Cameroon’s Attainment of the HIPC Completion Point: Cure or Curse?
In recent years, a number of African states have been admitted by the World Bank and IMF into the HIPC completion point resulting in the cancellation of sizeable chucks of their external debts. This attainment was saluted by most top government officials in the countries concerned especially Cameroon, with some describing the event as an economic panacea.

I however, firmly believe this admission came with a high price tag. Prior to realizing this point, the countries involved had to carry out a number of structural adjustment programmes such as the liberalization/privatization of some strategic sectors of the economy. Not surprisingly, most of the buyers were corporations from the G8 and other developed countries. Consequently, the long-term economic survival of these African countries lies in the hands of foreign corporations.

Here comes another dilemma for the governments of these countries -- the management of the high expectations of the populace vis-à-vis this attainment. It’s no secret that, with the attainment of the completion point the expectations of the masses were generally high-pitched, civil servants were expecting an increase in their salaries, government contractors were expecting complete settlement of the debts, ordinary citizens were expecting a reduction in the prices of basic commodities such as petroleum products and food items, unemployed youths were expecting a boom in employment opportunities, entrepreneurs were expecting a reduction on business taxes etc. The natural human tendency is that when rising expectations collide with entrenched systems, the results are frustration, confusion, conflict and often violence.

If this newly found status by these countries is to be of value then: ordinary citizens have to significantly feel the impact of the realization of the completion point; households have to experience an appreciable improvement in their standards of living. Governments concerned therefore have to cautiously and wisely manage the fallouts of the HIPC completion point, in an honest and transparent manner.

Governments concerned should therefore commission a survey on the general expectations of their populace vis-à-vis the attainment of the HIPC initiative completion point and if these expectations are unrealistic, the government via the various press organs can educate and sensitize the public in order to dampen rising expectations. CHI Primus