2024-08-18-世界银行-喀麦隆公共财政评论_为实现2035年愿景目标_增加收入_提高支出（英）_248页_2mb

Cameroon Public Finance Review: Collect More, Spend Better to Achieve Vision 2035 Goals

Core Content

This document provides an in-depth analysis of Cameroon's public finance landscape, with a focus on enhancing revenue collection and improving expenditure efficiency to support the country's Vision 2035 goals. It outlines key challenges and opportunities in the tax and public expenditure systems, as well as policy options to strengthen fiscal management and promote inclusive growth.

Main Viewpoints

• Fiscal Challenges: Cameroon has faced a tight fiscal situation due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional conflicts, and ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts.
• Tax Revenue: The country's tax revenue potential is underutilized, with inefficiencies in tax collection and a significant informal economy affecting revenue mobilization.
• Public Expenditure: There are issues with budget allocation, execution, and management, including high common expenses, low public investment efficiency, and delays in expenditure implementation.
• Human Capital Development: The report emphasizes the need for better social spending to enhance education and health outcomes, particularly in disadvantaged regions.
• Fiscal Decentralization: Strengthening fiscal decentralization is recommended to improve service delivery and local governance effectiveness.
• Policy Recommendations: The document provides a range of policy options for tax reform, expenditure management, and social spending, with a focus on improving transparency, efficiency, and equity.

Key Information

Revenue Mobilization

• Tax Revenue Patterns: Cameroon's tax revenue is dominated by personal income tax (PIT), corporate income tax (CIT), and value-added tax (VAT), with low efficiency in tax collection.
• Tax Revenue Potential: The country has untapped potential for increasing tax revenue, especially in the corporate and VAT sectors.
• Tax Administration: Challenges include corruption, inefficiency in tax collection, and difficulties in managing the informal economy.
• Tax Expenditures: The report highlights the significant costs associated with tax expenditures, especially those related to the pandemic, and suggests reforms to reduce them.

Public Expenditure

• Budget Allocation: Public investment spending is low and inefficient, with a high share of administrative costs and a low return on investment.
• Budget Execution: There are frequent delays in budget execution, with a high proportion of budgeted funds not being spent.
• Public Procurement: The system is plagued by inefficiencies and delays, affecting the timely delivery of public goods and services.
• Public Investment Management: The report identifies challenges in managing public investment, including poor planning and implementation.

Human Capital Development

• Education Sector: There are disparities in access and quality of education, especially in rural and conflict-affected areas. The report suggests reforms to improve teacher-to-pupil ratios and infrastructure.
• Health Sector: Health outcomes are poor, with high maternal and infant mortality rates and limited access to quality healthcare. The report recommends increasing health spending and improving the efficiency of service delivery.
• Social Protection: The social protection system is underdeveloped, with a heavy reliance on fossil fuel subsidies and limited coverage for vulnerable populations. Policy options include reducing subsidies and expanding social assistance programs.

Fiscal Decentralization

• Decentralization Context: The report outlines the political and socio-economic context of fiscal decentralization in Cameroon, emphasizing the need for stronger local governance.
• Local Revenues and Transfers: Local governments have limited own revenues, with a heavy reliance on central transfers. The report suggests reforms to increase local revenue sources and improve the distribution of central transfers.
• Decentralization Challenges: The report identifies challenges in fiscal decentralization, including high concentration of transfers to certain regions and inefficiencies in local budget execution.

Policy Options

• Tax Policy Reform: Recommendations include improving tax rates, broadening the tax base, and enhancing tax administration through digital tools and anti-corruption measures.
• Tax Administration Reform: The report suggests the implementation of e-invoicing systems, improving transparency in tax collection, and reducing the costs associated with tax administration.
• Public Expenditure Reforms: Policy options focus on improving budget allocation and execution, reducing common expenses, and enhancing the efficiency of public investment.
• Human Capital Reforms: The report recommends increasing education and health spending, improving the quality of education and health services, and enhancing the efficiency of social protection programs.
• Fiscal Decentralization Reforms: Suggestions include strengthening local revenue sources, improving the efficiency of central transfers, and enhancing the capacity of local governments to manage their budgets.

Conclusion

The Cameroon Public Finance Review outlines a comprehensive strategy to improve the country's fiscal management by increasing revenue collection and improving expenditure efficiency. It emphasizes the importance of tax reform, better public spending, and effective fiscal decentralization to achieve the Vision 2035 goals of inclusive growth and improved public services.