Cameroon: Despite oil and security crisis, Treasury Department rakes in 1.2 trillion in earnings in the first half of 2015

(Business in Cameroon) - The downturn in global oil prices on the international market and the security challenges at the borders with the Central African Republic and Nigeria, which are slowing the performance of the tax and customs administrations, did not seem to affect the Treasury Department. Indeed, in the first six months of 2015, the government was able to raise 1.2 trillion FCFA in revenue, surpassing initial forecasts by 100 billion FCFA, according to Ministry of Finance statistics.

“Cameroon has the advantage of being a country with a diversified economy. Although oil is a part of our budget, it represents around 20% of our revenue. This allows us to say that, with 80% of revenue from domestic taxes, Cameroon is able to face external issues,” explained the Cameroonian Finance Minister, Alamine Ousmane Mey (photo), in the margins of the last board meeting of Banque des Etats de l’Afrique centrale (BEAC).