• President Biya authorizes CFA930 billion ($1.6 billion) in new borrowing.
• Funds to finance 2025 projects and settle unpaid state bills (RAP).
• Public debt reached CFA14,105 billion in June, up 1.8% year-on-year.

Cameroon plans to raise CFA930 billion, about $1.6 billion, on domestic and international financial markets. Finance Minister Louis-Paul Motazé received authorization from President Paul Biya through a decree signed on August 18, 2025, to contract these loans. The money will fund development projects in the 2025 budget and clear state arrears known as “restes à payer” (RAP).

According to the decree, CFA350 billion will be raised on the domestic market, either through Treasury bonds listed on the Central Africa Stock Exchange (BVMAC) or through assimilated Treasury bonds on the BEAC public securities market. An additional CFA250 billion will come from direct loans by local private institutions, while CFA330 billion will be mobilized on international banking markets.

The CFA330 billion in foreign loans will bring to CFA530 billion the total resources raised by the government in 2025 to pay arrears. In May, a first decree had already authorized CFA200 billion for this purpose. The stock of arrears was estimated at CFA485.4 billion as of June 30, 2025, according to the National Sinking Fund (CAA).

These new loans will add to Cameroon’s public debt, which stood at CFA14,105 billion at the end of June 2025, up 1.8% from a year earlier. Despite the increase, the CAA said the country remains on a sustainable debt path. Under the 2025-2027 strategy, the government has capped the sustainability threshold at 50% of GDP, well below the regional ceiling of 70%.

The debt structure shows that the central administration holds the largest share, at 93%. State-owned enterprises account for 6.8%, while decentralized local authorities hold only 0.2%.