The Heads of State of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) will hold by videoconference on August 18, 2021, an extraordinary summit primarily devoted to “the evolution of the macroeconomic situation in the CEMAC zone in the context of the pandemic of Covid-19 and the analysis of remedial measures ”. The event initially planned face-to-face in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé, will ultimately take place by videoconference, “not only for reasons related to the health crisis, but also for timing reasons” indicate sources familiar with the matter.
However, the initial format remains maintained, with alongside the leaders of the sub-region, the participation of three distinguished guests, in this case, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire and the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Akinwumi Adesina, without forgetting the presence of the President of the CEMAC Commission, Daniel Ona Ondo.
Before arriving at this conference of heads of state, with a community growth rate of -1.7% in 2020 against 2.5% in 2019 and a projected growth of 1.3% in 2021, the committee of CEMAC carried out clearing work which made it possible to set the broad outlines of the post-Covid recovery in the short, medium and long terms. From this perspective, it is a question of renegotiating new economic programs or extending old programs with the IMF, taking into account the current socio-economic situation.
This second cycle of programs with the IMF should integrate the security dimension as well as the fight against climate change; the integration of the socio-political realities of the countries in the conditionalities of the programs; a better circumscription of the duration of the programs with the possibility of extending it from three to five years depending on the development constraints specific to each country.
Despite the low level of regional trade which is around 3%, the CEMAC commission makes community integration one of its priorities and insists on the rigorous application of the provisions provided for in the new foreign exchange regulations in this area. repatriation of export earnings and transfers, to continue the mobilization of non-oil revenue through the broadening of the tax base, to freeze non-priority public investments while preserving social spending, to conduct a reflection to propose in faster deadlines, the redemption of securities or domestic public debts of the States.
Still on the site of economic recovery, restoring the solidity of the macroeconomic framework is recommended to allow States to strengthen close regional surveillance, which presupposes, among other things, the revision of the extraordinary budgetary measures taken to deal with the health and economic crisis once it has subsided in order to put public finances back on a viable path in the medium term. In the long term, structural measures aimed at improving the business climate and diversification of the economy are envisaged, without forgetting all the measures which contribute to improving governance.
