Kini Nsom
26 September 2008
Transparency International, TI, has given a poor rating of government's ongoing anti-corruption fight in which some State officials are being arrested on charges of embezzlement.
Barrister Charles Nguini, TI Cameroon Chapter President, presented TI's rating in Yaounde, September 23, while presenting the results of this year's edition of the corruption perception index. Barrister Nguini said government's anti-corruption drive dubbed Operation Sparrow Hawk has no positive bearing on the fight against corruption.
Cameroon's position in this year's rating of 180 countries in the world indicates that corruption is growing stronger in the country. The TI survey shows that Cameroon scored only 2.3 out of 10 as compared to 2.4 last year.
Cameroon was classified as the 40th most corrupt country in the world. Cameroon also towers as the 17th most corrupt country out of a total of 47 countries rated in Africa. Somalia, according to IT ratings, now takes the lead as the most corrupt country in the world, followed by Myanmar, Iraq, Haiti and Afganistan.
Other top corrupt countries include Sudan, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden share the highest score at 9.3 followed by Singapore at 9.2.
Ever since Cameroon was rated twice as the most corrupt country in the world, government's fight against corruption seems to have gone no where. Government has created all sorts of institutions aimed at stemming the tides of corruption in the country, but the canker worm is still taking roots.
Government created the Audit Bench of the Supreme Court, the National Financial Investigation Outfit, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, yet these institutions are yet to make their mark in the fight against corruption.
A political observer, Prof. Michael Tazoacha Asonganyi has put it bluntly that government lacks the political will to fully fight corruption. He wondered why the law on the declaration of assets as stipulated by Article 66 of the country's Constitution is not being applied, despite the fact that parliament adopted it a long time ago. According to civil society activist, Michael Fon Nso, the fight against corruption in Cameroon has to begin with free, fair and transparent elections.
As a remedy against the scourge, TI holds that 'stemming corruption requires strong oversight through Parliamentary Law enforcement, independent media and vibrant civil society.'
The TI Boss in Cameroon maintained that when institutions in any country are weak, corruption spirals out of control with horrendous consequences. He said corruption jeopardises the global fight against poverty, threatening to derail the UN Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.
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