(Business in Cameroon) - The personnel of the State of Cameroon will gobble FCfa 998.5 billion in 2017 out of a total budget of FCfa 4,373.8 billion. Thus, close to a quarter of said budget.

Compared to 2016 when the government allocated FCfa 955.2 billion to settle civil servant salaries, we note an increase of FCfa 43.3 billion in expenditure on State workers. “This increase, per the Finance bill, is highlighted by assuming responsibility for new teachers who graduated from the Ecoles Normales Supérieures, as well as students from Grande Ecoles, the announced recruitment in the armed forces and police”. Likewise, the 2017 Finance bill projects that the figure for civil servant salaries will continue to increase until 2018, as it is planned that the amount for this sector will rise to FCfa 1,053.9 billion. And in 2019, this will be FCfa 1,112.7 billion.

The civil service workforce increased rapidly between 2006 and 2012, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Cameroon produced in 2014. The number of civil servants rose from 167,000 to 250,000, being an additional 6.9% per year, while the average annual increase in the population is estimated at 2.5%.

Sylvain Andzongo