Debt in Congo Republic

The Republic of the Congo, also called Congo-Brazzaville, is distinct from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It uses the CFA franc within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). The Caisse Congolaise d’Amortissement (CCA) is a public financial establishment under the Ministry of Finance. It manages medium- and long-term national and international borrowing, debt service, the public-debt portfolio and debt statistics. The Comité national de la dette publique coordinates public-debt policy. The Comité national économique et financier monitors financial-system and credit developments. The 2026 IMF assessment recorded total public debt at 97.3% of GDP at the end of 2025. Domestic debt accounted for 58.8% of GDP and external debt for 38.5%. The overall public-debt position and external debt were assessed as being in distress. Sustainability depends on sustained fiscal consolidation. From April 2025 to February 2026, new external arrears reached about USD 103.2 million to official creditors and USD 149.6 million to commercial creditors. In 2025, the CCA reported external payments of FCFA 344.24 billion, including FCFA 54.46 billion for partial arrears clearance. Oil-price shocks, CEMAC treasury liquidity, links between the sovereign and domestic banks, and weak debt management increase repayment risks. Businesses incur commercial debt through contracts governed in part by the OHADA system, the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa. A creditor may seek an injonction de payer, a court order for payment, or an injonction de délivrer or de restituer for delivery or return. A saisie, meaning seizure or attachment, can affect claims, salary, movable property or real estate. The court, procedure and assets involved determine the timing and cost. A claimant seeking payment of an eligible public debt can submit an audited and validated debt file to the CCA. Processing depends on the audit, eligibility, available liquidity and an arrears-clearance plan, so submitting a claim does not guarantee a payment date. Banks and établissements de microfinance (EMF) provide private credit under the regional supervision of the Banking Commission of Central Africa (COBAC) and BEAC. Regional rules address the total effective rate of credit, usury and publication requirements. The Bureau d’information sur le crédit (BIC) framework provides for client consent, lender data transmission, an approved tariff and a complaint process. No active BIC operator specific to the Republic of the Congo was evidenced in the reviewed official sources. A credit contract normally sets the principal, interest, collateral and repayment duties; missed payments can create arrears, collection costs and enforcement exposure. The Uniform Act on Insolvency Procedures (AUPC) has applied in the Republic of the Congo since 24 December 2015. It covers merchants, natural or legal business operators, entreprenants, private non-commercial legal persons and private-form public enterprises. Available procedures include conciliation and règlement préventif, followed where necessary by redressement judiciaire or liquidation des biens. Judicial administrators manage relevant proceedings, while creditor priority and privileges for new money can affect recovery. Faillite personnelle and rehabilitation apply in the business context. An ordinary household debtor who is not carrying on business has no verified national consumer-insolvency or debt-discharge scheme. Direct negotiation with the creditor and a request for rescheduling are the evidenced functional alternatives, subject to the creditor’s acceptance and the contract. Public arrears, business claims, bank or EMF credit, court enforcement and business insolvency therefore follow different rules, institutions, costs and timelines.