The cost of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Cameroon is raising serious questions.
Initially estimated at one billion CFA francs, the budget reportedly surged to nearly 50 billion, according to Jeune Afrique. The increase is linked to multiple emergency public contracts, many awarded without transparency.
One example is a 590 million CFA franc road project in Yaoundé, still unfinished on the eve of the visit, triggering tensions between local and central authorities.
Controversy also surrounds a gift to the Pope of nearly 1.5 kilograms of gold allegedly drawn from public resources on the instructions of Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, with approval from Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze. The revelation sparked outrage, with reports of a possible internal audit.
The investigation further alleges that some “foreign delegations” were staged – individuals recruited locally but presented as international visitors and hosted in luxury hotels at state expense.
While the Pope called for an end to corruption, these revelations cast a shadow over the organisation of the visit
The cost of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Cameroon is raising serious questions.
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