TOUGH LOVE IN CAMEROON'S ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L YAOUNDE 001811

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS
EUCOM FOR J5-S AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2016
TAGS: KCOR PREL PGOV EFIN CM
SUBJECT: TOUGH LOVE IN CAMEROON'S ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN

Classified By: Political Officer Tad Brown for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (SBU) Summary. Corruption, specifically the
Government's faithfulness to its anti-corruption promises,
continues to take center stage in Cameroon. Indeed, this was
Anti-corruption Week in Cameroon, as the Prime Minister
launched a high-profile seminar on how to implment the UN
Anti-Corruption Convention, which Cameroon ratifed earlier
this year. Amidst increasingly palpable public frustration
and mounting donor concern that the Government of Cameroon's
(GRC) anti-corruption campaign has lost steam, the Ambassador
joined other donors on December 5 to deliver a frank "tough
love" message in a private meeting with Prime Minister Inoni.
Welcoming such candid exchanges as evidence of donor
sincerity, Inoni reviewed the GRC's progress thus far and
provided details of impending actions. Speaking publicly to
virutally his entire the Cabinet at the launch of the
anti-corruption forum the following day, Inoni reasserted his
personal commitment to advancing reform. The US, British,
and Dutch Ambassadors also adressed this forum and stressed
the need for action, not words. We are comforted by Inoni's
continued public and personal engagement, but remain wary
that success will require donor vigilance to ensure that idle
talk and bureaucratic machinations are not used as cover for
flaccid political will. End summary.

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Donors on the Same Page
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2. (SBU) A December 4 meeting of the "8 6 Group"
(Ambassadors from the major donors and the IFIs) revealed
unanimous concern about the GRC's lagging pace of reform,
especially the apparent lack of political will to follow
through on public commitments. It was further agreed that
Executive Board meetings on December 7 (World Bank) and
December 22 (IMF) provided important forums for donor
representatives to convey donor disappointment and impatience
with the GRC's lack of -- or, at best, slow -- progress.
Having already conveyed these concerns in a strongly-worded
letter to Inoni on October 13 (see full text para 7),the 8 6
Group resolved that a rump delegation should deliver a
private, more frank assessment in person.

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Delivering a Message of Tough Love
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3. (C) On December 5, Ambassador Marquardt joined the Dutch
Ambassador and Resreps from the UN and IMF to convey donor
apprehensions. Flanked by Vice Prime Minister/Minister of
Justice Amadou Ali and the Minister in Charge of State
Control Siegfried David Etame Massoma (roughly equivalent to
the U.S. GAO),Inoni welcomed the frank assessment as a sign
of sincere concern on behalf of the donors. Seeking to
reassure, Inoni reviewed the anti-corruptions progress
already underway, including a civil service survey that has
turned up 40,000 ghost workers and a series of judicial
proceedings involving former public officials. Importantly,
Inoni confided that the GRC is compiling a "short-list" of
candidates to sit on the long-awaited council required to
implement mandatory asset declarations for public servants,
as well as naming members to the National Anti-Corruption
Commission announced in March by President Biya. Inoni
pointed to the standing-up of the National Agency for
Financial Investigations and a growing number of state audits
(up from 4 in 2005 to 23 in 2006) as evidence of the GRC,s
steady progress in working behind the scenes to clean up the
government over the last year. Inoni concluded the meeting
by vowing: "I made commitments to (World Bank President)
Wolfowitz and (IMF Director) De Rato in March in Washington,
and I will not let people think I was lying."

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Inoni Sends a Message to His Ministers
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4. (SBU) In a culture that traffics in subtle messages,
Inoni,s participation in the conference launching
implementation of the UN Anti-Corruption Convention the
following day, December 6, sent a clear public signal of his
personal investment in the anti-corruption agenda. Inoni had
been scheduled to open the conference in mid-November, but
was called by President Biya to travel out of the country at
the last minute. Rather than send a representative in his
place as he would customarily do, Inoni requested that the
conference be postponed so that he could attend personally.
The political symbolism of the occasion would not have been
lost on Inoni. Almost the entire Cabinet was in attendance
as Ambassadors from the U.S., UK and the Netherlands and
representatives from the UN, World Bank, and Transparency
International delivered a unified message saluting Inoni,s
leadership and demanding stepped-up action. Expressing
thinly-veiled expectations that corrupt senior officials,
including some of the ministers present, would be dismissed
and prosecuted, the donor representatives and Inoni himself
made clear that the "total war on corruption" announced by
Biya was not yet winding down.

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Comment: Working with Inoni and Ali to Keep up the Momentum
-------------- --------------


5. (C) The diverse donor community is speaking with a
unified voice that mirrors the frustrations expressed
increasingly vocally on the Cameroonian street. We are still
waiting for long-delayed actions to fulfill GRC commitments
made at the beginning of the year, when pressure to reach
completion point offered powerful motivation. Rumors that
Ali has threatened to resign if he does not receive full
backing for his on-going and pending judicial actions against
corrupt officials provide reason for hope that there are
enough anti-corruption activists within the government to
make needed reforms. We are encouraged that Inoni and Vice
PM Ali are so personally engaged on this issue, and will
continue to seek ways to support their efforts. We will
watch closely for Inoni's promised actions, especially to
assess whether the anti-corruption commission is sufficiently
empowered and truly independent.


6. (C) We could not help but notice Minister of Finance
Polycarpe Abah Abah, widely regarded as a paragon of
corruption, sitting glumly through the anti-corruption
ceremony in the front row, conspicuously unmentioned in the
glowing words of praise for Inoni, Ali and other members of
the Government. Abah Abah would have much to gain if the
anti-corruption campaign lost steam, and his disappointment
was manifest. His presence there -- like that of other of
deeply tainted ministers -- was all part of the treatre of
the grotesque that characterizes Cameroon's halting effort to
escape from corruption: no one, no matter how complicit,
misses a chance to be seen on the right side of this highly
charged issue. End comment.


7. (SBU) Begin text (translation from the French) of
October 13 letter from the "8 6 Group" to Prime Minister
Inoni.

Excellency:

On behalf of Ambassadors and Representatives of International
Organizations members of the 8 6, I wish to renew the offer
of support made by our group to your government, which has
embarked on a policy aimed at improving governance,
particularly in the fight against corruption.

Establishing the 8 6 group has in fact been the most
immediate contribution of the Cameroon's major partners in
keeping with the commitment demonstrated by the Head of State
to make fighting corruption a priority of the Government. At
the end of almost one year of work, members of the 8 6 are
convinced that a strong and continued political commitment on
the part of the Government is a prerequisite in the fight
against corruption.

Despite the fact that the Government has taken a number of
individual actions so far, the impact of these actions, in
our opinion, has not yet translated to an overall improvement
of the situation.

The phenomenon of petty corruption that continues to affect
the Cameroonian population each day suggests that the actions
taken thus far have not ameliorated the situation. As you
know, issues of governance, particularly corruption, are the
main concerns and the focus of the actions of Cameroon's
partners.

Our embassies often receive reports of dysfunction in the
taxation services, the judiciary, the police or concerning
the award and execution of public contracts. Difficulties
encountered in the Hazim forestry case, which were raised in
our last letter, shocked us deeply, and we are hopeful they
will soon be resolved through legal proceedings in keeping
with the general interest.

As you know, the political, economic and social cost of
corruption is tremendous. It is highly detrimental to
Cameroon's development, Cameroonian citizens' well-being and,
to a greater extent, the political stability of the country.
The loss of potential resources caused by Cameroon's poor
rating in the domain of governance (resources from the
European Union, the World Bank) or the investment climate
testify to that situation.

In order to consolidate and improve upon gains already made,
the Government should develop and implement a global
anti-corruption strategy to which we are prepared to provide
our strong support.

In this domain, more than any other, the success of this
fight depends on real owndership: the fight against
corruption must be the concern of all Cameroonians including
political leaders, administrations, the media, and the civil
society. To win this difficult fight, it will be necessary
to keep the effort in the public eye, to ensure extensive
public and media coverage. Though it is also concerned by
the scourge of corruption, the civil society, to which we
plan to provide capacity building, must play an instrumental
role in the fight.

We suggest that the following concrete actions be taken
quickly, at various levels:

--To establish a tripartite informal structure (comprising
Cameroonian authorities, economic actors, ambassadors and
representatives of international organizations) which should
be a forum for regular exchange on specific difficulties
encountered, notably by companies facing corrupt practices.
The group suggests that this platform of dialogue and actions
be established quickly, and that the 8 6 be one of the
three cornerstones. The aim would be, apart from fighting
corruption, to give a positive signal to private investors
who face continued frustrations and harrassment by various
administrations which demand money from them.

--To continue with civil service census to root out ghost
workers. The results of the operation, which was begun but
is presently stalled, can put an end to the nepotism that
plagues Cameroonian administrations and help recover
sufficient funds to allow a salary increase for state
employees, as part of Cameroon's agreements with the IMF.

--To pursue media campaigns on corruption cases including
naming the culprits and making public the sanctions they have
received. Stigmatizing corruption must create a general
climate of opprobrium in order to put corrupt persons in a
situation of permanent unease.

--To fully implement article 66 of the Constitution. This
provides for the mandatory declaration of assets by state
employees.

--To make the National Anti-Corruption Commission functional
by appointing its members and providing the Commission with
the means necessary for its adequate functioning.

--To carry out an appraisal of corruption in key sectors like
health and education, as suggested by the multi-donor mission
on the fight against corruption in Cameroon lead by OCDE/DAC.
A copy of the draft report is attached.

Excellency, members of the 8 6 Group wish to once more
express their deep concern to you and to discuss with you the
implementation of these proposals for which, as I have
already mentioned, you will have out support.

On behalf of members of the 8 6 Group, I would like to take
this opportunity to renew to you, Your Excellency, the
assurances of my highest consideration.

Norbert Braakhuis
Ambassador of the Netherlands (rotating chairman of the 8
6)

End text of letter.
MARQUARDT