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Ambassador Janet E. Garvey Remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce

Parfait Garden Hotel, Douala, Cameroon, October 9, 2007

Good afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to address you all today.  I am honored to be the American Ambassador—your Ambassador—to Cameroon, and I look forward to working closely with the American Chamber of Commerce during my time here.  It’s also a great pleasure to be in Douala for the first time.  

We truly do have a talented team, and I hope you will have the chance to get to know them all, and to call on them when appropriate.  We are here to serve American citizens, including American businesses, and I urge you to provide input and feedback as to how we can best serve you.

I am largely in a listening mode today.  I want to hear from all of you, to learn more about what you are doing in Douala, in Cameroon, and in the region, to hear your successes and your frustrations, and to understand your priorities in order to guide and inform the Embassy’s work.  I have already had a chance to speak with some of you, and I look forward to meeting you all before I leave today and in continuing this conversation over the weeks and months ahead.

I want to assure you that the Embassy will seek to build on its record of support for Americans and American businesses, for American investment in Cameroon, and for an improved business climate in Cameroon. I have already had the pleasure of meeting with many U.S. business representatives in Yaounde.  You may have seen the pictures in the press of my ride on Le Bus for its one year anniversary.  I enjoy commercial work and intend to be a strong advocate for U.S. business.

Let me lay out for you the overarching priorities of the U.S. Government in Cameroon and then explain how I think this agenda relates to the particular interests of American businesses here.  I think of U.S. objectives in Cameroon as a three-legged stool, with each of the legs reinforcing the others.

The first leg is strengthening democracy, building on democratic practices and institutions in Cameroon.  The second leg is facilitating economic growth and development, which includes fighting corruption and helping enhance bilateral trade and investment.  And the third leg is building cooperation on shared security concerns, both domestically and in a regional context.

I know that many people are discouraged by the slow pace of reform in Cameroon.  I was disheartened to see that Cameroon fell even further—to 154—in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report and failed to improve in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.  Unfortunately, as you know better than me, the private sector continues to be hamstrung by a cumbersome bureaucracy, pervasive corruption and a dilapidated infrastructure.  Without improvements in this area, Cameroon will not be able to generate the growth and employment it so badly needs.

But despite this bad news, I believe there are good reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for economic growth in Cameroon.  President Biya’s September 7 cabinet reshuffle and his September 12 speech to the cabinet, in particular, I think are evidence of the government’s sincere desire to jumpstart the economy.  The big test will be how well the entire government—from ministers to customs inspectors and tax collectors—takes up this charge, and how well the good words are turned into effective action.

The cynics will say that nothing has changed and nothing will change.  I believe they are wrong.  We cannot sit by and accept that things will not change.  The window of opportunity that was opened during the HIPC process remains open, and we—the Embassy, the American Chamber of Commerce, you all as individuals—must do everything we can to take advantage of it.

I want to encourage you, exhort you—push you even—to make the most of this American Chamber of Commerce.

You have come together, transformed into an AmCham, out of the belief that collective action is the most effective way to have an impact.

I share the view expressed by my predecessor, Ambassador Niels Marquardt, when he urged the AmCham to make the most of your meetings, to reinvigorate your membership, to look for ways to expand AmCham activities beyond simple monthly meetings, and to seek alliances with like-minded groups.  I also urge you to be a strong, independent voice pushing the government to improve its governance, pointing out where improvement can be achieved and, just as important, applauding successes when they come along.

An American Chamber of Commerce operating at its full potential can be a truly powerful force for positive change and economic growth in Cameroon.  I, personally, and the entire Embassy staff remain committed to doing all that we can to help, but no one but you, the AmCham membership, can make it happen.

If an opening for economic growth has ever existed in Cameroon, this is it.  The Government is looking for ideas, looking for solutions to improve the business climate and spur more growth.  How well they succeed will depend, in no small part, on how well we are able to provide them with input and ideas.

This will remain one of my highest priorities during my time in Cameroon, and I am confident we will succeed.

I look forward to working with each of you, and getting to know you all better.  Thank you again for inviting me to address you today.

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For further information, please contact the Information Section of the U.S. Embassy, Yaounde, Tel 22-20-15-00, x 4072