“(Business in Cameroon) - SOE debt levels rose significantly (CFA2,262.7 billion) in 2016 to 17 percent of GDP [$24.2 billion or about CFA13,310 billion]”. This was stated in the Cameroon-focused report published by IMF on January 16, 2018.

According to the fund, this increase can be explained by a 290% rise of SONARA’s debt. It also explained that the biggest threat to Cameroon’s budget is the magnitude of public companies’ short-term debts which represents 6% of GDP.

73% of these short-term debts (about CFA2 trillion) are owed by four companies alone. These are SONARA, CAMTEL, CNIC, and PAD.

As far as medium and long-term debts are concerned, the most indebted are SONARA, CAMTEL, CAMWATER, and EDC.

“These debts represent significant contingent liabilities for the state, as three of the four SOEs have negative operating margins”, the report revealed. The most important of those debts are owed to SONARA; Indeed, in 2015, the government owed the oil refinery company CFA1,860 billion. This debt represents monies SONARA spent for more than 5 years to deal with the shortage of oil products at station services during times of crisis.

S.A