FIGHTING CORRUPTION


• Misrepresentation and impersonation;


• Staff harassment, threats and intimidation;


• Sexual exploitation, immoral behavior;


• Denial of access to public services; and


• Discriminatory practices and any other improper behavior or acts in breach of laws regulations and the rules in force.


The effects of the aforementioned


practices and acts of corruption listed have long-lasting damages that could affect the economic, social and political spheres of state governance and even bring about endemic violations and evils. This may include:


Poor economic performance:


An economy can greatly suffer from a slow growth, leading to unemployment and an increase in cost of living or levels of poverty. Unplanned, misdirected expenditures on projects resulting in huge losses can also affect the State. Currency fluctuation, increased inflation and interest rates as well as increased taxation burdens on Cameroonians in addition to hikes in prices of essential goods and services. Disregard for standards and the


pillars of integrity: Such an action could result in leaders showing a lack of respect for the rule of law, a delivery of sub-standard work, services and products, a weak civil society and loss of professional integrity amongst professionals themselves. This comprises a lack of transparency and accountability in public investment decisions, financial management systems and reporting, in addition to opaque public procurement and public property disposal decisions. If nothing is done to address


corruption by our leaders, Cameroonians may soon experience an increase in:


• Loss or withdrawal of international aid: Corrupt practices will provoke international development partners and donors to become unwilling to maintain aid programmes and


consequently will stall key social transformation projects; and • Looting of public resources: Theft, fraud, embezzlement and money laundering will result in huge losses as well as reduced utilities avail- able for services, causing collapsed infrastructure, poor sanitation and housing.


On an individual level, corrupt


practices will produce in our nation a loss of citizens’ confidence in the ability of the public service and government to provide adequate and quality services; increasing insecurity in our communities and society. This is turn will lower citizens’ purchasing power, escalating a general decade or decline of morals. The cost of corruption to development at this time of our evolution cannot be ignored. However fighting corruption in a context like Cameroon requires the involvement of political players that act not just as drivers of the socio-economic and political orientation of the country, but also as leaders and legitimate representatives of the majority of citizens in our democracy. This rare position that our leaders occupy provides a platform to influence and control public decision-making processes that shape the lives of citizens and also determine the free flow of corrupt practice within its territory.


Corruption: a governance issue Considering that corruption is itself a governance issue that can present significant challenges to a country’s smooth democratic functioning, it is therefore in the best interest of our country’s leaders to see to it that corruption does not trigger a State failure by contributing to instability, and increase pressure on democratically elected governments to contain belligerent groups and terrorists that are difficult to appease. According to the article published


in the Washington Quarterly in 2002 entitled The New Nature of Nation- State Failure, countries undergoing conflict or having emerged from it identify corruption as a dominant


28 | The Parliamentarian | 2014: Issue Three - Cameroon


factor in driving fragile countries to state failure. Corruption can lead to and sustain violent conflict in the context of patrimonial regimes that are degenerating under pressures for market reform. In Buying Peace or Fuelling


War: The Role of Armed Conflicts, the author Le Billon argues that in countries where corruption has become part of the social and political fabric, conflicts may be more engendered by changes in the pattern of corruption than the existence of corruption itself. For instance, appeasing belligerents in order to create peace leads to a form of competitive corruption between different factions which can result


right of Cameroonians to be allowed access to information of public interest, Cameroonian leaders will be able to create a citizen demand for transparency capable of holding state institutions and their representatives to account. Fighting corruption in Cameroon


will require commitment on the part of its leaders to foster the rule of law as well as an effective and clean judiciary capable of playing its role independently of the Executive arm of government. This is in dispensing justice and guaranteeing the integrity of our institutions and constitution. A failure to monitor and ensure the integrity of legal actors by our leaders or the lack thereof will foster legal


“On an individual level, corrupt practices will produce in our nation a loss of citizens’ confidence in the ability of the public service and government to provide adequate and quality services....”


in prolonged violence undermining the ability of government leaders to ensure and sustain stability and peace. This is an example of how corrupt


practices that are not contained or eradicated in a country by its leaders can undermine both the rule of law and the practice of democracy. In effect, Cameroonian leaders


need to understand that fighting corruption will require not only a clear anti-corruption strategic framework but a consistent and objective political will to be responsive, accountable and ethical themselves, while assuming and taking leadership roles and administering responsibilities.


Fighting for the future Today leaders must ensure that they continually play the role of generating awareness amongst their following on the collective benefits of preventing corruption, highlighting the need to allow and enact policies that supports citizens’ access to information. By advocating for the


uncertainty and makes it more difficult to fight corruption. The fight against corruption


comprises a permanent task for all Cameroonian leaders. For a country that is on a road to development and to become a major hub for international partners longing to do business in the central African sub- region, it is imperative that our efforts to contain the scourge of corruption are spread across all sectors of the economy as well as governance. To secure the results of a consistent effort against corruption, we must mobilize our resources to address the following challenges.


• Corrupt practices that exacerbate poverty and negatively affect eco- nomic growth: This involves fighting against bribery charges associated with doing business. Extortion and fraud that continues to deepen pov- erty and inequality among ordinary Cameroonians force the prices and charges of public services to double, lowering quality and distorting the


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