The pre-departure press conference last Friday by the Minister of Sports and Physical Education who flew out yesterday for the 2012 London Olympics left many in disarray. Mr. Adoum Garoua let it be known that he was cutting the bloated size of the official delegation to the games to a necessary 72; from the 100-and-over that was initially planned. Of the number, there are 34 athletes.

What is significant about the ministerial directive is the fact that several non-essential actors had already been warming up for the games. They range from cronies to very senior officials whose presence cannot be objectively justified. Even the extra 38 non-sporting members of the delegation are still considered too high, not only on account of the improbability of fetching medals from the games, but also on the colossal financial sacrifice to be made by the nation at a time attention is turned towards face-lifting projects intended to take Cameroonians out of abject poverty.

At a time President Paul Biya is insisting on transparent management, it is important not only to account for expenditure, but to justify same. Come to think of it. As the old tradition holds, several non-essential people to the Olympic Games had secured places on the Cameroon Olympic Team, benefitting from a complacent selection procedure in which the rigour shown in the selection of athletes was not exercised. There was hullabaloo until the Prime Minister's Office stirred the hornet's nest by refusing to give its stamp of approval to the reckless initiative.

Many of these people were already warming up in front of revenue offices to collect whooping sums of money in the name of out-of-station allowances. Of course, they forgot that the Prime Minister had been very insistent on the use of taxpayer's Francs. Especially during sport outings, reputed to be very wasteful moments in the expenditure of public funds. He sent the first warning shots when officials accompanying the National Football Team to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa were ordered to pay back excesses they earned in illegal allowances. At that time, the Prime Minister insisted that he was going to be more niggardly in authorizing expenditure. The PM's concern was justified, considering that some of the sums paid out in the name of legal or official allowances went up as much as FCFA 50 million for a government functionary!

Granted, the Olympic spirit is not exclusively about winning medals. The essential thing is to participate and carry one's national flag as high as possible at the world jamboree. But realism also demands that participation takes into account the available financial means of a country. Cameroon's delegation is far from honorary. It is composed of a mix of senior decision-makers as well as actors of the sporting scene... In fact, all those who can help in resounding the name and image of Cameroon.

Moreover, our nation must use its resources in a parsimonious manner, given the huge development challenges staring it in the face. If the government had not taken this close-fisted posture, ordinary citizens could have been at odds to understand the urgency of building new dams and expressways when badly-needed money for this is lavishly spent.

The decision to cut down the size of the Olympic team is also in line with a presidential directive that any missions, especially abroad, should be evaluated by the Prime Minister and only authorized when it is established that the nation will benefit from their outcome.

Bilateral partners are showing real concern by coming to our nation's rescue over a number of development projects planned to help attain emergent economy status come 2035. But our country cannot solely rely on aid or loans. Government and citizens have to make sacrifices. And the thinning down of the Cameroon Olympic Team is in the right direction. It is hoped that several other official missions leaving the country will go through the same rigorous scrutiny.