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| IssaTchiroma, government spokesman |
The Cameroon
government refuses to communicate. We want to believe that the programme of the
ministry of Finance which has just exhausted itself defending the 2016 budget,
did not permit it to inform the public on the operation of the Eurobond
launched in Paris at the beginning of last month. This is so because it was
necessary to inform the public about Cameroon’s first Eurobond transaction,
particularly to say how it was arranged and carried out and what the results
have been. It is an obligation of transparency which ties squarely with the
methods of international financial bodies with which the government has decided
to work.
It is also an obligation of
responsibility vis-à-vis a people who, through their national representation,
approve the indebtedness of the state. It is a reputable gesture for the
government and the finance minister AlamineOusmaneMey in particular, who is a
product of the private sector that is credited for rigorous accountability. In
fact, it is normal that the publicity that followed the Head of State’s
decision to go back to Eurobond does not collapse.
The government must not indulge
in self-delusion: the kind of communication suggested by a financial expert of
Babissakana’s standing is very important. Information on international loans
must be circulated and made accessible to all interested persons. That is why
the press was able to announce the “road show” of the euro-loan before the rest
of the operation was made public as it evolved, in Paris, New York, Boston, and
London. The results are known today: for a maximum of 1.5 billion US dollars
i.e. 750 billion FCFA sought, the government was able to raise just half, at a
rate of 9.75% and for a period of ten years.
It should be recalled that each
of the two bond loans of the state for 2010 and 2013 did not have an interest
rate of up to 6%. That is why analysts see two problems here: first is the non-attainment of the maximum
amount required, and second is the high interest rate.
The General Manager of the
SociétéGénérale Cameroun (with headquarters in France), who is co-arranger of
the operation, affirms that the government has wisely limited itself to half of
its objective because of a financial crisis that is not favourable to the loan
– a crisis which truly depends on the rating of the country and the
perspectives that investors project on its future. That of Cameroon has some
annoying loopholes for financial backers which cause them to pay dearly for the
risk they take. In fact, at the time of the maturity of the loan, i.e. 2025,
anything can happen to Cameroon. In any case, nothing is foreseeable.
The fact that President Paul
Biya’s mandate might end before then raises questions in the minds of
Cameroonians as to what would happen to Cameroon when the time comes. Death being
the route that every human being must take, it is not also known if the 82-yer
old will still be alive. All of this added to the annoying position that
Cameroon occupies in different good governance or competitive rankings, from
Doing Business to Mo Ibrahim, all of which reveal a questionable management of
public affairs, makes the country not “a good risk”.
Government plenipotentiaries
were right not to hurry to fill the basket, for the price to pay was high.
Financiers think that the 375 billion of Eurobond loan could have been found in
Stock Exchanges in Libreville and Douala at a more important rate. The ministry
of Finance having received the authorization of the President to lead the
Eurobond on 6 February 2015, the past ten months should have been enough to
seal a sub-regional bond loan deal. It can also be said that the state did not
want to dry up the local market in order not to prevent private economic
operators from availing themselves of financial resources for their activities.
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