Democratic Reform Not Wasteful Lobbying will Qualify Cameroon for US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation Assistance

The Cameroon Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CCDHR) is calling on the Government of Cameroon to stop wasting the people’s money on lobbying for the sake of gaining eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) assistance. Rather, democratic reform, respect for human rights, reverence for the rule of law, good governance, and public accountability are some of the key indicators that will make Cameroon eligible to receive MCC assistance. Therefore progress in these areas will put Cameroon on a better track to eligibility for MCC assistance and the Government of Cameroon should immediately stop spending huge amounts of money on lobbyists for a process in which lobbying has no role or influence, except to manipulate and drain resources from naïve governments.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was created by the US Congress in January 2004 as an innovative US foreign aid agency to help lead the fight against global poverty through the delivery of smart US foreign assistance by focusing on good policies, country ownership, and concrete results. Instead of just giving money to eligible countries, MCC forms partnerships with these countries to carry out approved development projects, so as to monitor financial efficiency, attainment of benchmarks, and project results. Eligible MCC countries must be committed to good governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizens. There are two primary types of MCC grants - compacts and threshold programs. Compacts are large, five-year grants for countries that pass MCC’s eligibility criteria while Threshold Programs are smaller grants awarded to countries that come close to passing these criteria and are firmly committed to improving their policy performance. Overall, MCC grants complement other US international development programs.

   Daniel W. Yohannes: CEO of MCC

The selection of eligible countries for MCC assistance is the sole prerogative of the Board of Directors of MCC, and transparency in the criteria and process governing the selection of partner countries is a hallmark of the MCC model. As such, countries selected as eligible for MCC assistance program must demonstrate a commitment to ‘Just and Democratic Governance’, ‘Investments in their People’, and ‘Economic Freedom’ as measured by 17 different policy indicators. These 17 indicators include Civil Liberties, Political Rights, Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Control of Corruption, Immunization Rates, Public Expenditure on Health, Girls’ Primary Education Completion Rate, Public Expenditure on Primary Education, Business Start Up, Inflation, Trade Policy, Regulatory Quality, Fiscal Policy, Natural Resource Management, Land Rights and Access. To better understand these countries and develop the annual MCC score card, the MCC relies on independent and reliable third party information.

CCDHR notes that in November 2010, the Government of Cameroon sent a High Level Delegation to the United States which included representatives of the National Committee Against Corruption (CONAC), Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF), the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, and the Ministry of Small and Medium Size Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft. The purpose of this delegation, amongst others was to misinform the US Government and its agencies like the MCC about purported ‘progress being made towards democratic reform and improved governance in Cameroon’ with the intention of getting a positive perspective from the US Government and a favorable consideration for MCC assistance.

CCDHR recognizes that this misplaced effort by the Government of Cameroon was seriously derailed by the proactive force of the Cameroonian civil society in the United States, which quickly denounced the dictatorial nature of the regime in Cameroon and called on invited US law and policy makers to refrain from participating at a Round Table Discussion at the United States Capitol on November 16, 2010 organized for the sole purpose of given a democratic platform to representatives of the dictatorial government Cameroon. CCDHR notes here its Position Statement entitled “Cameroon Government’s International Campaign of Deception: The Sickening Reality of Democracy and Governance in Cameroon” issued on this occasion as an alternate presentation of the Cameroonian landscape regarding democracy, human rights, rule of law, and public accountability. To the credit of the Cameroonian civil society in the US, the round-table discussion was abruptly cancelled at the last minute.

On January 6, 2011, CCDHR participated at the Millennium Challenge Corporation first public outreach event following its Board of Directors meeting which held the day previous. At the MCC Board of Directors meeting that held on January 5, 2011, the Government of Malawi was approved for a $350.7 million compact (large five-year grant),  while Ghana and Georgia were selected as eligible to develop proposals for compacts, the second for each country. Other African countries that have been awarded MCC assistance include Benin, Lesotho, Cape Verde, Namibia, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mali,  Morocco. During the public outreach meeting, MCC Chief Executive Officer, Daniel W. Yohannes reiterated that MCC’s approach to development focuses on democratic reform, economic growth, country ownership, sustainability, and public accountability – a probable explanation why the Government of Cameroon did not perform well on the MCC annual score card, let alone attract interest for serious consideration.

Just like other Cameroonians and Cameroonian organizations, CCDHR wants to see the emergence of an economically vibrant Cameroon with strong democratic underpinnings. Getting foreign grants for development projects is good and CCDHR would like to see that Cameroon eventually benefits from the generosity of the US Government through the MCC. However, CCDHR strongly holds that such financial assistance must be channeled to a responsible government whose sole intent is to use it for the development and benefit of its people. Governments capable of doing so are easy to identify because they are democratically elected, have a Presidential term limit, respect human rights and rule of law, and are accountable to their people. By any imagination, the regime in Cameroon does not satisfy the basic test of a responsible government. It is by no chance therefore that billions of CFA FRS in the form of foreign loans, grants, and development funds given to Cameroon in the past decades has been used not for the intended development purposes, but to swell the private pockets and overseas bank accounts of members of the current regime in Cameroon. Meanwhile, the people of Cameroon continue to live in abject poverty and suffer from the lack of basic services and infrastructures.