(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s public sector debt fell by 2.7% last year but remains above CFA1 trillion, according to the national sinking fund. The debt stood at CFA1,024 billion as of December 31, 2024, about 3.3% of the country’s GDP
CAA indicates that the majority of this debt (51.8%) was incurred domestically. Meanwhile, the direct external debt of public companies and institutions is estimated at CFA493.9 billion, including supplier debts and operational debts linked to the Société Nationale de Raffinage (Sonara) and Cameroon Airlines Corporation (Camair-Co). These two companies alone account for 96.1% of the total external debt of public entities in Cameroon.
According to the CAA, the debt of these two state-owned companies sheds light on the financial struggles faced by key sectors crucial to the country’s economic development: energy and air transport. However, these sectors operate in highly competitive environments, which calls for a more competitive and efficient approach to improve performance.
Over the years, the rising public sector debt in Cameroon has become a growing concern for both the government and its development partners. The issue is particularly worrying because many of these debts are guaranteed by the state, which means that if these companies fail to pay, the public treasury would be forced to step in and cover the costs.
To reduce this risk, the government is working to steer public companies, often criticized for their poor performance, toward non-sovereign loans from development partners. In June 2015, the Ministry of Finance organized a workshop for the managers of seven public companies (Camtel, Aéroports du Cameroun, Sonara, Feicom, Port Autonome de Douala, Camwater, and Société Camerounaise des Dépôts Pétroliers) to help them understand how to access non-sovereign financing from the French Development Agency (AFD).
However, nearly a decade later, only two of these companies, Camtel and the Port Authority of Douala (PAD), have completed the necessary step of obtaining a credit rating from Bloomfield Investment Agency. This credit rating is a crucial first step for companies seeking to access capital markets.
