(Business in Cameroon) – The Cameroonian government has accumulated nearly CFA680 billion in unpaid bills by the end of FY2024. These unpaid amounts, known as arrears, refer to expenses that were committed during the year but not paid by December 31.
The figures were compiled by the Treasury Department, the national sinking fund and the Public Debt Committee. They were published in a report on March 18, 2025.
Compared to 2023, when arrears reached CFA743 billion, down 8.6% YoY. The debt agency sees this as a sign of some progress in settling outstanding commitments and managing public spending more responsibly throughout the year.
However, this progress has been uneven. Between July and September 2024, arrears dropped to CFA559 billion. By October, they had already climbed back up to CFA646 billion. Provisional data show that by the end of December, the total had reached CFA679.8 billion.
There has also been a sharp increase in arrears that have remained unpaid for more than three months. These are now counted as part of the national debt. By the end of 2024, this category of overdue payments had grown to CFA341.7 billion, compared to CFA161.5 billion one year earlier. This marks an increase of over 111%.
This trend is especially concerning because current regulations, including the 2018 reform of the Treasury Single Account, require public payments to be made within two months. According to the Ministry of Finance, the average payment delay has increased from 110 days in 2018 to 160 days in 2024.
The debt agency explains that part of this delay is due to budget support funds that were expected in the final quarter of 2024 but were not disbursed. These funds were linked to ongoing programs with the International Monetary Fund.
Unpaid bills cover a wide range of public expenses. These include payments for goods and services, infrastructure projects, government contributions to development programs, personnel-related costs, subsidies, financial transfers, restructuring efforts, and domestic debt.
In practical terms, arrears refer to money the government promised to pay, based on contracts or official commitments, but did not pay within the budget year. These amounts are then carried over into the next year’s budget.
Each payment goes through three main steps. First, there is the commitment, such as a signed contract or confirmed order. Then comes verification of the exact amount owed. Finally, there is the payment itself. When the process is not completed by year-end, the expense becomes part of the arrears.
