Cameroon: Jump-Starting an Economic Crisis

Cameroon, which registered a phenomenal annual growth rate of 7 percent in its GDP until 1986, was often depicted as a show case for other African economies. However, in the period 1986-1989 GDP fell dramatically. Determined to reverse the downward spiral, Cameroon joined the growing list of African States that by 1988 had adopted a structural adjustment programme (SAP). The author argues in this paper that only a holistic picture can begin to explain the genesis of Cameroon’s economic crisis, a picture that takes into account the failed policies of the Cameroonian State (notably its paralysing parastatal policy) and the country’s corrupt bureaucracy. Note, ref.