IMF Says Cameroon’s Indebtedness is Alarming

 

Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of Finance cum Chairman of the National Committee in charge of Public Debt, NCPD, has said that Cameroon’s public debt situation is satisfactory.
On Tuesday August 30, during the presentation ceremony of the annual report of NCPD in Yaounde, government officials told Cameroonians the national debt presently stands at 4,754 Billion FCFA, representing about 27.3% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
Government commended self for maintaining a low national debt level, basking on the fact that the amount is below a 70% ceiling set by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC.
Since CEMAC member countries have, in their sub-regional grouping agreed that no country within their bloc should allow her national debt to exceed 70% of GDP, Alamine considers a national debt of 27.3% of GDP a cause for celebration.

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However, experts of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, have continued to express worry about the alarming rate at which national debts of CEMAC member countries, Cameroon inclusive, are growing. For instance, Cameroon’s national debt as at December 2014 stood at barely 38 Billion FCFA. Within a period of 18 months, that is as at July 31, 2016, this sum had skyrocketed to 4,754 Billion FCFA.
Though Alamine attributed this sharp increase in the debt level to the numerous development projects that the government is carrying out under the three year emergency development programme as the country strives towards attaining the status of an emerging nation by 2035; at the same time trying to create more jobs for the teaming youth population, many have described the debts as uncalled for.
The IMF is worried and points out that most projects for which the government borrows money to execute are not revenue-yielding. According to the IMF, the probability is not there for the government of Cameroon to make any financial returns from such investments.
Also, the IMF insists that government financial management in Cameroon ruled by Paul Biya, 84, is not just inefficient, but corruption abounds in the entire services delivery system of the regime. As such, the IMF states, Cameroon pays over four times for projects, the amount of money that other countries spend to execute similar projects. 
The IMF said most government officials in Cameroon are reluctant, if not completely unwilling to carry out jobs unless they are sure that there are some material benefits to be derived from the execution of such projects, outside their normal salaries and accompanying allowances.
                                                                                                                          SOURCE:TCDJ