Cameroon’s debt rises to FCFA 3,811 billion in 2014-2015

Cameroon’s current public debt rose to 3,811 billion FCFA by June 2015, revealed the Autonomous Amortization Fund (CAA), in its latest statistical bulletin.

This debt represents 23.4% of Cameroon’s GDP, hence way less than the 70% of GDP standard used in the CEMAC.

However, comparing these statistics to last year’s first quarter, CAA stated that Cameroon’s public debt had attained 28.8% since it was only 2,968 billion FCFA in June 2014, thus 19.5% of the country’s GDP.

According to the IMF which has expressed worry concerning the increasing growth rate of debt over the last 3 years, mainly caused by the fact that the largest part of this debt non-concessional, the country’s debt growth is exactly as it should. This means that it will reach 38% of GDP in 2019 (as forecast).

“Cameroon’s debt remains low, mainly due to the important relief from 2006, but it is now rapidly growing. The debt sustainability analysis shows a risk level associated to the external debt which passed from “low” to “moderate”, due to the actual increase of undefined external debt. However, actual trends suggest that Cameroon’s overall public debt should double its percentage of PIB between 2012 and 2019,” revealed the Bretton Wood Institution in 2014, after an evaluation mission.

This forecast is within the range of the possible considering all the significant projects which require equally important funding. It is his consideration of these projects that pushed the Cameroonian president to scale down the country’s debt level for 2015 to 1,700 billion FCFA including an incoming 650 billion FCFA – Eurobond.