Central Africa Forests : Ministers Discuss Finances, Staff Recruitment

A new management team is expected to take up office in the Central Africa Forest Commission, COMIFAC Secretariat in Yaounde, Cameroon by the beginning of May 2021. It was in this light that an extraordinary COMIFAC Council of Ministers’ Meeting by video conference held on April 15, 2021 under the chair of Jules Doret Ndongo, Cameroon’s Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, and current Chair of the Central African Forest Commission. 
The meeting followed a previous one held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on December 10, 2020. According to Minister Jules Doret Ndongo, the meeting was called to approve the recruitment of new senior staff for COMIFAC Secretariat. These are the Executive Secretary, Deputy Executive Secretary and Director of Finance and Administration. Vacancy announcements were published on December 15, 2020 with deadline on January 29, 2021. A consultancy firm, Afric-Search, based in Lome, Togo, was contracted to carry out the recruitment after an international tender.
Also discussed during the video conference meeting was the financial situation of COMIFAC. “As at this date, COMIFAC Secretariat has a debt burden of 366.3 million FCFA. With 301.3 million FCFA being unpaid staff salaries and consultants’ honorarium; 34.9 million FCFA owed suppliers and contractors, and 30.02 million FCFA being o...