Newly installed sitting during the ceremony
By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), Alamine Ousmane Mey, has urged newly appointed officials within his ministry to foster team spirit and promote solidarity in diversity.
Minister Ousmane Mey made the statement on August 11 in Yaounde, during the official installation of officials appointed in May 2025 by presidential decree. Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, and Minister of Environment, Nature Protection, and Sustainable Development Pierre Hele accompanied him.
The appointed officials include Christian Abolo Mbita (Inspector General in Charge of Evaluating the Performance of Services), Christian Arnault Emini (Director General of the Economy and Public Investment Programming), Zoutene Doufene (Director General of Planning and Regional Development) and Mohamadou Lawal (Director General of Cooperation and Regional Integration).
Your mission as a leader requires a great capacity for listening and empathy, the Minister stated. Maintain team spirit to promote solidarity in diversity. Create an inclusive atmosphere that facilitates the emergence of excellence.
Minister Ousmane Mey stressed that as leaders, they must be organised and disciplined. He added that the respect of their collaborators depends on their skills, but even more so on their integrity, honorability, and morality.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, the Minister said, borrowing an English adage. Your skills, of course, count, but your attitude and ability to have empathy for your teams will determine the respect and consideration you receive. Cultivate a sense of responsibility.
He also urged the officials to remain humble.
Make communication the main lubricant of the gears in your structure, he advised. Arm yourselves with patience, perseverance, and always be resilient. It is better to preach by example than by words. We will believe more in what you do than in what you say. Be demanding, as this seems to be the way of excellence. Avoid falling into self-sufficiency because it leads to ruin.
Commenting on the profiles of the new officials, Minister Ousmane Mey said they will need to continue demonstrating devotion, loyalty, competence, and performance. This, he noted, also requires frank, vertical, and horizontal communication.
The Minister assured the officials that they would receive support from MINEPAT and urged their collaborators to assist them in celebrating future successes together. For this, you need a strong, united, diversified, and effective team, he concluded.
Speaking shortly after their installation, the newly appointed officials thanked President Paul Biya for the confidence bestowed upon them and promised to be at the service of the people.
I am very honoured to be appointed to this strategic position, and I will do my best to boost our economy and ensure that what the President of the Republic expects from this ministry is accomplished, Abolo Mbita said.
The Director General of Cooperation and Regional Integration is charged with mobilising funding for the realisation of projects in Cameroon. With the ongoing crisis, we have rethought and developed another strategy to mobilise funding to realise our projects. We are going to undertake that mission and achieve the goals set for us by President Paul Biya, Mohamadou Lawal stated.
Appointed through Presidential Decree No. 2025/209 on May 19, 2025, Christian Abolo Mbita previously served as Technical Advisor No. 2. Christian Arnault Emini was appointed after serving as Chargé de Mission in the Secretary General’s Office at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Zoutene Doufene, a Civil Engineer, was formerly the Director of Regional Development and Support Infrastructure, while Mohamadou Lawal, a Senior Labour Social Security Administrator, previously held the position of Head of the Division of Cooperation with the Islamic World.
During the ceremony, the Minister also recognised those who have retired or been called to other duties.