Cameroon’s economic recovery is moving from strength to strength. Indicators seem to show that strategies put in place to improve state revenue collection and streamlining expenditure are yielding fruits. A statement from the Ministry of Finance, MINFI, on Tuesday September 20 published in Cameroon Tribune, throws light on the mid-term evaluation of the implementation of the FCFA 2,530 billion 2011 state budget.
In the first six months of the year, total revenue, excluding external financing, amounted to FCFA 1,107 billion. This gives an increase of FCFA 183 billion, compared to the FCFA 924 billion recorded at the end of the first six months of 2010. Furthermore, the FCFA 1,107 billion achievement is above the FCFA 1,061 projection made for the period.
The performance is attributed to an increase of FCFA 52 billion in petroleum and FCFA 131 billion in non-petroleum earnings as well as increase in tax collection of FCFA 549 billion, up from FCFA 447 billion recorded during the same period last year. This gives an increase of FCFA 98 billion.
On the other hand, total expenditure amounted to FCFA 1,144 billion at the end of June 2011, compared to FCFA 1,027 billion in 2010. The increase resulted mainly from an increase of FCFA 27 billion in national debt servicing and FCFA 87 billion recurrent expenditure. In a national context marked by a drop in the importation of basic foodstuff notably rice and fresh frozen fish, the release notes that the execution of the 2011 state budget generally conforms to the finance law, thanks to budgetary regulation, improved petroleum revenue, and mastery of the payroll, in spite of delays in the implementation of certain investment projects.
