THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
# PUBLIC CONTRACTS CODE
COLLECTION ESSENTIALS OF THE REFORM
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
# Contents
P.6 Public contract authority
P.8 Awarding public contracts
P.12 Execution of public contracts
P.16 External control of public contracts
P.18 Governance in public contracts
About the collection "Essentials"
The Collection "les Essentiels de la réforme" is dedicated to spreading the spirit of the laws and regulations taken within the framework of the public finance reform of Cameroon. It aims to ensure better information for all audiences, in the interest of transparency.
# Foreword
Pursuant to decree No. 2018/366 of 20 June 2018, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya, endowed the public contract sector with a new code, which repeals that of 2004, previously in force. This instrument is in line with the reform initiated in 2011, marked in particular by the return to government level of a ministry in charge of public contracts and is part of the adjustments that have become indispensable since then.
This new regulation is the result of the alignment of the Cameroonian public contract system with internationally recognised principles, rules and practices. The revised code is a modern management tool, contributing to the achievement of the performance objectives assigned to the public contract sector, an important lever through which the State acquires goods and services to meet the needs of the general interest.
Among the major innovations, the new code clearly and precisely defines the responsibilities and proceeds to a clear separation of the attributions of the major actors in the public contract process, including those in charge of awarding and internal control, external control, regulation and appeals management.
The new code consolidates the status of the Public Contract Authority and puts an end to the controversy that arose following the 2011 reform.
Owing to the establishment of new bodies: - Internal Structures for the Administrative Management of Public Contracts (SIGAMP), - Central Contract Control Commissions (CCCM), - Committee for the Examination of Appeals Resulting from Public Contracts (CER), Project Owners and Delegated Project Owners can now award all the contracts they initiate without any limit on the number of years, while Governors and Prefects emerge as Delegated Project Owners, with the power to award and sign contracts financed by funds delegated by a Project Owner.
The new types of contracts instituted and the new procedures linked to them constitute an enrichment of the field of public contract with the capitalisation of certain specific services and procedures.
Submission to the public order is now open to corporate bodies governed by public law and to certain actors, both in the private sector and in civil society, who were previously excluded.
The speed of contract procedures has also been improved by reducing the time required and eliminating the stage of examining draft contracts.