Members of Parliament have begun meeting for the third and last ordinary session of the 2026 legislative year. The November ordinary session of Parliament, primarily devoted to the scrutiny and eventual adoption of the State budget for the coming year, opened at the National Assembly in Yaounde on Tuesday, November 10.
However, in flagrant violation of the law, the government had yet to transmit the draft State budget (Finance Bill) for 2027, together with its accompanying documents, to Parliament as required.
The law requires the government to transmit the draft Finance Bill to Parliament at least 15 days before the opening of the November budgetary session. This is to give lawmakers sufficient time to review the voluminous documents before their examination by the Budget and Finance Committee and subsequent presentation in plenary for debates and adoption.
However, this legal requirement has repeatedly been ignored, including during the session that opened today. Had the law been respected, MPs would have received the draft budget by October 26, in accordance with Law No. 2007/006 of December 26, 2007, on the Finance Regime of the State.
“It’s really an unfortunate situation that we don’t yet have copies of the bill,” said Hon. Njong Evaristus, a Member of Parliament for the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF).
It is not the first time the budget session has opened without the draft Finance Bill, as the government has repeatedly submitted the draft budget late—sometimes on the eve of or well into the parliamentary session. This forces members of the National Assembly and Senate to rush through thousands of pages of technical data within just a few days.
“It has become so recurrent,” Hon. Njong regretted.
Like Hon. Njong, Hon. Mbouangouere Rainatou, a Member of Parliament for the opposition Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU), also decried the government’s repeated violation of the law.
Despite the delay, Hon. Njong expects to see a budget that reflects the needs and expectations of Cameroonians. The opposition MP said they had submitted proposals to the government on how the budget should be drafted during the budget orientation debate held in June.
In his opening speech, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Right Hon. Theodore Datouo, acknowledged that the main business of the November parliamentary session would be the scrutiny and adoption of the State budget for the 2027 financial year. He called on lawmakers to look beyond their political leanings and sensibilities while scrutinizing the budget, as they all have the collective responsibility of serving the Nation and Cameroonians.
“As we scrutinise and vote on the State budget, let us be guided by the supreme interest of Cameroon and the expectations of our people, rather than political leanings and sensibilities,” Hon. Datouo said, without mentioning the government’s delay in submitting the draft Finance Bill.
