VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYD #0369 1121424
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221424Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9855

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000369 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/C 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL KCOR
SUBJECT: FY09 PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL 
GOVERNMENTS WHOSE BUDGETS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 28885 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The Government of Cameroon (GRC) publishes annually the proposed budget as passed by the National Assembly and approved by the Presidency. The published budget allows the public to review some information regarding projected revenues and expenditures, but the GRC's actual income and expenditures are believed to vary widely from the publicly announced appropriations, and it is not possible for Cameroonian citizens to obtain detailed information regarding actual GRC revenues and expenditures. Embassy contacts with expertise in analyzing government budgeting processes indicate that Cameroon's ability to track its own budget is among the worst in Africa. End summary.

¶2. (SBU) The following information is keyed to reftel tasking: a. The GRC is already receiving U.S. foreign assistance funds from the FY09 SFOAA. b and c. The GRC makes public its annual finance law, which includes projected revenues and expenditures for the coming year. This information is published widely in the official and private media. Cameroonian citizens are able to obtain more details regarding the projected budget by purchasing the Official Gazette, which costs about 500 CFA (about $1). Under the terms of its recently concluded program with the IMF, the GRC was publishing quarterly updates on budget execution on a broad level (ministry by ministry). The quarterly reports ceased, without explanation, when the IMF program concluded earlier this year. The GRC also publishes a review of the execution of the previous year's budget, but this information is available only on a macro level, without details for how funds were spent.

¶3. (SBU) The Embassy believes there is significant variance between the projected budget and the budget as it is actually executed. Embassy contacts tell us that the GRC does not have the capacity to track its own budget execution because there is no interface among various computer programs used by the Office of the Budget (which plans the budget) and the Office of the Treasury (which spends the money), meaning even the Minister of Finance is incapable of giving a detailed account for how funds were spent. Additionally, numerous civil society organizations have reported difficulty in obtaining detailed expenditure information for their efforts to track budget execution in certain localities or in certain sectors. For many years, the GRC was engaging in off-budget spending, including especially use of oil revenues to finance security and defense projects. This practice was increasingly reduced during the GRC's participation in the IMF program, but recent reports indicate the GRC is again spending substantial sums "off-budget."

¶4. (SBU) Comment. Post is supportive of this effort to encourage transparency in the budget process. We believe it would be counterproductive to cut off FY09 assistance, largely because such a precipitous decision will be poorly understood by the GRC officials we are trying to influence. We might, however, use this opportunity to inform the GRC of the risk of losing future assistance if steps are not taking to improve tracking and transparency in the budget planning and execution phases. End comment. FOX