CONAC president accuses media of malicious reports

The Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, (CONAC), Rev. Dieudonne Massi Gams in a press briefing last Thursday at the headquarters of the structure in Yaoundé denounced malicious media campaigns by some newspapers against the institution.

According to the newspapers, CONAC has been subjected tom investigations by some anti-corruption bodies like the Supreme State Control (CONSUEP).

But to Rev. Massi Gams, this is but normal as contained in the text setting up the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

He said in recent weeks; some newspapers took the opportunity to orchestrate a smear campaign against CONAC and its officials by publishing unverified information full of lies and defamation, hence the need, he said, to provide some clarity.

He said Article 32 of the decree creating CONAC states that “the management of funds of the commission is subjected to the control and supervision of some competent State services.”

This, as he puts it means that the mission of CONSUPE in CONAC is “a priority to regular monitoring …and not a war between institutions fighting against corruption as some newspapers may think.”

Visibly astonished with the conclusions of the newspapers, Rev. Massi Gams said the monitoring mission of the Supreme State Control is yet to complete its mission to CONAC and publish a final financial audit report, and some newspapers are already drawing conclusions.

He regretted the fact that “some people in the CONSUPE mission or elsewhere disclose to the press, the opinion they have of their ongoing mission to CONAC,” whereas their conclusions and investigations are reserved for the Head of State.

Massi Gams carefully avoided answering questions on the remuneration of CONAC’s officials choosing rather reveal some figures on the salaries of some of his peers in Africa, like that of Mauritius, FCFA 8 million and Gabon FCFA 5.2 million.

He stated “the remuneration received by the staff of CONAC was fixed to prevent them from finding themselves in insecure work.”

He disclosed that his personnel were going about their duties uninterrupted despite the presence of the inspectors in CONAC’s library.

He said members of the coordination committee of CONAC had met in 2010 and came up with some resolutions that were in accordance with the UN convention to which Cameroon is a signatory.

The convention on the fight against corruption stipulated that employees in anti-corruption institutions should be treated and remunerated same as workers of United Nations agencies.

He said, “certain individuals, certain groups or lobbies of persons with ulterior motives are trying to stop the actions of CONAC with the intention of stopping the fight against corruption and to declare the death of the institution.”

Adding that these maneuvers are intended inter alia to create doubt in the public opinion of the institution, something that he gladly said would not work.

It should be noted that a team of inspectors from the Supreme State Audit Office has been investigating salaries, bonuses and allowances of workers of CONAC.

The investigation according to reports was prompted by a unilateral decision of the anti-corruption body to decide its staff’s salaries, considered to be very exorbitant after a proposal they had sent to the Presidency got no feedback.

The media described the investigation as a war of supremacy between two anti-corruption agencies placed under the direct supervision of the Presidency of the Republic.

While CONAC claims to be the main anti-corruption watch-Audit has equally argued that the decree creating their institution makes them overseers in the country.