President Paul Biya’s reminder last December 31 that government services have the obligation to deliver opens another debate as to why public administration remains entangled in unethical attitudes and mediocrity.

Public administration is an indispensable instrument at the service of the State and general interest especially in the context of the country’s quest for emergence by the year 2035. In his address to the nation on December 31, 2015, President Paul Biya called on all Cameroonians to continue building what has been gained in order to modernise the country and improve the living conditions of the people. “I have enjoined the government to work towards this, with imagination, determination and the obligation to deliver,” said Paul Biya.

Ills of Poor Administration Persist

Snail-pace treatment of files, poor reception of users, absenteeism, bribes, laxity, inertia and gross incompetence are just some of the ills reported daily by users of public services. However, neither recent reports nor users’ grievances castigating Cameroon’s public service, have escaped Paul Biya’s attention as he mentioned during his last address to the nation. To buttress his point, he even mentioned reports from Doing Business, Cameroon Investment Forum and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, CONAC, before promising to personally supervise change of attitudes.

It is not difficult to comprehend the President’s embarrassment, he who had earlier on December 31, 2013 questioned why in some sectors of the economy, State action often seemed to lack consistency and clarity. In the implementation of the public investment budget, he equally questioned why in many cases, decision-making delays still constituted a bottleneck in project implementation. “One can rightfully question the usefulness of certain project monitoring committees which are unable to take any decisions,” he stated.

At one stage of implementation or another, he also said, most major projects involve skills of various services. “I am not sure there has been effective coordination between them,” Paul Biya noted. In effect, State agents have other goals than public good. They are obsessed in recent years by private interest as Paul Biya pointed out on December 31 2013. “We are an individualistic people, more concerned with personal success than general interest. Our administration remains susceptible to private interest, which is most often in conflict with national interest. Such trends must not be tolerated in a modern State,” blasted Paul Biya. 

Other ills had earlier been mentioned on December 31, 2012 by Paul Biya. “I am fully aware that we still have to deal with inertia, incompetence or malice of some people, which all constitute constraints on our recovery. In addition, there is corruption in various forms and public procurement fraud,” he said. Recent CONAC report affirms that measures taken to fight corruption are ineffective as State agents reshape their methods to hold users of public services hostage.

Corrupt practices such as “MBOMA”, AL QAIDA”, “The Chief’s Kolanut”, “Backpocket” and ghost workers are flourishing at all levels of the public administration, making the State look so illegitimate and alien to the population it is called upon to serve.

Modernising Administration, An Imperative

In urging the public administration to become more performant on December 31, 2015, Paul Biya once more reiterated the central role the administration has to play in the modern State he is endeavouring to build. In effect, the public administration is considered the foundation of the legitimacy of the State through the promotion of good governance.

The latter principle is seen as a system of political and administrative management of public resources which aided by political authority and power of control, targets social and economic development of the society. Globalisation, a dispensation which has taken roots for almost two decades now, demands adjustments in administrative structures, a proliferation of values of ethics and integrity, use of new technologies of information and communication and a culture of results. Therefore, a modern and citizen-friendly administration should be simple, less costly, more performant and open, closer to the citizen and transparent.

Administrative reforms implemented have introduced notions such as results-based management, computerised management of personnel, professional and pecuniary motivations and quality recruitments. Thus, the public service is a haven for talented men and women who should understand the State’s role in safeguarding the identity, unity and cohesion as well as national solidarity in a context permanently threatened by patriarchal, ethnic and regional rivalries.

Equally, State agents understand that they help the State fulfil its traditional objectives such as security, justice, diplomacy and social welfare while creating, as a regulator, a favourable environment which must impulse and coordinate the national economy.