The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised the government of Cameroon for the efforts she put in place to cushion the effects of the global economic crises, crises which crippled so many economies, forcing companies to freeze thousands of jobs. The IMF Resident Representative in Cameroon, Ekué G. Kpodar, said the country’s good macro-economic policies, characterised by huge international reserves as well as its deposits at the Central Bank, helped the country to stay afloat in the phase of the crises that brought many economies to their knees.
Ekué G. Kpodar made the disclosure yesterday November 30, 2010 at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel while presenting the 2010 report on the economic perspective for Sub-Saharan Africa. The 107-page report, titled, “Regional Economic Outlook, Sub-Saharan Africa: Resilience and Risks” contains economic and financial surveys of countries of Sub-Sahara Africa as well as their performance during the crises and perspectives.
Though some participants at yesterday’s report presentation were pessimistic that sub-Sahara African economies were already lying low and could not be expected to fall again, the IMF Country Representative said Cameroon, for example, had reserves which permitted the administration to maintain a certain level of public spending to keep the economy going. “Also, attention was focused on allocating resources on investment in development-bound sectors to maintain economic growth but much could be done to attain a 6 – 7 per cent growth rate so as to create jobs and considerably reduce poverty”, Mr Ekué G. Kpodar said. Like the IMF Country Representative, other eminent economists present at the ceremony said after weathering the storm, it was time the country went for feasible projects that could be financed with its means, pursue strict budgetary management and discipline, diversify the economy and that resources be focused more on growth-stimulated sectors like agriculture, energy and telecommunication, at competitive rates. Observations which the Secretary General at the Ministry of Finance, Jean Tchoffo, said have already been taken into consideration. Special attention attached to these sectors, through considerable budget allocations to the ministries of Public Works, Public Health, Agriculture and Rural Development and Water and Energy Resources, he stressed, lends credence to this.
According to the report, economic activity in Sub-Sahara Africa is projected to expand by 5 per cent in 2010 and 5.5 per cent in 2011 and that should this be the case, economic growth in most countries in the sub-region would have effectively bounced back close to the highest levels registered in the mid 2000s. But caution must be taken, for as the report shows, the recovery in advanced countries still looks shaky and financing flows could be jeopardised by fiscal retrenchment in these countries.
