Cameroon faces 292 billion FCFA african development bank funding cancellation risk

A joint portfolio review conducted in Yaoundé on July 14, 2026, involving the Cameroonian government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), has brought to light a substantial financial threat for Cameroon. Seven significant operations, previously approved by the pan-African institution’s governing bodies, totaling 373.419 million Units of Account—equivalent to approximately 292 billion FCFA—are now at risk of cancellation. The primary reason for this vulnerability is not a lack of available funds, but rather the protracted internal bureaucratic processes that are impeding project implementation.

It is crucial to understand that these are not funds already disbursed that Yaoundé would be required to repay. Instead, these allocations represent loans and grants that received AfDB approval, but for which agreements were not signed within the stipulated deadlines, or where no payments were initiated despite legal formalization. Six of these cases fall into the former category, with a seventh belonging to the latter. The total value of financing awaiting agreement signatures alone amounts to 339.419 million UC, or nearly 265 billion FCFA.

The Ngoura-Yokadouma road: a 207 billion FCFA bottleneck

One particular project stands out due to its immense financial weight. The Cross-Border Economic Basins Accessibility and Connectivity Program, designed to fund the development of the Ngoura-Yokadouma road in the country’s East, accounts for 265.4 million UC on its own, approximately 207 billion FCFA. This single operation represents over 71% of the total amount currently exposed to the risk of cancellation. Despite its approval on February 18, 2026, the loan agreement for this crucial infrastructure project remained unsigned at the time of the review.

Five other critical initiatives find themselves in a similar administrative impasse. Among the projects awaiting signature is the second phase of the Pan-African University Support Project, allocated 3.64 million UC by the African Development Fund (ADF) and approved on December 19, 2024. Also stalled are the study for the Minkouma hydroelectric development on the Sanaga River (2.994 million UC), the CUA-Y2 university city study project (2.320 million UC), and the PROSTABLT program for risk prevention through stabilization at Lake Chad (5.095 million UC).

Adding to this list is a strategically important regional initiative: the transport and trade facilitation project, which includes the construction of a bridge over the Ntem River, situated at the border with Equatorial Guinea. Approved on November 29, 2023, this project combines an AfDB loan of 39.97 million UC with an ADF loan of 20 million UC.

PARZIK2: fifteen months without a single disbursement

The seventh project highlights a different, yet equally concerning, issue. The second phase of the Kribi Industrial and Port Zone Access Roads Development Project, known as PARZIK2, actually has a signed agreement in place. However, more than fifteen months after this signature, not a single disbursement had been recorded from its 34 million UC allocation, which is approximately 26.54 billion FCFA. This situation places the project in the same risk category, despite Kribi being a pivotal component of Cameroon’s industrial and port strategy.

Execution cycle twice as slow as the norm

The data presented during the review paints a troubling picture of project execution. The average time taken between the approval of financing and the signing of the agreement is twelve months, significantly longer than the AfDB’s standard of three months. Following this, it takes an average of sixteen months for the agreement to enter into force, compared to an expected five months. The first disbursement typically occurs twenty-one months after approval, while the target is twelve months. This means nearly two years pass before any funds are actually deployed on the ground.

Alamine Ousmane Mey, the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, acknowledged the gravity of this assessment. He identified several contributing factors, including insufficient project preparation, delays in public procurement processes, weaknesses within certain management units, and the belated mobilization of counterpart funds that the state is obligated to provide alongside external resources. These systemic frictions not only inflate project costs but also undermine the country’s credibility with its financial partners.

Since its inaugural operation in Cameroon in November 1972, the AfDB has committed 130 loans and grants, accumulating to an estimated 3,345 billion FCFA. The current 2023-2028 program anticipates eleven new operations, with an approval volume estimated at 833.8 billion FCFA. However, the critical challenge remains transforming these financial commitments into tangible, on-the-ground projects. This conversion process, at present, represents the weakest link in the financial cooperation between Yaoundé and the pan-African institution.