The National -Anti-Corruption Commission, CONAC, has released its 2014 report on the state of corruption fight in Cameroon without naming and shaming embezzlers of public funds.

Unlike the 2011 report that carried the names of suspected embezzlers, the 2014 report only carries the initials of the names of suspected corrupt officials.
The Chair of CONAC, Rev. Dr. Dieudonne Massi Gams, said the shielding of the identities of suspected embezzlers is in tandem with the legal virtue of the presumption of innocence.

Speaking at the event, Massi Gams, admonished administrative officials to stop taking bribes for installation ceremonies.

“They must stop making Regional and local Authorities bear the costs of tedious expenditure like installation ceremonies, the refurbishing of their houses or their office equipment,” the CONAC boss warned as he launched the 2014 fight against corruption report in Yaounde, June 22.

Massi Gams said it would be to the benefit of Government if corruption is reduced or annihilatedamong Regional or local officials of the Territorial Administration vis-à-vis the Regional and local authorities.

“Similarly, considerable effort should be made to systematically reduce the existing level of corruption in the business sector,” he recommended.

The CONAC report is a 218 page document that is an embodiment of the state of the fight against corruption in 2014. While launching the report,Massi Gams enumerated cases of corruption in which some people diverted huge sums of State funds into their pockets.

Massi Gams revealed that close to FCFA 15 Billion was embezzled in the payment of compensation toNsam disaster victims. “Within the framework of the Memve’ele hydroelectric dam construction project, the State lost FCFA 1.792.399.619 representing 64 percent of the total compensation amount, through over evaluation of the project and crops of residents,” he stated.

The CONAC boss also disclosed that the Budgetary and Financial Disciplinary Board took 35 decisions, sanctioning irregularities and management errors, and imposed fines amounting to FCFA 70,000,000, to suspected officials of some administrations and structures.

“In 2014, the National Agency for Financial Investigation NAFI, recorded 521 suspicious reports transmitted by affiliated professions, and filed 60 cases in court relating to financial flows amounting to FCFA 128.315.890.255.” The offences, he went on, bordered on the embezzlement of public funds, forgery, impersonation and cyber criminality.

Going by the CONAC Chair, the State also lost FCFA 125,150,495 to corrupt officials who were managing funds accruing from the issuance of certificates in the Ministry of Basic Education.

Twenty-nine judgments resultingfrom cases of misappropriation and complicity in misappropriation of public property, attempted bribery, forgery, counterfeiting, usurpation of title and escape attempts are highlighted in the CONAC report.

The CONAC boss said 46 people were convicted, 29 suspects acquitted, while three others avoided the claws of prosecution because they opted to refund the money they were accused of having embezzled.

He said the convicted persons are expected to pay FCFA 142,411,151 into the State treasury. Many movable and immovable properties were also confiscated from such people, he said. He also revealed that the Supreme Court issued 19 judgments on cases of corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

He stated that there were casesinvolving the Douala Ports Authority wherein the Supreme Court ordered the payment of FCFA 255,811,032 into the State treasury as damages.He said CONAC equally uncovered a vast corruption network in vehicle auction sale procedures at the Douala Sea Port.

Massi Gams lauded some Ministries for having succeeded to make the fight against corruption a key objective in achieving their mission in 2014, with encouraging results.

These include the Ministries of Public Service, Forestry and Wildlife, Water Resources and Energy, Trade and the Economy. He equally lauded the Public Contracts Regulatory Agency ARMP and the National Communication Council for making efforts to fight corruption.

He said the national anti-corruption strategy they designed is taking roots into the various Regions with the Northwest and Centre taking the lead.
It was revealed that CONAC carried out the investigations on corruption issues after receiving 3064 hints from whistle blowers.

It was on this premise that Massi Gams said the fight against corruption should be the concern for all and sundry. Unlike the 2011 report that carried the names of suspected embezzlers, the 2014 report only carries initials of names of suspected corrupt officials.