A recent joint portfolio review conducted in Yaoundé on July 14, 2026, involving the Cameroonian government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) has unveiled a significant financial vulnerability for Cameroon. Seven key operations, previously approved by the pan-African institution’s authorities and totaling 373.419 million Units of Account — equivalent to approximately 292 billion FCFA — are now at risk of cancellation. The primary issue stems not from a lack of available funds, but rather from protracted internal administrative procedures that are hindering project implementation.
It is crucial to understand that these are not funds already disbursed that Yaoundé would be required to repay. Instead, these represent approved loans and grants from the AfDB where either the necessary agreements were not signed within stipulated deadlines, or, despite legal formalization, no payments have been initiated. Six of these dossiers fall into the first category, while a seventh belongs to the latter. The cumulative value of financing with pending agreements alone reaches 339.419 million UC, or nearly 265 billion FCFA.
Ngoura-Yokadouma road project: a 207 billion FCFA bottleneck
One project significantly outweighs all others in terms of financial exposure. The Program for Opening Up and Connectivity of Cross-Border Economic Basins, intended to fund the development of the Ngoura-Yokadouma road in the country’s East, accounts for a staggering 265.4 million UC, roughly 207 billion FCFA, by itself. 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 vital infrastructure project was still awaiting signature at the time of the review.
Five additional projects find themselves in similar administrative gridlock. The second phase of the Pan-African University Support Project, allocated 3.64 million UC by the African Development Fund (AfDF) and approved on December 19, 2024, remains unsigned. Also in limbo 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).
Completing 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, bordering Equatorial Guinea. Approved on November 29, 2023, this project combines an AfDB loan of 39.97 million UC with an AfDF loan of 20 million UC.
PARZIK2: fifteen months without a single disbursement
The seventh project highlights a different, yet equally costly, operational challenge. The second phase of the Kribi Industrial and Port Zone Access Roads Development Project, known as PARZIK2, indeed secured a signed agreement. However, more than fifteen months post-signing, no disbursements had been recorded from its 34 million UC allocation, approximately 26.54 billion FCFA. This critical project, central to Cameroon’s industrial and port strategy in Kribi, thus also falls into the high-risk category due to execution delays.
Execution cycle twice as slow as the norm
The data presented during the review paints a concerning picture. The average time from financial approval to agreement signature stands at twelve months, significantly exceeding the AfDB’s standard of three months. Furthermore, it takes an average of sixteen months for projects to become effective, compared to the expected five months. The first disbursement typically occurs twenty-one months after approval, far beyond the twelve-month target. This means nearly two years often pass before any funds are actively deployed on the ground.
Alamine Ousmane Mey, the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, acknowledged the gravity of these findings. He attributed the issues to inadequate project preparation, prolonged public procurement processes, deficiencies within certain management units, and the belated mobilization of counterpart funds that the state is required to provide alongside external resources. These persistent frictions not only inflate project costs but also undermine Cameroon’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 projected at 833.8 billion FCFA. Yet, the crucial challenge remains transforming these financial commitments into tangible, on-the-ground projects. This conversion process currently represents the weakest link in the financial cooperation between Yaoundé and the prominent pan-African institution.
