Economic Growth

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31 janv. 2018 13:50

Officials of the central and external services of the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) ended reflections yesterday in Yaounde.

“ Once bitten twice shy,” so goes a famous adage, which now holds sway of Cameroon’s economic situation hunted by double shocks of fall in oil and commodity prices as well as security challenges. The government has learnt her lessons and is now taking measures to further diversify the economy so as to attain economic growth. This is why the annual conference of the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) grouping the central and external services of the Ministry has ended in Yaounde with reflections centred on “Accelerating economic diversification for strong and sustainable growth.”

Speaking at the opening of the event on January 29, 2017, the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Louis Paul Motaze stated that Cameroon has to readjust its economy especially with the three-year IMF Extended Credit Facility Programme the country subscribed to. This, he noted, can only be done through the diversification of its economy. It is a truism that Cameroon’s economy as was confirmed by IMF is the most resilient in the CEMAC sub-region due to its diversification which however is not enough. “The morose international economic environment and its negative impact on our economy, today obliges us to reflect on the ways of strong and sustainable growth through a more diversified economy,” said Minister Motaze.

The nefarious effects of the downturn in oil and commodity prices greatly slowed down Cameroon’s economic growth from 4.7 per cent in 2016 to 3.7 per cent in 2...