The Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB) of the Lake Chad Region Recovery and Development Project (PROLAC) for the year 2023 was adopted on Monday 6 February at the 2nd ordinary session of the PROLAC National Steering Committee. This meeting was chaired by the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Chairman of the Committee. MIDJIYAWA BAKARI, Governor of the Far-North Region and Chairman of the Steering Committee, assisted the Minister. This second session enable members of the National Steering Committee to assess the physical and financial achievements of the Lake Chad Region Recovery and Development Project, and to evaluate the reports of the Technical Follow-up Committee, the project implementation manuals, the 2022 activity report and the 2023 Annual Work Plan and Budget.

At the end of varied and successful deliberations, the Committee validated the documents submitted and adopted the Annual Work Plan and Budget of PROLAC for 2023. There is a rise in budget, which moves from 6 billion CFAF in 2022 to 16,000,261,993 billion CFAF in 2023. PROLAC was commended for a positive balance sheet in 2022. Indeed, numerous actions were carried out in certain areas including knowledge production for the development of the Lake Chad Basin, civic engagement and social cohesion, infrastructure, agriculture and support to local producers. PROLAC is a sub-regional initiative that involves four countries: Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad. The Cameroon component is jointly funded by the Government and the World Bank to the tune of 60 billion USD or about 35.94 billion CFAF. This project aims to revive the Lake Chad region by enhancing regional coordination, connectivity and agricultural livelihoods of people living in the Lake Chad Basin. The above-mentioned funding shall specifically enable: the rehabilitation of 314 km of earth roads, the construction of 16 water retention basins using the high intensity labour method, reforestation through the planting of 690,000 trees and the restoration of degraded soils, the construction of landing stages and conservation infrastructures to facilitate fishing activities, the granting of about100 research scholarships to students and researchers, and the creation of numerous direct and indirect jobs impacting more than 300,000 people.
According to Mr Alamine OUSMANE MEY, the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, PROLAC is part of the Special Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the Far-north Region, as instructed by His Excellency Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon. The chairperson of the steering committee equally called for the attention of the project management team to take into consideration structural aspects related to the phenomenon of floods, the need for rapid restoration of connectivity and the likely impact of inflation on the quantities of deliverables during the overall execution of the project. In the words of the Chairperson of the Steering Committee, determination and capacity to leverage these new challenges are the core assets needed to maintain impetus for socio-economic recovery in PROLAC’s area of intervention.
15