Cameroon: Propping up a dictator

Writing in the Up Station Mountain Club blog, Professor Emmanuel Konde of Albany State University in the United States, joins a bewildering list of Cameroonian academics and intellectuals at home and abroad who have recently been throwing their full support behind President Biya and the ruling CPDM party:

‘Having devoted some time studying the major actors and political parties of Cameroon, I have decided to lend my weight on the side of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) and its leader, President Paul Biya. I do so at this particular juncture because Cameroon is in the throes of fundamental social change, the 2011 Presidential Election, whose result might either derail the progress that has been registered over the past half century or push us forward to greater achievements especially in the realms of respect for human rights and the fashioning of a democratic political culture.

‘The numerous opposition parties in Cameroon have proved themselves unruly, disorderly, and disorganized. Given this state of affairs, it is unlikely that any one of these will pose a formidable opposition to the highly organized ruling CPDM. As a point of fact, many of those who aspire to challenge Mr. Paul Biya for the presidency of the republic are neophytes, inexperienced, and often resort to propounding lofty ideas that some would aptly consign to demagoguery. In as much as some may want to deny the obvious, governing a country in which more than 85 per cent of the population has no inkling about what democracy entails—let alone understand the issues at stake, changing course at this juncture will not but plunge Cameroon into a deluge. Slow but steady progress is much better than retrogression. A different kind of change is required in Cameroon, which must come on the heels of a well contrived and executed policy of education designed to transform the populace from tribal subjects to national citizens. There is no other party in Cameroon that is ready to execute this task than the ruling CPDM.’

Drogba’s Country writes about the challenges in trying to create a model national army out of the ex-northern rebel forces in Cote d’Ivoire:

‘One the biggest challenges for the new government of Ivory Coast is the formation of a new army. On paper, this has been done and the new force is called the FRCI (the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast). The force was created by the Ouattara government during the Golf hotel blockade. The new army was little more than the former rebels from the north, the New Forces, plus a growing number of elements from the former state defence forces….

‘Officially the FRCI are supposed to be heading back to “barracks” and they’ve been told from on high not to get involved in police work, for which they have never been trained. But they’re still very much in evidence on the streets in their “requisitioned” vehicles, even if the former forces of law and order are gingerly making a comeback. I’ve seen frequent cases where people have used their contacts to call on the FRCI to settle personal disputes; an argument over unpaid rent, a housing contract and even the destruction of a one foot high avocado tree.

‘President Ouattara will need to work fast; even his supporters are frequently disparaging when referring to the FRCI, and their presence on the streets only adds to sentiments in some quarters about a northern takeover. After the chaos that followed last year’s election, Ivorians may be reluctant about thinking about 2015′s presidential election, but the fact is that president Ouattara will need to work hard to build a strong, broad-based, case for re-election against a PDCI party that will almost certainly have a stronger candidate next time round and may not play ball in allowing Ouattara a second term.’

Ken Opalo reacts to Clinton's admonition to African countries not to fall victim to the new colonialism from China:

‘But Mrs. Clinton’s statement conveniently left out Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, among others. In these states the US government and American multinationals continue to cooperate with regimes that are obscenely corrupt and/or repressive for “constructive reasons.”

‘Chinese involvement in Africa is not clean, no doubt about that. Beijing’s support of the murderous regime in Khartoum is despicable. But this is nothing new. The US, Western Europe and Russia have done worse….

‘I must say that Africans who are suffering under oppressive regimes still need western pressure on their governments to allow for more political space (however Janus-faced this pressure might be). That said, Africa needs more options. A globally conscious China with lots of money to throw around will – in the long run – do more good than harm in Africa…

‘And as has been the case with shady Western involvement in Africa, whenever the Chinese make deals that are bad for the locals the blame should be directed at the African governments who take side payments and look the other way.’

Farm land Grab republishes an article from the Guardian newspaper on an ongoing campaign by major US universities to take control of vast parcels of land in Africa:

‘Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people off their land, according to a new study.

‘Researchers say foreign investors are profiting from "land grabs" that often fail to deliver the promised benefits of jobs and economic development, and can lead to environmental and social problems in the poorest countries in the world.

‘The new report on land acquisitions in seven African countries suggests that Harvard, Vanderbilt and many other US colleges with large endowment funds have invested heavily in African land in the past few years. Much of the money is said to be channeled through London-based Emergent asset management, which runs one of Africa's largest land acquisition funds, run by former JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs currency dealers.

‘Researchers at the California-based Oakland Institute think that Emergent's clients in the US may have invested up to $500m in some of the most fertile land in the expectation of making 25% returns.’

Sahel blog writes that support for Moammar Qadhafi seems to be waning among the Sahel states that were hitherto with the Libyan leader’s sphere of influence:

‘During his long rule Colonel Moammar Qadhafi has exercised substantial influence over Africa. The Colonel has aided client regimes, helped bring rulers to power or ruin, and intervened in conflicts as participant or peacemaker. As this map shows, his influence has been particularly pronounced in Sahelian countries like Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad.

‘The civil war in Libya has dramatically affected the Sahel: Niger and other countries are absorbing thousands of refugees, Sahelians are being accused of serving as pro-Qadhafi mercenaries, Libyan weapons have reportedly traveled south, and money flows have been disrupted or altered…

‘Given all that, it is significant to see several Sahelian leaders begin to speak about – and act to bring about – a post-Qadhafi Libya. Senegal appears to have led the trend, with President Abdoulaye Wade establishing relations with the Libyan rebels in mid-May. Last week, Wade met with rebel leaders in Benghazi and said that Qadhafi should step down. Gambia also recognizes the rebels. Wade’s call for a transition was seconded last week by Mauritania’s Abdel Aziz, who said that Qadhafi’s “departure has become necessary...’

No Longer at Ease argues that the international community’s involvement in Somalia is an important factor in sustaining the conflict for so long:

‘Of course, the Somali people have no say in what government is created for them and whether its mandate is ended or extended: this is decided by Somalia’s neighbors (all of them borderline failed states), the UN Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and the West.

‘For the past 20 years, Somalia had more than a dozen pseudo-governments, all of them created in a neighboring country (Djibout, Kenya, Ethiopia … etc) and all of them paid for by the UN and the West. All these governments came to Mogadishu, millions of dollar were sank into them until their mandate ended…

‘Instead of pausing and reflecting on the fact that this formula isn’t working, the “international actors” continue to do the same thing over and over again… it seems to me the goal is to contain the problem in Somalia and not to solve it. This way everyone wins, except the Somalis…

‘The UN Office for Somalia employs hundreds of staff but they operate out of the comfort of Nairobi. Millions of dollars designated for the people of Somalia never reach Somalia. Ethiopia and Eritrea have both been fighting a proxy war in Somalia since 1998 each supporting an opposing side, and neither of them is keen on a united strong Somali state.
‘
This has created a Somali political elite who seek office and legitimacy from the UN, neighboring countries and the West and not from their people.”

Thoughts from Botswanareflects on the outcome of the recently suspended seven-week civil service strike in Botswana:

‘And so with one announcement from the unions, the strike is over... They got none of their demands.

‘In the meanwhile, workers lost almost two months pay. Essential workers who were striking were dismissed… The cost to the public of this strike is hard to know but likely huge.

‘And what about the fighters? President Khama wins. He has pushed the labour movement in this country back to the dark ages. A place where his rich friends in and outside of the country will be pleased to find it. If reports in the private media are to be believed, the IMF had been advising him not to give in to the unions' demands. No surprise there.

‘The union leaders? They still have their jobs, never lost a thebe of their salary. Hopefully they learned a lesson about hubris. They got excited by the support they had during the first ten days of the strike, and, without planning for the outcomes, extended it indefinitely, to their detriment. One can wonder which worker will put their faith in them again?

‘In the end, like always, the ones most unable to withstand the pain, must be the ones that bear it completely.’

Heather Faison argues in TechChange that what Africa desperately needs is investment in technology and not ill-conceived ‘aid fail’ investments:

‘World Vision sending unwanted NFL t-shirts with congratulations for the losing Super Bowl team to Zambians is a dumb aid fail. The World Bank blindly giving $133 million to the Cameroonian government for free antiretroviral drugs that ended up being sold on the black market and never reaching dying AIDS patients, is an epic aid fail. Even the wildly-popular TOMS Shoes — a for-profit company whose “One for One” campaign donates a new pair of shoes to children in developing countries for every one pair sold — was guilty of aid fail after the writers of Good Intentions pointed out that the company’s give-aways undermine local merchants who sell and make shoes in those countries (not to mention shoes are the least of people’s problems in Ethiopia).

‘After Good Intentions launched their counter campaign to TOMS’ “A Day Without Shoes,” I posted on my Twitter: If you want to help Africa, send faster Internet not shoes or loser-NFL T-shirts. Most of my friends sent “LOLs,” but one messaged me with a sincere question. “Ok, then” he asked, “how can I help?” This question bounced in my mind like a ping-pong ball for weeks until I had an “Aha” moment: Techvest (taken from technology and invest). Investing in technology start-ups and funding ideas from tech entrepreneurs in Africa is a form of aid the continent needs most right now.. Techvest would give promising developers the capital to foster their ideas and lead the way for Africa to have the totem of economic progress: A stable middle class.’

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Dibussi Tande blogs at Scribbles from the Den.
* Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News.