CAMEROON CONTINUES TO RANK POORLY ON GOVERNANCE

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 001198 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/C PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS EUCOM FOR J5-1 AND POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCOR PGOV ECON ETRD CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON CONTINUES TO RANK POORLY ON GOVERNANCE REF: A. YAOUNDE 1160 ¶B. YAOUNDE 1140 ¶C. YAOUNDE 1068 ¶1. (U) Summary: The week of September 24 brought three new studies reinforcing Cameroon's reputation for poor performance on corruption and governance. Cameroon scored 138 out of 179 on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, 154 out of 178 in the World Bank's Doing Business Report, and 24 out of 48 in a new index of African governance. The recent Cabinet shuffle offers some hope that the GRC may be getting more serious about improving governance but much of the Cameroonian public remains skeptical. End summary. ¶2. (U) In its recently-released 2007 Corruption Perception Index, Transparency International ranked Cameroon 138 out of 179 countries in 2006, the same rank as last year and down a notch from 2005 (when it ranked 137). Cameroon received a score of 2.4 out of 10 (with 10 the best),tied with Pakistan, Ethiopia, Paraguay, and Syria (scoring better than its admittedly poor performing neighbors). On September 26, the World Bank published its 2007 Doing Business Report, ranking Cameroon 154 out of 178 economies worldwide. Cameroon scored relatively well on ease of hiring and days to start a business (37 days, compared to the regional average of 56 days),but scored particularly badly on the number of person-hours required to pay taxes, enforcing contracts and difficulty firing employees. On September 25, the London-based Mo Ibrahim Foundation released its first-ever Index of African Governance, which ranked Cameroon 24 out of 48 African countries. The index tracked a country's record on safety and security, rule of law (including corruption), human rights, sustainable economic development and human development. ¶3. (U) At the launch of the Transparency International and Doing Business reports, local representatives decried the lack of progress on governance in Cameroon. A senior local World Bank economist said this year's ranking underscored that "government failed to reform the business environment." Transparency International's press release for this year's CPI report noted that "Cameroon in reality is marking time or is regressing" on anti-corruption. Cameroon's relative position has stagnated or worsened in the past four years. In 2003, Cameroon's CPI score ranked 124 out of 133 globally, with a lower score of 1.8, and 147 on the Doing Business report, almost ten points better in relative terms. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: These reports received extensive press coverage and commentary in Cameroon, which revealed significant indifference and cynicism about the impact these reports might have on reform. We too are skeptical, given Cameroon's track record and the lack of any real progress in ¶2006. However, the recent major Cabinet shuffle (not captured in these reports),President Biya's continued public and private commitments to an anti-corruption campaign (reftels),and some recent GRC efforts to boost its image internally offer some hope that these reports will resonate more this time. We will reference these recent reports in pressing the GRC to move more aggressively with reforms and against corruption. GARVEY