YAOUNDE, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The integration of the member states of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) should be done at the grassroots level in order to ensure that the idea is not limited to the level of policy makers, a senior political scientist has said.

    Speaking Wednesday on the sidelines of the 9th summit of the regional grouping, Cameroonian political scientist Jean Emmanuel Pondi said that there was need for deliberate efforts to ensure that the common people were not alienated in the push for economic integration.

    "The political will is there, but we need to demonstrate this more and not just at this level. It is important to have structures that facilitate integration while ensuring that the people are able to take advantage of the same," said Pondi.

    "We cannot afford to let the common man feel alienated from the whole process," Pondi, who heads the Department of International Politics at the Cameroon Institute of International Relations (IRIC), said in an interview with the Cameroonian national radio.

    There are many milestones to be marked, said the political analyst, adding that this could be made possible through the establishment of "infrastructure such as integration roads, establishment of multinational corporations and community media houses broadcasting information on the cultures of CEMAC countries."

    "We should deplore the fact that there are no CEMAC multinationals, because for this, we need to have industries across the CEMAC zone. Not only multinationals, but companies that are spur integration. I sincerely believe that this is lacking," said the Cameroonian.

    "It is also regrettable that there are no media in the sub-region that relay daily news about each of the countries in the sub-region so that we can live in symbiosis with all the other countries," he said.

    "No matter how much we try to accelerate trade and culture, as long as these instruments and other ideas do not exist, it is difficult to create the feeling of a CEMAC nationality," said the political scientist.

    The BMD system (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate), which allows the citizen of one CEMAC member state to pursue his studies in another country, was cited by Cameroonian political scientist as a good example of how practical measures could deepen integration within the sub-region.

    "This facilitates interaction and creation of a great mix between elite during training and this may lead to the birth of a CEMAC spirit and consciousness with regard to belonging to a sub-region," said Pondi.

    In his remarks, the political scientist also took time to stress that the 9th summit of the Conference of Heads of States and Governments of the CEMAC zone was taking place at a moment when "Africa is generally coveted."

    "We have seen summits between Africa and India, Africa and China, Africa and Japan, Africa and the European Union, between Africa and virtually all the major entities," said Pondi, adding: "Africa in general and in particular the Central African region are coveted."

    "I think that this summit cannot remain indifferent... It is illusory to think today that a single country in the sub-region can have an impact on the global economy. The countries of the CEMAC can have more influence by coming together," added the political scientist.