The President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, ratified the agreement establishing the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) on April 13, 2018 in the presence of his cabinet. Cameroon is the 25th member state to ratify the treaty.
The bill authorizing President Biya to ratify the agreement was introduced in the Senate, under the chairmanship of Senate Speaker Marcel Niat Njifenji, after the country’s National Assembly adopted the proposed statute. After the 100 members of the Upper House voted in favor of the bill on March 15, 2018, it was forwarded to the President for ratification.
Cameroon has a long-standing cooperation with the ALSF, which has launched and completed several large-scale projects in the country. It has helped the government develop the Nachtigal Hydropower Project, a 420-megawatt strategic facility and the largest energy project in the country, which is expected to be commissioned in 2020. By adding this new source of clean, renewable energy to the grid. full expansion of the country, Cameroon can meet the growing needs of its population.
The ratification of the ALSF treaty was motivated by the recognition by Cameroon of the added value of its interventions and by the growing need to strengthen and improve the legal capacity of the country. ALSF provides services to regional member countries and non-members, but Cameroon will benefit from closer collaboration with ALSF and will maintain broad access to its capacity building events, knowledge products and legal expertise.