EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Yaoundé, November 23, 2015

ALAMINE OUSMANE MEY

MINISTER OF FINANCES

Madam President Of The Finance And Budget Committee,

Honorable Members, Members Of The Commission,

Ladies And Gentlemen,

First Of All, Allow Me To Express My Sincere Thanks To The President For The Always Kind Words She Has For Us And For The Delegation Who Is Accompanying Us. It Is An Immeasurable Privilege To Speak Before Your August Commission And It Falls To Me The Pleasant Duty, On This Day, To Submit To Your Sanction The Bill Ratifying Order N ° 2015/003 Of August 13 2015 Amending And Supplementing Certain Provisions Of Law No. 2014/02 Of December 23, 2014 On The Finance Law Of The Republic Of Cameroon For The 2015 Financial Year.

As Recalled In The Explanatory Memorandum To The Bill, The 2015 Budget Had Provided, In Its Fourth Article, A Debt Ceiling For Concessional And Non-concessional Loans Of 500 Billion CFA Francs Each. However, It Seemed Necessary To Take Into Account The Concerns Of Donors, Who Demanded Certificates Of Non-exceeding Of The Authorized Debt Ceiling, In Order To Conclude The Draft Agreements Under Negotiation. At The Signing Of The Said Ordinance, The Ceiling For Nonconcessional Loans Had Been Reached, While Agreements Were Awaiting Signature With Various Donors.

The Signing Of This Ordinance Raised The Ceiling For non-concessional Loans From 700 Billion CFA Francs, From 500 To 1,200 Billion; the Ceiling For Concessional Loans Remains Unchanged. This Increase Will Also Make It Possible To Complete The negotiations Initiated For The Funding Of Projects Related To The Organization Of The African Cups Of Nations (CAN) In 2016 And 2019.

At This Point In My Remarks, I Would For All Practical Purposes Note That Cameroon's Debt At The End Of September Is Around 23% Of GDP. It Mainly Consists Of External Debt (73%) With A Preponderance Of Multilateral And Bilateral Debt. The Viability And Sustainability Of This Debt Are Ensured By Prudent Management In Accordance With Our Medium-term Debt Strategy.

On The Strength Of The Foregoing, This Bill Has Been Prepared In Accordance With Article Twenty-ninth Of The Law N ° 2014/026 Of December 23, 2014 Mentioned Above Which Provides That The Orders “are Deposited On The Bureaux Of The Assembly National And Senate, For Ratification, At The Parliamentary Session Following Their Publication ”and Subject To The Sanction Of The Members Of Your Committee.

Thank You For Your Kind Attention And Remain Ready To Answer Your Questions./-

BILL RATIFICATION OF ORDER N ° 2015/003 OF 13 AUGUST AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF LAW N ° 2014/026 OF 23 DECEMBER 2014 ON THE FINANCIAL LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON FOR THE 2015 FINANCIAL YEAR