The National Cake: to Bake or to Share?: A Handbook on Challenges in Managing Public Resources and the Road Ahead for a Sustainable, Emerging and Democratic Cameroon United in Diversity.

By Akwalefo Bernadette Djeudo

In this book the reader is told that the unjust gap between the rich and the poor leading to social injustice in Cameroon and the world results from elite globalization and the reliance on the concept of sharing the National cake. The idea of baking the cake collectively and sharing it in an equitable manner so that everyone has a fair share is not known by the political and administrative culture. Consequently, Cameroonians spend more time talking about their share of the national cake instead of how to make the cake. The underlying principle of governance in Cameroon is best captured in the clause national cake. Call it public resources. Should the cake owned by everybody be baked or shared? Many politicians and administrators get lost amidst the intricacies of power and the grandeur that comes with it and feel that the national cake is only to be shared. They forget that they had made promises prior to their appointments and regard the civil service as an end rather than a means to an end. Money to them is the defining value and the primary mediator of relationships among persons and institutions. Ideals of equity are out the window and at the national and local levels, governments and citizens alike have become economic beggars and a consumer-nation has been created. Beggars dont create jobs; they take from those who have. Nothing paralyses a nation like citizens who lack a sense of mission for their country.

In my opinion, Cameroonians should spend less time on politicking and more on constructive endeavors. They should be challenged, activated, motivated and transformed into nation buildings or bakers of the national cake that will be equitably shared. They should be builders of a sustainable, emerging and democratic Cameroon united in diversity. An emerging and sustainable nation refers to a nation that is embarked on a holistic development that can continue indefinitely into the future by properly addressing human, political, social, cultural, economic, ecological and spiritual dimensions of development. This author envisions a better quality of life for all Cameroonians through the development of a just, moral, creative, spiritual, economically vibrant, caring, diverse yet cohesive society characterized by appropriate productivity, participatory and democratic processes, and living in harmony within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and the integrity of creation.
In Part one of this book therefore, this author describes the problems affecting the process of baking and sharing the national cake in Cameroon as reflected in neopatrimonialistic and clientelistic ties. In Part two, the author carries out an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting these resources if found to be deficient in relation to the nation's requirements. This part also indicate the factors which are tending to retard economic and sustainable development, and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of President Biyas major ambitions and accomplishment programme. The discussion framework in this part follows the seven dimensions of development: spiritual, human, social, cultura, political, economic and ecological. In Part three of the book, a complementary Plan to the Cameroon Vision 2035 that will lead to the most effective and balanced utilisation of the country's resources in making the national cake is formulated and the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation and financing of the plan is determined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491882504

Akwalefo Bernadette Djeudo

Attempted Senator nominated by the incumbent CPDM party Central Committee as one of the candidates for the West region, for the first ever organized Senatorial Elections in Cameroon, I, author Akwalefo Bernadette Djeudo, is Cameroonian by birth and a veteran educationist involved in community affairs, civil society activities and the political development process of my country to ensure my voice is heard and my vote counted. I have a BA, MA and DEA in economic geography, a post graduate diploma in Education, a certificate in pro-poor project design of development interventions and recently an MA in Public Management. I was born on the 3/3/1966 in a small clan called the Fondonera Kingdom where I am today the Regent Paramount Ruler. My biological father was the paramount ruler of my clan, a clan made up of 26 administratively recognized third class villages. He had more than 100 wives and about 200 children. During his reign, children were looked upon as wealth, but wealth itself excluded any formal educational training. Living in conditions of extreme poverty, it took God’s abundant Grace for me to go to school. My career goal at the moment is to get involved in public affairs with a concentration in economic and social development and to acquire skills in analysing the political, economic, organisational and normative aspects of complex societal and political problems related to sustainable development and poverty reduction. My definite major purpose and labour of love is to fight poverty with its political and environmental ramification, with passion and professionalism. I do not believe that men were meant to live in the foes of poverty, degradation, slums and ignorance. I believe that man by virtue of his humanity should live in the light of reason, exercise moral responsibility and be free to develop to the full the talents that are in him. I also believe that poverty can be done with not by increasing the number of well to do people who think about poverty, but by increasing the number of people who purpose with faith to get rich. What tends to do away with poverty is not the getting of pictures of poverty in to the minds but getting pictures of wealth into the minds of the poor. The poor do not need charity; they need inspiration that will cause them to rise, out of their misery. I believe that the poor can develop their minds to attract only positive vibration of prosperity, health, success, happiness and not those of fear, poverty, disease and misery from the Universal storehouse of the ether. I want to always speak of the poor as those who are becoming rich, those who are to be congratulated rather that pitied.

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© 2013 by Akwalefo Bernadette Djeudo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/07/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8171-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8250-4 (e)

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Contents

PART I: CHALLENGES IN BAKING AND SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE IN THE CONTEXT OF A QUESTIONAL POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CULTURE.

Chapter 1: CLIENTELISM IN THE PROCESS OF SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE

1.1 Definition and characteristics

1.1.1 Dyadic relationship

1.1.2 Asymmetric relationship

1.1.3 Personal and enduring relationship

1.1.4 Reciprocal relationship

1.1.5 Voluntary relationship

1.2 Clientelism and democracy

Chapter 2: PATRIMONIALISM IN THE PROCESS OF SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE

2.1 Definition and characteristics of Concept

2.2 Institutional dualism in Cameroon: What costs? What benefits?

2.2.1 Cost of institutional dualism

2.2.2 Benefits of institutional dualism in Cameroon

Chapter 3: MAJOR POVERTY GROUPS AND OTHER CAUSES OF POVERTY IN CAMEROON

3.1 MAJOR POVERTY GROUPS

3.1.1 Farmers and landless rural workers

3.1.2 Fisherfolk,

3.1.3 Indigenous peoples

3.1.4 Urban poor

3.1.5 Academe

3.1.6 Religious groups

3.1.7 Women

3.1.8 Children and youths

3.1.9 Local Authorities and local government units

3.1.10 Labour, workers and Trade Unions

3.1.11 Consumption

3.2 OTHER CAUSES OF POVERTY

3.2.7 Weakness of Past Antipoverty Initiatives

3.3 HOW SHOULD PRESIDENT BIYA’s 2035 VISION CHANGE THINGS?

3.3.1 Empowering People

3.3.2 Promoting Private Enterprise

3.3.3 Changing the Way the Government Does Its Work

PART TWO: RESOURCE BASED DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES RESULTING FROM CONCENTRATING IN SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE INSTEAD OF BAKING IT

Chapter 4: PUBLIC RESOURCES AS VIEWED BY CAMEROON CITIZENS

4.1 Public resources as viewed by Cameroonians

4.2 Why this book is written

4.3 The meaning of development in the context of an emerging and sustainable nation

4.4 The three Dimensions of society

4.5 Principles of threefolding and sustainable development

Chapter 5: CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD AHEAD CONCERNING MAJOR SPIRITUAL ISSUES

Introduction

5.1 Nature of Human Beings and Purpose of Existence

5.2 Definition of concepts

5.3 Spiritually Based Indicators for Development

5.4 Spiritually Based Indicators: Five Foundational Principles

5.4.1 Unity in Diversity

5.4.2 Equity and Justice

5.4.3 Equality of the Sexes

5.4.4 Trustworthiness and Moral Leadership

5.4.5 Independent Investigation of Truth and consultation

5.5 Spiritually Based Indicators: Five Priority Policy Areas

5.5.1 Economic Development

5.5.2 Education

5.5.3 Environmental Stewardship

5.5.4 Meeting Basic Needs in Food, Nutrition, Health and Shelter

5.5.5 Governance and Participation:

5.6 Sources of Spiritual Knowledge and Information

Chapter 6: CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD AHEAD CONCERNING MAJOR HUMAN ISSUES

6.1 HEALTH ISSUES

6.1.1 State of public health

6.1.2 Maternity and child health

6.1.3 Health education

6.1.4 Medical education, medical research and medical relief

6.1.5 Indigenous systems of medicine

6.1.6 Drugs and medical requisites

6.1.7 Vital statistics

6.1.8 Family planning

6.2 EDUCATION ISSUES

6.2.1 Assessment of present position

6.2.2 Pre-school education

6.2.3 Primary (including basic) education

6.2.4 Secondary and high school education

6.2.5 University education

6.2.6 Social education

6.2.7 Professional education

6.2.8 Women’s education and women empowerment

6.2.9 Other problems

6.3 LABOUR ISSUES

6.3.1 Industrial relations

6.3.2 Wages and social security

6.3.3 Employment and training

6.3.4 Productivity

6.4 HOUSING ISSUES

6.4.1 Housing by governments and public bodies

6.4.2 Private enterprise

6.4.3 Housing standards and estimates of cost

6.4.4 Housing finance

6.4.5 Town and country planning

6.4.6 Slum clearance

6.4.7 Rural housing

6.4.8 Research

6.4.9 National building organisation

6.5 EMPLOYMENT ISSUES

6.5.1 The problem of finding employment

6.5.2 Employment among the educated

Chapter 7: CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD AHEAD CONCERNING MAJOR SOCIAL WELFARE ISSUES

7.1 The Problem

7.2 Agencies

7.3 Training for social work

7.4 Social research

7.5 Resources

7.6 Social legislation

7.7 Women’s welfare

7.8 Child welfare

7.9 Family welfare

7.10 Youth welfare

7.11 National physical fitness and sport administration

7.12 Crime and correctional administration

7.13 Welfare of physically handicapped

7.14 Community approach in social welfare

Chapter 8: CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD AHEAD CONCERNING MAJOR CULTURAL ISSUES

Introduction

8.2 Emerging issues that challenge Cameroon cultural policy today

8.3 Global context: a changing cultural landscape

8.3.1 New socio-cultural fabrics

8.3.2 Trends of standardization of cultural patterns at the global level and cultural diversifi cation at the local level

8.3.3 Relating cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue: a virtuous cycle

8.4 Rethinking cultural policy design

8.5 Key objectives and strategies

8.5.1 The two-tiered approach to rethinking cultural policies for development and mutual understanding

8.5.2 New operational requirements and processes

Chapter 9: CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD AHEAD CONCERNING MAJOR POLITICALAND GOVERNANCE ISSUES

9.1 Political and governance context.

9.2 Creating a More Efficient and Responsive Public Sector

9.2.1 Enforcing Anticorruption Laws

9.2.2 Reforming and Strengthening Public Procurement

9.2.3 Reforming the Bureaucracy

9.2.4 Increasing Information and Transparency

9.2.5 Redefining the Role of Government: Promoting Public-Private Partnerships

9.2.6 Improving Regulation

9.2.7 Improving Service Delivery

9.2.8 Monetizing Fringe Benefits in the Public Service

9.3 REFORM OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

9.3.1 Administrative Leadership

9.3.2 Integrity, accountability and Transparancy

9.3.3 Efficiency

9.3.4 Financial Control And Economy

9.3.5 Incentives

9.3.8 Evaluation

9.4 IMPROVING SECURITY AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

9.5 THE SOCIAL CHARTER: INVESTING IN CAMEROONIANS

Chapter 10: CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD AHEAD CONCERNING MAJOR ECONOMIC RESOURCES

10.1 Agriculture Resources and Food Security

10.2 FOREST RESOURCES

10.2.1 Forest Areas

10.2.2 Forests Research And Education

10.2.3 Forest Tribes

10.3 FISHERIES

10.3.1 Inland Fisheries

10.3.2 Marine Fisheries

10.3.3 Personnel And Training

10.3.4 Ground Organisation

10.3.5 Supplies And Marketing

10.3.6 The Fisheries Plan

10.4 WATER RESOURCES

10.4.1 Spatial distribution of water network

10.4.2 Uses of Water

10.4.3 Constraints and policy issues

10.5 MINERAL RESOURCES

10.5.1 Mining History

10.5.2 Mineral Distribution and Exploitation

10.5.3 Mineral policy

10.5.4 Fiscal Regime And Commercial Legislation

10.5.5 Minerals development constraints

10.6 INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES AND POLICY

10.6.1 Industrialisation and economic development

10.6.2 Cameroon industrial structure

10.6.3 National planning and the private sector

10.6.4 Industrial priorities in the plan

10.6.5 Village industries

10.6.6 Small industries and handicrafts

10.6.7 Scientific and industrial research

10.6.8 Services

10.6.9 Trade policy, commerce and regional integration

10.8 TANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Introduction

10.8.1 Railways

10.8.2 shipping

10.8.3 Civil aviation

10.8.4 Roads

10.8.5 Communications

10.8.6 Pipeline

10.9 ENERGY RESOURCES

10.9.1 Energy history

10.9.2 Spatial distribution of energy resources in cameroon.

10.9.3 Cameroon energy projects

10.9.3.1 Power

10.9.3.2 OIL

10.9.3.3 GAS

10.10 TOURISTIC RESOURCES.

1. Tourist Resource Distribution and Exploitation.

2. Development of Cameroon’s tourism industry

Chapter 11: CHALENGES CONCERNING MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

11.1 Environment and natural resources

11.2 Biodiversity

11.3 Urban Ecosystems

11.4 Freshwater Ecosystems

11.5 Coastal Resources

11.6 Land and Mineral Resources

PART THREE: PROPOSED PROGRAMME FOR COLLECTIVELY BAKING AND EQUITABLY SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE IN THE CONTEXT OF SCARCE RESOURCES.

Chapter 12: ECONOMIC AND SPATIAL REVOLUTION FOR PRESIDENT PAUL BIYA MAJOR AMBITIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

12.1 Economic and Non-Economic Aspects of Poverty Eradication/poverty reduction

12.2 The Sustainable Integrated Area Development (SIAD) Program

Chapter 13: IMPLEMENTATION AND FINANCING OF THE PROPOSED PLAN

13.1 IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN

13.1.1 Institutional Framework

13.1.2 Instruments

13.1.3 New Forms of Coordination and Partnership to Eliminate Waste and Duplication

13.1.4 Matching Grants Scheme

13.1.5 Peer Review Mechanism and Public-Private Partnerships

13.1.6 Restructuring the National Statistical System

13.1.7 Monitoring Service Delivery

13.1.8 The Role of the National Assembly

13.2 FINANCING THE PLAN

General Conclusion

Bibliography

About The Author

List of tables

Table 1: The three components of value for money

Table 2. Continuum of Political/Decision making Systems

Table 3. Continuum of Administrative Systems

Table 4: General and specific objectives of the Cameroon Vision 2035

List of figures

Figure 1: Range of interacting political, economic, cultural, environmental and global forces leading to unsustainable development

Figure 2: Material and spiritual framework for development

Figure 3: Indicators of Public Management Performance

Figure 4: The seven dimensions of development

Figure 5: The threefold nature of society byWaddell

Figure 6: Framework and Principles of sustainable development

Figure 7: Comprehensive sustainable development

Figure 8: Economic and non economic dimensions of Poverty Eradication

Figure 9: Participatory SIAD management System

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all Cameroonians who live with integrity and make a difference in the lifes of others. These Cameroonians represent the human capital necessary for nation building in Cameroon and the world. They represent more particularly the highly organised intelligent groups of men and women who plan ways and means of using money efficiently for the good of the public and profitable to themselves.

These intelligent groups of men and women consist of scientist, educators, chemists, investors, business analysts, publicity men, transportation experts, accountants, lawyers, doctors, transformers, inventors and both men and women of highly specialised knowledge in all fields of industry and business necessary for nation building. They pioneer, experiment and blaze trails in new fields of endeavours. They support colleges, hospitals, public schools, build good roads, publish newspapers, pay most of the cost of government and take care of multitudinous details essential to human progress.

These Cameroonians are the brains of civilisations because they supply the entire fabric of which all education, enlightenment and human progress consists. Money without brains, always in dangerous. Properly used, it is most essential to civilisation.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank God, my mentors, the entire staff of Authorhouse including Ebony, Mark Andrew and family for their unwavering support

Preface

In a materialistic capitalist world of globalisation where money is the sole arbiter of economic values and activities, many people feel isolated, powerless and have little say in how their communities are run. Questions of true human needs, poverty eradication, equity and impact on the environment of economic activities which are determining factors in price determination and resource allocation are ignored.

Viewed closely, therefore globalisation marks the beginning of an era where a few elite businesspersons and politicians determined the destiny of billions of people around the planet. This is called elite globalisation which is fuelled by a spiritual disease. Only a consciousness that has been hardened, that has lost practically all sense of compassion, only such consciousness will ignore the unjust gap between the rich and the poor. A disease consciousness is too attached to the lower sense of self, to materialism, to meaningless consumption, to vanity, to power, to many of the other lures and illusions in life.

This disease consciousness leads to elite globalisation characterised by: Rootless growth (cultural homogenisation, erosion of cultural values, unsustainable consumption, production and distribution patterns, increased materialism), jobless or ruthless growth (poorly planned agro-industrial strategies and growth corridors, high indebtedness, one-sided liberalisation etc), voiceless growth (iniquitous political structures, corruption, lack of political will, patronage and political dynasties), futureless growth (degradation of the environment, bio-prospecting, biopirary, loss of biodiversity etc) and Meaningless growth which results when some combination of the other five forms of undesirable growth blocks the creativity of the human spirit. The resulting loss in creativity, perspective, meaning, hope, and morality necessarily expresses itself in suicide, violence, drug addiction, crime, corruption and other social ills.

If present trends continue, many countries are not likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development in the world and Cameroon will not meet its 2035 vision that aims to make Cameroon an emerging, democratic and united country in diversity.

In this book the reader is told that the unjust gap between the rich and the poor leading to social injustice in Cameroon and the world at large does not only result from elite globalization but also from the reliance on the concept of sharing the National cake where the idea of baking the cake collectively and sharing it in an equitable manner so that everyone has a fair share is not a political and administrative culture. Consequently, Cameroonians spend more time talking about their share of the national cake instead of how to make the cake. The underlying principle of governance in Cameroon is best captured in the clause national cake. Call it public resources. Should the cake owned by everybody be baked or shared? Many politicians and administrators get lost amidst the intricacies of power and the grandeur that comes with it and feel that the national cake is only to be shared. They forget that they had made promises prior to their appointments and consider the civil service as an end rather than a means to an end. Money to them is the defining value and the primary mediator of relationships among persons and institutions. Ideals of equity are out the window and at the national and local levels, governments and citizens alike have become economic beggars. A consumer-nation has been created because beggars don’t create jobs; they take from those who have. Nothing paralyses a nation like citizens who lack a sense of mission for their county.

In my opinion Cameroonians should spend less time on politicking and more on constructive endeavors. They should be challenged, activated, motivated and transformed into nation builders or bakers of the national cake that will be equitably shared. They should be builders of a sustainable, emerging and democratic Cameroon united in diversity. An emerging and sustainable nation refers to a nation that is embarked on a holistic development that can continue indefinitely into the future by properly addressing human, political, social, cultural, economic, ecological and spiritual dimensions of development. This author envisions a better quality of life for all Cameroonians through the development of a just, moral, creative, spiritual, economically vibrant, caring, diverse yet cohesive society characterized by appropriate productivity, participatory and democratic processes, living in harmony within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and the integrity of creation.

In Part one of this book therefore, this author describes the problems affecting the process of baking and sharing the national cake in Cameroon as reflected in neopatrimonialistic and clientelistic ties. In Part two, the author carries out an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting these resources if found to be deficient in relation to the nation’s requirements. This part also indicates the factors which retard economic and sustainable development, and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of President Biya’s major ambitions and accomplishment programme. The discussion framework in this part follows the seven dimensions of development: spiritual, human, social, cultura, political, economic and ecological. In Part three of the book, a complementary Plan to the Cameroon Vision 2035 that will lead to the most effective and balanced utilisation of the country’s resources in making the national cake is formulated and the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation and financing of the plan is determined.

Introduction

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved. William Jenning Bryan, 1860-1925. (Vanguard book of quotations p 38).

As long as part of our population suffers from poverty, as long as equal opportunity is not guaranteed for everyone and, as long as the future of our youths remains uncertain, our work will not be finished and I promise you that in our programme of national development, no region, division, subdivision or village will be forgotten. (President Paul BIYA of Cameroon)

Despite great natural wealth in Cameroon, rates of unemployment and poverty among young people and among the general population tend to be high and there is a serious risk of marginalisation, social exclusion, insecurity and conflict. According to the 2004 World Development Indicators, 40.2% of Cameroonian live below the poverty line surviving on less than 1 dollar a day in 2001—49.9% of this in the rural areas and 22.1% in urban areas. With double digit unemployment rates across the country, the basis of self-reliant and self-confident economic existence of a great many Cameroonians is severely undermined. Oddly enough, the state of affairs with persistent high unemployment and poverty rates seems to have become accepted in Cameroon. Feeble protests are typically combined with remarkable resignation. There is also an insufficient acknowledgement of the torments and disintegrations caused by high levels of unemployment and poverty. The wide prevalence of joblessness and poverty blights lives and liberties in Cameroon. Many losses result from the persistence of unemployment and poverty. Some of these losses can be more fully understood in the perspective of social exclusion. Other than the loss of income associated with unemployment other effects include loss of current output, skill loss, loss of freedom, psychological harm and misery, ill health etc.

Many people within communities in Cameroon suffer from absolute poverty, unacceptable hardship. They suffer from conditions characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information which are common or customary in a minority group in Cameroon. These conditions depend not only on income but also on access to social services. Many feel isolated, powerless and have little say in how their communities are run. Poverty excludes people from taking part in the life of the community and so makes them to be deprived from other opportunities e.g. opportunities to receive credit, employment, a livelihood, security, earnings, property, land, housing, minimal or prevailing consumption level, education, skills cultural capital, the welfare state, citizenship and legal equality, democratic participation, public goods, the nation, family, humanity, respect, fulfilment and understanding. Those constituting the excluded are the mentally and physically handicapped, aged invalids, abused children, substances abusers, delinquents, asocial persons, the unemployed, poor communities, the marginalized e.g. women, political minorities etc.

Poverty whether absolute or relative; whether of money, access or power, kills love and assassinates the finer emotions of the heart, discourages friendship and invites disasters in a hundred forms, leads to sleeplessness, misery and unhappiness—and all this despite the obvious truth that we live in a world of over—abundance of everything the heard could desire, with nothing standing between us and our desires excepting a lack of a definite purpose.

If present trends of poverty and social injustice continue, the country is not likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals and its 2035 vision that aims to make Cameroon an emerging, democratic and united country in diversity. The Vision hinges on the results of past studies, identification of the population’s needs, aspirations and the ambitions of politicians. In particular, the Vision synchronises the aspirations and hopes of various actors as follows:

i.   a united and indivisible nation enjoying peace and security;

ii.   a true, strong and unquestionable democracy;

iii.   a decentralized administration at the service of development;

iv.   a prosperous economy endowed with efficient infrastructure;

v.   an economy based on sub-regional, regional and global integration;

vi.   controlled population growth;

vii.   a nation that promotes gender parity in electoral processes, equality in elective positions and equality in professional settings;

viii.   a socially and economically empowered woman;

ix.   a stable and harmonious family;

x.   access to basic and quality social services by all;

xi.   independence and accessibility of the judiciary;

xii.   minimal poverty, illiteracy and social exclusion rates;

xiii.   an attractive Cameroonian culture united in diversity, and assertive at the international level;

xiv.   low unemployment and underemployment rates;

xv.   well-trained youth exalting merit and country’s expertise;

xvi.   fair distribution of resources between urban and rural areas, and between the various regions of the country.

The overall objective of the Vision is to make Cameroon an emerging country over the next 25-30 years which is the period required to move from one generation to another. The Vision also has medium-term objectives, notably: (i) poverty alleviation; (ii) becoming a middle income country, (iii) becoming a newly industrialized country and (iv) consolidating democracy and national unity while respecting the country’s diversity.

Poverty is persistent because in a capitalist world of globalisation price (money) is believed to be the final or sole arbiter of economic values and activities. Questions of true human needs, poverty eradication, equity and impact on the environment of economic activities which are among the other determining factors in price determination and resource allocation are ignored. The term globalisation refers to the global process of agriculture modernisation, trade liberalisation and hyper-consumerism resulting in increases of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita but at the cost of increasing social and environmental destruction around the world. Outwardly, the process looks like a march towards modernisation and progress. And indeed these are positive aspects of globalisation.

Viewed closely, however, globalisation marks the beginning of an era where a few elite businesspersons and politicians determined the destiny of billions of people around the planet. This is called elite globalisation which is fuelled by a spiritual disease. Only a consciousness that has been hardened, that has lost practically all sense of compassion, only such consciousness will ignore the unjust gap between the rich and the poor. A disease consciousness is too attached to the lower sense of self, to materialism, to meaningless consumption, to vanity, to power, to many of the other lures and illusions in life. This disease consciousness leads to elite globalisation characterised by: Rootless growth (cultural homogenisation, erosion of cultural values, unsustainable consumption, production and distribution patterns, increased materialism), jobless or ruthless growth (poorly planned agro-industrial strategies and growth corridors, high indebtedness, one-sided liberalisation etc), voiceless growth (iniquitous political structures, corruption, lack of political will, patronage and political dynasties), futureless growth (degradation of the environment, bio-prospecting, biopirary, loss of biodiversity etc) and Meaningless growth which results when some combination of the other five forms of undesirable growth blocks the creativity of the human spirit. The resulting loss in creativity, perspective, meaning, hope, and morality necessarily expresses itself in suicide, violence, drug addiction, crime, corruption and other social ills.

Jobless growth, results when economic output increases amidst high unemployment and underemployment. Ruthless growth is forcing millions of Cameroonians to live in poverty, constraining them from developing as full human beings, meanwhile a few individual billionaires/millionaires enjoy an income level equivalent to the combined income of the millions in poverty. Voiceless growth is economic growth racing ahead of direct human rights and democratic processes and participatory governance essential to modern societies. Rootless growth refers to the cultural decay and loss of meaning and identity, which often accompany economic growth fueled by globalization, and the entrance of materialistic lifestyles of industrialized countries. Futureless growth results from the destruction of nature through improper mining practices, use of pesticides, insufficient and improper environmental planning for the construction of dams and a range of other ecologically unsound development projects.

Figure 1: Range of interacting political, economic, cultural, environmental and global forces leading to unsustainable development.

1.jpg

Source: Adapted from Shaping Globalization by Nicanor Perlas

At the national level in Cameroon the single most important problem of development that causes poverty, high rates of unemployment and social injustice that may prevent the attainment of the above vision is the reliance by politicians on the concept of sharing the National cake (Public resources) instead of baking the cake collectively and sharing it in an equitable manner so that everyone has a fair share. It is not new to hear that elders and elites of ethnic groups or geo-political zones in the country and even leaders of some key organisations write petitions and memoranda on the unfair sharing of the national cake or the unequal distribution of resources and sharing of political offices. Some ethnic groups have even cried out that they are marginalised in the scheme of things in the country and that other regions are favoured in the sharing of the national cake.

Many have appealed to the President to redress the marginalisation of some zones through equitable appointments and distribution of development projects such as road projects, power supply projects, health centers rehabilitation, school projects etc. Mean while the caricatures of some of those appointed in this form show great wealth and status as they are driven in flashy four-wheel drives surrounded by bodyguards, and receive benefits including mansions, cars, medical care and travel and sitting allowances. They are treated as Very Important Persons. They are not powerful business men, celebrities or even heads of national corporations. They are cabinet ministers, elected party officials and clients of patronage. Communities are issued promising diversification, increase foreign direct investment, FDI, and the creation of millions in new jobs. Just as frequently, the nation’s army of unemployed, especially youths, waits in vain for the promised jobs. Why have we been failing?

The reason, to me is simple. We have created, at the national and local levels, governments that are economic beggars. We have established a consumer-nation. And as everybody knows, beggars don’t create jobs; they take from those who have. The over-dependence of councils on national distributed revenue had left the nation with few engines of development—which is what local governments should represent. Consequently, all the governments of Cameroon, irrespective of political party, lie about their abilities to create jobs; and, when they create a few thousands, they then set in motion their propaganda machineries to make Mount Everest out of the smallest ant hills they have achieved.

In a nation of bakers, where everybody is, to a great extent, self-reliant, there is very little fear of being cheated. However, in a nation of sharers, the suspicion is pervasive. Indeed, it is inevitable that more for A means less for B, C, D etc. Furthermore, it is even killing all the incentive to be self-reliant. In a nation of sharers therefore, there is much less thinking, about the size of the cake. There is also not much thinking about how the cake is best divided to achieve the greatest happiness of the greatest number. And that’s probably because the answer is fairly obvious—the more equal a society the happier it tends to be.

It can be said that the defining political struggle of the 21th century in Cameroon is not so much between political ideologies as between life values and financial values in the sharing of the national cake. The unequal sharing of the national cake in Cameroon has grown out of a Cameroonian’s inherited tendency to prey upon his fellow countryman economically. All animals are motivated by instinct, but their capacity to think is limited, therefore, they prey upon man physically. But a Cameroonian with his superior sense of intention, with the capacity to think and to reason does not eat his fellowman bodily; he gets more satisfaction out of eating him financially. In Cameroon therefore, a man is considered less than the dust of the earth, unless he can display a fat bank account, but if he has money, "never mind how he acquired it, he is a king" or a big shot, he is above the law, he rules in politics, he dominates in business and civil society and the whole world about him bows in respect when he passes. In September 1998 Cameroon was, according to criteria adopted by Transparency International, the most corrupt country in the world.

In our society today, money is the defining value and the primary mediator of the relationships among persons and institutions. Global financial markets that value life only for its liquidation price dominate the whole of public life. Using money as an instrument of control, the world economy co-opts the life energies of each individual and directs him or her to the task of replicating money as the defining purpose of global society. The control of productive resources is consolidated in global mega-corporations answerable only to the managers of huge investment funds who in turn are answerable only for the financial returns produced on their portfolios. The wages of working people are suppressed to increase returns to those who already command vast financial holdings. Spiritually impoverished and pressed into a struggle for survival, those deprived of both political voice and an adequate means of livelihood become increasingly indebted as a system that demands they devote ever more of their life energies to its imperatives. Ideals of equity are out the window and individual freedom becomes largely illusory. Destructive of both life and spirit, the world economy must be considered a social pathology compared to a more compassionate, truthful and enduring civil society.

Figure 2: Material and spiritual framework for development

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Source: Adapted from Shaping Globalization by Nicanor Perlas

There can be no compromise between poverty and riches. Riches are used in the broadest sense, to mean financial, spiritual, mental and material estates. The two roads that lead to poverty and riches, travel in opposite directions. If you want riches you must refuse to accept any circumstance that leads towards poverty. The condition of poverty and unemployment is sufficient to destroy one’s chances of achievement in any undertaking, it paralyses the faculty of reason, destroys the faculty of imagination, kills off self-reliance, discourages initiative, leads to uncertainty of purpose, encourages procrastination, wipes out enthusiasm and makes self-control an impossibility. It takes the charm from one’s personality, destroys the possibility of accurate thinking, diverts concentration of effort, it masters persistence, turns the will power into nothingness, destroys ambition, beclouds the memory and invites failure in every conceivable form.

In my opinion Cameroonians should spend less time on politicking and more on constructive endeavors. Cameroonians have spent more time talking about sharing the national cake instead of how to make the cake. The people who gave people hope for a brighter Cameroon, got lost amidst the intricacies of power and the grandeur that attends to power and forgot that they had made promises. It is a pity that politics in Cameroon is characterized by quarreling, stealing public funds and unequal sharing of the national cake. It is also a pity that politicians should be concerned so much about sharing the cake and not how to make the cake. However, it is also true that whatever little cake is available is not being equitably shared. The quarreling and jostling over the cake is because the cake appears to be the only source of nourishment. Politics is the easiest way to get to the cake and it is also the shortest way to escape the clutches of poverty and become someone of importance. It is also the way to avoid jigger infestation that is now ravaging parts of the country. Poverty, ignorance and disease have become more entrenched in our society than ever before and the calls to share the cake equitably have become louder and more strident.

The underlying principle of governance in Cameroon is thus best captured in the clause national cake. Call it public resources. A cake owned by everybody but accessible only to a few. President Paul Biya declares in many of his public speeches that national unity is a prerequisite not only for rapid and balanced progress in today’s world economic situation but also for the assertion of our personality and the safeguard of Cameroon. He also explains that social justice, peace, freedom etc are powerful factors for solidarity and national integration and therefore essential for harmony and requires that, a rational and equitable distribution of the fruits of prosperity to improve the standards of living become our constant concern. He considers social justice as the ultimate goal of development that calls for the fair distribution of the fruits of collective effort among all social groups. He remarked that the state can only be loved if it can provide each citizen not only with the security and satisfaction of basic needs, but also with the possibility of total human fulfillment, by combining order, freedom and progress. He explains that rigour, integrity and moralization should fit the web of our action as factors of the mastery of the task of nation building. Social justice is at odds with corruption, favouritism, tribalism and high handedness but in great need of initiative, ideas, innovation, dynamism and friendly emulation.

Many politicians and bureaucrats neglect this advice, and the concept of service and patriotism has given way to plundering and greed. The man who gets into politics and a public office sees it as a quick way to get money. As such he must win at all cost. Until the concept of ‘national cake’ or ‘state cake’ as the case may be continues to hold sway, politics will be played without principle and the law would be used to work injustice and deepen poverty.

It has been said that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is wealthy. No man can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless he has money, for to unfold the soul and to develop talent he must have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has money to buy them with. A man develops in mind, soul, and body by making use of things, and society is so organized that man must have money in order to become the possessor of things; therefore, the basis of all advancement for man must be the science of reducing poverty. The object of all life is development, and everything that lives have an inalienable right to all the development it is capable of attaining. Mans right to life means his right to have the free and unrestricted use of all the things which may be necessary to his fullest mental, spiritual, and physical unfoldment; or, in other words, his right to be rich.

There are three motives for which we live;—we live for the body, we live for the mind, we live for the soul. No one of these is better or holier than the other; all are alike desirable, and no one of the three-body, mind, or soul can live fully if either of the others is cut short of full life and expression. It is not right or noble to live only for the soul and deny mind or body; and it is wrong to live for the intellect and deny body or soul.

We are all acquainted with the loathsome consequences of living for the body and denying both mind and soul; and we see that real life means the complete expression of all that man can give forth through body, mind, and soul. Whatever he can say, no man can be really happy or satisfied unless his body is living fully in every function, and unless the same is true of his mind and his soul.

Man cannot live fully in body without good food, comfortable clothing, and warm shelter; and without freedom from excessive toil. Rest and recreation are also necessary to his physical life. He cannot live fully in mind without books and time to study them, without opportunity for travel and observation, or without intellectual companionship. To live fully in mind he must have intellectual recreations, and must surround himself with all the objects of art and beauty he is capable of using and appreciating. To live fully in soul, man must have love; and love is denied expression by poverty. A man’s highest happiness is found in the bestowal of benefits on those he loves; love finds its most natural and spontaneous expression in giving. The man who has nothing to give cannot fill his place as a husband or father, as a citizen, or as a man. It is in the use of material things that a man finds full life for his body, develops his mind, and unfolds his soul. It is therefore of supreme importance to him that he should be rich.

Every human being therefore has a reason to value not being poor or excluded from social relations. Without money, there is total indifference, indecision, doubt, worry, over caution, procrastination etc. Riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose and success comes to those who become success conscious and failure to those who indifferently allow themselves to become failure conscious.

In Part one of this book therefore, this author describes the problems affecting the process of baking and sharing the national cake in Cameroon as reflected in neopatrimonialistic and clientelistic ties. In Part two, the author carries out an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting these resources if found to be deficient in relation to the nation’s requirements. This part also indicates the factors which retard economic and sustainable development, and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of President Biya’s major ambitions and accomplishment programme. The discussion framework in this part follows the seven dimensions of development: spiritual, human, social, cultura, political, economic and ecological. In Part three of the book, a complementary Plan to the Cameroon Vision 2035 that will lead to the most effective and balanced utilisation of the country’s resources in making the national cake is formulated and the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation and financing of the plan is determined.

PART I

CHALLENGES IN BAKING AND SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE IN THE CONTEXT OF A QUESTIONAL POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CULTURE.

All nations have both formal and informal governance systems—that is, systems within which citizens and government officials interact. Governance involves both public decision-making and public administration. The formal systems are embodied in constitutions, commercial codes, administrative regulations and laws, civil service procedures, judicial structures, and so on. Their features are readily observable through written documents, physical structures (e.g., ministry buildings, legislatures, courthouses), and public events (e.g., elections, parliamentary hearings, state-of-the-union addresses, city council meetings, legal proceedings). The informal systems, by contrast, are based on implicit and unwritten understandings. They reflect socio-cultural norms and routines, and underlying patterns of interactions among socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups. Their manifestations are less easily noticed and identified.

Thus, governance systems have a dual character; formal and informal elements exist side-by-side, and are intimately connected in diverse and not immediately obvious ways. For instance, most of what we understand as corrupt practices in government today result from the clash of uncertified activity with the lawful realm of democratic politics and bureaucratic administration. It is customary and expected in most societies for people to help friends and family members. Yet, the same behavior is improper and, indeed, unlawful when it takes place within a rational-legal civil service organization where appointments are supposed to be made on merit (see McCourt 2000).

This institutional dualism has its roots in the historical evolution of social relations between rulers and the ruled, from tribal chieftaincies, to kingdoms and empires, to feudalism and the emergence of the nation-state. Yet, the changing blend of formal and informal governance elements does not connote a continuum from traditional to modern. No human society is so advanced that it relies exclusively on formal de jure institutions to run its common affairs. Informal de facto traditions and practices are constantly evolving and being adapted to new circumstances. Those that live on usually do so because they provide some value to people. They are functional in the jargon of social science—or else they would disappear through disuse. One of the challenges of development is figuring out how to separate the de facto governance institutions that serve, or at least do not contradict, the majority’s needs and well-being, from similar-looking institutions that block or even reverse improvements in social welfare.

As will be argued in this book, the governance system in Cameroon is not result oriented with enough considerations for inputs, activities, outputs and impact. Consequently the governance system does not favour performance in the management of public resources. Tracking surveys carried out in Cameroon by the National Institut of Statistics show evidence of public resource leakage and misuse in Cameroon. Leakage is generally defined as the share of public resources intended but not received by front line providers. The capture and dissipation of resources for purposes not related to the intended objectives is linked to the presence of a moral hazard created by information asymmetry and differences in objectives between principal and agents. This phenomenon is also associated with inadequate incentives and improper monitoring and enforcement within the service delivery system. Local officials and politicians, for instance, take advantage of the gap in information with central government and citizens; they reduce disbursement or procure fewer goods, services and works under their jurisdiction, because they know this will attract little attention given the weak supervision in most institutional settings. Consequently, the public resources management system is not result oriented and is not performant.

Public Resources Management Performance involves indicators associated with efficiency, effectiveness, relevance (pertinence) and ethics as figure 2 shows. Generally, a well functioning organization gives itself performance objectives as to what should be done or the results to be awaited. It tries to achieve these performance objectives by measuring at regular intervals the real or observed situation in order to compare the result with the desired situation. The key concepts of performance are efficiency, effectiveness, relevance (pertinence) and ethics.

Effectiveness is the capacity to attain desired objectives, to produce desired results. One is effective when he does what should be done at the right time, when results obtained correspond to the desired results. It answers the question "what". It is the extent to which, given a certain course of action, a previously established result or goal actually has been met. Essentially the concept is related to the relationship between actual and planned performance of any human activity. Actual Results/Planned Results (e.g. material costs, quality, logistics, innovation etc.).

Whether or not budget allocations and transfers reach the beneficiaries is the major determinant of the quality and effectiveness of social spending. Quality involves meeting specifications. It refers to the degree of conformance to the specifications for the service as it is valued by the customers. This definition has to do with technical quality which has to do with the degree to which inputs in a system are combined in ways that produce outcomes in effective, efficient, relevant and ethical ways.

Efficiency refers to the optimum utilization of resources used to produce the desired results. It is doing things well. It is not a measure but a reference framework. It includes productivity (results on resources), unit cost (result cost), relationship between resources, activities and the result. It answers the question "how".

It is the relationship between the expected or normative and the actual sacrifices made in order to realize a previously agreed upon goal. This concept is related to the resources/means, of the organization. Actual Cost/Planned Cost (e.g. administrative lead times, orders per purchaser).

Relevance (pertinence) refers to the best way to take into consideration the needs, expectations and aspirations of the beneficiaries, users or customers in the final results. Is what is produced really what users wanted? It can really put the organization mission into question. It answers the question "why" as it relates to the effects and impact of the project.

Ethics refer to the values of integrity, loyalty, professionalism and the respect of deontological codes which guide interveners.

Figure 3: Indicators of Public Management Performance

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Source: By author

The idea of performance management is viewed through the lens of value for money in public management. This concept is defined as the optimum combination of the whole life cost and quality to meet the customers’ requirements or add value to organizations. The widely accepted definition refers to three elements described as the ‘three Es’: economy; efficiency; and effectiveness.

Table 1: The three components of value for money

Source: By author

In a public management system, the value for money principle can be improved in six ways: considering the financial implications of your plans; reviewing your financial surplus (or deficit); ensuring that the goods and services you buy represent value for money; using the workforce to best effect; collaborating with others; and Using data and information to support better decision making.

The first two chapters of Part one of this book show these de facto informal governance institutions as institutions that block or even reverse improvements in social welfare in the Cameroon’s political and administrative landscape. Such blockage leads to poverty and so in Chapter three the major poverty groups and other causes of poverty are described.

Chapter 1

CLIENTELISM IN THE PROCESS OF SHARING THE NATIONAL CAKE

The existence of de facto governance institutions that lead to clientelism and patrimonialism in Cameroon has made Cameroonians to become more interested in sharing the national cake than in baking it. They do not have a labour of love apart from drinking and idling. They claim that there are no jobs. A labour of love is work which you enjoy doing and which brings forth your greatest creating effort. There can be no richer person than the man or woman who has found a labour of love and who is busily engaged in performing it for labour is the highest form of human expression of expression of desire. Labour is the liaison between the demand and supply of all human needs, the forerunner of all human progress. All labour of love is sanctioned because it brings the joy of self expression to those who perform it.

Having a chief aim in life is having a vehicle that will help you develop the power and money to eventually pursue your hearts desire. Once you have a major goal in life and commit all your time and resources towards its achievement, exciting things begin to happen. Cameroonians have diverted their energies