Cameroon fails governance examination again

Bad governance is still predominantly a way of life in the management of public affairs in Cameroon, says a recent study carried out by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

The study, known as the Mo Ibrahim Survey, did a rating of 52 African countries. The study places Cameroon on the 34th position, far behind Gabon that comes on the 27th position. Cameroon‘s position, in the 2014 report, indicates only a negligible shift from its 35th position last year, after gaining an extra score of 1.5 points.

Observers hold that the country’s position in the study is a tell-tale that Cameroon still has a long way to go in terms of ameliorating its governance system.

However, the rating puts President Biya’s country in the second position in the Central Africa Sub Region after Gabon. Going by the Mo Ibrahim survey, Cameroon could only bag 47.6 points out of 100, falling below average. It is a pointer to the fact that governance in Cameroon is still in the doldrums.

The study puts Niger at the 29th position, Cote D’ivoire at the 40th position ahead of Guinea that stands at the 42nd. These countries are reported to have made considerable progress since 2009. These countries in West Africa have taken the lead in the list of countries that have made remarkable progress in the past five years, especially in the area of “participation and human rights”.

Such countries, as cited by the report, have made their mark in the area of sustainable economic development which is the engine for general progress in governance.

The Mauritius Island, as usual, comes in the first position with 81.7 points out of 100. It is followed by Cape Verde, Botswana, South Africa and Seychelles. Ghana is at the 7th position while Senegal on the 8th followed by Rwanda on the 11th position.

On the contrary, Somalia is first from the bottom at the unenviable 52nd position after scoring only 8.6 points out of 100 but, ironically, enjoys a constant growth rate.

As far as the classification of regions are concerned, Central Africa comes last in the Mo Ibrahim rating in 2014. It scores 41 points out of 100. Southern Africa has 59 points out of 100, while West Africa has 52 out of 100 points.

Rated at the 27th position with 51 out of 100 points, Gabon is the first country of the Central Africa Sub Region followed by Cameroon. Congo is at the 43rd position, while Chad is 49th. The crisis-ridden Central African Republic, CAR, occupies the second position from bottom. It shows a decline of sustainable economic development in that country.

Political pundits hold that until corruption, embezzlement of public funds, the disregard of the rule of law are obliterated, Cameroon will continue to suffer from poor governance. It is on record that since the rebirth of multiparty democracy, Cameroon has never organised a free and fair election.

Thus, it is a system that is void of checks and balances. According to a World Bank Study, known as “Doing Business”, Cameroon is one of those countries wherein, it is difficult to start a business due to corruption and administrative bottlenecks.