(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon plans to keep its public debt below 50% of GDP during the current 2022 fiscal year. The information was disclosed on February 25, 2022, in Yaoundé, by Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze, during the annual conference of heads of central, decentralized, and external services of the Ministry of Finance. 

According to the government official, to help the country succeed in that plan, the 2022 finance law provides that measures will be taken for non-oil revenues to contribute an additional 0.8% to GDP. 

For the time being, public debt is still under control although it slightly increased in 2021, Minister Louis Paul Motaze announced. As of end-October 2021, it was 44.% of GDP, representing a 0.8% increase compared to its level in late 2020. As of end-December 2021, it was at 45.4% of GDP.  

Nevertheless, CEMAC convergence criteria set the debt sustainability threshold to 70% of GDP. Also, compared to its community neighbors, Cameroon’s public debt is still lower. For instance, in Gabon, the public debt is 65% of GDP but some administrations indicate 70% of GDP. In Congo, that debt reached 98% of GDP in late 2020. 

S.A.