MINFI:

Alamine Mey & Elung Paul: The unbeatable duo!
Perhaps the two most efficient, prescient, competent and transparent ministers appointed so far by President Paul Biya to head MINFI are Alamine Ousmane Mey and Elung Paul Che. Not only are they exemplary technocrats worth their salt, they have the propensity to do honest hard work meant to selflessly advance the nation.  
By Douglas A. Achingale in Yaounde
Every ministry in Cameroon, just as in any other country in the globe, has particular missions which are assigned to them to perform. The accomplished missions of all the ministries put together are what enable the country to raise its head above water and continue its forward march in the battle of development.
    However, there are missions and there are missions. It is an open secret that the missions assigned to the ministry of Finance (MINFI) are special, given their direct concern with the raising and management of the money that every other ministry and the country as a whole need to survive. Otherwise put, MINFI is the livewire of the Cameroon nation. If the country were a human body and the ministries the body parts, then MINFI would undoubtedly be the lungs.
It is because of the strategic importance of MINFI that the ministry has been made to have not only two Ministers but also Directors General to head its Technical Departments; viz, Taxation, Treasury, Budget and Customs.
    Over the years, President Paul Biya has been overly punctilious in choosing the ministers to man this important “money house.” We have seen very efficacious and workaholic ministers come and go – ministers whose unalloyed efforts at serving the state earned them surpassing commendation from the wide public.
    Of course, we have also seen one or two of them who thrived in financial rascality. It was clear to Cameroonians that somehow the President blundered to appoint such giant rats to guard the precious sacs of palatable groundnuts which our nation most badly needs.


The ministers’ magic wand
    Perhaps the two most efficient, prescient, competent and transparent ministers to head MINFI in the Biya administration, this far, are Alamine Ousmane Mey and Elung Paul Che. The former, a seasoned financial expert, had been at the helm for a couple of years before the latter came. And the strides he made to put the hitherto corrupt and money-losing ministry back on the right track were simply extraordinary. I should have rather said they are extraordinary because the strides, which are now those of perfection, are still ongoing.
    Alamine’s success in transforming MINFI into a place to be is, owing in great part, to his unparalleled financial expertise. Having been trained in this field and having one of the most successful banking institutions in the country for many years, he masters figures and financial planning to his finger tips.
    However, no matter how much of an aficionado you may be in a particular area, you would squirm in murky waters if dishonesty is your forte. Therefore the minister’s greatest assets are not necessarily his grounding in his area of specialization but rather his level headedness and propensity to do honest work. He is a man who loves to be judged not by his words but by his actions. 
    It was by no accident that Elung Paul, for his part, was appointed Minister Delegate in this ministry. For, this is a man who does not only master the house but whose wizardry in financial matters knows no bounds. Right from his days as student in the Treasury Section of ENAM, it was undoubtedly clear that he would clothe himself in spangles of success. To have emerged as overall first (“major”) of his batch in this institution was no trifling matter.
    Then when he began his professional career, he sailed through many of the basic and strategic offices that fuelled his professional savvy, and rose meteorically to the rank of DG of Treasury and as comptroller at the Bank of Central African States, BEAC, with his signature appearing on CFA banknotes. The icing on the cake was the edifying training he received in Public Administration at the famous Harvard University, after which he landed the top job of DG of CSPH.
    Such an intimidating profile would not be possible if one exhibited jejune qualities. Paulo, as his pals call him, has been most inspirational and exemplary at work. No human endeavour is perfect, but if you visit his records you are very likely to see traces of perfection tinged with deliberate but futile attempts by malefic detractors to pull him down.
    What else have we of The Median to say except that it is fulfilling and exhilarating to see these two young technocrats working together for the advancement of our nation? At a time when emergence by 2035 is the singsong on every lip, there is no question that with their experience, expertise and goodwill, and with the proficient team of collaborators they have in place, the duo can go a long way to propel this ambition to an appreciable level.