Private inspection companies in Cameroon are calling for modifications to pre-shipment inspection requirements to better reflect local realities. They argue that standards on issues like vehicle roadworthiness should consider Cameroon's road conditions rather than just replicating European standards. Meanwhile, Cameroon's public debt is estimated at XAF 4,754 billion as of July 2016, equivalent to 27.3% of GDP, within acceptable limits. The tertiary sector contributed most to economic growth in 2015 at 2.3 percentage points, though the primary and secondary sectors also showed dynamism. Credit Communautaire d'Afrique continues transforming into a commercial bank with recruitment and reorganization underway as it awaits regulatory approval.

1. NEWSLETTER 22 AUGUST – 04 SEPTEMBER 2016
Pre-shipment Inspection: Private Sector Want Conformity to Local
Realities
Inspection of goods entering the country began on August 31, 2016.
Inspection companies in the private sector are worried that certain verification
requirements within the Conformity Assessment Programme, PECAE, do not
consider local realities such as the state of roads. They propose modification of
certain requirements in order to better protect citizens from the importation of
substandard and counterfeit products and to ensure that products within the local
market are those of good quality.
The proposal was put forth by representatives of private local inspection companies
during sensitisation sessions in Douala, on August 25, 2016 organised by one of
Cameroon’s business cartel “Entreprises du Cameroun” (ECAM) with the assistance
of the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) at the Cameroon Chamber of
Commerce. Lloyd’s Administrative and Financial Manager, Kelly Komga, argued
that a car that has been used in Europe with five more years remaining for it to be put
off the road cannot be road-worthy for up to five years in Cameroon. She explained
that the state of local roads are not as good as those in Europe, so such a car should
be given two years, for example, to be put off the road in Cameroon.
As inspection proper began on August 31, 2016, private inspection companies called
on government and its partners such as the SGS and Intertek, which were awarded a
mandate by ANOR as one of the service providers to carry out this pre-shipment
inspection to reconsider the existing requirements.
The sensitisation was in line with the country’s steady commitment to have goods
imported to Cameroon comply with the requirements of the Standards and Quality
Agency, ANOR. Inspection ensures proper identification of goods prior to shipment
with specific regard to their quality, quantity, tariff classification, import eligibility
and the provision of valuation information for customs purposes.
Source: Cameroon Tribune www.cameroon-tribune.cm
Cameroonian Public Debt Is Estimated at XAF 4,754 Billion at July
2016 End, Being 27.3% of GDP

2. On 30 August 2016 in Yaoundé, during a ceremony to table and adopt texts governing the
operation of the National Public Debt Committee, the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane
Mey, disclosed that the Cameroonian public debt is at XAF 4754 billion at the end of July
2016. This represents only 27.3% of the country's GDP and is thus well below the accepted
norm of 70% in the CEMAC area.
In spite of these figures which seem to comfort local public authorities, Cameroon has been
facing criticism for several months from Bretton Woods institutions. If in its different reports
the IMF denounces a rapid indebtedness of the country (after the 2006 HIPC initiative),
especially at non concessional interest rates; the World Bank has, in a report dated April
2016, already classed Cameroon among the Sub-Saharan African countries considered a high
risk of debt distress.
Last August 30, the Minister Ousmane Mey pleaded for greater caution in the matter of
public indebtedness and efficient and effective management of borrowed funds, taking into
account the numerous infrastructure projects currently in progress or planned in the country,
which always require significant funding.
As a reminder, the National Public Debt Committee was created by Prime Ministerial decree
of 4 August 2008. Chaired by the Minister of Finance, the mission of this body is to co-
ordinate, monitor the implementation of the national policy of public indebtedness and
management of the public debt, ensure its coherence with development objectives and the
capacity of the State.
Source: Business in Cameroon www.businessincameroon.com
Cameroon: Tertiary Sector Contributed To Economy by 2.3 Points in 2015
The National Institute of Statistics (INS) shows that the evolution of economic activity was
driven by the service sector (trade, administration, transport, financial activities ...) which
contributed 2.3 points to national growth that stood at 5.8%.
However, INS emphasizes the dynamism of the primary and secondary sectors. Indeed, the
development of primary sector activities, for example, is estimated at 5.3% in 2015 against
4.7% in 2014. This increase contributed 1.1 points to GDP growth. This sector benefited from
an upturn thanks to the "industrial agriculture and export" branch characterized by higher
cocoa production rose from 209,905 tons in 2014 to 232,000 tons the following year. Another
major factor is buoyant world prices, for both cocoa and coffee. This was a motivator for
industry players.
The secondary sector has speeded up with an 8.6% growth rate against 6.8% in 2014. The
evolution of that sector was driven by the "mining" branch that contributed 1.1 points to

3. GDP. Other manufacturing industries contributed 1.8 points, construction 1.4 points,
agribusiness 0.7 points and "electricity, gas and water" branch 0.2 point.
Source: Adapted from the article “Cameroun : l’activité économique a été portée en 2015 par le secteur tertiaire
à hauteur de 2,3 points”, Agence Ecofin www.agenceecofin.com
Cameroon: Credit Communautaire d’Afrique Keeps Moving to Bank
Status
Credit Communautaire d’Afrique (CCA), a category II microfinance institution (MFI)
operating in Cameroon, continues its transformation into a commercial bank, we learned from
a source involved in the process who requested anonymity. "A senior official was recruited
within the structure. In terms of human resources, there is a skills reorganization atmosphere
and they always await the decision of the Banking Commission of Central Africa," the source
said.
The development of the microfinance institution is quite remarkable. Its real estate assets
have grown rapidly and today some analysts feel that this is the problem. When property
values of a financial institution reaches a certain size, we must ensure that this aggregate
value does not have a big gap with capital, because the question then is to know what this
institution funded this real estate development with. "We can legitimately fear that this has
been done with the deposits of savers, which would then become a risk in terms of ratio", a
finance expert says.
It is not clear whether CCA is facing this kind of challenge. Behind the scenes, we learn that
buildings do not belong to it directly, but rather to a real estate company. But the latter is
itself a shareholder of the institution.
In early February 2016, it was reported that the investment firm AfricInvest was considering
investing in CCA. In 2014, this MFI was claiming 359,000 customers.
Source: adapted from the article “Au Cameroun, le Crédit Communautaire d'Afrique poursuit son projet de
mutation en banque ”, Investir au Cameroun www.investiraucameroun.com
Markets as at August 04, 2016
Against XAF (Indicative only)
XAF
USD 587.9069
EUR 655.8689
GBP 781.5634
Source: Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies