Cameroon’s government cannot ramp up public investment due to ballooning security, social, and operating costs, the Ministry of Finance has revealed.
According to the 2026-2028 Medium-Term Economic and Budgetary Programming Document, Cameroon continues to miss its goal of allocating at least 30% of its budget to public investment. The Finance Ministry presented this document during the July 2025 budget orientation debate at the National Assembly.
The Ministry says it has failed to control public spending despite reforms over the past three years. “Progress in some expenditure items, such as transfers and subsidies, thanks to the reduction of fuel subsidies and savings on permanent personnel expenses from consecutive payroll audits, is offset by other public charges,” the report states.
These other costs include rising security spending in crisis regions, growing social expenses for vulnerable populations, increased public consumption, payments to international organizations, and expenses linked to public rent and leasing.
Cost-Cutting Measures Show Limited Impact
The government has implemented several cost-saving measures over the last three years and even earlier. It raised fuel prices in 2023 and 2024, cutting fuel subsidies from over CFA700 billion in 2022 to just 15 billion in 2025. The reductions included 350 billion in 2023 and 263 billion in 2024, as reported in state finance laws.
Cracking Down on "Ghost Workers"
The Ministry also cracked down on "ghost workers." It reports annual savings of CFA30 billion from physical headcounts of state employees since 2019. A 2018 payroll cleanup removed 10,000 phantom workers. In July 2024, audits began on defense and police pensioners targeting fraudulent family allowance claims, recouping CFA3.5 billion yearly.
Savings Fail to Boost Investment
Despite these gains, the Ministry admits these savings haven’t flowed into public investment. It cites heavy current expenses and growing arrears, including floating debt and unpaid treasury obligations. Personnel costs alone reached CFA1,383 billion in 2024, taking up 97.6% of estimated spending and 21.3% of the total state budget. Projections place personnel expenses at about 21.5% of the 2025 budget.
Security and Social Costs Push Spending Higher
The Ministry expects expenses to rise further through 2027. The government granted two 5% salary increases for civil servants in 2023 and 2024. It also raised monthly family allowances by 60%, from 2,800 to CFA4,500 per child in 2024, cushioning the impact of fuel price hikes on households.
Prime Minister Joseph Dion Nguté announced that by December 1, 2024, the government had paid CFA164 billion out of 200 billion in salary arrears, mostly owed to teachers. The remaining CFA36 billion are expected to be paid in 2025.
Personnel costs remain stubbornly high despite efforts to limit new public sector hires. Security spending continues to strain budgets. Even before Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis erupted in late 2016, the IMF estimated that military operations against Boko Haram in the Far North cost 1% to 2% of GDP.
Brice R. Mbodiam