After the economic recession caused by the unexpected oubreak of the health crisis linked to the coronavirus which continues to impact on activities, the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Cemac) adopted, during an extraordinary summit of chiefs State on August 18, a regional economic recovery strategy. In this perspective, the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC), at the end of the board of directors on November 17, 2021, opened a line of credit of CFAF 185 billion, or $ 316 million with a view to to ensure the financing of new projects.
Dedicated funds for eleven projects, including ten from the private sector covering various fields including tourism, real estate, agro-pastoral and agro-industry, livestock, fish farming and finance, including their added value is able to contribute to the revival of production in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Committed to relaunching activities, the CEMAC countries are counting on a Community growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.6% in 2021 and 3.3% in 2022, an upward trend after the recession of – 1.7% in 2020, particularly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The financing of the BDEAC should in particular bring a breath to SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises), of which more than 20,000 according to the Union of Central African Employers (UNIPACE) have gone bankrupt over the past two years because of the current difficult economic situation. reinforced by the Covid-19.
Confirming its regional integration options, BDEAC approved financial assistance of CFAF 100 billion for the development of the Brazzaville-Ouesso-Bangui-Ndjamena multimodal corridor to link the Congo, the Central African Republic and Chad. The realization of this project should make it possible to offer an alternative access to the Atlantic Ocean to Chad and the Central African Republic, two hinterland countries of which more than 80% of exports and imports pass through Cameroonian ports before be transported by road. This project is one of the 11 priority integrating projects of the Regional Economic Program (PER) and for which CEMAC had mobilized last year during the round table of donors in Paris, (France) more than 2 492 billion FCFA, or $ 4.2 billion for their realization.
