The national governance program implemented by the Cameroon government aims, among other things, to consolidate the rule of law and to fight corruption.

In 1998 and 1999, German NGO Transparency International gave top spot to Cameroon in its ranking of the world’s most corrupt countries. This dubious honour served as a wake-up call to the Cameroonian community and turned the attention of the international financial community to the Cameroonian authorities’ management of public affairs. Since then, the strongest pressure has come from institutions born of Bretton Woods, notably the IMF and the World Bank, whose orientations, policies and decisions hold sway over the attitudes and actions of the Rome, Paris and London financial communities.

In reality, Cameroon did not wait for Transparency International’s ranking to take resolute steps toward achieving good governance and transparency. From the moment he came to power in 1982, President Paul Biya made “rigour” and “moralization” his chief battle horses—even if the results have sometimes been less than stellar.

By making a formal commitment to promote and protect human rights, Cameroon has pledged to guarantee, among other things, civil liberties through the expansion and densification of the legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights. Thus, in partnership with the Commonwealth, a new code of penal procedure was adopted in 2006 and is now in effect. It is a revolutionary text in the field of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In fact, legal counsel for persons detained for questioning as part of the war on corruption often take advantage of the guarantee of liberties provided by the new code to drag out procedures before the courts.

In 2006 as well, the National Human Rights and Liberties Commission was restructured to make it more effective.

These initiatives of the Cameroon government in human rights promotion and protection have been acknowledged internationally, as evidenced by its election in 2006 to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council for a three-year term.

Transparency of management

Conscious of the importance of transparency in public affairs management and, above all, in public finances, government authorities have stepped up efforts to improve the quality of public spending and, most important, the transparency of actions, through control institutions. Progressive measures in the field of transparency, such as the publication in the press of a summary of investments or the computerization of the state’s balance-of-payments procedures, have been in effect for several years now.

In 2005, Cameroon signed the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), thus making oil profits a matter of public record. The EITI’s mission is to improve the governance and transparency of government action in the oil, gas and mining sectors, in order to ensure that revenue generated contributes to sustainable development and poverty reduction. Its chief tool is the publication of information on payments mining companies make to the government and on what is actually received by the government.

A new code regulating government contracts has been in effect since 2004 in order to remedy malfunctions, the lack of precision in the description of contracts awarded, the slowness of procedures, and, above all, the weakness of controls. Thanks to the new code, it is henceforth possible to conduct an external ex ante review and an ex post audit.

War on corruption

After adopting several measures, including some quite repressive ones, President Biya was forced to step into the breach on December 31, 2005 in his traditional year-end message to the nation to declare: “... but there is worse. I am speaking of the corruption I have often denounced but that is still rife. There is a clear mismatch between our effort to alleviate poverty and the scandalous enrichment of a few individuals... This must stop.”

Although the war on corruption intensified in 2006 with the launch of Operation “Épervier” (cast net), a repressive phase still in effect to this day, it had initially had a preventive phase.

In fact, preventive measures to counter corruption were introduced in a sensible manner, through an awareness campaign on the ravages of this plague and by the strengthening of the legal and institutional framework.

On January 17, 2006, the government launched a large-scale national awareness campaign run by the National Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption with the support of government anti-corruption departments. The campaign was essentially aimed at informing and raising the awareness of Cameroonians, regardless of origin and socio-economic status, including foreigners living in Cameroon, as to the ravages wrought by corruption.

As for the strengthening of the legal and institutional framework, it is evidenced by two texts introduced in March and April 2006, respectively:

- The March 11, 2006 decree creating the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The independence of NACC members is assured: they are immune from persecution, prosecution, arrest or detention for opinions expressed or actions committed in the exercise of their duties.

- The April 25, 2006 act respecting the declaration of property and assets. Enforcing section 66 of the Constitution, it creates for a certain class of workers the obligation to declare their property and assets at the beginning and at the expiry of the term of their mandate. These workers are: civil servants in charge of managing public debt and public assets, and officials working for an association or any other private body who are in charge of overseeing public expenditure in the form of subsidies or donations.

Such a regulatory provision, if put into effect and enforced, would prove a powerful deterrent in Cameroon’s war on corruption.

In short, governance in Cameroon is progressively taking root in social mores through the representation of civil society in certain decision-making authorities and control institutions. Decentralization, for which an implementation committee has just recently been set up, will certainly favour increased participation in the proper management of public affairs.