Ever since the Bretton Woods institutions imposed SAP on Cameroon in the early 1990s the country’s economy has known no bright days, according to GLOBINET.
By Martin Fon Yembe, Coordinator Globinet Cameroon
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| Martin Fon Yembe |
outings by the government of Cameroon on the fuel hikes in the country.
According to a release from the GLOBINET office, the idea of cutting down of subsidies on fuel and “raising salaries of civil servants” are glaring signals of a failing state.
GLOBINET notes that in 1988, the IMF forced Cameroon to adopt Structural Adjustment which led to the slashing of salaries in 1993. Today, the same International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pressured the government of Cameroon to either drastically reduce or completely scrap off fuel subsidies.
Globinet understands that at the end of a two-week visit to Cameroon in November 2013, a joint team from IMF and the World Bank, through its leader, Mario de Zamaroczy, advised the government to drastically curtail subsidies to fuel prices, arguing that it was not an optimum way to use scarce resources, praying the government to think about possible reforms in that area.
It is unfortunate that IMF/World Bank team leader, Mario de Zamaroczy, said the country’s growth is robust. When this guy indicated a year ago that there are challenges that authorities need to surmount to keep the economy healthy, it did not only mean that the common man be put to bear the weight. “The first thing is to increase and accelerate growth. The robust growth performance is not sufficient to put the country on the path of economic emergence that authorities themselves have said they want to attain in 2035. We need higher growth to see the results faster and to reduce poverty,” he had observed. The team leader also expressed hopes that with strategies put in place, the page would be turned at the year’s end on the not-so-good revenue situation of the country which at the beginning of the year fell below expectations.
GLOBINET is not even against the cutting down on fuel subsidies. In fact, what is killing Cameroonians is fuel subsidies. If prices were
left to market forces, a liter of premium fuel will be less than 350 FCFA in Cameroon today. Nebulous structures like CSPH (for price fixing), SCDP (fuel storage) and many taxes (up to 60 %) are responsible for price hikes of petroleum products in Cameroon. Our problem is France. We recall that in 2011, when the Nigerian government attempted cutting subsidies on fuel, there was trouble, yet, the cost of premium fuel in Nigeria stood then at less than 300FCFA!
Worthy of note is the fact that from the refinery in Limbe, a liter of premium costs FCFA 195. After two road taxes (10%), two VAT (39%), One storage tax (5%) and one price fixing tax for CSPH (5%), and 60% Colonial tax to France, we get close to 950 FCFA.
What we need more is the effective and efficient management of our finite resources, sound economic fundamentals and Fair Market practices. And that can be achieved by visionary leadership and the reduction of the pervasive and chronic corruption at the highest
levels of government and in society in general. By judiciously managing our God-given resources including human potential, Africa can
easily emerge from the present economic doldrums. It is just a matter of time......... Many developing nations are in debt and poverty partly due to the policies of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Their programs have been heavily criticized for many years for resulting in poverty.
In addition, for developing or third world countries, there has been an increased dependency on the richer nations. This is despite the IMF and World Bank’s claim that they will reduce poverty.(Asale courtesy Prof. Tandap) What we are seeing here is that the IMF and World Bank have demanded that poor nations lower the standard of living of their people. Asians are out of the loop from western dominance, and we are getting deeper into it.
Historically, the IMF has been a tool used by its major principals-the US and EU to govern international trade in their favor. They use the
IMF to encourage poorer countries to remove fuel and other energy subsidies to lower domestic demand and free up more oil (energy) for export.
Some of the arguments made by the IMF, such as the idea that subsidies undermines investment in the energy sector and burdens the state finances are true, but the US provides the most subsidies on fuel, that is why gas is cheaper there than everywhere else.
Fuel subsidies in Cameroon are intended for the poor, but are largely enjoyed by the rich and elites. The struggling Cameroonians do not
even know what fuel subsidies are, or if Cameroon offers them. Instead of subsidizing the bourgeoisie in Cameroon, that money should be used for actual poverty reduction programs.
Looking at the economic, environmental and social impacts of fuel subsidies on a country
specific basis will make sense, rather than just taking at face value organizations that work for and represents rich greedy nations.
In the late 1980's when these Bretton Woods people started IMPOSING Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) to African states, Cameroon created a Ministry of Plan & Stabilization headed by one NOMO ONGOLO.
One of the things President Biya did cleverly was REFUSE to implement some of the SAPs that they imposed. 25 years later today, we now see that President Biya was indeed WISER than those Bretton Woods people on that SAP thing. Let him cut Cameroon off from France and those diabolic tentacles.
By 2011, Cameroon in its 50 years of independence, had been ruled by two(2) civilian FRANCOPHONE Presidents. Cameroon's oil exports has dropped considerable from a peak in 1985 of 100,000+ barrels per day, to about 65,000 barrels per day by 2011.
Social protection programs are subsidies by another name. The European Union and the USA have determined that farm subsidies, and other social protection programs such as public education, public transportation, Medicare and Social Security serve the poor and deserve to be subsidized. Cameroon needs to determine which programs serve their poor and most vulnerable and to prioritize those and defend them. Cameroon needs to determine if it helps the poor who have and run no cars to have fuel subsidies or if efficient subsidized public transportation (such as SOTUC public buses) help or hurt the poor. It needs to determine if it helps the poor better when it subsidizes electricity to multi-million dollar French firms like Alucam and air conditioning costs for running ACs in the mansions of the rich. It needs to determine if public funds are best used for development if devoted to preventing the rich from paying their bills in full.
Cameroon has made the crazy decision to favor foreign investors over indigenous enterprises. It has decided that corruption and impunity is an acceptable means of governance against the advice of their own citizens and foreigners.
We hear talk of salary increments, yet salaries long budgeted for mayors of local councils are yet to be paid. Police check points are
on the rise on our highways and the poor are bearing the entire burden. How far can we bear these?
The pregnancy stage of all Cameroonians anger is at eight months now. We can’t wait to see this new born baby called REVOLUTION put to birth. It is coming like a mighty wind that shall sweep away a handful. Some will lavish in jail, some will simply vanish while others will face the reward of greed and dictatorship. There is obviously a price to be paid at both interests. The collapse of the mighty one. It is evident in all ramifications, even the blind can see
this, God has a special way of letting his people go. Pharaoh witnessed this, when he took total grip of his people in Egypt. At last they were freed. The black slaves suffered so much in the hands of their masters, yet ended up the greatest among others, freed by their masters themselves. Cameroonians have been so enslaved by their masters, working tirelessly each day yet paid very little, extorted by high taxes. Prices of basic commodities have never witnessed a drop. Yet salaries do not know an
appreciable increase at any given point.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
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