An Economic Relief

The Eurobond Cameroon announced on 22 June this year is known to have raised a lot of dust with many people including some members of the people’s representatives questioning its raison d’être. Some qualified it as an additional debt which has come to further increase the country’s debt burden. Some went further to challenge government to justify the validity of the money to be raised. The sky over the Eurobond deal became clearer when the Minister of Finance appeared in parliament during the question time session to tell MPs it is not a new loan. He even went as far as assuring them Cameroon has not overstretched itself in its debt management. The announcement of the results of the international bond market on 30 June (last Wednesday) rekindled hopes especially among those who thought Cameroon had lost investment credibility in the face of the international community. The results showed an overwhelming participation of international investors in the bid indicating an escalating 321 per cent subscription rate representing FCFA 1,481.15 billion or 2.258 billion Euros. The State was seeking for FCFA 450 billion or 685 million Euros. 
Now that the money has been raised, what next is surely the question on many minds. The population wants to know the projects to be financed with the FCFA 450 billion. The answer is found in the statement the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze issued from a Paris public platform. In that statement, the Minister reechoed what he had told parliamentarians. The money will partly finance the 2015 Eurobond the country contracted at a rate that is higher than the present Eurobond. The 2015 bond deal had an interest rate of 9.50 per cent while the new one has been arranged at 5.95 per cent. From every indication and taking into consideration the explanations of the Minister, the answer to the question many had been asking is clear. But it would appear clearer for those who are well informed about the evolution of the country’s economic deals. The money raised in 2015 which the present Euro...