By Mua Patrick Mughe in Yaounde
The International Monetary Fund, IMF has cautioned
Cameroon to refrain from new
non-concessional borrowing.
The
deputy managing director of the Bretton Woods Institution, Mitsuhiro Furusawa gave the words of caution to Cameroonian authorities
last Friday at the end of an official visit to the country.
 |
| IMF deputy Director General |
In a statement published at the end of his visit to
Cameroon, the IMF deputy boss revealed that “we discussed a range of policy
options available for the authorities to complete ongoing infrastructure
projects, address bottlenecks in project preparation that have led to a large
stock of contracted but undisbursed loans and refrain from new non-concessional
borrowing.”
He said a strong ownership and steadfast
implementation of the Cameroon’s economic reform program—supported by the IMF’s
Extended Credit Facility—will be essential to the country’s success, as well as
to maintaining the stability of the CFA franc peg.
“I noted that accelerated implementation of
structural reforms to improve governance and the business environment will be
key to enhance the economy’s resilience to future shocks and unlock Cameroon’s
growth potential” he said in a statement Friday.
He said “My visit to Cameroon has been very
helpful. I wish to thank the Cameroonian authorities for meeting with me to
discuss their country’s economic prospects. I particularly thank Prime Minister
Philémon Yang, Finance Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey, Economy Minister Louis
Paul Motazé and Governor Abbas Tolli of the Bank of Central African States for
our fruitful discussions. During my visit, I had the pleasure to meet various
stakeholders in Yaoundé including civil society and private sector
representatives and addressing members of the National Assembly and the Senate."
“I commended the Cameroonian authorities for their
leadership in addressing the challenges facing Cameroon and the Economic and
Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC). Cameroon is CEMAC’s
largest economy and it has played a central role in the coordinated efforts to
maintain regional stability that led to the IMF Executive Board’s recent
approval of financial support for economic reform programs in Gabon, Cameroon
and Chad” he added.
Mitsuhiro said further that“In my meetings with the
authorities, we discussed how to maintain economic stability while making the
transition towards more inclusive and sustainable higher growth. The country
must continue to deal with the significant challenges presented by lower oil
prices, reduced demand from emerging markets, and tighter global financial
conditions. Security challenges from neighbouring countries—particularly the
Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad basin, are adding to the burden. This
has led to sharply lower export earnings and government revenues as well as
higher government expenditure. Poverty, inequality, and unemployment levels
remain high."
“I would
like to thank the Government and people of Cameroon for their welcome and warm
hospitality. The Fund looks forward to continuing its strong partnership with
the government and supporting its ambitious reform program not only through
financing, but also through policy advice and a comprehensive capacity development
strategy” He also said.
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