Budgets of ministries for 2026 as adopted by MPs.

The process produced a detailed breakdown of billions of FCFA to be channeled into education, infrastructure, governance, security, commerce, health, culture and social welfare. 

The allocations reveal how resources will be divided sector by sector to drive public policy and national priorities in the year ahead.

Education, research, youth development

The Ministry of Higher Education requested FCFA 143.3 billion, with 127.8 billion for recurrent costs and 15.5 billion for investments. 

Its programmes include; 28.9 billion for student welfare and training access, 10.1 billion for professionalisation and employability; 27.3 billion for research and innovation, and 76.8 billion for governance and institutional support, including relaunching doctoral enrolments and entrance exams. 

The Ministry of Basic Education put forward FCFA 334.3 billion, with 48.6 billion FCFA dedicated to improving foundational learning quality. 

The Ministry of Secondary Education sought FCFA 595.233 billion for four major programmes. Youth Affairs and Civic Education got FCFA 28.7 billion to support youth employment schemes and civic‑education initiatives. 

The Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training tabled FCFA 33.4 billion for vocational centres and the “one young person, one trade, one job” scheme while that of Scientific Research and Innovation proposed FCFA 5 billion to foster high‑tech research and encourage start‑ups. 

Infrastructure, transport, energy, urban planning

The Ministry of Public Works leads with a massive FCFA 740.852 billion demand. The funds, Minister Nganou Djoumessi said, will cover new roads, rehabilitation, maintenance and engineering works, including 475.96 km of new paved roads, 852.15 km of repaired roads and numerous bridges. 

Key projects, he said, include; the Yaounde-Douala motorway, the Bamenda Ring Road, Bogo‑Pouss, Kumba‑Mamfe, and strategic corridors such as Ngaoundere-Garoua and Douala-Yaounde. 

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development asked lawmakers for FCFA 168.865 billion for urban mobility, social housing, sanitation, flood‑risk mitigation and planning. 

That of Transport submitted FCFA 17.714 billion for road safety, airport rehabilitation in Douala, Bertoua, Kribi and Tiko, port development in Dibamba and Missole, and railway renovation between Douala-Yaounde and Belabo-Ngaoundere.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Energy defended FCFA 425.732 billion to restructure ENEO, expand electricity networks and deploy major water‑supply projects, including the PAE PYS system for Yaounde. 

Governance, public service, land, local dev’t

The Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development made a request of FCFA 147.3 billion, citing an increase of more than 20 billion to empower municipalities. 

The Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure proposed FCFA 28.328 billion, up by 3.160 billion, for land‑title issuance, reserves and geodesic network extensions. 

The Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform submitted a budget proposal of FCFA 19.8 billion to modernise the civil service. 

That of public contracts requested FCFA 23.2 billion to guarantee transparency and enforce compliance while the ministry of environment asked for FCFA 14.160 billion to target biodiversity, pollution control and climate‑change mitigation. 

Security, diplomacy & justice

The Ministry of Defence requested FCFA 389.3 billion to fund operations against security threats, logistics, equipment and personnel, with emphasis on the Far North, North West and South West regions. 

Justice proposed FCFA 77.1 billion, including 69.2 billion recurrent and 7.8 billion capital. It detailed that FCFA 38.04 billion will be for judicial operations across 10 Courts of Appeal, 57 High Courts and Special Criminal Court as against, 25.4 billion FCFA for prison services covering 76 prisons and 13.6 billion FCFA for central administration, including “Justice for Children” and rehabilitation of fire‑damaged courts. 

The Ministry of External Relations asked for FCFA 65.6 billion of which, FCFA 58.6 billion is programmed for operations and 7 billion for investments to support diplomatic activities, wage adjustments and capital projects such as a diplomatic complex in Abuja, Nigeria and property acquisitions in Ankara, Turkiye and Tokyo, Japan. 

The ministry expects to host the 14ᵗʰ World Trade Organisation, WTO, Ministerial Conference in Yaounde in 2026.  The Atanga Nji-led Ministry of Territorial Administration requested FCFA 42.6 billion to reinforce governance oversight, civil administration and coordination with regional authorities. 

Commerce, industry, agriculture, culture, social welfare, others

The Ministry of Trade has an envelope of FCFA 15.7 billion for market regulation, import‑substitution and WTO conference preparations. 

The Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development requested FCFA 13.309 billion to monitor projects and support industrialisation of value chains. 

The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts asked for FCFA 14.525 billion to support entrepreneurship and artisanal product certification. 

The Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries defended FCFA 56.5 billion for agro‑pastoral and fisheries development, including an abattoir in Bamenda and pisciculture expansion. 

Public health ministry requested FCFA 388.81 billion to strengthen hospitals, disease prevention and preparedness. 

The Ministry of Social Affairs submitted to the committee a budget of FCFA 26.582 billion to fund child protection, support vulnerable persons, and implement a national solidarity fund. 

The Ministry of Arts and Culture proposed FCFA 10.4 billion for cultural industries and heritage infrastructure. That of Tourism and Leisure requested FCFA 9.3 billion to develop tourist sites and build a hospitality‑training institute in Bertoua, East Region. 

Sports and Physical Education defended FCFA 33.270 billion, split between recurrent expenses, capital expenditure, transfers to decentralised entities and public institutions.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3643 of Tuesday December 02, 2025