Editorial

Democracy in Africa has often been criticized as being a facade put up to receive funding from foreign governments. But for experts, democracy exists even at grassroots levels.

Autocratic or authoritarian regimes, dictatorships, have been a dominant form of governance in Africa for many years. In the second decade of the 21st century, one concern is that they may hinder the attainment of one of the UN's crucial Sustainable Development Goals.

The growth in the number of migrants from Africa poses a challenge outside the continent. Africa must help resolve this challenge by implementing universally acceptable standards of democratic governance. But Robtel Neajai Pailey, a senior researcher from Liberian at Oxford University, rejects the notion of  universal standards of democracy. "There are different strands of democracy so it depends on how you define democracy and who is defining it,” she told DW.

Democracy and Africa

There have been concerns that democratization is not happening fast enough in the continent. But Julia Leininger, an expert on African Politics from the German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik)  says there is plenty of evidence of democracy in action at the grassroots level in Africa. "You find a lot of practices in the sense that people discuss things a lot in order to get to conclusions and joint decisions. There is a lot of what we call vertical accountabilities," she said. But she agrees there is still a long way to go

Poor governance and leadership is big to development in Africa. The 16th of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals seeks to address problem by striving for "access to justice for all and moves to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels of government."

One hurdle to "effective,a ccountable and inclusive institutions" is the tendency of some African presidents to try and  extend their number of terms in office by sidestepping or tempering with their country's constitution. Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Burkina Faso have all experienced this .

Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, the executive director at Ghana Center for Democratic Development, told DW that Africans do not support extended presidential terms. These are the findings of Afro-barometer, a pan-African, research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions.

"Africans do prefer democracy to any other form of government. We asked them about elections. Sometimes elections bring too many problems so may be we shouldn't have elections, They said no. As many as 8 in 10 Africans consistently say they want to have multiparty elections,” he said.

The presence of democratic spaces in some African countries has helped civil rights groups to push for institutional change and policy development. But Pailey said this is only half the battle. "I think there are really fantastic policies on the continent of Africa. The problem is their implementation,” she said.

The problem is not exclusive to her home country of Liberia, it is also rife on other parts of the continent. "Unless there is a political will and a demand for that political will to be met in terms of the implementation of really fantastic laws and regulation then we will still be talking about SDG 16 maybe a 100 years from now,” she said.

Resolutions

So what can be done to achieve these goals by their set date of 2030 ? The international reaction to autocratic governments is normally to impose sanctions, one example being Zimbabwe. But such sanctions do not do enough to ensure that governments become more accountable to their citizens. 

Pailey says  a lot of development cooperation institutions fund government bodies that they know are not accountable to their citizens. "That is actually really damning for European development cooperation institutions,” she said.

Supporters of autocratic regimes point to the case of  President Kagame's Rwanda, which they say has made big strides in economic, social and environmental development. Is autocratic government not a viable model after all? 

Gyimah-Boadi vehemently challenges this assertion. One should not forget, he said, that  autocratic rule was the norm in Africa from 1960 until at least 1990. "Now why is it that 30 years of authoritarian and autocratic rule in Africa did not produce the kind of developments we are seeing in Rwanda?" The experience of one country cannot be allowed to override that gleaned by 52 countries, he said   

Gyimah-Boadi believes the European Union is losing the knack of dealing with autocratic regimes. This is because they preside over valubale commodities which are highly sought after by other non-European trading partners such China, India or Brazil.

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Wanjiku Mwaura

03.Oct.2016

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Prince Nfor Hanson

02.Oct.2016

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Paul Biya, the 83 years old man who has spent 34 of these years at the helm of Cameroon, signed a decree  Thursday,29 September 2016. This presidential decree is coming in from a foreign country other than his presidential palace, barely a few days after the end of the 71st general assembly of the U.N.O. which was his official pretext to leave the country.

 It should be noted that he is more at ease out of Cameroon where he prefers to ruminate in total tranquillity after hastily masticating our local first grade hay to his fill. As opposed to other Heads of State who left New York for their various countries immediately after the summit, our 'king' is still out of the country.

 In his charismatic governance from "Geneva-Switzerland" where he has made it his domicile of choice, the Head of State has signed a decree appointing  David Koulbout Aman as senior divisional officer for the Dja and Lobo Division, South Region, where the president hails from.  

The new S.D.O. replaces Bernard Marie Mba who has been relieved from his duties . The official reasons for the sack were not released. Nevertheless , information gathered from judicial sources by KOACI reveal that the sacked S.D.O. is involved in a financial scandal linked to compensation of locals around the Mekin Dam.

 The scandal has taken a strange twist and is now a matter of high import to the State. It involves top state officials whose names have been littered everywhere in local media organs. Sources say the S.D.O. could be charged for his involvement in this matter in the days ahead.

 It should also be noted that there is tension between the infamous S.D.O. and the Mayor of Sangmelima who happens to be a nephew to our Head of State. Observant people have also remarked that this is not the first time the president of the Republic is signing a decree of such magnitude from abroad.                             

 In his book titled, " The Secretary General of the Republic of Cameroon; Between Myths, Texts and Realities" , Jean Marie Atangana Mebara, a former Secretary General at the presidency of the Republic of Cameroon who is today behind bars  at the Kondengui central prison for embezzling public funds, writes that the President of the Republic is often compelled to fly out alongside senior state officials and very close collaborators when he so wishes to get their points of view on certain hot state issues.

The question whose answer is blowing in the wind is that; must very important issues only be discussed out of Cameroon ?

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Swato Alfredo

30.Sep.2016

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The Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, Cameroons second largest employer after the Government with over 22 000 employees including temporary workers, is facing serious challenges of growth of number of employees and availability of adequate infrastructure to accommodate them.

The growth in number of employees has pushed the CDC to construct new camps to accommodate its personnel. “We are creating new and modern camps for our workers. For those who cannot live in our camps, we give them 25% of their monthly salary to rent wherever they wish, we also have 100% health coverage for all our workers without discrimination, in fact we are few in Cameroon to do that”, IKOME MANYAYE Paul, the Public Relations and Communication Officer of CDC told a working group of Journalists under the United Nations Human Rights Commission for Central Africa. 

Despite these achievements made by the Parastatal Company to better the living and working conditions of its workers, much still needs to be done. After visiting the CDC new Camp in Njonge around Idenau in Fako Division and the Oil Mill in Idenau, a number of issues concerning human rights were raised ranging from Hygiene and Sanitation, Environmental pollution, Accommodation, Drainage system, Recreational facilities among others were raised. The Cameroon development Corporation has not been quick to readjust its housing policy. Workers still live in old houses constructed since 1947 when the corporation was created. And some of these houses have become too small to accommodate fast growing families. A family of five will find it difficult to live comfortably in one bed room and a parlor and in most cases small sizes.

Most of these houses have been dilapidated and begging for renovation. The CDC seems to be moving in the right direction by constructing new camps like that of Njonge, but despite the fact that the rooms are larger, some workers with more than two members of same family cannot afford to live in one room. The case of Irene VEKIMA whose husband has been working with CDC for ten years now, she told Cameroun Journal that they are five in number with just one bed room and a parlor; the children are forced to sleep in the living room due to lack of space. The United Nations Human Rights for Central Africa working group of Journalists also noted that the Njonge new Camp has not met with evolution in terms of modernity. The houses constructed are not modern, their toilets too. Whereas camps in areas such as Tiko, Middle farms, Limbe, Moliwe have modern toilets.

They concluded that modern camps will only be completed if toilets are modern. Most of these pit toilets are at time insufficient as compared to the number of inhabitants thus could lead to over crowdedness. For instance at the new Camp in Njonge where over 140 families are expected to be lodged, only 6 toilets and 6 bathe rooms are available for men and same figures for women. Some camps especially those in the interior do not have recreational centers where workers could assemble and release stress after hard labor. The creation of recreational and leisure centers such as playgrounds, parks, camps will boast the output of workers.Going by the 2012 studies of International Journal of Humanities and Social sciences , ‘’workplace recreation significantly contributes to employee productivity when viewed as part of rewards and benefits scheme.

This is achieved through motivation, body fitness and reduction in absenteeism. The results are consistent with those of a research by Department of Health Development, IIES (2006) which revealed negative correlations between productivity and subjective symptoms such stiff neck, low back pain and fatigue’’. The group however acknowledged the fact that Senior Service, S S clubs, exists with Tennis courts but a majority of those benefitting are found in urban areas. Most CDC camps are surrounded by waste materials which have either not been properly disposed or neglected.

This causes environmental pollution and is also fertile breeding grounds for Mosquitoes which transmits Malaria, one of killer diseases in Cameroon. Also poor drainage systems in CDC camps could stagnant water which can easily breeds mosquitoes. The presence of the water bodies can also be dangerous to surrounding residence especially children. And if adequate measures are not taken, can lead to floods in cases of downpour. The Cameroon Development Corporation has also put in place 100% health coverage but those living in suburbs will find it difficult to have access to quality health especially in cases of emergency. The UNHR working group of Journalists have recommended the acquisition of well equipped emergency ambulances that could transport serious cases to town and also the provision of modern equipments in its health centers found in camps.

According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as adopted on 6 December by the General Assemble on December 6, 1966 and entry into force on January 3, 1976 and considering the obligation for enterprises to respect their engagements in Corporate Social Responsibilities, the working group of Journalists noted with satisfactory the role played so far by CDC but noted that the above mentioned lapses must be corrected as prescribed by article 12 of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on quality standard of living, mental health, industrial hygiene and improvement environmental aspects.

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Prince Nfor Hanson

30.Sep.2016

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September 16 2014, the Cameroon government gave producers of whisky in sachets two years to evacuate within which they had to stop the production and commercialization of whisky in sachet and begin a new transformation process into packaging. The ministry of Public Health threw its weight on the decision from Mines ministry saying that because it contains high concentration of ethanol, the health risk is disastrous.

September 16, 2016 two years later, the production and commercialization of Whisky in Sachets have instead become high. Cameroon's consumer league has accused the government of being double standard. Instead of using the rod on these defaulters, the government has resorted to dialogue, dialogue which has been spearheaded by Minister of Mines, Industries and Technological Development, Ernest Ngwaboubou and recommendations forwarded to the prime minster for final decision.

Observers hold that the government has demonstrated partiality in this case with Whisky in Sachets, what they didn’t do when the outbreak of birds’ flu was announced. This same government descended on Poultry farms, destroying eggs, fowls and products. The Cameroon government was very rigorous in its fight against circulation of non biodegradable plastic bags. She sent agents all over the national territory; the agents seized and destroyed plastic bags from recalcitrant vendors.  

Even though insufficient, the government of Cameroon compelled tobacco producers to inscribe on each packets that Tobacco is dangerous to health of consumers and those around them. So what is so particular about whisky in sachets that the ever ready government is back paddling? Instead of dictating to producers, it is the reverse. Officials of Consumers League say money could be the root of this drawback by the government which seem to have shamelessly conceding to the romantic words of producers who are pleading o grounds that the ban will lead to huge unemployment.

We of Cameroon Concord think that Whisky in sachets are dangerous to the human body and is a silent killer than the birds’ flu virus. We understand that both domains give high revenue to the government but when the health of an individual is at risk, it is imperative on the state to provide them solution. And the solution will start with the total elimination of the circulation of sachets whisky.

The drawback syndrome of the government has contaminated the Littoral administration, few days after the Senior Divisional officer for Wouri, Paul NASERI BEA launched a crackdown on illegal commercial bike riders operating without CEMAC number plates where over 100 bikes were impounded and 15 persons arrested, the governor of Littoral Samuel Dieudonne IHAVA DUBOIS has suspended the operation. Another blow on the administration that seemed powerless in front of protesting bikers. The riders stormed streets of Douala as if to say they are operating in a lawless sector and wish to continue that way.

The crackdown was beginning to be interested especially to commuters who go through hell in the hands of the lawless boys until the governor called an emergency meeting having seen how mobilized the bikers were. The littoral administration has in the past months been unable to sustain or make a comprehensive follow up of its orders.

Travel agencies are still fighting for space houses and buses with pedestrians in town whereas they were given an injunction to leave their respective areas and join others at the Bonaberie motor park. Littoral administration has not been able to solve the chronic urban disorder, Car Vendors around Hotel Du NDE in Akwa have never left their site despite several deadline given for them to do so.

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Prince Nfor Hanson

22.Sep.2016

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1) Absence of representatives at Haut Ogooue

Usually the incumbent uses all his power to make sure he wins by hook or crook and is able with his resources including state resources like case with Cameroon to send party observers in all polling stations. In the case of Gabon, opposition leader Jean PING was well represented in all polling stations but for the Haut Ogoue province, stronghold of ALI Bongo, with over 200 polling stations out of over 2500 in the country. By not having observers in these areas, Jean PING had given room for just anything to happen. The votes there were delayed and later brought to Franceville by plane.

2) Partial Coalition and Deadlock at CENAP

The coalition between Jean PING, Guy Nzuba and Casimir Oye Mba was a killer for Ali BONGO but they failed to take into consideration the other minor opposition leaders who could have decided for Ping when the time came. Gabon’s CENAP remain a blue print with small amelioration for Cameroons elections, if ELECAM can borrow from them. When the deadlock occurred during vote with Pings party contesting the results; the laws say members of CENAP who were eight will vote .Ping had a representative , other opposition members were represented by three members and presidential majority four. If the opposition had voted 4 against 4, it would have been tight. But since PING had neglected other opposition parties throughout the campaign, 2 voted in favor of the results including 4 from presidential majority, making it 6, 1 empty ballot and 1 absent, that representative of PING who left the hall in anger. That is how CENAP validated the results of Haut Ogooue. 

3) Poor Campaign Strategy

The PING camp spent their time verifying the origin of ALI Bongo while at that moment, Mr ALI was campaigning trying to avoid using the name Bongo which many Gabonese say has taken them hostage for 50 years. PING camp also brandished foreign flags openly showing its affiliation with some foreign bodies and countries. PING was seen by many as candidate of France. Gabon 24 broadcast a report where PING describes the people of Haut-Ogooue as cockroaches and rats. This also played a great role in tarnishing his image. This piece is not seeking to justify that ALI Bongo won in a free and fair elections but to let readers understand how the opposition let power go from their hands because of some minor issues. ALI Bongo and France A renown Cameroon lawyer and presidential candidate of last 2011 elections, Jean De Dieu MOMO questioned why PING who knew that the process was not going to be fair, still went ahead as candidate.

Perhaps with support of France and the international community he has been calling to intervene. France has always supported late Omar Bongo and renewed the deal when they supported ALI Bongo in 2009 and made it clear to the opposition that he, ALI won the disputed polls. This same France which supported him comes in 2016 to declare that ALI did not win. The reasons are simple. When ALI took over power in 2009 he decided to change Gabon for better by reviewing the agreement of Total, a French Company which has about 44%of the SOGARA lone oil refinery, he also stopped the exportation of woods from Gabon.ALI urged French companies to process their Timber in Gabon before selling the finished products. This led to job creation about 3000.These two factors have vexed Paris to the extent that they decided to axe ALI.

The apparently lost remote control of the robot they created. Mr ALI has done what his father failed to do in his 42 years reign, in just seven years, taking Gabon to a different level. He reduced salaries of the president of Gabon's national Assembly who previously earned over 180 million Francs CFA, ministers who earned 30-40 million francs a month. It is obvious these changes will lead to massive resignation in his country. But ALI failed to preach by example, by cutting down cost; he failed to do same in his lifestyle and household. He continued to live a lavish life with private jets and other luxuries. In all, the current situation in Gabon is being fueled by former colonial master France which since independence has refused to leave Gabon’s socio-political, economic and cultural life. The world should hold France responsible is Gabon becomes another Cote D’Ivoire.

NFOR Hanson Nchanji Journalist, Social critic and Activist

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Prince Hanson Nfor

13.Sep.2016

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