Beyond Biya’s cabinet reshuffle, the budget!.

But what matters to ordinary Cameroonians is how to put food on the table, pay the bills, security and a business climate conducive for job-creation.

On the streets throughout the country, expectations also remain high regarding energy, roads, healthcare, education, and purchasing power.

It brings to focus a national budget that must distinguish between priorities that are truly financially viable and empty political promises that are never fulfilled but mere propaganda pipe dreams.

The Guardian Post is aware that legislators took note of populist concerns when the current session of Parliament, which is traditionally allocated to budgetary orientation process, opened.

In his opening speech, the National Assembly Speaker, Rt Hon Theodore Datouo, framed the debate within the context of their representative mission, insisting that parliamentarians should not only passed bills, but also address the people's worries.

He was on the same page with the President of the Senate, Aboubakary Abdoulaye, who urged senators to go beyond egoistic concerns to issues that “facilitate a strategic dialogue with the government on public policies; capable of sustainably transforming the living conditions of the population”.

He specifically mentioned peace and security, infrastructure improvements, healthcare coverage, education, vocational training, combating the high cost of living, access to drinking water, and energy supply.

The priorities reflect the most pressing social expectations, more than who becomes the country’s Vice President, which should be the preserve of the people of the North West and South West Regions, without any dispute or debate.

Against that budgetary backdrop, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Crafts of Cameroon, CCIMA, met on June 24, 2026, to develop proposals for the preparation of the 2027 Finance Law; aimed at gathering, analysing, and harmonising the concerns of economic operators.

At the heart of the discussions were the improvement of the national tax system, the competitiveness of businesses, and the attractiveness of the business environment.

The initiative reflects the desire to strengthen public-private dialogue and promote a tax system better suited to the realities of the Cameroonian economy.

On the heels of the business magnets’ meeting was the June Session of the Ministerial Meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister, Head of Government, Dr Chief Joseph Dion Ngute, last Friday. It was dedicated not just for next year’s budget but those of 2028, and 2029.

It emerged that the projected growth of 3.5% is expected this year and public debt to be kept below 50% of GDP against some 44 percent as at last March.

The budget for 2027-2029 will, however, will be based on the conclusion of a new Economic and Financial Programme with the International Monetary Fund, IMF; with the explicit objective of keeping the public debt stock below 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

Efforts will also be focused on mobilising non-oil domestic revenues and streamlining public spending. 

The Ministry of the Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, presented the projects included in the Priority Investment Programme for 2027-2029.

Digital infrastructure, roads, railways, energy, water resources, agriculture, and industry are among the targeted sectors. 

Accelerating the deployment of digital infrastructure is also a priority, as is improving the electricity supply.

On the social front, the priority is extending the general health insurance system to the most disadvantaged segments of the population, as well as the Special Fund for Women's Economic Empowerment and Youth Employment.

They are decisions that are frequently made. However, last Friday’s Ministerial Meeting adopted the Economic and Budgetary Programming Document for 2027-2029, which will be submitted to parliament as part of the Budgetary Policy Debate.

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Finance to finalise the decisions of the deliberation, in close consultation with the Minister of the Economy, which anchored on three main pillars of the three-year economic policy are: growth and inflation. Growth is expected to reach 3.5% in 2026 and 3.7% in 2027, with a gradual decrease in inflation.        

The objective is to keep public debt below 50% of GDP by optimising non-oil revenues and streamlining expenditures.

They, however, raised significant budgetary choices: where to concentrate public investment, how to improve access to basic services, and which expenditures must produce measurable results by 2027?

The answer lies in transparency. 

SDF Chairman, Hon Osih Joshua, at the June Secession, submitted a Private Member’s Bill, among four others. They are aimed at restoring trust between citizens and institutions through the effective implementation of Article 66 of the Constitution.

It requires the establishment of a modern system for declaring assets, monitoring the wealth of public officials, and preventing illicit enrichment, while guaranteeing the rights and protection of those concerned.

Without that, all the good intentions proposed to ameliorate the cost of living will just be on paper, as the question everyone is asking: where is the money in budgetary increases every year and loans from the IMF and other lenders going to without the feel-good effect?

Cameroonians are demanding a feel-good effect with more visibility, more impact, less delay, roads completed and maintained, electricity more stable, regular payment of contractors who complete projects satisfactorily, and affordable cost of basic commodities, rather than a cabinet reshuffle that favours only a handful of demagogues of the ruling class. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3833 of Tuesday June 30, 2026