The heads of state of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) are meeting on Monday in Yaoundé for better coordination in the face of worrying warning signals in the regional macroeconomic situation, a press release from the Cameroonian presidency announced on Sunday.
In the short term, this critical situation compromises the disbursement of IMF budgetary support to Cameroon, Congo and the CAR and only a regional commitment from the highest authorities of CEMAC could unblock the situation, explains the press release.
No monetary adjustment is on the agenda of this summit bringing together Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, the Gabonese Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Chad, the presidency’s press release continues.
Even though the government securities markets are somewhat challenged by unorthodox behaviors likely to lead to a severe banking system crisis in the medium term, the economic situation in the sub-region is not catastrophic. But the outlook is worrying if we continue on the same trajectory, the statement added, calling for better coordination (…) to correct the failures.
The situation is worrying both for the CEMAC zone and for its international financial partners. Indeed, the observed slippages and the uncertain future developments of certain members of the Union could affect the entire zone, to the point of permanently compromising its development, the text continues.
Even if the aggregates announce a positive growth rate, the trend is gradually beginning to decline due to the level of inflation above the convergence threshold, a risk of over-indebtedness, without excluding a downward trend in external reserves, despite the favorable oil prices, according to the same source.
The first heads of state arrived in Yaoundé on Sunday and discussions are scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to the official programme.
It was President Paul Biya who took the initiative to convene this extraordinary summit with the aim of deciding, in a concerted manner, on solutions likely to overcome this perilous hurdle, according to the press release from the Cameroonian presidency.
