One day into his visit to Cameroon the French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs is harvesting healthy yields for his French compatriot and multi-billionaire Vincent Boleré.
The diplomat met with president Paul Biya at state house yesterday. Today, the secretary general at the presidency signed an order relating to the concessions of the Douala port container terminal.
Boloré APM Terminals had been excluded from the list of companies shortlisted for an international bid.
Boloré-APM Terminals, is the platform’s current operator and her concession contact ends in December 2019. The company had however bidded for a contract renewal.
The matter is now before the administrative court.
With the order of the secretary general at the presidency (on the high instructions of the head of state) suspending the signing of a new contract means that Boloré will no longer go away.
A Swiss company, Terminal Investment Ltd. was poised to takeover from Boloré but it’s contact that was about to be finalised has now been suspended by the president.
For many commentators, French soft power could be in motion. The visiting French minister was not shy to announce yesterday that French cooperation with Cameroon will speed up henceforth.
At a time when Cameroon has been striking big deals with China and now Russia, the French appear to have been jolted into action to depend her spikes in to the African country.
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