Cameroon President Paul Biya
YAOUNDE – Cameroon will spend an extra $1.75-billion over three years to boost economic growth, the government said after the first cabinet meeting presided over by President Paul Biya in two years.
The Central African region's largest economy - an oil and cocoa producer - had grown steadily in the past decade. But poor infrastructure and what critics saw as inertia and lack of a coherent strategy by government authorities had stymied its potential.
Cameroon suffers from chronic power shortages which cripple business operations, and its poor roads and transportation network make it hard to move goods such as cocoa, coffee and timber to ports for export.
Long-serving President Biya – who the country's opposition calls an "absentee president" because of his frequent and lengthy holidays – said the emergency programme would be in addition to currently budgeted spending.
"The emergency plan is a special programme of measures and projects aimed at meeting the immediate needs of the population," Biya said, following the 25-minute cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Philemon Yang said during a presentation in the cabinet meeting that the three-year investment programme would focus on sectors such as road infrastructure, health, agriculture, energy and security.
"The special programme is financed through the mobilisation of the required resources from local and international financial institutions at sustainable rates," Yang said without giving further details.
The government has forecast economic growth of 5.8% in 2014, accelerating to 6.3% in 2015. The International Monetary Fund forecasts 5.1% this year and 5.2% in 2015.