What is next for Cameroon after the IMF bailout?

Georges Diboki | 11/24/09 |

As you may recall, on July 2009, the IMF executive board approved $114.1 Million disbursement for Cameroon under the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF) to help Cameroon weather the effects of the global shocks on its balance of payment resulting from the global financial crisis.

The goal of the disbursement was twofold: 1) to contain the decline in Cameroon’s foreign reserves; and 2) to allow the country to protect its priority outlays (investment, education, and health).

On November 23rd, 2009, the IMF released its staff report for the 2009 Article IV Consultation and Request for the disbursement Under the Rapid-Access Component of the Exogenous Shocks Facility July 2, 2009. The Report is full of recommendations for the Cameroonian government and suffices to say, if the government is really serious about fighting poverty, it should adopt draconian measures to lift the country from poverty. To do this, the government would have to fight corruption vigorously, be creative in generating revenues by reviewing its tax codes, liberate the private sector, and mostly, free its people from the increasing rules and regulations that do not make sense, and thus, allowing the people to live their full potential in order to create wealth and help grow the economy.

Read the report here.