Biya’s bloated gov’t: a deadly pin on the tax payer’s neck

Cameroonians are usually overly excited each time there is the slightest hint of a cabinet reshuffle.

The rumour machine works over time as though everyone else stands a chance of being appointed into Mr Biya’s cabinet. And when it happens, the celebrations are wild, often comparable only to when the national team wins a major football victory.

Appointee’s often gated premises are flung wide open for just any passerby to step in to eat and drink to their fill. And then, the lucky ones settle down to start calculating the emoluments and perks that go with the office, and in certain cases, how to cut corners and loot the public treasury before they are “disappointed” by Mr. President.

Biya’s cabinet is often bloated and redundant. Economic experts are wont to stress on the need to be realistic when making such appointments. They point to the inefficiency of many of the appointees and how it is that they practically prey on the economy like locusts on maize plantations.

With fresh rumours of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, the experts have been admonishing the President to cut down on the current bloated and grossly ineffective and inefficient Government. Such a measure, they believe, would significantly reduce state expenditure, especially at this difficult period in the history of Cameroon, with the raging war against Boko Haram in the Far North Region, which is draining state revenue and verily sending the poor tax payer to an early grave.

It would be recalled that when on June 30, 2014 the Cameroon Government took another controversial decision to once again increase the prices of hydrocarbon products, the National Consumers League led by a certain Delor Mathurin Kamgaing, called on Biya to drop the hike and instead suppress the bogus Ministerial posts.

The League asserted that the cutting down of the large Government would be a rational and concrete measure to reduce ostentatious Government expenditures. The League raised issues like the reckless use of fuel vouchers by Members of Government, the heavy state expenditures in hiring mansions and buying luxury cars for them, the Safari missions abroad with the attendant mouth watering allowances.

Surprisingly, the Breton Woods institutions have been conspiratorially silent on the issue of Biya’s wasteful Governments, which often are big drain pipes of the country’s revenue, preferring instead to coerce profligate Governments into cutting state subsidies on petroleum products, from which impoverished masses benefit.

While addressing the Council of Ministers on December 9, 2014, Biya tacitly agreed with the complaints which were raised by the National Consumers League about reckless and excessive expenditures by members of Government, even if he was silent on the vexing issue of successive bloated cabinets.

Economic experts are insisting that if Biya is serious about making any significant reduction on the very high Government expenditures in this country, his very first measure should be to suppress many Ministerial posts, which, to say the least, drain the economy with a criminal abandon. Cases abound whereby, some services or departments that could be better be coordinated under one Ministry, are transformed into full fledged Ministries.

The activities of these mushroom Ministries overlap one another. Lack of collaboration and rivalry amongst Ministers doesn’t help matters either. The situation becomes even worse when the Ministers go down to the field.

The most confusing area with so many different Ministries is definitely the economic sector, where there are as many as five different of them. They are: The ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Technological Development, the Ministry Small and Medium Size Enterprises, and the Ministry of Commerce.

A well known Cameroonian industrialist, Celestin Tawamba, declared over the state media, CRTV (Television), that one of the big problems that businessmen in the country face is that there are so many Ministries supposedly in charge of the economic sector, that it is not clear to them as to which Ministry is in charge of what. He said businessmen do not even know who is their own Minister or the right member of Government through whom they could channel problems to Government. This is an issue that the business cartel, GICAM, has also repeatedly raised.

60 Members of Government

According to the last Presidential Decree No.2011/408 of December 9, 2011, on the Organization of the Government, as well as the December 9, 2011 Cabinet shakeup, there is currently a Prime Ministry and as many as 37 ministries in Cameroon. Among these 37 members of Government heading Ministries are a Vice Prime Minister, two Ministers of state, and three Ministers Delegate, whose Ministries are under the Presidency of the Republic like the case of the Minister Delegate in charge of Defense.

Added to these 37 heads of Ministries in terms of protocol are four Ministers without portfolio (Ministers of Special Duties at the Presidency). This brings the number of members of Government to 41. Furthermore, there arenine Ministers Delegate who are like Vice Ministers. This brings the Members of Government to 50. Added to this number are 10 Secretaries of State, which bring the number of Members of Government to 60. Then there is the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile political analysts agree that the decisions by President Biya in the last two decades to split many Ministries have been more of political decisions.

Before the rebirth of multi party politics in the country in 1990, Cameroon did not use to have large Governments. The Ministry of National Education for example, was in charge of Primary, Secondary and University education.

But in the last two decades, many new Ministries have been created by splitting existing ones. Biya’s main interest all along, has been to create more Ministerial posts to share to supporters, hungry or cringing political allies.

The last significant increase in the number of Ministries was Decree No. 2004/320 of December 8, 2004, on the organization of Government. The number of Ministries moved from 31 to 35. The Ministry of Youth and Sports for example, was split into two, just like the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

France Has 33 Members of Gov’t

The traditional policy of the Government of Cameroon over the years has been to copy from the ‘former’ colonial master, France. But on this aspect of large Government, Biya, the ‘best student’ of his French minders, has refused to learn from the teacher. The current French Government which came into office following a cabinet reshuffle of August 26, 2014, is comprised of 33 members.

In France, there is still the Ministry of National Education for both basic and secondary education.

There is also still the Ministry of Communication and Culture. In France, there is the Ministry of Towns, Youth and Sports, while in Cameroon these are three different Ministries.

Also, many countries in Africa like Ghana with a larger population than Cameroon have smaller Governments which are both less costly to run and are effective and efficient.

Meanwhile, Cameroon‘s frontline opposition party, the SDF, as well as many economic and political experts, have repeatedly argued that the country does not need a large Government. Experts say instead of the present 37 ministries, Cameroon could conveniently have 20 Ministries or even less. Most of the Ministries that have been split ought to be re-emerged, and Directorates created to take care of the different s sections.

The current Ministry of Higher Education and that of Scientific Research and Innovation could be more convenient and effective as one. The current Ministry of State Property and Land Tenure and that of Urban Development and Housing could conveniently be merged together to become one ministry, just as it would definitely be better for the country if she were to have a Ministry of Public Works and Transport than the two different ministries currently in existence. Also, it would be better if the current Ministries of Labour and Employment operate as one.