Three budget exercises scheduled in a single session. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute presided on Friday, 26 June 2026 over a Cabinet Council devoted to the 2027, 2028 and 2029 budgets. With projected growth at 3.5% in 2026, public debt to be kept below 50% of GDP, and a new programme with the IMF being prepared, the decisions taken that day set Cameroon’s course for the next four years.

What the council decided as guidelines

The minister delegate to the Minister of Finance laid out the macroeconomic backdrop. The global economy remains weakened by the fallout from the 2026 Middle East conflict, which is expected to slow world growth from 3.4% in 2025 to 3.1% in 2026, before a slight recovery to 3.2% in 2027. Cameroon, for its part, is projected to maintain growth of 3.5% in 2026 and 3.7% in 2027. Inflation continues to decline.

It is hard not to see IMF pressure behind the displayed fiscal discipline: the 2027–2029 policy will rely on concluding a new Economic and Financial Programme with the Fund, with the explicit goal of keeping public debt stock below 50% of GDP. Efforts will focus on boosting domestic non-oil revenue and rationalising public spending.

The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development presented the projects included in the Priority Investment Programme for 2027–2029. Digital infrastructure, roads, railways, energy, water, agriculture, industry: several sectors are targeted. Accelerating the rollout of digital infrastructure is among the priorities, as is improving electricity supply.

What this means for Cameroonians, concretely or not

On the social front, the priority goes to extending the general health insurance system to the most disadvantaged segments. The Special Fund for the Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth Employment will also be accelerated. These are announcements that often recur.

Yet the Council adopted an Economic and Budgetary Programming Document for 2027–2029, which will be submitted to Parliament as part of the Budget Orientation Debate. It is a formal step, but it provides a binding framework for ministries.

The Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Finance to finalise this document quickly, in close consultation with the Minister of the Economy. Performance contracts for public projects must be generalised.

The Council ended at 12:10 p.m.