Corruption in Cameroon: Public Perception on the Role and Effectiveness of the Different Anti-Corruption Agencies

Corruption is a phenomenon with serious consequences that affects all communities in the world. In Cameroon, its effects are widespread in the Public and Private sectors. Cameroon has twice been classified as the most corrupt state in the world-1998 and 1999 as per Transparency International indices. The government has put several structures in place to fight this ill, but the population is still too clearly understand their roles. A study was therefore carried out to determine the public’s perception of the roles and effectiveness of the different anti-corruption agencies. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the public in Buea. Interviews were conducted with some workers of the major anticorruption agencies. Respondents agreed that corruption was a major problem and that its existence was due to lack of transparency, no accountability, greed, inadequate sensitization on its consequences. The notorious sectors were the police, gendarmerie, education, customs, treasury, taxation and judiciary. They identified the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Special Criminal Court and Supreme State Audit Office as popular anti-corruption agencies. The public is aware of the ills of corruption and they also understand government’s efforts towards its eradication. The roles of these anti-corruption institutions were however, not known by most of the respondents.