By Amindeh Blaise Atabong
YAOUNDE (Reuters) -Cameroon’s finance minister has been authorised to borrow up to 930 billion CFA francs ($1.67 billion) in domestic and external loans to finance development projects and settle arrears, according to a presidential decree.
The funding will be raised through a mix of market instruments, including 350 billion CFA francs from domestic treasury bond issues, 250 billion CFA francs from domestic private lenders, and 330 billion CFA francs from international banking institutions, the decree said.
Cameroon has been facing a slow disbursement of external financing and experiencing delays in revenue mobilisation, notably non-oil tax collection deficits.
“The decision signals market confidence, boosts liquidity and maintains debt sustainability within CEMAC norms, reinforcing Cameroon’s commitment to macroeconomic stability and structural reform continuity,” said Kelly Mua Kingsly, head of finance operations at the finance ministry.
Cameroon, Central Africa’s largest economy with major sectors in oil and gas, cocoa and timber, has recently stepped up borrowing to plug budget shortfalls and fund infrastructure.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund warned that the country was at high risk of debt distress, though it said debt remains sustainable.
Public debt stood at 43% of GDP as of June 2025, according to Cameroon’s debt management body, the Autonomous Sinking Fund, below the 70% threshold set by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
But analysts warn that the country’s rising reliance on borrowing and inefficiencies in debt management could increase vulnerability to shocks.
“The effectiveness greatly depends on the use of borrowed funds. In the case of Cameroon, a significant envelope remains idle, a symptom of a governance or strategic planning deficit,” said Haiwang Djamo Ferdinand, an economic policy analyst at the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute in the capital Yaounde.
The government did not immediately disclose which projects would be financed.
Cameroon has recently relied on domestic and external borrowing to bridge budget deficits.
($1 = 558.0000 CFA francs)
(Editing by Ayen Deng Bior and Mark Heinrich)
