document was previously adopted by the Board of Directors of Gicam during its session of January 20, 2023. For this body of employers, this code is above all a real reference framework, which pursues a well-determined objective.

The new code is based on a partnership agreement signed in 2021 between the task force called “Initiative Bonne Gouvernance d’Entreprises” (IBGE), chaired by Jacques Jonathan Nyemb, a business lawyer and member of the Gicam board of directors, and Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group dedicated to the private sector

“In view of recent developments in the field of governance, both nationally (regulatory texts governing public companies, Gicam’s commitment in its 2018 corporate governance declaration) and internationally (new OECD guidelines, ISO 26000, 37001 and 900 standards, etc.), it is crucial for companies to be able to take advantage of the new governance framework. ), it is crucial for Cameroonian companies, through Gicam, to have an effective self-regulation tool, to serve their performance alongside the regulations in force, considering both international standards and the local context,” said Christophe Guilhou, former French Ambassador to Cameroon on the importance of developing a Code of good corporate governance.

Afd and Proparco justify the partnership with Gicam by the weak framework of corporate governance in Cameroon and Central Africa, despite the existence of Ohada law and the Uniform Act on Commercial Companies, the law of July 2017 on the status of public companies in Cameroon and the related application decrees of June 2019, which allow for the renovation of the governance framework in force, with details on the modalities of exercising supervision, the functioning of the deliberative bodies and management, the management of personnel or the remuneration and other benefits of their managers. It should be added that for almost 10 years, Proparco has been supporting its partners in the implementation of good governance tools and processes through a centre of expertise.

According to the daily eco matin, several stages preceded the final draft of this Code: pre-diagnosis, adoption-promotion, diagnosis, and drafting. “The first code of its kind in Central Africa, it will promote a favorable business environment, and give companies, from family smes to multinationals, through public companies, a reference framework in this area,” said Celestin Tawamba, President of Gicam. The drafting of the Code of Good Corporate Governance benefited from the technical support of the international firm Nestor Advisors, and the financial participation of Proparco and the AFD.