DIILS Seminar
Ambassador
Remarks by Ambassador Janet Garvey
on the occasion of opening ceremony of the DIILS Seminar on
Legal Aspects of Combating Corruption in Cameroon
(as prepared)
September 08, 2008 AZUR HOTEL, Yaoundé
His Excellency, the Minister Delegate for Justice, Maurice Kamto,
Their Excellencies, Members of the National Assembly
Members of the Cameroonian armed forces,
Mr. President of the National Anticorruption Commission, CONAC
Mr. Director of the National Agency for Financial Investigations, ANIF,
Distinguished guests, Members of the Press:
Good morning, and thank you for your presence here this morning, and for your active engagement in this conference throughout the week.
Let me especially thank the Minister Delegate for agreeing to join me in opening this conference. I take your presence here today as a sign that many in the Government of Cameroon recognize that corruption poses an urgent and critical threat to the nation of Cameroon—to the welfare of your people, to the health of your economy, to the integrity of your institutions, and, fundamentally, to the future stability of your country. Your presence is an encouraging sign of commitment to combat the kind of strangling corruption that has held your country back for too long.
When we were considering the possibility of hosting this conference, we wanted to create an event that will serve Cameroonians who are engaged in the fight against corruption.
We know that there have already been countless anti-corruption seminars, numerous anti-corruption studies and strategies, and more than enough awareness campaigns. So we reached out to our friends in the Cameroonian military, in civil society, and in the government, to determine if Cameroonians believed a conference focusing on the legal aspects of corruption would be productive. The response was resounding and unanimous. Each and every person to whom we spoke said the same thing: yes, such a conference is sorely needed and should take place. I was especially pleased that the President of the Republic himself, his Excellency Paul Biya, welcomed our offer to host this event and encouraged us to push forward.
In our conversations during the planning phase of this event, there was another recurring theme: although everyone was agreed that such a conference was needed, many people wondered if it would have an impact, if one conference could succeed in loosening the powerful grip of corruption.
The answer, I believe, is that this one conference alone will not be enough to put an end to corruption in the Government of Cameroon or in the armed forces. But, this conference can be part of a process by which Cameroonians through their own efforts, with the support of the international community, will succeed in pulling this country out of the bottom rankings of the world's most corrupt countries and into an era of better governance and greater prosperity.
How can I be so optimistic that such a transformation will occur?
Simple: because there is no other option. Nothing less than Cameroon’s future is at stake.
Let us focus, for a moment, on the armed services. In every country around the world, including my own, the secrecy and sensitivity that necessarily shroud defense budgets also provide an opportunity for corruption and mismanagement. Cameroon is no exception.
In the months and years ahead, however, Cameroon's armed forces will need to undertake fundamental reform, to usher in a new era of management.
In the coming months and years, Cameroon's armed forces will face one of their most daunting challenges, as they wrestle with the violent threat that has sadly made its presence felt in the Bakassi Peninsula and elsewhere along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Let me pause for a moment to express again my condolences to the nation of Cameroon, to her armed services, but above all to the families of those soldiers whose lives were lost or who were injured in the heinous attacks of the last few months. At the same time, let me express the respect of the world for the Cameroonian and Nigerian statesmen who, with two Secretaries General of the United Nations, peacefully resolved this dispute.
To honor their service, to protect Cameroon from threats in Bakassi, bandits along Cameroon’s vast borders, attacks in the high seas, and other security challenges, Cameroon’s armed services will need to perform at their highest potential. Imagine for a moment, how terrible it would be for Cameroon to have reassumed control over Bakassi through an admirable display of statesmanship and diplomacy, only to have that victory tarnished by events—attacks, violence, poor management—in the Peninsula after reversion.
Cameroon’s armed forces will not be able to accomplish their missions unless they are performing at 100%, unless the military’s budget is properly allocated, to allow for training and maintenance, and disbursed, to reach the soldiers in the field rather than to fill some corrupt official’s pockets.
I know what many members of Cameroon’s armed forces say about corruption, because they have said it to me. They have said that it is normal for senior officials to skim from the military budget to build themselves fancy homes or throw elaborate parties. They have said that it is normal for troops in the field—who are risking their lives to protect the nation’s security—to go without their proper food or health benefits because the money never reached them.
Some say that they oppose corruption, but throw their arms up in frustration and ask, “What can I do? That is how things work in Cameroon.”
To that I reply: they cannot work like that any more. Corruption is not part of Cameroon’s culture. Corruption is an affliction, an act of weakness, of selfishness that occurs everywhere in the world. But in Cameroon, it is life-threatening.
I have no false illusions about what it will take to save Cameroon from this scourge. Brave men and women will need to put their nation ahead of themselves, to think about their children and future generations. They will need to risk their lives to do what they know is right, to refuse to engage in corruption and to blow the whistle on those who steal from the people of Cameroon.
But if some within Cameroon’s armed forces are not patriotic enough to put their country ahead of their selfish interests, to risk their lives for the well-being of their nation, who will do it? Cameroon’s soldiers have volunteered to risk their lives to protect their country on the battlefield, to face guns and sneak attacks. Now they must show the same bravery and courage in standing up to corruption. You must take a stand, an act of courage and bravery, to stop corruption in the armed services, and, in so doing, to save Cameroon.
This conference is meant to be a tool to help you in that important mission. The American military officials who will run this conference are not experts in Cameroon or Cameroon’s armed forces. That is your specialty. But they are experts in corruption, in fighting corruption in armed forces. They have worked on these issues in the United States and in other countries around the world, including elsewhere in Africa. Their role is to show you the tools, with lessons that have succeeded or failed in other contexts, and to facilitate your discussions and, eventually, your decisions about what tools are best suited to fight corruption in Cameroon’s armed services.
Let me again acknowledge your presence, Mr. Minister Delegate, and express my appreciation for the President’s willingness to welcome such an important event. We hope that it will be beneficial, that it will help further the goal shared by the government and people of Cameroon, to root out corruption wherever it threatens the nation.
Thank you and I wish you a productive conference.