Country Trading Profiles Cameroon

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power: The President is the chief of the state and holds the executive powers. The President is also the head of the armed forces. He is elected by popular vote for a seven-year term . He appoints the Prime Minister (who is the head of the government) and the Cabinet. The President has the power to dissolve the National Assembly and declare by decree a state of emergency which shall confer upon him special powers.
Legislative Power: The legislature is unicameral. The members of the parliament (called National Assembly) are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms. The President can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature elections. The constitution of the country calls for an upper chamber for the legislature (Senate) but it has not yet been ( as of 2006) formed. The main responsibility of the National Assembly is to pass laws, but rarely has it changed any laws or blocked the passing of a legislation. The political rights of the people of Cameroon are very much limited.
Main political parties: RDCP (Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People), SDF (Social Democratic Front), UDC (Cameroonian Democratic Union), UPC (Union of Cameroonian People), UNDP (National Union for Democracy and Progress)
Current political leaders: President: Paul BIYA (since 6th November 1982, re-elected several times, the latest in Oct 2004) – RDCP
Prime Minister: Ephraim INONI (since December 2004) - RDCP
Next election dates: Presidential: October 2011
National Assembly: July 2012

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: A certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is required for all travelers aged more than one year. The risk of of malaria, principally under the malignant form of P. falciparum exists throughout the year in the country. It is resistant to chloroquine and sulfadoxinepyrimethamine. Preventive medicine recommended: MEF.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Specialized website on health, city by city, for travelers.
For further information on safety conditions: Recommendations from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Canada
Recommendations from the American State Department
Contact your Embassy: Embassy of Greece in Cameroon
BP 82
Yaounde
Phone: (00237) 2210195
Fax: 220 3936 or 2210195
ambgrece@camnet.cm

Emergency numbers

Police	117
Police Station	113
Fire Brigade	118
Emergency hospitalization	119

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Yaounde (GMT+1 )
Summer time period: There is a 1 hour time-lag in summer. No time-lag in winter.

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: Sahelian in the North while it is tropical and humid in the South, thus a lot of climatic differences depending on the region. Frequent rains in the South (except in December - March and June - August) which are rarer as one travels northwards. January - February is a good period to visit. Take light clothes and something to protect from the rain in the rainy season. It is advised to wear a woolens at high altitude places.

For further information: National Meteorology of Cameroon

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

To find an accommodation: Directory of real-estate agencies in Cameroon
To find an apartment: NDS Immobilier. RICHARD NDEMBA ESSOUNGOU.
BLVD NLONGKAK FACE POSTE YAOUNDE
187 Yaounde
La Nouvelle Immobiliere SARL (Public Limited Compnay).
ANNE MARIE NTAP
Bp 7619. 2711 Douala

Renting of different types of apartments in Cameroon.
To find a job: Transport and Logistic jobs in Cameroon
Offers and applications for employment in Cameroon
Offers and applications for employment in Central Africa

Communications

Telephone codes: To make a call from Cameroon to Greece: dial 00 (or +) 30
To make a call to in Cameroon from Greece: dial 00 (or +) +237
Mobile telephone standards: Cameroon is the most expensive African country with respect to mobile telephony. There is a big craze for this technology among Cameroonians.
Internet suffix: .cm

COUNTRY TRADING PROFILES

General Information

Political outline

Living conditions

Health and safety

Emergency numbers

Time difference and climate

Map of the time zone

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

Communications