The Ministerial Committee of the Economic and Monetary Union of Central Africa met in its ordinary session in Yaounde on September 29,2015.
Economies of the six States of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States, CEMAC, do not speak well in terms of growth. The Sub-region is dangling, with telling figures of doom, if stricter fiscal measures are not taken seriously.
Meeting in an ordinary session at the headoffice of the Bank of Central African States in Yaounde on September 29, 2015, Finance and Economy Ministers of the Sub-region regretted macroeconomic forecasts which put regional growth rate at 2.5 per cent down from 4.6 per cent in 2014. But how did this happen when months earlier, projections stood at 2.8 per cent. Cameroon’s Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Monetary Union of Central Africa, Alamine Ousmane Mey, explained that six of the sub-region’s countries are oil producers, facing headwins, due to drop in the price per barrel in the international market. Insecurity in the sub-region is continuously downplaying growth forecast in the sub-region. The option to incite economies to diversify their sources of revenue is progressing in some countries, but not in others. Faced with the plethora of problems, the session recommended like in previous get-togethers, that sub-regional integration should be taken seriously, budgetary choices well scanned, investments adjusted and the business environment improved upon so as to woo investors.
The committee also revealed a decline in inflationary pressure with an inflation rate of 2.8 per cent as against 3.2 per cent in 2014. It noted a worsening fiscal deficit, on ccommitment basis, excluding grants at -4.2 per cent down from 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2014. It reported a deficit in the current account balance at -11.4 per cent GDP as against -4.3 per cent in 2014 and a coverage rate of foreign currency at 70.1 per cent.
To reinforce the robustness of the economies of CEMAC member States in a context marked by weaker crude oil prices coupled with fragile conditions in some countries facing security problems, the board stressed the need for States to rationalise their budgetary choices as well as deepen sub-regional integration. Responding to worries on the difficulty faced by national treasuries linked to the strong depreciation of international economic environment coupled with sub-regional insecurity, the ministerial committee approved the establishment of overdraft to Chad, as adopted by BEAC Board of Directors. The decision comes on the heels of financial hurdles faced by the country as it struggles to get its diversification procedure payoff. The committee however, tasked the management of the bank to deepen reflection on financing modalities of the States by the issuing institution, without prejudice of its statutory missions, and to propose a reform of BEAC texts in line with modernising intervention and procedural instruments.
