(Business in Cameroon) - Minister of Housing (MINHDU) Célestine Ketcha Courtès recently issued a call for tenders for feasibility studies in the framework of a project to elaborate a digital addressing system in Youandé.

The selected firm will assess the coverage and accuracy of the addressing tools used in the Urban Community of Douala. The study is scheduled to last four months and interested parties can submit their offers by October 1, 2021.

Let’s note that the coverage and accuracy assessment part is just the first phase of a larger project. As the tender call reveals, ultimately, the selected firm will submit the feasibility studies for a digital platform allowing cooperation between the general directorate of taxation, the general directorate of the treasury, and the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) to optimize the collection of direct revenues and pinpoint taxpayers’ location through the digital addressing system.

Indeed in Cameroon, despite the recent addressing initiatives, bars, dumping sites, shops, and junctions are still used as the conventional addressing methods, even in urban areas. This complicates efforts to locate houses and businesses. As a result, the tax collection system is not as efficient as it should be. According to the Ministry of Finance, the country’s tax base is currently narrow because most businesses operate informally (close to 45% of the GDP generates less than 5% of tax revenues).

Hence, the digital platform suggested will help improve the management of tax collections as well as road and various networks’ construction works. It will also boost the number of taxpayers (estimated at 140,000 at end-April 2021).

Sylvain Andzongo