Emmanuel Kendemeh
12 May 2008
There are heightened efforts and a strong political will in Cameroon to clean up the country from all forms of corrupt practices and embezzlement of public funds.
The Head of State, Paul Biya during the Ministerial Council meeting of 07 March 2008 reiterated that, "corruption is not only detrimental to national wealth and to our development, but it also distorts public and private morality". He further reaffirmed government's permanent resolve in fighting the corruption cankerworm, when he said that, "legal proceedings have already been instituted by the judicial authorities and exemplary sanctions have been meted out. This clean-up effort will be continued".
Contrary to what many people think, fighting against corruption must be meticulous. This is because proper legal proceedings must take their normal course until suspects are judged in law courts and sentenced. The meticulous procedure somehow slows down the pace at which ordinary citizens believe the fight must have taken. The fight is ongoing and even more intensified. Since what has come to be christened "Operation Epervier", started, judgment had already been passed and sentences pronounced on the corruption practices and embezzlement of public funds in government institutions such as FEICOM, SIC, Douala Ports Authority and Crédit Foncier. Shortly after the Ministerial Council meeting of March this year, the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Amadou Ali announced during a question time plenary sitting of the March 2008 ordinary session of the National Assembly that over 20 files related to corruption were ready and that judicial authorities were soon to get into action. It did not take long as some former Ministers and General Managers of State institutions such as Cameroon Airlines and the Industrial Shipyard of Cameroon have been undergoing interrogation on corruption allegations.
Government's permanent fight against corruption is not limited to isolated cases but is a deep-rooted culture. At the national level, government has put in place the National Anti-corruption Commission (CONAC). The structure, besides investigating corruption cases, also takes preventive measures by organising seminars and sessions on ways of nipping corruption in the bud in public institutions. Ministries and other State institutions have, on their part, put in place anti-corruption committees that are working on a daily basis. The anti-corruption crusade in Cameroon, will continue unabated following Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni's declaration in an interview with the BBC last April. "The fight is going to go on until we are satisfied that public funds are safe from unscrupulous hands and that people are ready to serve the public good".
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