- Cameroon says a review of disability and survivor pension beneficiaries has generated about CFA12 billion in annual savings since 2021.
- The exercise aims to eliminate improper pension payments and strengthen oversight of the government payroll system.
- The initiative forms part of broader efforts to reduce waste and control public spending.
Cameroon has been saving about CFA12 billion ($21 million) a year since November 2021 through an operation designed to verify and secure the list of beneficiaries receiving disability and survivor pensions, according to Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to clean up the government's payroll database and eliminate improper payments of salaries, pensions, and other public benefits, the Ministry of Finance said.
In January 2020, the ministry published a list of 7,855 former government employees suspected of receiving disability or survivor pensions without sufficient documentation. According to authorities, records establishing their eligibility could not be located, prompting a review of their cases.
Disability pensions are granted to current or former public employees deemed unfit for work under conditions defined by law. Survivor pensions, meanwhile, provide eligible family members with a portion of the pension benefits owed to a deceased public employee. The operation is part of a wider government strategy to control the public wage bill and improve the management of state finances.
Since 2018, the government has also conducted a physical headcount of public employees, an exercise that authorities say has generated about CFA30 billion in annual savings by identifying irregularities within the civil service payroll. The Ministry of Finance has since expanded its efforts by launching an audit of family allowance payments made to public employees. The goal is to identify benefits received improperly and further improve the reliability of government payroll records.
The reviews come as Cameroon faces growing pressure on public finances, making control of current spending a key priority for the government.
Ludovic Amara