The circular setting the directions of the 2021 budget, signed on July 10 by President Paul Biya, prescribes several measures to continue inflation control (limiting the inflation rate to less than 3%) during the next financial year.
To this end, the Head of State prescribed an increase in the supply of local goods and food products, the consolidation of food packaging and distribution channels, the promotion of healthy competition through respect for market rules, the development of a policy for food autonomy by providing producers with high-yield agricultural inputs and seeds and facilitating access to agricultural equipment and materials.
The Presidential Circular also prescribes the creation of a support package for companies affected by the Covid-19 crisis. These support measures may be both fiscal (tax relief and moratorium allowances for the payment of taxes and some social charges) and budgetary. This support package is a sort of subsidy to companies through a fund created to prevent companies from going bankrupt. That way, the fund could prevent job losses and the risks those companies’ problems could pose to financial stability.
Also, according to the circular, the country plans to support operators in the informal sector depending on their types of activity. This is aimed at providing better support to farmers through the creation of cooperative development companies in promising agricultural sectors.
Sylvain Andzongo