In 2022, the implementation of economic patriotism in Cameroon has come up against several obstacles. According to the “Report on the Cameroonian economy in 2022: economic patriotism tested by headwinds”, the said obstacles are linked to strong inflationary pressures at the international and local levels. These, the document indicates, have not only increased the cost of production for companies with consequences for their production, but also reduced the purchasing power of households and therefore domestic demand.
In order to remedy this situation, the State coordinated and implemented an integrated operational plan which, it is said, resulted in several actions.
Concretely, the public authorities have set up a guarantee fund of 200 billion FCFA, with the help of several banks and micro-finance companies established in Cameroon. The challenge is to effectively respond to the long-term financing needs expressed by local companies operating in particular in the priority sectors of the Snd-30.
– Advertisement –
As an extension of this initiative, on August 16, 2023, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, signed a similar guarantee agreement with banks and microfinance institutions.
Moreover – still with a view to boosting economic patriotism – the government has introduced special tax provisions to reduce the production costs of actors in the main priority sectors and also to strengthen their competitiveness, we learn. . These include, among other things, the abolition of tax on certain locally produced goods, such as certain cosmetic and chemical products.
According to the report, the State has continued the policy of national champions with the selection of three new companies in the different branches of activity to benefit from financial and technical support in addition to those which had already been selected in previous years.
Specific measures, we learn, have been taken in areas such as agriculture, livestock, food processing and the wood industry.
With regard to specific measures to promote local supply in the priority sectors identified by the economic patriotism development plan, we particularly note the gradual increase in the rate of exit duty for timber in logs to 50% in 2022 , the establishment of a support fund for the production and processing of consumer products, with an allocation of 40 billion FCFA for the year under review. In addition, a range of tax and customs exemptions have been taken.
