BY NDUMBE BELL JOSEPH GASTON IN DOUALA
The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze has allayed fears on the uncertainty that Cameroon’s economy may at some time in the future, drift into a recession, but instead outlined innovation and reforms for resilience.
He assured Cameroonian economic actors and foreign investors among a broad spectrum of senior administrative officials, civils society leaders, politicians, university professors, individual experts and a cream of other concerned citizens, at the launching of the execution of the 2023 state budget last Monday, January 16 to Tuesday January 17 in Douala of which the budget stands at FCFA6.345 billion, an increase of FCFA 264.7 to that of 2022.
The Finance Minister said creating awareness and sensitisization of this magnitude was to enable everyone to have knowledge of the situation and what is being done as the galloping situation caused by the ripple effects of internal and external wars and the pandemic persist and continue to impact negatively on basic foods and gas prices, thereby weakened consumer spending.
So far, he said a huge package of reforms and innovations have been introduced and new controls and regulations created sooner than later to change the paradigm where new initiatives would sprout to replace old realities to reverse further down-turns and lay foundations for a more sustainable economy.
Among the many presentations made by the customs, taxation, Minepat Douala, Minfi and that of public contracts and other services, were some of those projects such as the reinforcement of the national decentralisation process now referred to as a mini-public service.Reference was made to support private and public sector initiatives on import substitution where its reduction in the dependence of imported goods is expected to promote made in Cameroun goods, improve our standards and generate income through future opportunities in the upcoming African Common Market.
The Finance Minister exhorted investors to make sectors like agro-industry a priority as government is also encouraging the exploitation of sub-soil resources as alternative sources of revenue aware of the dropping fortunes in oil. The state intends to reduce the foreign debt burden by increasing taxes on some of the activities of private sector partners, some of these to support the public services but there will be no tax hikes on essential commodities. Instead, there will be steps taken to control inflation which the Minister also commented that when market prices do not rise, some retailers take this for granted not knowing that it is because of government controls, since the government has opened up channels of dialogue between related ministries and buyers of the private sector.
When all these controls are duly respected, they will jointly create a sustainable economy.
In brief, the Finance Minister ascertained that the main goals of the 2023 budget was budget consolidation and the mastery of budget deficit which brings to the fore, optimising the mobilisation of non-oil revenues and the allocation, sharing or the rationalisation of public spending taking into consideration the quality objectivity, utility and fair prices.
The 2023 budget allocations from the total F CFA 6.345,1 billion reductions and slight increases in the different segments even though not mentioned.
Beginning in any order the investment budget for this fiscal year amounted to F CFA 1 386,8 billion and spending on the purchase of goods and services was fixed at F CFA 1 075,8 billion while transfers and subventions were at F CFA 1 072 billion.
Infrastructure and Equipment was F CFA 1 019.8 billion.Education stood at F CFA 814.4 billion. Personnel expenses amounted to F CFA 1 257.7 billion while decentralisation amounted to F CFA 252.6 billion.
In other segments import substitution amounted to F CFA 131.8 billion and social spending was fixed at F CFA 316.9 billion. This year special fund and economically distressed zones had F CFA 15 billion, among others following a presentation by MINFI.