CI-NEWS

Economic shock: GICAM recommends support policies.

2020-04-05

No: 479

Economic shock: GICAM recommends support policies.

The Cameroon Employers’ Association (GICAM) says the economic shock of the corona virus outbreak on the Cameroonian economy requires the establishment of a support policy for the business sector.

The recommendation was one of the major resolutions that sanctioned the board meeting of the Cameroon Employers’ Association, GICAM. The extraordinary meeting which held on Thursday March 19, 2020 was prompted by the announced surge in Corona virus cases in Cameroon.

The president of the Board, Célestin Tawamba, on behalf of the association, “welcomes the measures taken by the Government on March 17, 2020 to strengthen the prevention system and contain the spread of the virus in our country”. The association also calls “on companies to support this response plan, in particular by respecting the restrictions laid down as well as, more generally, by strengthening occupational hygiene rules”.

However, after an assessment of the current situation of companies, the group fears the fallouts could be drastic on companies. That explains why the final communiqué which sanctioned the meeting read: “The GICAM Board of Directors expresses deep concern and worries about the repercussions already perceptible to many companies, but especially on the economy and society”.

It was due to the worries raised that the Board of Directors called not only for the urgent mobilization of all the monetary budgetary and commercial policy instruments, but also to put in place unprecedented support policies for businesses and households to win the war against the coronavirus”. The association has set up a watch unit to monitor the evolution of the situation of companies faced with the coronavirus crisis. GICAM said it will present all the concerns raised by businesses to the Government and will propose measures to support the private sector and the national economy.

The employers’ Association federates professional group and private companies. It has more than 1,000 members and works to preserve their interest.

The recent outing came just after the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA, revealed findings of the possible impact the outbreak will cause the African continent.

The Director of the Central African Sub-Regional Office, Antonio M.A. Pedro, explained that the countries to suffer most from this economic shock are crude oil exporting nations. He said when factories and businesses can’t operate in China, Europe and elsewhere, it will automatically lead to a sharp drop in oil prices. “When people lose jobs in these affected countries, the impact will also be felt, almost immediately on the African Continent,” Antonio Pedro stressed. He said the CEMAC zone may lose up to 65 billion if the outbreak persists. Though the virus didn’t originate from Africa, the continent faces a double jeopardy, underpinned in the huge dependency on export of commodities, mainly crude oil. The situation is further worsened by the “very fragile Health systems”, and the lack of means to respond to the pandemic the way other development countries have done.

Culled from Cameroon Insider

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Economic shock: GICAM recommends support policies.