SERVICES DU PREMIER MINISTRE SECRETARIAT GENERAL REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN Paix-Travail-Patrie
# PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWING THE CABINET MEETING OF THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2017
Yaounde, 28 September 2017
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, His Excellency Philemon YANG, this Thursday 28 September 2017 chaired a Cabinet Meeting for the current month at 9 am at the main building of the Prime Minister’s Office. The meeting was attended by Ministers of State, Ministers, Ministers Delegate and Secretaries of State.
Two themes featured on the agenda:
- statement by the Minister for Finance on the content of the Economic and Financial Programme concluded with the International Monetary Fund and its implication for the management of the State’s operating budget;
- a supplementary statement by the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development on the implications of the said Programme on the management of the State’s investment budget for the 2018 financial year.
In his introductory statement, the Prime Minister recalled that the Economic and Financial Programme, approved on 26 June 2017 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), builds on the resolutions of the Extraordinary Summit of CEMAC Heads of State held in Yaounde on 23 December 2016, at the initiative of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA. The Head of Government also indicated that this programme does not undermine the development path laid out by the Head of State, but rather opens up prospects for greater cooperation with the technical and financial partners of Cameroon.
Speaking on the first theme on the agenda, the Minister for Finance specified that the Agreement concluded with the IMF is part of a common approach with CEMAC countries, gripped for some years now by oil and/or security shocks, with a view to strengthening macroeconomic stability through internal and external adjustment efforts. This agreement, which is in line with the objectives of the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP), is supported by an Extended Credit Facility of approximately CFA 400 billion over the 2017-2020 period, supported by a supplementary financing envelop granted by Cameroon’s main donors.
While discussing the content of the said programme, the Minister for Finance indicated that it is based on four major pillars, namely: (i) progressive adjustment of the budget deficit which aims to restore macroeconomic equilibrium and boost sustained private sector-led economic growth; (ii) safeguarding social achievements which constitute the purchasing power; (iii) implementing structural reforms aimed at enhancing the performance of the State; (iv) turning to viable and sustainable debt, focused more on concessional resources for the implementation of priority investment projects backed by the GESP.
Regarding the impact of the Agreement signed with the IMF on the management of the operating budget of the State, the Minister for Finance announced a series of budgetary consolidation measures, focused on significantly reducing consumer expenditures on goods and services, as well as subsidies and allocations to public companies.