By Ernest L. Molua
On December 31, 2006, President Paul Biya of Cameroon will address his subjects and citizens of the Republic in a traditional end-of-year message. In his 25th end-of-year address, he is expected to recount the memorable moments in the life of the nation for the last 12 months, and attempts a projection into the immediate future. Last year, Presidential address 2005 resonated with the realities in Yagoua, Poli, Ambam, Zoetele, Guider, Yabassi, Bonaberi, Bonjongo, Bwassa, Saxenhof, Wum, Fundong, Eyumojock, Nsaranagati and Ekondo-titi, as the President in his own words echoed the sacrifices of Cameroonians and the poverty that has gripped large sections of society.
The Crux of a Presidential Address
The heart of Mr Biya’s recent speeches have been symptomised belabouring of ills plaguing Cameroon and the effort that the 24-year old administration has mounted to chart a 'pleasing' path more acceptable to Cameroon's financial backers. Attempts to please Washington D.C and London have always shifted the focus away from the common citizen who ought to be at the centre of all politics, policy and governance. Notwithstanding the economic growth rate of 4.5% in 2004 and its resilience in 2005 as echoed in the President's 2005 speech, mining Cameroon's economic data for the year reveals several disturbing trends. The most important is the liquidity overhang at the end of 2004 which spilled over into 2005 and 2006, and expected to ease up in 2007 following debt relief on the heels of the infamous HIPC completion point.
Lessons from History
Lessons abound in history on the path Mr Biya’s Cameroon could take, if and only if the political will is there, to graduate Cameroon from the doldrums of a heavily indebted poor country! When in November 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt the father of the New Deal was elected president and America was in the midst of a deep economic recession with its citizens barely scraping a living off-the-face of the earth by selling wooden batons hacked off from federal rail tracks, in March of 1933 Roosevelt summoned all his energies, political ability, acumen, farsightedness, vision and will-power, and implemented his policies of the New Deal. The first 'one hundred' days in office were of furious and vicious beehive activity, which saw the implementation of the National Industrial Recovery Act to stabilise production, maintain or increase the level of wages and so create purchasing power, and the glorious enactment of a Public Works Administration which concentrated on heavy construction projects to create jobs. Various bodies were established to create work; these were largely public works such as forest improvement and the building of schools, roads and bridges. The ensuing Social Security Act which became law coordinated government action for the relief of unemployed people, old people, children, widows and the disabled. 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,' he told his countrymen. The effect of President Roosevelt's will and determined actions were immediate. Restored confidence on the banking sector, unemployment dropped, prices increased and business thrived, wages picked up and living conditions improved. Though Roosevelt was re-elected by a popular majority in the 1936 elections, by 1938 the New deal was over. The New deal lasted for 5 years, not 25!
The progress of Latin American states, the Asian tigers especially the economic miracle of Malaysia for the last 30 years indicate that development can be attained in one-generation. Mr Biya’s Cameroon may not need centuries. America’s Franklin Roosevelt succeeded Calvin Coolidge who earlier succeeded President Harding - a well-liked man, yet possessed few talents, little executive experience and no real understanding of the economic problems facing his country, and who appointed into his cabinet men who were later found guilty of corruption by President Coolidge; Roosevelt's accession to power was the beginning of bold governance and policy attempts to re-write America's history and set it on a path to prosperity!
The Path to be Taken in 2007
The year 2007 must be christened "The Year for Bold Planning." Cameroon must not timidly implement national plans and investment projects. Mr Biya must not look back. Too many of his people have been beaten by poverty, have lost their self-esteem and have retired in their minds. He must help them to come out of this inertialised position. Only bold rural and urban investment projects with the opportunity for gainful employment will revitalise them. Growth, stability and equity are mutually reinforcing objectives. Mr Biya’s government must plan beyond the HIPC completion point. While the HIPC Programme mandates the Government to maintain a growth rate of 7 - 8 per cent a year, to promote investment, to generate employment, to accelerate fiscal consolidation, to ensure a higher fiscal devolution, and to focus on agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure, Mr Biya must plan beyond the Completion point, and actually prove to Cameroonians that he is planning and working for their economic emancipation.
Hopes are high. Most Cameroonians expect that in 2007, the government must be seen proactively combating unemployment, perhaps via rural infrastructure development and a National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; embark on a productive health mission; increase access to drinking water and better sanitation; and put women and children on top of the agenda, engage in more public private investment, consolidate agriculture, enhance the banking sector, improve on manufacturing and skills development, lure 'well-meaning' foreign investors and boost trading at the Douala Stock exchange.
© The Entrepreneur Newspaper 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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