Cameroon has most of the ingredients of growth: natural and human resources, favourable climatic conditions and a stable political and investments environment.
Yet, the chances of the country attaining the status of an emerging economy by 2035 are not so obvious. Even the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper that envisages clear measures for the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and ensure sustainable economic growth require more determination to succeed.
However, with various commitments taken by the Head of State on the development of Cameroon, declaring his current tenure of office as one of “Great Accomplishments” whereby action has to be prompt, there seems to be no time to waste. It is true that old habits die hard. But bureaucrats who tend to block development initiatives either from foreign or national partners in their offices may have to think twice. Indicators of economic take-off such as employment, GDP growth, increase in private sector investments, and mastery of inflation, among others, no longer need to be slogans, but concrete figures that clearly say the direction in which the country is heading.
Certainly, the 5.5 per cent growth-rate projected for 2012 in Cameroon shows an improvement from nearly 4 per cent in 2011 and barely 2 per cent in 2009. Such an ascending path does not meet the requirements for Cameroon to reach an emerging economy status by 2035. This explains why the government has continued to strengthen beneficiary partnerships with the private sector that holds some of the key solutions to the acute problem of improving the living conditions of the population. The opening of the third meeting of the Cameroon Business Forum in the economic capital, Douala yesterday March 05, 2012 came as a follow up to those of 2010 and February 2011 in Yaounde during which government and the private sector made commitments towards improving the business climate in the country.
The issues today may not just be saying what has been done or not by each of the parties, but more concretely, a question of demonstrating good faith by all. While the administration has made efforts to facilitate the creation of enterprises through the one-stop-shop and other measures, the private sector still face the challenges of offering enough jobs to the ever growing number of the unemployed in the country. The tax regime may have a role to play here. More so, the need for the processing of raw materials into semi-finished and finished products remains crucial in the country, like elsewhere in Africa.
While it is indispensable that government works in synergy with the private sector in the creation of wealth, it is equally important that the industrialisation of the country’s economy be accelerated in earnest. Cameroon boasts of rich deposits of mineral and other natural resources that give the country an enviable international position. Yet, basic problems of survival still remain acute. This could simply mean that in as much as the need to ensure the survival of the existing population remains crucial, the long term solution to the nation’s economic development may require an overhaul of the economic system. The private sector may therefore have to also make bolder economic choices that go beyond wealth creation to include embracing the processing of raw materials on the spot. Undoubtedly, there are enough human resources for the country to witness an accelerated economic growth, especially if the win-win partnership between government and the private sector remains sincere.
