Outstanding direct central government debt reaches 40.4% of GDP

In the 24-page document, Autonomous Amortization fund   (CAA), the institution in charge of managing the public debt of the State, public and semi-public enterprises, states that this debt is currently limited to that of the central government and public enterprises and establishments. As of June 30, 2024, the outstanding direct debt of the central government is estimated at USD 20.28 billion (FCFA 12,219 billion), or 40.4% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to the same document, this outstanding debt is made up of 67.5% foreign debt and 32.5% domestic debt.

The central government’s domestic debt, excluding outstanding debts, is up 3.0% on the first quarter of 2024 and 12.0% on the same period last year. It is valued at USD 5.99 billion (FCFA 3,611 billion), or 12.0% of GDP. In this context, the central government’s outstanding domestic debt is made up of 54.5% government securities (BTA, OTA and OT), including 25.4% assimilable treasury bills and 74.6% bonds; 23.1% of structured debt, 903.09 million USD (543.9 billion FCFA); 16% of consolidated BEAC debt,  576.9 billion FCFA; and 1.4% of unstructured debt,  86.83 million USD (52.3 billion FCFA), resulting from 40.8% of indemnities.

However, the provisional outstanding balance of outstanding payments (RAP) at the end of June 2024 is estimated at around one billion USD (602.3 billion FCFA), or 1.2% of GDP, of which 59.9% are outstanding for more than 3 months and 40.1% for less than 3 months, subject to consolidation of the data by the Directorate General of the Treasury, Financial  and  Monetary Coorporation (DGTCFM).

“These PCRs are down 3.1% quarter-on-quarter, but up 52.9% year-on-year. At the end of June 2024, outstanding public debt with a maturity of more than 3 months was valued at around CFAF 360.8 billion, up 66.4% year-on-year, but down 18.1% quarter-on-quarter,

USD 13.69 billion external debt  The central government’s outstanding external debt to external partners represents 27.3% of the country’s GDP, valued at USD 13.69 billion (FCFA 8,247 billion). It increased by 0.2% on the previous quarter, and by 1.6% year-on-year. By creditor category, this debt is made up of 49.1% multilateral debt, 38.0% bilateral debt and 12.9% commercial debt.

Multilateral debt, which accounts for 33.1% of central government debt, was down 0.2% on the first quarter of the year, and up 4.8% year-on-year. The Cameroonian government has several multilateral creditors. The main ones are the World Bank (IDA & IBRD), with receivables of CFAF 1,560.6 billion, representing 38.5% of multilateral debt and 18.9% of external debt; the African Development Bank Group (ADF & AfDB), with USD 1.76 billion (FCFA 1,063.1 billion) in outstanding debt, representing 26.3% of multilateral debt and 12.8% of external debt; and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with USD 1.41 billion (FCFA 855 billion) in outstanding debt, corresponding to 10.3% of external debt.

USD 2.52 billion of external debt retroceded to public entities

At the end of June 2024, the retroceded debt amounted to USD 2.52 billion (FCFA 1,518 billion). Outstanding debt amounted to USD 1.59 billion (FCFA 961.8 billion) for a total of 11 beneficiary Public Establishments. According to the document, this represents 7.9% of the central government’s direct debt, and is up 4.4% year-on-year, compared with a quarter-on-quarter fall of 1.6%. The document published by the CAA also highlights bilateral debt. It represents 25.6% of central government debt. A figure that has risen by 1.9% compared with March 2024, and fallen by 3.2% compared with June 2023.

“This bilateral debt consists mainly of debt to China, corresponding to 66.2% of bilateral debt and Monthly Review of Cameroon’s Public Debt N°06/24-June 2024 CAA/CNDP 8/24 25.2% of total external debt; and debt to France, valued at USD 1.28 billion (FCFA 773.6 billion), corresponding to 24.6% of bilateral debt and 9.3% of total external debt. The commercial debt, representing 8.6% of the central government’s outstanding debt, is mainly made up of Eurobonds (2015 and 2021), whose outstanding amount is valued at 848.62 million USD (511.1 billion FCFA), or 48.2% of the commercial debt and 6.2% of the external debt”, the document states.