Snapshot:Reinforcing Transparency And Accountability

By Sam Nuvala Fonkem

Gone are the days when a certain Jean Assonmou of late, and at the time the General Manager of the National Hydrocarbons Corporation, SNH, could defiantly announce to Cameroonians over the State-owned television that matters related to petroleum production and marketing were a subject of taboo which only him and the President of the Republic were exclusively privy to.

He said it with such authoritative impunity that Cameroonians simply shut their big mouths and inquisitive eyes and accepted the pronouncement as an article of faith.

Between 1976 when it was officially acknowledged that Cameroon was an exporter of crude up till the mid 1990's when the Bretton Wood financial institutions, notably the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank imposed the obligation of disclosure in the oil sector as one of the conditionalities for access to the Structural Adjustment Programme.

The subject of oil production was such a highly classified State secret that a mere query by any enterprising or curious journalist could earn him severe administrative sanction.

There was this famous anecdote concerning the late politician, Honourable Lobe Nwalipenja, from the oil producing Ndian Division who at one time was summoned by the fearsome President Ahmadou Ahidjo who castigated him for questioning the inequitable distribution of wealth accruing from oil exploitation and the fact that Ndian Division was one of the least developed parts of the country.

After bullying the poor fellow and warning him for his own good to desist henceforth from mentioning the issue of oil and sternly reminding him that petroleum production was none of his business, Ahidjo summarily dismissed him from his royal presence with a token envelop to appease his deflated ego.

The one-time ace broadcaster of Radio Cameroon, Asonglefac Nkemleke would always have a tale or two to tell concerning the lack of transparency which marked the oil sector in the 1980's. He was removed as station manager of Radio Buea for questioning the fact that Cameroon had adopted the unconventional policy of recording its oil production in million of tons per annum instead of the common practice of other world producers who recorded production in number of barrels per day.

What was implied in Asonglefac's question was that government policy was intended to befuddle ordinary Cameroonians by making it difficult for them to assess their oil producing status in comparison with other world producers.

The coming of Transparency International and the rise of critical civil society organisations in Cameroon has had the salutary effect of instilling a culture of transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs and even though the government is yet to fully rise up to the challenge there are some timid signs that the State is gradually realising that it would eventually have to shred its shroud of secrecy over issues concerning the commonwealth of the nation.

It is in the interest of government to not only exercise transparency in its method of governance, but also to make information of virtual interest available to the public. Cameroonians and especially media practitioners were given a sign of hope with the recent international conference on the Freedom of Information held in Yaounde which was aimed at promoting the culture of open government and the improvement of relations between citizens and the administration through the adoption of laws and institutional practices designed to guarantee unfettered access to information.

In the days of the Southern Cameroons and later, the federated State of West Cameroon, it was the normal practice for government to publish white papers on specific areas of policy as well as possible, results of commissions of enquiry on matters of corporate mismanagement, graft, embezzlement and so forth, the coming of the Unitary State in 1972 put paid to such practices of good governance.

The national gazette, for example, ought to be a regularly published document containing all legislation passed by parliament, executive ordinances, decrees and circulars governing the conduct of the administration. How regularly the official gazette is published and how available it is to the public is a question to moot.

The habit of conducting State matters as if they were confined to the realm of occultism is largely responsible for the total confusion that reigns supreme in Cameroon wherein the leaders are moving in the direction and the followers are moving in the opposite direction.

Concomitant to the right of information is the need for government to set up mechanisms in all its departments to monitor, assess and respond to public feedback. Feedback, short of clairvoyance, is the only reasonable mechanism for government to assess and adapt its performance and this is where the role of the ombudsman comes in.

The job of an ombudsman is to receive, examine and report complaints by ordinary citizens about the harmful and damaging acts of government or public authorities and to ensure that such complaints are given attention by the appropriate quarters.

In the light of the above, we can happily commend the Director-General of Taxation, Laurent Nkodo, and the Minister of Finance, Essime Menye, for launching two communication services last week that would facilitate the reporting of cases of harassment, fraud and other abuses by tax agents to officials of the Taxation Department.

The decision to set up a toll-free telephone number 8200 and a website www.inpots.com to provide access to fiscal information related to tax codes, the finance law and other relevant information is a praiseworthy innovation of the Inoni government as long as such complaints as may eventually be reported will not be swept under the carpet by officials, who, for solidarity considerations, would seek to protect their colleagues.

The choice of ombudsman in this case and his terms of reference are crucial to the success of this laudable initiative.We enjoin the Prime Minister, Chief Ephraim Inoni, to institute the service of ombudsman in all government departments providing services to the public.

It would seem that attempts by the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms to provide access to career information by civil servants have failed to check the influx of government functionaries to Yaounde for the purpose of "chasing" their personal files. This should not, however, provide an excuse for not setting up mechanisms for checks and balance because it is the right thing to do.

If ombudsmen are charged with the duty of producing a monthly assessment of their activities and publishing government response to public feedback, we will have reasonable grounds to hope that the culture of good governance has come to stay in Cameroon.

Comments

[Dr A A Agbormbai]

This is quite simply one of the greatest articles that I have read on this site, for a very long time. Excellent, Sam Nuvala Fonkem. Keep it up!

I hope the government extends your proposal to all its ministries. While the strategic issues of the country have been resolved, Cameroon is being killed at the moment by implementation issues.

It is not enough to pursue the right direction, it is also critical to be able to implement the planned direction. And this is where Cameroon has been failing.

Implementation is a detailed and thoughtful process that demands systematic attendance to issues.

A successful systematic approach is disciplined, objective, and ruthless. It is driven by the requirement to succeed... to attain or even surpass the stated goals.

Implementation is not the place for 'man know man.' If objectives are not being met then swift and dramatic action must follow, to correct the situation. This might involve dismissing personnel.

Your proposal certainly conforms to such high standards. Thanks for some excellent thinking!

[Tekum Mbeng]

It is surprising that Mr Fonkem is investing confidence in the gimmicks from Laurent Nkodo and Essime Menye. No one can teach old dogs new tricks.

Only an investigative press and the opposition can check the excesses of those in power. Govt cannot police itself, even in developed countries! Messrs Nkodo and Menye are not infallible!

The old problem with Cameroon is that Mr Paul Biya has no business over-staying in power. He is paralysed by the ghost of Ahidjo and all those he has had a hand in their physical elimination.

[Dr A A Agbormbai]

The Post should publish more articles on implementation issues, to help the gov't out of its doldrums.

[Tekum Mbeng]

Dr AAA,

The gov't you are talking about is very willing to help you or any one challenging its tactics to an early death. You have to examine this gov't apalling record since 1983 to realize it is very dangerous.

[numvi]

just tried the website: www.inpots.com seems to be another gimmick by nos compatriots...