Ambassador Marquardt's speeches

Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Niels Marquardt

Business Action Against Corruption in Cameroon:
Joint Government- Private Sector Strategies

November 7, 2006

Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen:

Good afternoon, and thank you for this opportunity to discuss corruption in Cameroon with members of the private sector.  Corruption in Cameroon is usually discussed as a public sector phenomenon, and this may well be the highest profile event ever held here to include so many distinguished representatives of the business community. I am honored by your invitation.

You of course know that is the joint responsibility of government and the private sector to work together to fight corruption and improve the business climate in Cameroon.

So I salute the organizers of this conference and you, the participants, for recognizing that it is impossible to talk about encouraging investment without talking frankly about fighting corruption, and it is impossible to talk about encouraging investment and fighting corruption without including leaders from both government and private sector at the table.

Speaking as someone with a deep affection for the people of Cameroon, I prefer to start with the good news that has occurred during the tenure of Prime Minister Inoni:

As you all know, the achievement of completion point will free hundreds of millions of dollars that can be invested each year in education, and health, and infrastructure to fuel the success of Cameroon’s future generations.  Relations, as a result, with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are better than ever.

Seeking to free Cameroon from the stranglehold of corrupt practices, President Biya publicly has declared war on corruption and promised profound change.  Indeed, a number of high-profile firings and ongoing judicial actions have shown him true to his word.  Parliament’s recent decision to lift the immunity for two prominent public servants is a noteworthy development.  Of course, we must allow the judicial system to run its course and not pre-judge the outcome, but I applaud the government’s willingness to ensure that no one is above the law and that the prevailing climate of impunity will change here. I would also like to mention, very briefly, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, something the Government of Cameroon has embraced wholeheardtedly.

And deeper down in government we are seeing courageous ministers rooting out corruption in schools, health clinics, the police, and in other institutions where petty corruption has preyed on the poor, fostered cynicism and hopelessness, and hampered development.  The ongoing effort to clean up the rolls of civil servants is also a positive sign. 

Most recently, Cameroon’s business organization, GICAM, announced that 28 companies had signed on to a collective agreement to uphold and advance proper business ethics.  This new Forum of Ethical Businesses in Cameroon includes a broad range of Cameroonian and international companies, many represented here today, producing everything from aluminum to electricity to chocolate.  What they have in common is a commitment to do their part to change the prevailing culture of corruption.  In doing so, they have also acknowledged that corruption in the business sector is a problem no longer to be ignored.  I salute this initiative and those who pushed for it; they have shown us how much is possible with creativity, determination, and private initiative.  At the same time, signing up is not the same as living up to the commitments.  So, much work remains to be done.

I would be remiss if I did not state that private sector action against corruption is actually an obligation, at least on the part of companies headquartered in OECD countries – which is where most of Cameroon’s foreign direct investment comes from.  For almost a decade, since ratification of the OECD Convention against Bribery by every OECD member state, we have all taken the pledge of zero tolerance for bribery.

All these are encouraging signs of action, and reasons to hope that Cameroon is poised to take advantage of this period of opportunity.

But not all of the news is good, and much work needs to be done.

As fond as I am of Cameroon, and as deeply as I believe in her potential, I sometimes ask myself a difficult question that I will pose to you all this afternoon:  If you had a million dollars to invest, and you could invest it anywhere around the world, in any country, in any sector, would you invest it in Cameroon today?

The evidence clearly shows that, for all the good news coming out of Cameroon, it is quite simply “not enough.”

The World Bank’s most recent Doing Business survey found that Cameroon moved down five spots from 2005 to 2006.  Some of the greatest setbacks were in the areas of Starting a Business, Dealing with Licenses, Registering Property, and Trading Across Borders.

In other words, Cameroon’s business climate became less friendly to new businesses just at a time when there is tremendous need for new jobs, and new investment and at a time when other countries in Africa posted the greatest gains in the world.

To look at some glaring examples: a business in Cameroon spends about 444 days, almost twice the average in Africa, to comply with licensing and permit requirements.  The process to export a container of goods takes 10 days; importing, a stunning 51 days!  No country on earth, even one as blessed as Cameroon, can realize its full potential while the creativity and industry of its people are being strangled by such unnecessary burdens.

I would also cite Cameroon’s experience in trying to become eligible for the U.S. Government’s “Millennium Challenge Account” program.  This program is awarding enormous development assistance “compacts” to countries, most of which are in Africa, which are most competitive in terms of ruling justly, investing it their people, and ensuring economic freedom.  Cameroon finds itself doing better in its absolute scores in most areas, including fighting corruption, but doing worse in relative terms as measured against the median scores of all countries applying for MCA.  In other words, in relative terms, Cameroon is seen as moving slowly backwards.

In looking for a simple recipe for reversing this troubling slide, I came upon a small booklet published over the past year by Prime Minister Inoni.  Entitled “National Program on Governance and prepared with help from the UNDP, it devotes six succinct and straightforward pages to describing Cameroon’s needed Anti-Corruption Policy.  It readily admits that there is not currently an anti-corruption strategy in place here, and lays out a timetable for creating one, starting this year.  I commend this document to anyone concerned about this problem.

In brief, it recommends substituting the current ad hoc approach with a systematic strategy calling for independent actors and adequate, independent means to run it.  It calls for building strong institutions that will not only catch those who embezzled funds and get back the stolen money, but also will serve as a strong and effective deterrent to future corruption.

I believe that I can speak for much of the international community in promising that a vigorous government effort to develop and implement a true anti-corruption strategy here would be met with applause and strong support from Cameroon’s friends, both in the public and private sector.  But we will also be looking critically at whatever proposal comes forward, seeking assurances from the top that it will be adequately funded, independently run, and blessed with a strong mandate from the top to do its job without interference.  Indeed, a number of Ambassadors got together this past summer to bring to Cameroon an OEDC Anti-Corruption Mission, and there is a proposal to make Cameroon the OECD pilot country for this effort.  We are willing to take the next steps, once we have the necessary assurances.     

In effect, we are merely endorsing what the government of Cameroon appears already decided to do.  Having ratified both the UN Anti-Corruption Convention and signed the AU Anti-Corruption Convention, the Government must next pass and implement legislation to bring itself into conformity with them both.  Implementing a true anti-corruption strategy will do that. 

There are other outstanding commitments to be met.  These include standing up the independent Anti-Corruption Commission announced earlier this year, and implementing the excellent law passed last spring requiring senior government officials to declare their assets.

On another positive note, I observe that Government decision-makers are indeed sitting down with leaders from the private sector—like you are doing in this conference—to determine what concrete actions can and should be taken to improve the business climate in Cameroon.  I applaud this trend; after all, it is you in the private sector who will provide economic growth, create jobs for Cameroonians, and increase the wealth of this country.  So it behooves us all to listen very carefully to your suggestions.

The schedule for this afternoon includes sessions that will suggest “quick fix” recommendations for the government.  Not everything can be addressed with a “quick” fix, but I am optimistic that the government can aggressively move to eliminate many of the layers of paperwork and bureaucracy that choke economic development in Cameroon, and which provide unnecessary opportunities for corruption.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I have now been in Cameroon long enough to appreciate that Cameroon moves at its own deliberate pace.  One says here, “le Cameroun c’est le Cameroun.”  While that phrase often brings laughter, this phenomenon can be very frustrating to people from less patient cultures and backgrounds.  Sure, we understand that this is seen as a price to pay for Cameroon’s remarkable stability and social peace. But, at the same time, I wonder whether this is something Cameroon can afford in a globalized economy?  Increasingly, I think not.

Let’s go back to the question – which for this audience is not an academic one – about where you’d invest your million dollars.  Cameroon certainly has its strengths, including educated workers and managers, abundant energy potential, ample water and agricultural capacity, and many natural resources.  While some investors are coming here, I observe that many others are taking their million dollars elsewhere in Africa to countries far less blessed by nature than Cameroon.  Resource-poor countries like Benin, Madagascar, Mali, Rwanda and Burkina Faso are all growing steadily without the same advantages of Cameroon.  And what is their comparative advantage? 

Good governance or, at least, better governance.    

Let me conclude by suggesting strongly that good governance – including a successful long-term war on corruption – is something that can also happen in Cameroon.  I’m convinced it can. Cameroon’s friends and partners, people like you in this room today, can and will help make that happen.  Perhaps one day soon, we’ll say, “Le Cameroun, ce n’est plus le Cameroun.”

I thank you all for your attention, and for the wisdom and energy you are investing in making Cameroon a better place to do business made possible by a real anti-corruption strategy, implemented as I have described.