Christine Dieterich, head of the IMF mission to Cameroon, says the budget is under pressure from high international fuel prices, and that Cameroon's fuel subsidy is very expensive and mainly benefits people who drive a lot of big cars. Speaking to reporters, she said the mission discussed ways to advance subsidy reform while protecting the people who truly cannot afford higher fuel prices.
Key facts
- Who: Christine Dieterich, head of the IMF mission to Cameroon.
- Her diagnosis: international fuel prices are very high; Cameroon has made some reforms, but the subsidy remains very expensive and is not well targeted.
- Her proposal: advance fuel subsidy reform, while protecting people who really cannot pay higher prices.
- Her second point: further budget consolidation is needed, and more investment is needed to fix roads and increase electricity supply.
- Her condition: financing for that investment must not add an excessive burden to future budgets.
What she said
The comments came after talks with Cameroonian officials in Yaoundé. Dieterich started with the budget: several factors, she said, have been increasing the pressure on it, and fuel is one of the biggest.
“International fuel prices are very high and Cameroon has done some reforms on fuel prices, but still the subsidy is very expensive and unfortunately it benefits mainly people that drive a lot of big cars. So it's not a subsidy that we think is very well targeted.”
— Christine Dieterich, head of the IMF mission to Cameroon
Reform, with a safety net
Dieterich did not argue for removing the subsidy outright. She said the mission discussed possibilities to advance reform of the fuel subsidy while protecting the people who really can't pay higher fuel prices. That is the standard challenge of such reforms: save public money from the wealthier users while shielding poorer ones.
She also tied the subsidy to wider fiscal choices. The mission and the authorities, she said, agree that more investment is needed to fix roads and increase electricity supply, but it has to be financed in a way that does not add excessive burden to future budgets, so it has to be done in a sustainable manner.
How this connects to the rest of the picture
The IMF message is a spending-side counterpart to the revenue push described in our story on the income tax filing drive: both are about how much the state can afford. It also links with the cash management reform in the treasury single account reform, because every franc locked in a subsidy or an idle account is a franc not available for roads or electricity.
For the longer view on debt, see our analysis of Cameroon's debt trap. The IMF's own page on Cameroon sets out its programme and reports.
The numbers behind the warning
Dieterich led a two-week IMF Post-Financing Assessment mission to Yaoundé that ended on 30 September 2026. According to the IMF, as reported by Business in Cameroon, the overall fiscal deficit widened from 1.5% of GDP in 2024 to 2.1% in 2025, and a further moderate deterioration is expected in 2026 because of the oil price shock and the subsidies it generates. The fiscal framework had projected 1.7%.
The history explains the tone. The IMF's 2026 assessment shows the cost of fuel subsidies falling from about 4% of GDP in 2022 to below 1% in 2024, after pump price rises and lower world prices. In March 2026, the Fund said the new rise in oil prices underscored the need for an automatic fuel price mechanism, with targeted assistance for the most vulnerable.
The pressure since then is easy to see. Price structures from the Hydrocarbon Price Stabilisation Fund, cited by Business in Cameroon, show the import cost of diesel rising from 653.85 FCFA a litre in July to 974.93 FCFA in October, above the regulated Douala pump price of 828 FCFA. State support per litre went from 109.22 FCFA to 430.30 FCFA. Finance Minister Louis-Paul Motaze told the same outlet that support at the pump cost 57 billion FCFA in September alone, and he did not rule out a price rise if the situation became unsustainable.
What to watch next
Look for whether the government announces a timetable for fuel pricing changes, how any compensation for lower-income households is designed, and whether the road and electricity investments she mentioned are tied to a financing plan.
More in this round-up
- Cameroon Tells High Earners: File Your Income Tax or Be Named
- Cameroon Moves to Track Hidden Financial Assets, With World Bank Help
- 5,971 Civil Servants Abroad: Cameroon Audits Its State Payroll
- Cameroon's Treasury Single Account: Finding Public Money Parked in Banks
- Cameroon's Councils Got 157 Billion FCFA for Projects, and Lost 78 Billion to Missed Deadlines
- Inside the Last Days of Cameroon's Census: Border Trade, Mobility and Reluctant Households
- Cameroon's Cocoa and Coffee Race to Prove 'Zero Deforestation' to the EU
- Cameroon Tells Geneva: Small Firms Are 99% of the Economy, and Weak Accounts Block Their Finance
- Cameroon Economy Roundup, September 2026: Tax Drive, Payroll Audit and Treasury Reform
Sources and further reading: IMF country page for Cameroon, Ministry of Finance (MINFI), IMF: 2026 Article IV consultation with Cameroon, Business in Cameroon on the IMF mission, Business in Cameroon on the deficit and diesel prices, Business in Cameroon interview with Louis-Paul Motaze. Field reporting: Clarice Arrey Tarkang. Quotations are lightly trimmed. Figures come from the IMF, Cameroon's Hydrocarbon Price Stabilisation Fund and Business in Cameroon. The spelling of Christine Dieterich's name has been corrected. Updated 7 November 2026.
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