Solid economy consolidates growth
WITH GROWTH AT OVER 5%, INFLATION STEADY AT 2%, AND FOREIGN RESERVES COVERING 28% OF COMMITMENTS, CAMEROON IS ASSUMING INCREASING IMPORTANCE AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

JEAN-MARIE GANKOU Deputy Minister for Economy and Finance

Bargain hunters will find that in Cameroon open season on investment opportunities lasts all year round. “Cameroon is not like a private hunting ground,” says the Deputy Minister for Economy and Finance, Jean Marie Gankou. “We are completely open. If investors want to come to Cameroon, they are welcome.” Mr. Gankou adds that “we are now expecting American investors,” who have generally lagged behind the Europeans in investment in Africa.
The Minister for Industrial and Commercial Development, Bello Bouba Maïgari, comments: “America is not only the greatest power, it is the engine of world economy. Africa is underdeveloped today but it has the advantage of being a continent with a population of 600 to 700 million, hence an important market. With its widely unexploited natural resources,” the minister is convinced, “Africa will have a growing importance in international trade.”
The government is pleased with the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline and related development projects, involving close to $4 billion in investments and with 65% of the private capital being put up by the U.S. groups ExxonMobil and Chevron.

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Mr. Gankou says the government sees this undertaking as “consolidating growth in Cameroon” and confirming the improvement in the investment climate. He adds that “when you talk of investment you are talking about an increase in internal demand, the creation of wealth and the creation of jobs.”
The attraction that Cameroon exerts on many foreign investors goes back to 1995-96 and is easily explained both by the country’s inherent qualities and by government policies, he believes. “We can cite the multiple assets of the Cameroon economy: the lands are rich, you have a relatively well-trained labor force, there is political stability, and Cameroon represents the best of Africa,” with a wide diversity of climates and natural resources.
Added to that is the privatization program, and the fact that it “is largely open and is handled in a trans-
parent fashion. When a tender is advertised,” he points out, “it is publicized simultaneously at national and international levels, unlike other countries where it would be advertised only nationally.”

Growth is now humming along at over 5%, inflation is being held under 2%, the country is running a trade surplus, and foreign reserves cover 28% of commitments, compared to just 3% some years ago. “You can see the distance we have come in just four years,” he comments in reference to the results of measures applied in the framework of a recovery program drawn up with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Moreover, he adds, “we have all the features of a disciplined economy and a banking system which is completely rehabilitated.”
One of the government’s few remaining concerns now is reducing its debt burden, which amounts to about 80% of the GDP. Progress is being made in this regard. “We regularly pay our debt service, and due to the good execution of our fifth structural adjustment program with the IMF we were admitted to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative,” which in turn brought substantial debt relief.

In fact, the World Bank is giving high marks to Cameroon and is optimistic about the country’s future. Just a few months ago, the Bank’s resident representative in Yaoundé, Robert M. Lacey, commented that “the potential of Cameroon in both human and natural resources is enormous,” and at the same time, the government has earned itself “a strong degree of credibility in economic policy.”