Cameroon:MINFI Failed to Implement three out of Eight IMF Reforms for 2021-2024 Fiscal year

MINFI Failed to Implement three out  of the Eight Frameworks of the 2021-2024 Economic and Financial Program with IMF.

Cameroon failed to implement three of the eight structural reforms expected between July and December 2021, in the framework of the 2021-2024 economic and financial program with the IMF. This is the conclusion of the first review of the program carried out on December 2-16, 2021. 

During the annual conference of heads of central, decentralized, and external services of the Ministry of Finance held on February 25, 2022, in Yaounde, Jean Tchoffo, president of the technical commission in charge of supervising economic programs, listed the failed reforms.  

According to the official, Cameroon failed to review its tax policy for possible recommendations on the development of a new tax system and expansion of the tax base. It also failed to audit the public payment arrears and clear the arrears certified by that audit. It has also not carried out a diagnostic assessment of some large public enterprises (Camtel, Port Authority of Douala, Camwater, etc).  

Furthermore, authorities have not audited the debt the state owes public firms and the ones public enterprises owe one another. No plan was also adopted for the settlement of those debts. In addition, the Deposits and Consignments Fund was not operationalized.  

Also, the domestic payment arrears target was exceeded (XAF73 billion) as well as the maximum direct interventions (direct fund releases) by the National Hydrocarbons Company (XAF8 billion). The volume of expenditures carried out following special measures also exceeded the authorized threshold (XAF6 billion). 

For all those reasons, the IMF considers Cameroon's overall performance in the framework of that program to be “mixed” with “slow” progress on structural reforms. Despite those shortfalls, the IMF has authorized the disbursement of $116 million (a little over XAF67 billion) to the country, without explaining why. Those resources bring the total disbursements under the arrangements to $293.2 million (XAF170.3 billion).

The IMF approved the three-year arrangements under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on July 29, 2021, in Washington. The arrangements entitle Cameroon to $689.5 million (XAF375 billion) support over three years (2021-2024).