Unlike other countries within the Cemac area, Cameroon’s current balance deficit worsened during the past year. According to recent data from the Bank of Central African Countries (Beac), the country’s deficit grew to 3.4% over the period, against 2.5% in 2017.

Such a situation is driven by a negative trade balance performance of XAF271.7 billion in 2018 compared to XAF117 billion, according to Beac projections. A negative trend is also observed in Equatorial Guinea with deficit reaching 8.5% of GDP in 2018 against 7.1% in 2017.

Deficit narrowed in Gabon (2.7% in 2018 compared to 5.0% a year earlier); Chad (4.2% after 7.1% in 2017) and the Central African Republic (8.0% after 8.5% in 2017). The rate returned to surplus in Congo (+2.6% against -2.5% in 2017).

Overall, CEMAC’s external accounts show a decrease in the current account deficit, including official grants, from 4.2% of GDP (XAF2,057.9 billion) in 2017 to 3.1% in 2018 (XAF1,622.5 billion).

“This improvement (for the region) would result from a 49.1% increase in the trade balance surplus to XAF6,436.9 billion in 2018, thanks to a larger increase in exports (+20.4%) than in imports (+6.3%),” explains the Beac.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Cameroon’s capital, Yandé recovered by 0.8 percent in February 2019 after a 0.5 decline the previous month, the National Statistics Institute (INS) revealed.

Such a bounce back, INS mentions, was motivated by an increase in the prices of food by 2.8 percent after a 1.7 percent drop in January 2019; Furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (+0.4 percent after a steady trend in Jan); apparel and footwear (+0.2 percent after -0.2 percent). Alternatively, the prices of housing, water, gas, electricity and other fuels fell over the period (-0.2 percent after +0.3 percent in the previous month).

Monthly surge in food prices in Yaoundé is largely due to the increase in prices of fruit (+14.7 percent after -2.2 percent), vegetables (+6.1 percent after -1.8 percent), oils and fats (+2.9 percent after +0.8 percent), fish and seafood (+1.2 percent after -0.1 percent), and to a lesser extent meat (+0.3 percent after +0.3 percent).

Fruit prices are rising, driven in particular by higher prices of watermelons, pineapples, avocado and lemon. Higher vegetable prices come from the increase in prices of fresh tomatoes, fresh okra, okok leaves, etc.

Increase in the price of fish and seafood is mainly due to the increase in the prices of frozen sea bass (+0.3 percent), fresh sea bass (+1.3 percent), fresh carp (+2.5 percent), frozen captain (+5.0 percent) and frozen African sea catfish (+11.6 percent). “Also, prices of bread increased by 0.1 percent and those of imported popular rice by 1 percent,” INS says, as reported by Business in Cameroon.

Source: Devdiscourse

On Tuesday this week, Cimencam (LafargeHolcim group) officially inaugurated the new Nomayos cement plant. The ceremony was carried out under the patronage of his Excellency Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon.

The grinding plant has a capacity of 0.5Mta and was constructed by CBMI of China. According to Benoît Galichet, CEO of Cimencam, this new production unit is the first step in the transformation of Cimencam into a “new Cimencam.”

Benoît Galichet added that, the Nomayos plant allows this cement producer to “get closer to the promising markets” of the central, southern and eastern regions, and then to draw take advantage of the opportunities offered by neighbouring countries such as the Central African Republic.

Lafarge also operates an integrated plant in the country at Figuil and another grinding plant at Douala, bringing the company’s cement capacity up to 2.1Mta.

Source: CementNews

Freight transport between Cameroon and the Central African Republic via the border city of Garoua-Boulaï, western part of Cameroon, resumed March 28 after about a month of suspension.

The good news is owing to a decision by Central African rebels to break camp at that border they blocked since March 3 to protest against the appointment of the new Prime Minister in their country. Camp was broken after a dialogue was open between parties in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Therefore, the hundreds of trucks loaded with goods, which had been immobilized for several weeks, both in Cameroonian and Central African territory, have now resumed operations.

According to official Cameroonian customs statistics, about XAF55 billion worth of Central African goods transit Cameroon each year.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Four crew members have been seized by pirates following an attack on the Contship Oak containership off the coast of Cameron in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to Maritime Bulletin, the vessel was at anchorage when pirates boarded it and kidnapped the crewmembers.

The 1,118 TEU vessel, owned by carrier Contship, then continued to the Port of Douala, Cameron, where as of April 2 it remains docked.

According to reports, the attack took place on March 30, 2019, just days after US-organised anti-piracy drills had taken place in the region.  

The Obangame Express 2019 took place on March 22, 2019, and saw 2500 naval service members, 95 vessels and 12 aircraft prepare for acts of piracy.

Several NATO members also participated, as did the US Coast Guard cutter Thetis. The exercises come after several attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, which has deteriorated into the world’s most dangerous area for commercial shipping.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the region suffered 201 attacks in 2018, an increase from the 180 that occurred in 2017.

The most high-profile act of piracy took place in January 2019, as the MSC Mandy was attacked 55 nautical miles off the coast of Benin, a story PTI reported on.

Source: Porttechnology.org

The investment accomplished by African Development Bank in Cameroon has reached XAF177 billion.

While speaking at a meeting with the economic operators on March 28 in Douala, African Development Bank’s (AfDB) executives opined that only 11 percent of this portfolio was directed to the private sector.

“This is a paradox given that the African Development Bank has mechanisms for private investments. Sadly, these fund vehicles are weakly deployed in Cameroon,” regretted Solomane Kone, AfDB representative in the central African country.

Due to the requirement to addressing the situation, the bank set up a strategy seeking to promote private investment in Cameroon, in order to make the sector more competitive, both nationally and regionally, as reported by Business in Cameroon.

Source: Devdiscourse

Cameroon’s airline Camair Co has been in big trouble since the beginning of this year. After the company announced in January that 4 aircrafts of its fleet of 6 got out of order, the remaining two also broke down.

On March 19, the aviation authority instructed Camair Co to stop operating its Chinese MA 60 due to a “Tail Strike” (when the plane’s tail hit the ground) that occurred March 10 at Bafoussam Airport, Western Region. A few days earlier, it was the company’s Bombardier Q400 that broke down, after hitting a stepladder in the parking following a violent storm, sources said.

However, in order to continue ensuring regional and domestic services (with a rate of 100 flights a week), Camair Co is now only using a small aircraft from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. The aircraft was rented from Equatorial Guinea, we learnt. This situation, let’s recall, occurred when the airlines’ top management was aiming for a soon resumption of flights to Paris, France.

2019 is on the path to be a tough year for Camair Co with serious underperformances. Yet, the company performed well last year, after more than 6 years of difficulties. In January this year, it posted a turnover of XAF1.4 billion, compared to an average monthly revenue of XAF2.4 billion throughout 2018. Executives, who projected figures to further fall to XAF700 million in February due to the suspension of 4 aircrafts, now see a much wider gap for this month and the rest of the year.

Such a drastic underperformance cannot be cushioned unless the government backs Camair Co but the government itself has been facing treasury tensions for the past two years due to increasing security expenses (Boko Haram, Anglophone crisis, unrest in Adamaoua etc.). According to reliable sources, fixing the engines of its two Boeing 737 alone will cost Camair Co a minimum of XAF14 billion.

Source: Business in Cameroon

March salaries for majority of civil servants may not be paid, Ministry of Finance sources have revealed. Cameroon Concord News gathered that teachers, officers under military, police and the intelligence will all be affected.

The Biya Francophone regime has cited technical failure in an engine room serving the National Center for the Development of Informatics which hosts the computer system managing all public servants data.

Medics and other health workers including officers employed under the numerous ministries created by the Cameroonian dictator will also face one of the longest salary delays to hit the civil service in recent times in the CEMAC region.

Our senior business affairs correspondent in Yaoundé hinted that the ruling CPDM crime syndicate is confronting some difficulties in managing its Payroll Management and Establishment Control system.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources however said the Beti Ewondo regime has failed to raise sufficient revenue to fund salaries mainly due to depressed economic activities in January and February and the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

As anticipated, the delay to settle civil servant salaries is already breeding ground for corruption. The situation is becoming desperate and civil servants are in the dark about what is happening to their salaries.

“Delays in paying salaries have often offer an incentive to Cameroonian civil servants to engage in corruption and if the current situation does not change, we will see a lot of corruption cases involving government workers” noted a baron of the Biya administration.

By Sama Ernest and Rita Akana in Yaounde

Cameroonian President Paul Biya inked March 19, 2019 a decree authorizing the finance minister to conclude with Ecoank Cameroon a XAF25 to 60 billion loan agreement.

Monies will partially fund the 3-year Growth Acceleration Emergency Plan (Planut), adopted by the government in December 2014. The plan requires a capital of XAF925 billion.

Focus sectors include agriculture (seed distribution and opening of agricultural roads), health (improving technical capacities of certain hospitals), real estate (construction of 1000 social housing units across the country) and road infrastructure. Overall, 35,000 jobs are expected to be created under the scheme.

Planut is co-financed by five banks including the Cameroonian subsidiaries of BGFI, Standard Chartered Bank, Banque Atlantique, Ecobank and Deutsche Bank of Madrid.

Source: Business in Cameroon