IMF boss upbeat about Cameroon's economic performance in 2016

The Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has expressed optimism that Cameroon's economy will record a good performance in 2016 despite the double challenges of insecurity and drop of the oil prices.

Lagarde was speaking to Xinhua in Yaounde in an interview over the weekend, during her three-day visit to Cameroon.

Besides the continued drop in oil prices on the international market, Cameroon is currently confronted with security challenges caused by Boko Haram activities in the Far East region as well as armed groups from the Central African Republic in the East.

"I believe the Cameroonian economy is well positioned to resist the double shocks of insecurity, which has seen more public funds diverted to fighting armed groups, and the drop in oil prices which dipped by 70 percent when compared to June 2014. The Cameroonian economy remained stable and it is expected to expand by 6 percent in 2015 and improve on this growth in 2016," the IMF boss said.

She said the country's economy will perform better on condition that the government adopts good policies, especially in terms of managing the scarce public resources.

Largarde further urged Cameroonian authorities to adopt policies that will improve the business environment to attract more investors to the country.
She expressed concern that funding of large-scale infrastructure projects may face financing deficit because of the scarcity of funds due to the drop in oil prices. In this regard, she advised the government to be more selective as it chooses the infrastructure projects it undertakes.

She, however, noted that the IMF could provide the necessary technical and financial support to help Cameroon go through the current transition phase towards a more stable situation.