The recent 72-hour visit of Mrs Lagarde to Cameroon and the issues discussed speak of an institution resolutely behind the country’s long-term growth vision.
That the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde undertook a 72-hour working visit to Cameroon (January 7-9, 2016) may no longer be news, given that she came, saw and left. But what remains fresh in the minds of many, and could be so for years to come, is the convergence of views between the IMF and the government of Cameroon on one hand, and the entire Central African sub region, on the other. More so, at a time the “Iron Lady’, bolstered by strong backing from across Europe, has declared her intention to run for a second term when the current mandate ends in July.
Mrs Lagarde’s visit to Cameroon fell within a given context. Government has already drafted a ten-year development plan, the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, considered as a compass to attaining a middle-income economy status by 2035. Besides this, government is also implementing a three-year emergency plan that seeks to fast-track socio-economic development notably getting state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Her visit to Cameroon was therefore to share with government the IMF’s take on already engaged development objectives and how well the vision could be transformed into palpable realizations to improve the living conditions of the population. This has been a permanent desire of public authorities.
Right from the Nsimalen International Airport when she landed through her meeting with the country’s top officials, the business class and women leaders in Douala, Mrs Lagarde made it clear that her visit to Cameroon was not to negotiate any deal, whatsoever. It wasn’t either a master visiting to dish out absolute management lessons. In fact, her meeting with different officials from the Head of State, Prime Minister and government Ministers was an occasion for elbow-to-elbow discussions on what could be done to improve on the economy.
Reason why she congratulated Cameroon and the Head of State during a State dinner at Unity palace in her honour on the country’s economic resilience to global challenges. As good as the country’s performance had been, thanks to which it stayed afloat, Mrs Lagarde observed that Cameroon’s development and growth ought to pass through regional integration, infrastructure development and good business climate. She noted that in an environment of rising fiscal pressures, careful consideration needed to be given to priorities.
The same point of view was re-echoed when she met with Ministers of the Economy and Finance of the sub region in a roundtable on “Low oil prices and the financing of infrastructure.” With the Governor of the Bank of Central African States, Lucas Abaga Nchama and the President of the CEMAC Commission, Pierre Moussa, in separate sessions, the niceties of genuine sub regional integration were examined in detail. She said, “By coming together today, you can harness the dividends from integration and deliver on the region’s promise of greater prosperity for its people tomorrow.”
None of the parties therefore took the discussions from either positions of strength or weakness. In a communiqué signed after her Cameroon visit, Christine Lagarde described her discussions with Cameroon’s officials as “rich and constructive.” It was indeed an occasion for the convergence of views from two parties whose permanent interest is to continually ensure the betterment of citizens’ living conditions irrespective of the sometimes irreversible unfavourable global conditions. Cameroon is no longer under any structural programme. She has and masters her growth programmes but could be re-oriented by strategic development partners like the IMF. Mrs Lagarde promised that, “The IMF can help through policy advice, capacity-building and financial support, if needed.” This tells of a development partner that respects State sovereignty, but is readily available to assist where and when needed.
