(Business in Cameroon) - Lu Fuqig, chief executive officer, Cameroon First automobile Manufacture Co Ltd, the country’s first automobile factory says the company would have taken off before now but for government’s laxity.

“The working speed is not satisfactory to us. During our last visit in mid-April, we alongside representatives of our technical partners, held a big meeting with different ministries and we are still waiting. We are waiting for the operation agreement with the government of Cameroon,” Lu Fuqig said in Yaoundé last Friday June 28.

Estimated at 10.084 billion francs CFA, the car factory is a joint venture with the government of China to give 70 per cent and that of Cameroon 30 percent.

Star of Africa, according to the CEO is the brand name of the cars to be produced by this company and would use the technology of “Brilliance Auto China.”

“We have already signed a memorandum of understanding with Brilliance and other different automobile companies in China,” Fuqig said.

Since meeting the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya in mid-April, the Chinese manufacturer has been carrying out analysis and research.

“For example, what king of product is preferred in Cameroon and what kind of technical support should be made and also how much the selling price would be better for the population,” the CEO explained.

For a start, parts would be fabricated in China and the vehicles assembled in Cameroon. Later, according to Lu Fuqing, his company will lure Chinese auto-part manufacturing factories to locate in Cameroon to produce the parts on the spot.

Political stability of the country and the rapid economic growth of Cameroon, jointly attracted the Chinese car manufacturer to the country, noted the CEO of Cameroon First Automobile Manufacture Co Ltd.

For its market, the company targets central Africa, then the West, South and East Africa in the future.

“90 per cent of the cars in the country are used, which means safety by driving cannot be guaranteed. Also, it causes air pollution and more fuel is consumed. We want to produce cars that are adaptable to the context and environment of the country.”

Like, motorbikes from China, Cameroonians are already skeptical about the durability of cars from the Asian nation. “It’s true that the cars like most Chinese products would be cheap but they will not last,” Ben Ngwe, a resident of Yaoundé worries.