Gov’t’s sources of income dwindling!.

While opening a two-day seminar to launch activities for the preparation of the 2027 State budget last week, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, divulged that in the first quarter of this year, expected revenue was very low, with only 1,331.4 billion FCFA collected, compared to 2,181 billion FCFA, raised during the same period last year.

He briefed stakeholders that the preparation of next year’s budget is in a difficult economic and financial context, where revenue mobilisation windows are closing as income receipts continue to tumble below target while expenditure spikes.

For instance, data from the debt management agency, the Autonomous Sinking Fund, CAA, indicates that government has spent 327 billion FCFA to service debts and other financial commitments to foreign lending institutions and individuals in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

The 327 billion FCFA in debt service reported for June this year, does not cover all domestic obligations, the report specified. 

It noted that the amount excluded arrears, which stood at 703.5 billion FCFA at the end of June, pending final reconciliation of Treasury payment data. 

Bills unpaid for more than three months total 588.4 billion FCFA or 83.6% of that amount.

The CAA also pointed out that it excluded redemption of Fungible Treasury Bills and that the burden is expected to increase in the coming years.

The 2027-2029 Economic and Budget Programming Document projects debt interest payments of 552.4 billion FCFA in 2026 rising to 605.3 billion FCFA in 2027 and to 707.8 billion FCFA in 2029, requiring more attention, and prompt response, with large financial outlays.

As the Minister of Finance told reporters at the budget preparatory seminar, the wars in the Middle East, that between Ukraine and Russia, added to socio political crisis at home, continue to block both local and international revenues through which government funds are mobilised.

He said the same uncertain socio-political climate continues to drain public resources, as government struggles to hold everything in check so that things do not go out of hand.

International donors, the minister said, persist in demanding concrete results for them to continue supporting government’s economic reform measures, while the hostile domestic climate also hinders smooth execution of projects in some target areas.

Presently, he added that the government continues to pay subventions on petroleum products in an effort to reduce the burden of living on ordinary citizens.

Despite the fact that the price of petroleum products had hiked in the international market, the government insists on carrying on with its people welfare-oriented State management policy.

He, however, highlighted that donor partners want to see ongoing projects completed, so that they create the impact on national growth and improve the living standards of Cameroonians, as envisaged when the projects were conceived.

Amelioration of the standard of living is what citizens understand. They don't understand the economy through macroeconomic charts or servicing debts.

They understand economic resilience and inflation, with food prices in the market, in rents, school fees, medical bills and in the cost of transportation.

The public treasury is under pressure and the government has the duty to deliver, even when budgetary leeway is not unlimited. Tax payers don’t oppose the Import-Substitution policy and patronage of locally made goods.

Policy makers should not preach: “Do what I say, not what I do,” by scurrying abroad for medical care, flaunt their wealth in foreign attire and life-styles in the midst of generalised misery of penury in the country.

As The Guardian Post understands, the real issue is where public money is having a tangible impact. When tax revenues increase, the question of their effectiveness immediately arises.         

As some economists have noted, debt for its part, will remain under scrutiny; “Not necessarily because Cameroon is in a state of financial dire strait, but because the cost of financing debts is now more important. Borrowing to invest can be justified, but borrowing at high prices to plug gaps or delay reforms becomes much riskier.”

In that financial muddle, fiscal credibility will weigh heavily in the perceptions of investors, donors, and even local operators. The question everyone is asking: where are the loans going?

Citizens are demanding something simple: more visibility, more impact, less delay, more accountability, less corruption. 

Additionally, Cameroonians want to see roads completed, electricity more stable, and public services less deficient. 

Economic operators, for their part, want better-controlled payment terms, more transparent taxation, and fewer hidden costs.          

The pressure is both political, as much as economic because budget revenue mobilisation alone will not be enough to prevent an economic and political crunch without sweeping political reforms. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3870 of Thursday August 06, 2026