On January 25, 2018, Alamine Ousmane Mey, Cameroon’s minister of finance revealed that an audit was being conducted to determine the amount government owes SMEs. This was during a cabinet council held at the prime minister’s office in Yaoundé.
At the end of that audit, the government should put in place a strategy to repay the debt which has been one of the focal points of the president’s New Year’s address on December 31, 2017.
“The adverse global economic situation due notably to falling commodity prices has negatively impacted economic growth and social progress in our country. It has also caused treasury issues which have severely affected Government contractors, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises”, Paul Biya admitted.
“We will, in this regard, maintain our efforts to optimize public revenue collection and streamline public spending. Special attention will be paid to the situation of SMEs, especially concerning the repayment of the debt owed them and improving their access to bank loans”, he continued.
