(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon owed suppliers of goods and services 215.8 billion CFA francs in outstanding payments (RAP) as of March 31, 2025. This figure, representing invoices pending payment at the Public Treasury for three months or more, was disclosed in the country’s quarterly debt report for the end of March 2025, recently released by the Autonomous Sinking Fund (CAA).
According to the report, the RAP amount has remained static since the end of December 2024. This suggests that the government’s short-term financing on the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) securities market is primarily allocated to repaying maturing debt within that same market.
Nonetheless, the RAP constitutes only a minor fraction of Cameroon’s total domestic debt. The state’s domestic debt, excluding RAP older than three months, stood at 3,900.2 billion CFA francs as of end-March 2025, according to CAA data. This amount reflects a 10.9% year-on-year increase and now accounts for 12.1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Reliable sources indicate that the volume of Cameroon’s domestic debt and the terms of its gradual settlement were a point of concern for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during its most recent mission to Cameroon, held from April 30 to May 8, 2025. During the eighth review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), as well as the second review of the agreement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), the Bretton Woods institution reportedly even recommended that Cameroonian authorities consider borrowing to partially clear this debt.
Cameroon had previously secured a 323.9 billion CFA franc loan in July 2024 from the American firm Citi Group specifically to reduce its domestic debt, including the RAP. A similar operation could be undertaken this year, even amidst tightening financing conditions, the CAA noted.
BRM
