Biya gives Guidelines for 2018 State Budget, Critics cry foul.

The Head of state, Pul Biya has begun defining the main contours of the 2018 state budget. The traditional circular signed Tuesday June 20 gives guidelines for the preparation of the State budget. with President Paul Biya stressing the continuous implementation of the three-year emergency plan, smooth preparations for the 2019 African Cup of Nations, the operationalisation of the "Special Youth" emergency plan and the strict supervision of people affected by cross-border insecurity.

The circular comes as the country enters the third  triennium (2016-2018) programme-based budget, with the executive directives hinging on government priorities and commitments that are aligned to the country's long term development objectives contained in the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP). Government seeks the acceleration of economic growth and the improvement of the livelihoods of Cameroonians.

The preparation of the 2018 budget comes at a time world economies are dangling. The International Monetary Fund notes that global economic growth stood at 3.1 per cent in 2015, reached 3.2 in 2016, but expected to hit 3.5 in 2017 - driven by emerging and developing countries. Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to continue at relatively lower rates than in the past decades due to falling commodity prices.The circular also comes at a time the Bank of Central African States, BEAC, indicates that growth in Central Africa is stagnating. A situation has has raised fears of a possible devaluation of the FFRANC CFA. Government however argues that Cameroon has  shown resilience. Her Projections place growth at 6 per cent, up from 5.9 per cent - with an inflation rate of below 3 per cent in 2016.

Top on government's intents is to accelerate economic growth, make it strong, sustainable, inclusive and job creative. The achievement of the objectives is based on the modernization of agriculture (second-generation agriculture), the stepping up of energy supply, improvement of enterprise competitiveness, business climate, access to financing, promotion of the growth of local industry and the processing of local products.

Stakeholders tasked with preparing the State budget have been urged to maintain a real GDP growth rate of 6 per cent, an inflation rate of 3 per cent, an overall fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent of GDP and a current account deficit of 3.6 per cent of GDP.

Economists however say governments figures regarding growth rate is unrealistic considering the yawning poverty gap. Emmanuel Kungne, a Douala based Economists laments that te country's reserves at BEAC is drying up while foreign debts stands at over 5000billion FCFA. The country is on a continous borrowing spree which is being spent on uncoordinated projects and stolen by regime barons. He wonders how reassuring government can sound when most of the projects inscribed in the Emergency plan are limping. To him government is demonstrating a false reality which does not reflect that of the common man.  2018 to him will be more perilous for a vast majority of the population who live below the poverty line.