The National Anti Corruption Agency of
Cameroon with French acronym CONAC released its 2014 anti corruption
report on Monday the 27 of June 2016. Reverend Dr. Dieudonne Masi Gam,
President of CONAC revealed to the public that the state of Cameroon has
lost over 17 billion frs cfa to corruption with respect to several
major projects including the Memve’ele hydroelectric project.
Cameroon Tribune dated the 28 of June
2016, reports that an alarm was raised by the affected population of the
Memve’ele hydroelectric dam project in Nyabizan, a locality found in
the South region of Cameroon of gross malpractices in the payment of
compensation to victims. Several teams from CONAC were sent to the field
in 2014 to investigate these malpractices. It was realized that over
1.7 billion frs cfa which was supposed to be given to victims who had
lost buildings and crops because of this very important project was
swindled. According to Cameroon Tribune and other local papers like Le
Messager, many people who were not to benefit from such compensation
falsely benefited.
There were signs of joy and satisfaction
on the faces at the locality of Nyabizan, host to the highly
economic-driven Memve’ele Hydroelectric Power Project on June 15 2012
when the Head of State, President Paul Biya laid the foundation stone
for the project to officially kick off. According to a report by
Cameroon Tribune dated 18 June 2012, the population was indeed edified
by this ceremony personally presided by the President of the Republic.
For a state whose electricity supply merely reaches 900 kilowatts for an
ever growing population coupled with an estimated demand of almost
double that amount pending the realization of many announced industries,
it was but normal for Cameroonians from all over the country to have
braved the thick Equatorial forest and poor state of road to be part of
this important event.
“Without energy, there can be no
real development. There can be no industry. Our agricultural and mineral
raw materials cannot be processed. In short, there can be no modern
economy.” These revelations from the President of the Republic
captured in the above mentioned Cameroon Tribune report of 18 June 2012
gave a true picture of the chronic energy situation the country faces.
The President acknowledged that the chronic power outages in the country
have made the lives of a great portion of the population unbearable. “The
often extended periods of load shedding have also disrupted work in
government services, social services such as hospitals, and even
security agencies”, he added that the chronic electricity crisis in
Cameroon has not only led to material damage but also led to the loss
of human lives. The Head of State promised Cameroonians that the
construction of Memve’ele hydroelectric dam was just the beginning of
good things to come. “In the coming months, construction works on
the Lom Pangar and Mekin dams and power plants will be launched and
further studies for the Warak and Menchum hydroelectric dams will be
conducted, pending the completion of the Sanaga hydroelectric power
project”, he added.
It is rather a shame that five years
after, this long awaited hydroelectric project should be entangled in a
claws of corruption. There is no gainsaying that Cameroon is ranked as
one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This is evidenced by
Transparency International reports as well as reports from the Mo
Ibrahim Foundation. Several authorities have been arrested because of
corrupt malpractices especially with respect to water and energy
projects but the situation continues to get worse. Part of the reason
why Cameroon is still plagued by such scandals is that there are so many
uncoordinated and inadequate legal and institutional safeguards in
place to fight corruption. It is true that the country has several anti
corruption units especially housed in ministerial departments, but in
actual fact these anti corruption units are inefficient and poorly
staffed. It is very disturbing that an anti corruption agency such as
CONAC should produce its 2014 report in 2016. The production of a report
of such magnitude should be twice a year. Besides findings of other
corruption agency in the country remain a secret to the Cameroon
population and the international community. There is no need for the
creation of several ineffective anti corruption agencies which are
heavily funded by taxpayer’s monies while the country continues to be
ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
The country has to thus revisit its anti
corruption strategy especially with respect to hydroelectric projects
such as the Memve’ele hydroelectric project. Government officials
commissioned to undergo such compensations need to be well trained.
There is equally a need for mixed commissions which include anti
corruption experts, members of the companies carrying of the projects,
representatives of the populations like Mayors and Parliamentarians and
Senators. Such measures may go a long way to curb corruption.
Chofor Che is
Chair/Cofounder of the Central African Centre for Libertarian Thought
and Action, Cameroon. He is also an Atlas Leadership Academy graduate,
analyst with AfricanLiberty.org and LibreAfrique.org
