(Business in Cameroon) - Over the first nine months of 2018, the Cameroonian Treasury paid off domestic debt of XAF174.5 billion, up 38.7% (+XAF48.7 billion) compared to the same period in 2017, the finance department informed.

In its budget execution report, the department said this increase in payments is “mainly due to the improvement in the clearance of domestic arrears”. However, “compared to the projected XAF257.3 billion, the implementation rate of these payments is only 32.6%, due to the unstructured debt, which has been assessed and audited”.

Further, the poor performance showed cash flow tensions experienced by the Cameroonian state, which has been facing impressive security spending (1% of GDP according to the IMF) since 2013, with Boko Haram's incursions in the Far North region; this added to the tensions caused by secessionists in the North West and South West regions since 2016.

BRM