“There Is Need For A Better Anti-corruption Policy”:

As Cameroon celebrated the 10th edition of the African Day on the fight against corruption, how do you evaluate corruption trends in the country? Cameroon commemorated the 10th edition of the African Anti-Corrup­ tion Day under the theme, “Scaling up the promotion of integrity and anti-corruption actions across Africa”. The theme recommended by the African Union is timely as the pro­ motion of integrity and the fight against corruption go hand in hand. In effect, the rule of law, accounta­ bility and transparency are watch­ words in any Nation with a strong national integrity system. Such a system makes it difficult for cor­ ruption to take place, even among people with low morals. In the same light, persons of integrity will break the corruption chain of silence by rejecting and denouncing cor­ ruption by conviction. Integrity, thus, remains the greatest weapon against corruption. And, scaling up integrity means creating a culture where honesty becomes the norm and corruption the exception. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC), cognisant of this, used the occasion of the African Anti- Corruption Day to carry out a series of activities to provide stakeholders with guidelines on how to reinforce integrity, tools to better fight cor­ ruption and, also, canvass for po­ pular mobilisation against the can­ kerworm. The President of the Re­ public, Head of State, His Excellency Paul Biya, has put in place institu­ tions, such as CONAC, to spearhead the fight against the ill. Cameroon is on track in the fight against corruption. Prove of this is the fact that corruption, which used to be a taboo word, is topical. In the same light, the nation has a National Anti-Corruption Strategy. Similarly, Anti-Corruption Units are present in virtually all administrations and pro­ secution of corruption and assimila­ ted offences have intensified. What would you say is the grea­ test success recorded in the fight against corruption in Cameroon this far? In my humble opinion, the reawa­ kening of Cameroonians with regards to the fight against corruption is re­ markable. Judging from the upsurge in denunciations received at CONAC, we can objectively say that more Cameroonians are rejecting corrup­ tion by refusing the ill. According to the 2024 Anti-Corruption Status Re­ port of Cameroon, for example, CONAC received 10,520 denuncia­ tions in 2024 compared to 7,548 in 2023, representing an increase of nearly 40 per cent. The increase suggests that more citizens are wil­ ling to report corrupt practices and trust CONAC’s intervention mecha­ nisms. In your opinion, what are the greatest obstacles to eradicating corruption in the Cameroonian society? In every individual, corruption instinct is managed by fear and greed. The fear of being caught in an act of corruption or fear of breaking one’s integrity principles, m...