First Major Micro Finance Institution Created By Sons Of The South Region, United Forest Finance, Finally Goes Operational

A big controversy sparked off last year, when a leaked document exposed the names of elites of the South Region that were working to create the micro finance.

The controversy came from the fact that some GMs of public corporations and senior civil servants, were at the forefront of the project  

A project by an association of some elite of the South Region known as ‘Patronat Sud’, to create a Category 2 Micro Finance Institution, or what is commonly known in the Anglophone Regions as Credit Union, has finally materialized, with the legalization of the micro finance known as, United Forest Finance, UFF.  The creation of the micro finance, United Forest Finance, which more so takes off as a Category 2 micro finance institution is definitely a great achievement by a group of elite of the South Region, for their region and people.

It is also interesting that ‘Patronat Sud’ decided to give an English name to the micro finance.  As for the name itself, the South Region is a forest zone, and that is probably the reason for the name, United Forest Finance.

It should be noted that Patronat in French is an association of employers, job creators, that is, economic operators that create jobs. That is why the business cartel, GECAM (former GICAM), is known as ‘Patronat du Camerooun’ .  So ‘Patronat  Sud’ that  has  created  the micro finance, is supposed to  be an association of economic operators of the  South Region that create jobs, that are employers.

Management Team

Meanwhile the President of ‘Patronat Sud’, Daniel Claude Abate, is the Board Chair of United Forest Finance. The Pioneer General Manager of United Forest Finance is Lucien Piado, while the Deputy General Manager is Sandrine Djummo Tuedem.  The General Manager and Deputy are both members of ‘Patronat Sud’, which created the micro finance.  The headquarters of the Category 2 micro finance, United Forest Finance, is in Kribi, Ocean Division of the South Region. It should be noted that with the coming of the Kribi Seaport, Kribi is indisputably today the chief economic town in  the South Region.

The Controversy That Sparked Off Last Year

Information about the association, ‘Patronat Sud’, and its project to create a Category 2 micro finance, was contained in a document that was signed by the President of the association on April 30, 2023, and which was apparently meant for a restricted milieu.  But the document along the line leaked to France based whistle blower, Boris Bertolt, who posted it on the social media. It was a list of members of a committee designated by ‘Patronat Sud’ to put in place the micro finance. It was titled: “Decision No. 01/PSUD of April 2023 on the designation of members of a committee to put in place a Category 2 Micro Finance of PATRONAT SUD” (my own rough translation).

Members of the Committee are as follows:

PRESIDENT: Daniel Claude ABATE.

VCE PRESIDENTS: Patrice MELOM, Alain Olivier MeKULU, Cyril Edou ALO’O,  Philemon Zoo ZAME,  Andre Caroline MEBANDE , Daniel Olle OLLE, Bonaventure MVONDO ASSAM,, Martin Bile BIDJANG, Alain  Ngondi OWONA, Elissar Mbang EKOUTOU, Joel MONEFONG.

TECHNICAL ADVISERS: – Valentin Mbozo’o, Lucien Piado, Jean .Ebe – Evina, Sandrine Djummo.

MOBILISATION OF DIASPORA AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS: Martin Bile Bidjang (Asia), Jocelyne Essam (Europe), Daniel Mendjo  Me Ze (USA).

COMMUNICATION:  Rawul  Simplice Minko, Thierry Ekoutou, Bertrand  Nkoa.

SECRETARIES: Marie Y. Ekoutou, Me Francis Ebiang’ne.

MEMBERS : Constant  Metou’ou, Pauline Ndoumou, Jean Paul Mbia, Francis Abessolo, Elise  Meka, Daniel Medou, Tim  Zo’onyaba, Angeline Akoa,  Marie Therese Abenkou.

Why The Controversy?

The popular France based Cameroonian whistle blower, Boris Bertolt, for example pointed out. and also questioned: ”On  peut constater qu’y figure des functionaires de l’Etat  ou encore des  directeur genereux. Ou ont ils pris l’argent?”.  That is, he pointed out that the list of members of the committee featured senior civil servants and even General Managers of State Corporations. He questioned the sources of the money to create the micro finance.

There were three names of Vice Presidents of the committee, created by ‘Patronat Sub.’ to work to set up the micro finance that caught a lot of attention. These included PATRICE MELOM who is the General Manager of the Port Authority of Kribi, ALAIN OLIVIER MEKULU, who is the Managing Director of the National Social Insurance Fund commonly known as CNPS, and CYRILLE EDOU ALO’O, who is the Director of Budget in the Ministry of Finance.

As for the President of the Committee, Daniel Claude Abate, who is also President of Patronat Sud, he presents himself as the President of an association of economic operators in Cameroon known as, ‘Mouvement des Enterprises du Cameroun’  MECAM (Movement of Cameroon  Enterprises).  But for over 15 years that Abate has been passing around for the President of MECAM, no meeting of the association’s general assembly has ever been held.  The fact of the matter is that MECAM is a Government creation, that is used for Government propaganda; to do what a real organization of economic operators like GECAM, cannot accept to do. That is why only CRTV invites Abate as President of MECAM.

The Angry Reaction Of The President Of ‘Patronat Sud’.

Meanwhile following the strong criticisms that were made on social media about some members of the committee designated by Patronat  Sud to set up a micro finance  in the South Region, Daniel Cluade Abate, who instead presented himself as President of MECAM, came out with a lengthy reaction posted on the social media, accusing the critics of what he termed disinformation. He lashed out at what he further termed sterile and negative criticisms.

Abate said Cameroon has over 400 micro finance institutions, with over 100 of them based on the same socio –economic model projected by Patronat Sud in its micro finance project. “Thus we are not inventing anything new. There is nothing particular about our project. Where is thus the scandal! Which Law or Republican principle discriminates against us, or bans us (elite of the South) from putting at the service of our population and small economic operators, a micro finance!”, Abate fumed.

“The Population Of Towns And Villages In The South Region, Need The Micro Finance”

  The President of Patronat Sud asserted that there are currently over 400 micro finance institutions in Cameroon, and that that only six have branches in the South Region, and more so only one of the six is in Category 2. “So why all the noise about a micro finance project in the South?”, he questioned.  He stressed that the population, both in towns and villages, of the South, need the micro finance that ‘Patronat Sud ‘was setting up.  He said as long as ‘Patronat du Sud’ met up with the conditions set by the Ministry of Finance and COBAC to create a micro finance, the association did not need the appreciation or approval of whosoever to go ahead with their project.

Abate said  the negative criticisms on the social media only made them more determined to see the micro finance project succeed, and  that the people of the South Region were proud of their elite.

But The President Of ‘Patronat Sud’ Evaded The Real issue

But the President of ‘Patronat Sud’ in his reaction evaded the real issue that sparked off the controversy over the micro finance project.  Nobody said that a group of elite from the South Region did not have the right to set up a micro finance or even a commercial bank.  As The Mentor pointed out earlier, the problem was with a particular category of elites that were involved, or better still were at the forefront of the micro finance project in the South Region. That is, the General Managers of State companies and Directors in the Public Service. That was the problem.  It was not because those personalities or elites hailed from the South Region.  NO.

Also, there is supposedly a text in this country that prohibits public servants from doing business.  It is true that there are in reality many ‘big men’ from the nine other regions, in the public service,  State corporations or State owned companies, that are involved in different forms of economic activities. But they do it secretly. Many don’t even use their names.