Every Cameroonian knows one thing. A road that remained under construction long after the completion date passed. A public building that was inaugurated before it was fully operational. A hospital project that promised better healthcare but took years to deliver the services it was built for. Ask why these projects stall and you’ll hear different answers funding, procurement, bureaucracy, coordination. But together they point to a bigger question: why is finishing often harder than starting?

That question matters because Cameroon has never lacked ambition. Vision 2035 laid out a roadmap to transform the country into an emerging economy, driven by industrialisation, modern infrastructure and stronger institutions. Building on that vision, the National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (NDS30) set measurable priorities, including an average annual economic growth target of 7.6 per cent. On paper, the destination is clear. The challenge has always been the journey.

The numbers suggest how difficult that journey has become. According to the World Bank, Cameroon recorded economic growth of 3.2 per cent in 2023 and 3.5 per cent in 2024, extending a five-year average of 2.8 per cent well below the trajectory envisioned in NDS30. During roughly the same period, the number of people living below the international poverty line increased from 6.2 million to more than 6.9 million. Economic growth has continued, but not at the pace or scale required to achieve the country’s long-term ambitions.

The figures, however, tell only part of the story. No economy develops in perfect conditions, and many factors influencing growth lie beyond the control of government. Yet the World Bank and the African Development Bank identify a familiar set of obstacles that repeatedly slow development outcomes in Cameroon: infrastructure bottlenecks, procurement delays, institutional weaknesses, low productivity and coordination challenges across public institutions. Their assessments do not question the country’s ambitions. They question whether institutions consistently have the capacity to translate those ambitions into results.

That challenge becomes easier to see when viewed through the everyday work of public institutions. The Supreme Court’s performance audits reveal how implementation gaps can undermine worthwhile investments. At the Douala Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital, auditors found weak supervision, unrealistic budgeting and ineffective information systems. Although the hospital has 308 beds, its average occupancy rate stood at only 37.6 per cent, raising questions about whether public resources were being converted into the services they were intended to provide. At the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital, rehabilitation works launched in 2016 remained unfinished by March 2023, leaving the project more than six years behind schedule and delaying the benefits it was designed to deliver.

This is not a uniquely Cameroonian story. Development scholars Matt Andrews, Lant Pritchett and Michael Woolcock argue through their Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) framework that countries rarely struggle because they lack strategies. More often, they struggle because institutions need the capability to learn, adapt and solve problems as implementation unfolds. Reflecting on Cameroon’s National Development Strategy after completing Harvard Kennedy School’s Implementing Public Policy programme, Senior Civil Administrator Boris Owona arrives at a similar conclusion: successful implementation depends on stronger coordination, continuous learning and institutions capable of responding to challenges as they emerge.

Perhaps, then, Cameroon’s execution problem is not really about planning at all. The country has produced ambitious strategies, clear priorities and a long-term vision that has remained remarkably consistent over time. The recurring challenge has been ensuring that those plans survive the journey from policy document to public service, from budget allocation to completed project, and from national ambition to everyday experience.

In the end, the success of NDS30 will not be judged by the elegance of its targets or the quality of its drafting. It will be judged far more quietly in projects completed on time, hospitals that function as intended, institutions that learn from setbacks, and policies that produce measurable improvements in people’s lives. Cameroon may not need another vision before 2035. It may simply need to become better at delivering the one it already has.