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The situation of public finances in the Central African Republic is worsening, according to its Minister in charge of Finance and Budget HERVÉ NDOBA. He added that the future looked very uncertain for public finances and the national economy. The Central African Republic, a country of about 5.5 million people, has been experiencing turbulence let loose by continuing civil war since 2013. 2018.
The situation of public finances in the Central African Republic is worsening, according to the Minister in charge of Finance and Budget HERVÉ NDOBA. He added that the future looked very uncertain for public finances and the national economy. The Central African Republic, a country of about 5.5 million people, has been experiencing turbulence let loose by continuing civil war since 2013. The intensity of the civil war has come down considerably since 2018. Yet, the economy is not improving due to a number of endemic reasons.
An important reason for the worsening of the economic crisis is the freezing of its Franc account In June 2021, France, a former colonial power, announced the freezing “until further notice” of its budgetary aid, in the order of 10 million euros, to the Central African Republic. This decision was triggered by an anti-French campaign allegedly orchestrated by Russia. In December 2020, Russia rushed hundreds of paramilitaries to aid the CAR’s impoverished army, when President Faustin Archange Touadéra was trying to repel a rebel offensive that threatened Bangui.
The Western forces along with the UN believe that the mercenaries are from the private security group Wagner, which is said to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin refuses the nexus. There are reports that Wagner is plundering the country, causing a number of atrocities. Russia is also blamed for interference in the Sahel region, particularly in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, etc. www.trendsnafrica.com could not verify the veracity of such reports.
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In the absence of external financing, the state is no longer able to execute the initial budget in full, the minister said, adding that cuts of 40 to 60% in the budget of some ministries were imminent. Importantly, the European Union recently termed Mali’s decision to back out of defense agreements with France as regrettable and said that the decision would weaken the fight against militants in the country.
In a countercharge, CAR also blamed France for flagrant violations of its sovereignty by French troops. Relations between Bamako and Paris worsened further with the coming to power of army rulers in 2020.
