Central African Yvon Sana Bangui has been appointed as the governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), following a video conference held by the heads of state from the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) on February 9, 2024.

He was officially installed in his new role on March 1, 2024, in Yaoundé along with the five other members of the new central bank government representing the six CEMAC countries. “The challenges are numerous. As you know, our sub-region faces many crises, including COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and numerous other international crises and challenges. Our priority is to consolidate monetary and financial stability to maintain growth. I believe it is achievable. We must combine our efforts to meet the challenges we face today. However, there is preliminary work to be done. We need to review the situation and address the strategic focus areas that we must rely on to overcome several challenges… It’s about adjusting visions, programs, strategic approaches, and truly initiating the reforms needed to make our CEMAC zone resilient,” stated Governor Sana Bangui, outlining the priorities for his tenure.

However, alongside these priorities, the team led by Yvon Sana Bangui will face a pressing issue: the controversy surrounding the 2023 recruitment examination for senior management agents, whose admitted candidates have been waiting nearly a year to begin their training.

Despite irregularities and negligence identified in the recruitment process by the BEAC Board of Directors and the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC) Committee, which had instructed the then-governor to cancel the recruitment, Abbas Mahamat Tolli proceeded with the process until the results were announced. This stance was supported by the ruling of the Common Court of Justice of CEMAC, based in N’Djamena, Chad, which found no irregularities in the recruitment contest organization.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) announced on March 1, 2024, that Cameroon has been suspended from its program “until its next validation”. The EITI Board expresses strong concern over breaches of the EITI protocol: Participation of civil society related to freedom of expression and association.

Despite making significant strides in areas such as transparency in extractive contracts and identifying actual beneficiaries, Cameroon has been recognized for its attempts to improve the availability of data on payments declared by extractive sector companies, including the national oil company, and on revenues received by the relevant government entities.

However, the EITI’s international secretariat demands better involvement of civil society in the process. The institution’s analysis indicates that the suspension serves as a message not only to the Cameroonian authorities but also to a Cameroonian civil society that needs to intensify its efforts.

The EITI document points out weaknesses in civil society engagement within the EITI and in its ability to use the process to influence public decision-making. These challenges relate to a lack of accountability among the majority of civil society representatives within the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) and broader governance issues.

Cameroon’s next validation by the EITI is scheduled for April 2027, by which time the country must have addressed corrective measures for about twenty requirements. All stakeholders involved in the process must also have a clear understanding of the 2023 standard, which imposes stricter demands on issues such as actual ownership and energy transition topics.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The international market in the Nigerian town of Banki, located near Amchidé in Cameroon’s Far North region, was officially opened on February 14, 2024. The ceremony was attended by the governor of Nigeria’s Borno State and the governor of the Far North region of Cameroon, Midjiyawa Bakary. This new development is a sign of the calming situation after the violent activities of the Islamist group Boko Haram, which had halted trade between Nigeria and Cameroon for about a decade.

Authorities from both countries have highlighted that the Banki international market is aimed at revitalizing the trade that had dwindled over the years due to Boko Haram’s actions, and to boost it further given the opportunities the two nations offer. Spanning several hectares, the market features over 1,000 shops and 500 stalls for itinerant traders. The cost of the market’s construction was not disclosed.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), Nigeria remained one of Cameroon’s main trade partners in Africa in 2022. The institute reported that Nigeria sold goods worth CFA43.7 billion to Cameroon in 2022, making it the 6th largest supplier in Africa, while Cameroon’s purchases from Nigeria amounted to CFA34.2 billion, ranking it as the 4th largest customer on the continent.

However, the INS noted that these figures might not fully reflect the actual level of trade between the two countries, mainly due to the porous nature of their borders which leads to cross-border trade not recorded in customs statistics.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon’s power company Eneo says it needs CFA18 billion from the government to prevent power outages across the country. Following a directive from the Minister of Water and Energy on February 9, 2024, which pointed out the potential for social unrest due to ongoing power shortages, Eneo has activated its thermal power plants. However, in a letter to the minister on February 14, 2024, the company explained that operating these plants would incur extra costs that it cannot bear alone, especially with the expected end of the dry season by the end of March 2024.

“The thermal power plants have all been deployed, and an industrial load-shedding plan has been drawn up (…) However, we would like to inform you that the mobilization of the thermal power plants does not enable us to fully absorb the deficit observed and that it is also necessary to ensure continuous maintenance of the power plants to avoid breakages and unavailability of these critical installations. This intensive mobilization will generate additional costs in terms of fuel purchases, estimated at CFA10 billion for February 2024 and CFA8 billion for March 2024. Consequently, to maintain this entire set-up throughout the crisis period and per the provisions of Article 3 of the government support agreement signed on November 2, 2018, between Eneo and the Republic of Cameroon, we are requesting financial assistance from the State, to meet these additional costs which, given its financial situation, Eneo cannot bear alone,” the power company writes to the Minister.

This means that deploying the country’s full thermal capacity will only reduce, not eliminate, the power outages currently affecting seven of Cameroon’s ten regions. To ensure a reduction in power cuts, which harm households and businesses, Eneo needs a budget of CFA18 billion for two months of thermal plant operations.

Eneo has also clarified that it should not be held responsible for the origins or consequences of the current power shortages. The company explained that the main causes of the outages include delays in adding the first 60 megawatts from the Nachtigal dam (420 MW) to the grid and low water levels at the Memve’ele dam (211 MW) on the Ntem river.

The first 60 megawatts from Nachtigal were expected in December 2023 but are now promised by February 24, 2024, which, if delivered on time, will add much-needed power to the grid. Indeed the the Southern interconnected network (RIS) could see an additional 60 MW soon, with the full 420 MW from Nachtigal expected by September 2024, according to government forecasts.

Another main reason for this power outage is the Memvé’élé plant’s inability to operate at full capacity due to the low water level in the Ntem River. The dam, designed to contribute 211 MW to the country’s electricity network, often produces only 30 MW or even zero at times during the dry season, due to significant drops in the Ntem river’s flow. As a result, it’s unlikely that the Memvé’élé dam will reach its full 211 MW capacity throughout the year because of the river’s low flow and hydrological variations during dry periods.

To address this issue, the government is considering building a reservoir dam. “Looking forward, to mitigate the impacts of the Ntem River’s hydrology variation, the head of state has ordered the acceleration of the reservoir dam construction project on this river,” the Minister of Water and Energy stated on March 25, 2022, at the National Assembly. This raises questions about the government’s decision to build a 211 MW hydroelectric plant on the Ntem, a river with a significantly lower flow than the Sanaga, which holds 75% of the country’s hydroelectric potential.

Source: Business in Cameroon

For years now, the cost of living around the world has left many people in difficult financial times. The rising housing cost in the country has left many people around the world homeless while escalating food and oil prices have left many hungry and desperate. To gain a better understanding of the tough financial times in which the increasing fuel prices have dumped Cameroonians, Cameroon Concord News sent its Douala-based reporter to the streets of the city where he talked to ordinary citizens who did not hide their pain and frustration with the government following the recent fuel price increase. To protect the identities of the speakers, Cameroon Concord News prefers to use their first names. This is what they had to say.

Jean Mark (Taxi driver): We are really dying in silence. The recent fuel price increase is going to kill us. Business is not as lucrative as it used to be. The roads are untarred, and we are already spending a lot on car maintenance. Following the government’s decision to increase pump prices, we too have decided to download the price increase on passengers. This is threatening our bottom-line as many young men and women now prefer to walk as a means of cutting down on their transportation cost. The government must do something. Cameroonians are hurting. Car owners require us to bring more money, but with this type of fuel prices, how do we balance our bosses. To cope with the new situation, I drive for almost 16 hours a day just to go home with something for my family. Things are deteriorating and if support measures are not taken, the economy will take a nosedive.

Marie-Irene (Housewife): I am happy that you have come to interview me right in the market. As you can see, the “Bonassama Market” is almost empty. The market women are complaining that they cannot sell their produce because the buyers do not have the money. Take a look at my market basket and you will see that it is almost empty. With CFAF 50,000 I could only buy a few items. A few years back, CFAF 50,000 could feed a family of five for almost ten days, but with increasing fuel prices, CFAF 50,000 cannot take us anywhere. We are straining. It is hard for us to make ends meet. My husband is the bread winner. For more than five years, he has not received any salary increase but food and fuel prices have been on the rise. The inflation has eroded our net family income, pushing us into poverty. What is even more annoying is that the government does not seem to care. Since the cost of living increased, the government has not taken any reasonable supporting measures. The best it has done is to announce a 5% increase in the salaries of civil servants. 5% is simply nothing. With average salaries in Cameroon standing at CFAF 200,000, a-5% increase will imply that someone with CFAF 200,000 will earn an additional CFAF 10,000. What can that buy for a typical Cameroonian family? The government seems to have put us on a diet, and we are losing weight amazingly fast.

Edimo (civil servant): Honestly, things are falling apart for me. As you can see, I am heading to work on foot. I am a civil servant but look at the way I am dressed. It is as if the government is punishing us for agreeing to serve our country. I am overwhelmed. With a family of six, my salary of CFAF 220,000 cannot carry us. My wife also works but we are still under enormous stress. When you look at Cameroonians, you can easily figure out that they are under pressure. Many Cameroonians are on high blood medication. Stressed-induced diabetes is taking down Cameroonians. Escalating prices are hurting us and our families. Many Cameroonians no longer go to shops to shop. The prices there are well beyond their purchasing power. We all now do purchase our clothes from the second-hand market. We are finished! The government is clearly indifferent to our plight. Many Cameroonians can no longer get the health care they need because of high care cost. This is not the country we all hoped for in the early 80s. And this explains why many people are leaving the country.

Peter Martin (Teacher): I am a government teacher. Times are hard and they will continue in for many years. Prices are constantly moving upward while salaries are stagnating. I have parked my car following the recent increase in fuel prices. I cannot afford to run a car with such a meagre salary. To make ends meet, I must organize extra classes in my home. There are many students who are missing classes because they cannot afford to take taxis to school. Cameroon has not got a real mass transit system, and this makes life challenging to the poor. In a few years’ time, drop-out rates in our schools will be high. Literacy levels are also bound to decline as many parents are instead pushing their children into small businesses. The government must take a look at the situation to ensure that rising fuel prices do not have very serious adverse effects on the economy.

By staff man Alain A. Ebot

Between 2021 and 2022, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), a state-owned agro-industrial enterprise operating banana, oil palm, and rubber plantations in the Littoral and Southwest regions of Cameroon, experienced a staggering 34.7% reduction in its workforce. The information was revealed in a recent report by the Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation of Public and Para-public Sector Enterprises (CTR), indicating that 5,518 personnel left the company during the period under review.

The CTR attributes this “significant and continuous decline” in the workforce to the “security crisis that came with the Anglophone conflict.” Indeed, since the conflict started in late 2016, CDC’s facilities and employees have become targets of separatist militants. Incidents such as the incineration of company packaging units, conversion of plantations into separatist base camps, and attacks resulting in severe injuries or fatalities to employees have plagued the CDC. The insecurity prompted a halt in the company’s operations in mid-2018, only to resume nearly two years later. The situation has gradually worsened with the accumulation of salary arrears due to the CDC’s financial difficulties resulting from the Anglophone crisis.

“The operational challenges faced by CDC hinder meeting its financial commitments, resulting in an overall increase in its indebtedness. Social debt has increased due to the 17.78% rise in salary arrears as of December 31, 2022, despite government support, and the accumulation of unpaid social security contributions, which have risen by 15%. As of June 30, 2023, salary arrears amounted to CFA35.7 billion, and the social debt to the National Social Security Fund (CNPS) stood at CFA26.7 billion,” CTR said.

With a monthly payroll estimated at CFA2 billion, according to figures disclosed during a board meeting on December 27, 2018, this volume of salary arrears corresponds to approximately 17 months of unpaid wages. Considering the financial assistance allocated by the state to public enterprises in the 2024 budget, personnel expenses were estimated at CFA16.09 billion in 2022, equating to CFA1.34 billion per month.

With cumulative losses of CFA38.7 billion between 2019 and 2021, as reported by the CTR, CDC emerges as the Cameroonian company bearing the heaviest toll of the ongoing separatist war in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Cameroonian government on Friday hiked fuel prices, which will go into effect from Saturday.

According to a statement by Seraphin Magloire Fouda, Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office, the price of a liter of Super has been increased from 730 XAF (approximately 1.21 U.S. dollars) per liter to 840 XAF (approximately 1.39 U.S. dollars) and gasoline increases from 720 XAF (approximately 1.19 U.S. dollars) per liter to 828 XAF (approximately 1.37 U.S. dollars).

Fouda said in a statement Friday night that the price increase was “due to the need to absorb the growing budgetary constraints that the state is facing and to avoid tensions in the supply of the nation’s market with petroleum products.”

As part of the measures to accompany the price hikes, basic salary of civil servants will be increased by 5 percent and “certain” taxes and customs duties in the road transport sector will be reduced, according to officials.

“The government is counting on the understanding, sense of responsibility and civic-mindedness of consumers for the implementation of these measures,” the statement said.

Officials said the latest hikes at the retail level were inevitable to reduce the subsidy burden on state-run distribution companies.

The central African nation increased fuel prices by over 10 percent in January last year.

Source: Xinhuanet

The outstanding non-repaid bank credits of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Cemac) reached CFA1,917.9 billion on December 31, 2022. These overdue bank credits have multiplied by 4 compared to their level ten years earlier (CFA495 billion at the end of December 2012), as revealed by the Bank of Central African States (Beac) in its 2022 Financial Stability Review, published on Monday, January 8, 2024.

According to the financial institution, the deterioration in the quality of the banks’ credit portfolios from 2012 to 2022 is explained by both economic and structural factors. Beac indicates that the increase in the level of overdue claims is linked to deficiencies in risk management and governance within banks. Indeed, the central bank explains that banks are putting more effort into commercial aspects at the expense of a rigorous analysis of credit risk in their portfolios.

Also, the weakening of the budgetary balances of Cemac states, followed by a decrease in economic activity, has led to an accumulation of payment arrears by the states in the banks’ credit portfolios.

Beac mentions that this growth in overdue claims “is a major concern for the states in the region, for the Central African Banking Commission (Cobac), the central bank, and credit institutions.” This concern is all the more important given that credit risk, in the form of overdue receivables, currently remains one of the main risks facing Cemac banks, the central bank points out.

To limit the progression of these claims, which affect the liquidity of banks and reduce their actions in financing the economy, Cobac requests banks to present plans for the settlement of these overdue claims and the implementation of measures to improve the credit risk management systems of banks.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The United Arab Emirates banned ships arriving in its waters that sail under the flag of Cameroon — a move that distances the emirate from risky vessels that have been assembled to transport sanctioned oil.

The Cameroon flag has been added to a restricted list and maritime companies and ship agents should not provide vessels registered in the African country with services, according to a Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure circular published on the Port of Fujairah website. The ban won’t apply to ships that have been assessed by a wider international classification body.

Most merchant ships sail under flags far from the countries in which they’re owned or operated. Popular ones include Panama and the Marshall Islands, which are integral in upholding safety standards in the shipping industry.

But when Russia assembled a vast shadow fleet of tankers to keep its oil moving in the face of US sanctions, part of that fleet turned to little-known flags such as Cameroon’s.

As recently as the middle of last year, Cameroon was designated as having a very high risk of vessels failing safety inspections when calling at ports.

The Cameroon-registered fleet of oil tankers is small but most have been to Russia in the past year.

Of the 14 Cameroon-flagged oil carriers small enough to collect oil from Russian ports, 11 did so in the past 12 months, industry data collated by Bloomberg show.

They account for less than 1% of Russia’s total oil shipments.

Source: Bloomberg