If the financial situation in Cameroon isn’t highly underwhelming and appalling indeed, then the mere fact that President Paul Biya is the highest paid president on the African continent should be.
According to Business Insider Africa’s 2021 ranking for the highest paid Heads of States in Africa, Paul Biya tops the chart with an annual salary of $620, 976. He is followed by the King of Morocco’s over $400,000 and South Africa’s President’s over $220,000 annually.
As a country which for long has been classified under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, the president’s wages has been perceived by many as a depiction of what the country is all about.
Often considered as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, Cameroonians evidently believe that the state of the country’s economy has nothing to do with the country’s financial situation, but by the calibre of leadership in the country.
The country is equally undergoing one if its worst financial scandals in its history with CovidGate. The scandal has seen several Government Ministers on the line of firing for the mismanagement of funds worth 180 Billion FCFA meant to fight against the spread of Covid-19 in Cameroon.
Unlike the case of the state Ministers in Cameroon however the who have often taken the down for the country’s poor economy, not much has ever been mentioned as to the role of the man at the top himself.
Many Cameroonians are wondering how one of the least economically and financially viable countries, has the highest paid president? What are Biya’s other sources of wealth? How many accounts does he own in foreign banks?