At close of working visit: IMF recommends investment in infrastructure to boost dev’t.

The IMF delegation, led by the Adviser of the Africa Department, Christine Dieterich, presented the recommendations to Prime Minister, Head of Government, Dr Chief Joseph Dion Ngute.

This was after intense consultations with public and private sector stakeholders across the country. The IMF team reviewed fiscal policy, debt strategy, growth prospects and implementation of the national development agenda.

Addressing concerns raised by the private sector, Dieterich acknowledged both challenges and progress made especially with regards to tax administration. 

She said digitalisation of tax administration has tremendous potential to improve efficiency of payment and make the administrative burden for the private sector easier, improve governance and reduce corruption.

It emerged from the visit that Cameroon's economy demonstrated considerable resilience despite external shocks, though growth remains subdued. 

It was also detailed that economic expansion slowed to 3.1 per cent in 2025 from 3.5 per cent in 2024, partly due to post-election unrest which disrupted trade, services, and investment.

Despite the pressures, the IMF described the outlook as cautiously favourable. Growth is projected to recover to 3.3 per cent in 2026, supported by higher public investment and easing uncertainty. 

A stronger rebound is anticipated in 2027 and 2028, subject to the timely completion of electricity transmission projects. 

Over the medium term, the IMF projects growth could reach 4.6 per cent by 2031, driven in part by mining diversification. Inflation is forecast to decline to 2.9 per cent in 2026 and stabilise around 2.5 per cent thereafter.

On domestic revenue mobilisation, Dieterich emphasised that it is important to have a solid financing base for investments because Cameroon has certain constraints to increase its debt without risk to its stability.

The mission lauded successful reforms already implemented by the Ministry of Finance, describing them as stepping stones toward intensifying domestic revenue mobilisation necessary to finance urgent needs sustainably without creating debt-side risks.

The IMF delegation recommended Cameroon review its external borrowing pace, which carries significant costs. 

Other priorities include improving access to finance, strengthening investment planning, expanding infrastructure investment through greater reliance on concessional financing, operationalising the Single Treasury Account, and advancing reforms to deepen the regional treasury market.

The mission stressed sustained implementation of recommendations from the 2023 governance assessment diagnostic, particularly addressing weaknesses in asset declaration, audit, and anti-corruption frameworks. 

PM Dion Ngute acknowledged the observations would be taken into consideration. The IMF Executive Board is expected to consider the staff report on the 2026 Article IV Consultation with Cameroon in late March.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3707 of Wednesday February 18, 2026