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Cameroon's Biya cautions of catastrophe for Central Africa monetary stability

Cameroon's President Paul Biya cautioned on Monday of devastating consequences for the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa if immediate action is not taken to address their degrading net external reserves.

The member nations - Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo - share monetary policy and a currency with a common reserve bank.

Between them, they have actually struggled to emerge from the impact of the COVID pandemic and other external international shocks, leaving them short of forex or other properties to cover import costs and debt payments.

They are also facing obstacles locally consisting of a. decrease in oil production in 5 of the nations, prolonged. civil conflict in Main African Republic and Cameroon, and a. heavy debt concern in Gabon and default in Republic of Congo.

Biya called for more substantial actions to protect the. macroeconomic and financial stability of the region.

According to current information, our net external reserves have. shabby substantially. This situation is preoccupying and. require urgent action from us to inverted this trend, Biya,. stated in his opening remarks at a summit of the leaders in. Cameroon's capital Yaounde.

If nothing is done, according to various professionals, we could. face disastrous repercussions for our countries and the. subregion.

He did not provide any details of what the effects might. be or how they might be addressed, however any needs from. global lending institutions to check costs by cutting subsidies. or further cutting handouts could trigger public discontent.

The International Monetary Fund, which is represented at the. top together with the World Bank and other partners, cautioned in. June that the six countries required definitive and collaborated. actions to tackle fiscal and external imbalances.

The IMF cautioned that divergent financial efficiency and. unchanged policies amongst the countries could threaten monetary. stability.

(source: Reuters)