CAMEROON: BIYA PROMISES PROGRESS ON CORRUPTION AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 000800

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCOR PHUM ECON EINV ETRD UN CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: BIYA PROMISES PROGRESS ON CORRUPTION AND
GOVERNANCE

REF: A. YAOUNDE 784

B. YAOUNDE 758

C. YAOUNDE 546

D. 07 YAOUNDE 1235

Classified By: Ambassador Janet E. Garvey for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. In a jovial August 7 conversation with the
Ambassador, President Biya said he planned to set up three
key government institutions--an elections agency, the Senate,
and the Constitutional Court--before the end of the year.
Applauding USG efforts to fight corruption in Cameroon, Biya
welcomed the Ambassador's input on members of his cabinet and
indicated he will likely fire his Defense Minister in the
coming weeks. Biya was effusive in his appreciation of US
assistance to Cameroon and praise for President Bush, whom he
hopes to meet at the UN General Assembly. We have learned
from previous broken timelines to take Biya's promises with a
grain of salt, but he continues to impress us as more
progressive and results-oriented than those who surround him.
End summary.


2. (C) Ambassador Garvey met with President Biya on August
7 for a wide-ranging 90 minute discussion, half of which
focused on the Bakassi Peninsula (ref a). Biya professed
envy that the Ambassador had been traveling extensively
throughout Cameron, saying that he wished he could travel
outside of Yaounde. In excellent spirits and apparently good
health, Biya was jovial and effusive in his praise for POTUS.
Biya said he hoped to meet POTUS during the UN General
Assembly, which Biya plans to attend.

Corruption and Proclamation 7750
--------------


3. (C) Ambassador briefed Biya on Proclamation 7750,
casting the USG's intentions as congruent with Biya's stated
goals to fight corruption in Cameroon. Biya welcomed the
initiative and pointed out that the Cameroonian street is
clamoring for pilfered funds to be repatriated to Cameroon.
Ambassador reiterated the USG's eagerness to help identify
corrupt proceeds overseas, but emphasized the need to handle
such a process through normal legal channels. Biya agreed
that the Government of Cameroon (GRC) had wasted time and
money working with Dooh Collins (ref d) and promised to press
Justice Minister Amadou Ali to bring his anti-corruption
efforts into closer alignment with Cameroon's National Agency
for Financial Investigations (known by its French acronym,
ANIF) and the judicial processes of partner countries.

Reviewing the Cabinet
--------------


4. (C) In a discussion of his cabinet, Biya shared the
Ambassador's positive assessments of Forest Minister Elvis
Ngolle Ngolle and Lands Minister Pascal Anong Adibime and
took note of the Ambassador's favorable experiences with
Finance Minister Essimi Menye, Energy Minister Sindeu and
Secretary of State for Mines Fuh. Admiring Ephraim Inoni's
energy and performance as Prime Minister, Biya worried that
Inoni might be weakened by allegations that Inoni had
profited from the Albatross corruption scandal (ref c). Biya
said he was convinced Inoni was not directly implicated, but
worried that Inoni would be considered guilty by association,
since the scandal happened while Inoni was the Deputy
Secretary General at the Presidency. Biya said he had been
disheartened to learn that Jerome Mendouga, Cameroon's
Ambassador to the U.S., had been so deeply in implicated in
the scandal. Acknowledging that his cabinet (with more than
sixty ministers) was too large and unweildy, Biya said he
felt constrained by the need to mollify Cameroon's many
tribal groupings. Biya seemed unimpressed with Jean Nkuete,
his Minister for Agriculture, and expressed outright
hostility to Minister Delegue for Defense Remy Ze Meka.
Saying Ze Meka was "completely corrupt" to the point of
weakening Cameroon's military (ref a),Biya said he could not
fire him before the August 14 handover of the Bakassi
Peninsula but seemed eager to do so as soon as possible
thereafter.

Positive on US Investment
--------------


5. (C) Biya was still beaming from his July 24 meeting with
AES CEO Paul Hanrahan (ref b) and hailed the growth of
American investment in Cameroon, mentioning specifically the
Chad-Cameroon pipeline and GEOVIC, the Colorado-based project
to exploit cobalt resources in the East Province. Biya said
Cameroon is specifically interested in attracting US
investment.


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Press and Politics
--------------


6. (C) Acknowledging the need for a free press, Biya
nonetheless denigrated Cameroon's media saying, "they write
things that are untrue and publish stories in exchange for
money," and complained that a free press needs to be more
"responsible." Biya lamented the profusion of political
parties, complaining that most of them were simply facades,
but singled out Bernard Muna, who had split from the main
opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) party, as an
opposition leader he regards. Biya displayed a keen interest
in the American Presidential election (going so far as to
offer a cheeky suggestion that President Bush amend the
constitution to allow for a third term) and was current on
recent events in the campaign.

Three Goals for 2009
--------------


7. (C) Biya said electoral agency ELECAM would be set up
within months, explaining the delay was to adjust some of the
names proposed by Inoni (whose list, Biya said, was filled
with "guys older than I am"). Biya emphasized repeatedly
that he wanted ELECAM to be truly independent and admitted
that Cameroon's anti-corruption agency, CONAC, had suffered
from lack of funding, a problem he intended to resolve. Once
ELECAM is established, Biya said, he would move to set up the
Senate and Constitutional Council as called for in a 1996
round of amendments to the Constitution. Biya said he wanted
these institutions functioning by 2010 in order to prepare
for presidential elections in 2011. As in previous
conversations, Biya demurred from sharing his plans for 2011,
hedging, "I am not even sure if I will still be here." As to
his own plans, however, Biya said the USG had always been a
friend and so, he promised, "I will not do anything without
letting the USG know first."

Comment: Biya Going Strong, But Where To?
--------------


8. (C) Despite his apparent worry that Cameroon was not
prepared to integrate Bakassi (ref a) and frustrations over
corruption and poor governance in his cabinet and within the
Presidency, Biya was up-beat, well-prepared, charming, and
engaged throughout the 90 minute conversation. He eagerly
welcomed the Ambassador's views, even on delicate subjects,
and is effusive in his appreciation of US engagement in
Cameroon. We have learned from previous broken timelines to
take Biya's promises with a grain of salt, but he continues
to impress us as more progressive and results-oriented than
those who surround him. A meeting with POTUS on the margins
of UNGA could provide an opportunity to thank Biya for his
unwavering pro-American stance on many important issues
(especially the Iraq war and investment in Cameroon) and
encourage him to push forward with political and economic
liberalization.
GARVEY