Cameroon Amends 2025 Budget, Borrows 930 billion CFA
By Synthia Lateu
For the eighth year in a row, President Paul Biya has signed an ordinance amending the country’s finance law. The 2025 State budget has been increased from 7,317.7 billion CFA francs to 7,735.9 billion CFA francs, according to the presidential ordinance of July 11, 2025, which modifies and supplements certain provisions of the initial Finance Law.
The Ministry of Finance said, the revised budget allocates 7,669 billion CFA francs to the general budget and 66.9 billion CFA francs to the 11 Special Appropriation Accounts (CAS).
This adjustment, coming six months after the 2025 Finance Law took effect reflects an upward revision of public spending and a reduction in domestic revenue. To close the gap and maintain budgetary balance, the government is turning to additional borrowing.
The ordinance authorizes the government to borrow up to 930 billion CFA francs from financial and banking markets:Of this amount, 600 billion CFA francs will be mobilized through the issuance of public securities on the domestic financial market, while 330 billion CFA francs will be sourced from external financial markets.
The revision is reportedly driven by a decline in state revenues, particularly from oil, alongside growing debt servicing costs. According to Eco Matin, the Ministry of Finance attributes the revenue shortfall to a downward revision in the international price of Cameroonian crude oil—now estimated at $66.94 per barrel, down from $72.84, as well as a decline in crude oil production (19.81 million barrels instead of the initially projected 20.71 million) and in gas production (79.2 billion SCF versus 92 billion initially).
Tax and customs revenues, which account for 83% of domestic income, are also expected to fall short. This component alone is projected to generate 12.2 billion CFA francs less than initially forecast.
Cameroon’s initial finance law has since 2018, appeares serve more as a reference framework than a binding tool. The government repeatedly revised its financial ambitions upward, often citing shifting national or international circumstances.
