Cameroon Still Short CFAF 1.022 Trillion for Far North Reconstruction

Reconstruction in Cameroon’s Far North is advancing, but much of the funding required for the program has yet to be secured. One year after the first meeting of its steering committee, the Special Program for the Reconstruction and Development of the Far North Region (PSRDREN) has mobilized nearly CFAF 800 billion, up from about CFAF 600 billion in February 2025.

Of the program’s total CFAF 1.822 trillion budget, about CFAF 1.022 trillion therefore remains to be secured. The increase marks progress, but it also highlights the scale of the financing still required. With about 44% of the budget already secured, the program remains dependent on the government and its development partners to raise the resources needed to keep projects moving.

Data presented at the steering committee’s second meeting, held in Yaoundé on Aug. 31, 2026, also show that securing funding does not mean it is immediately spent. In 2025, the program recorded a budget execution rate of 63.8%, while the contract award rate reached 88%, according to information presented at the meeting.

Those figures show substantial progress in awarding contracts, but also a gap between contracting and actual spending. For steering committee chairman and Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey, the challenge now is to turn those resources into tangible results.

Supporting Economic Recovery

Launched in 2022 under a presidential initiative, the PSRDREN is intended to support the Far North’s socioeconomic recovery and create conditions conducive to lasting peace. Its activities cover four main areas: reconstruction, infrastructure development, support for socioeconomic activities and climate-change adaptation, and governance. The approach reflects the scale of the needs in a region facing a combination of security, economic, social and climate-related challenges. The program therefore extends beyond major infrastructure projects. It also seeks to strengthen basic social services and the productive capacity of local communities.

In 2025, several projects were launched across the region’s six divisions. They included the construction of 20 small-scale drinking-water supply systems, five integrated health centers and seven fully equipped primary schools, as well as the distribution of 10,000 school desks, according to the Economy Ministry. Agricultural inputs and small-scale equipment were also distributed to cooperatives and producer organizations.

Road projects include the Mora-Waza-Dabanga-Kousseri, Magada-Kaélé-Guidiguis, Moutourwa-Maroua and Maroua-Bogo-Guirvidig-Pouss routes, according to the same source. Urban roadworks in Maroua are also part of the investments. The aim is to improve access, make it easier to move people and goods, and create a more favorable environment for economic activity.

Because the Far North’s development cannot rely on physical infrastructure alone, the PSRDREN also draws on programs designed to support economic activity in the region. Among them, the Economy Ministry lists the CAP2E program, with a budget of CFAF 89.2 billion; the Agricultural Value Chain Development Program (PDI-CVA), worth CFAF 26.61 billion; and the first phase of the Agro-Industry Development Program in the northern regions (PDAS-1), estimated at about CFAF 53 billion.

Backed by the African Development Bank, CAP2E is intended in particular to improve job prospects and support entrepreneurship while contributing to the region’s socioeconomic and climate resilience. The combination of infrastructure investment and support for local economic activity is intended to make reconstruction a driver of economic recovery rather than simply an effort to restore damaged facilities.

From Funding to Results

With more than half of the overall funding requirement still to be secured, financing remains the PSRDREN’s main challenge. The government plans to draw on both its own resources and support from development partners. “The commitment of technical and financial partners, as well as that of the state itself through its own resources, will help accelerate implementation of the Plan,” the economy minister said.

How quickly the remaining funding can be secured will be critical. The region’s needs are immediate, while implementation of some projects depends on when resources become available and are disbursed.

Beyond financing, however, implementation remains another challenge. The 88% contract award rate in 2025 shows that many projects moved beyond the procurement stage. The 63.8% budget execution rate, however, shows that more work remains before all of those commitments result in actual spending and, above all, completed and operational infrastructure.

To assess the situation, the ministry said a PSRDREN delegation will travel to the Far North soon. It will meet program stakeholders and partners, assess the progress of projects and improve coordination among the various initiatives. Most importantly, the visit will provide an opportunity to compare the figures presented in Yaoundé with conditions on the ground across the region’s six divisions.

P.N.N