Cameroon

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Cameroon

"Corruption in Cameroon, Why Poor Countries Are Poor"

Cameroon is a poor country residing in Africa with hot and humid temperatures, and malaria-infested cities. The average cameroonian is eight times poorer than the average citizen of the world, and almost fifty times poorer than the typical american. Government corruption is out of control and is not working in the best interest of the people. Simple tasks such as repairing the decaying roads can not be completed even after complaining countless times to the government. This has been an ongoing issue for nineteen years and nothing has been done. President Paul Biya became president in November of 1982 and has been the ruler ever since. He has been re-elected year after year with a ninety percent majority ruling despite the fact that he is very unpopular with the citizens. This also shows how much the government is in control of who they want to lead because if the voting was conducted fairly he would have stopped ruling a long time ago. The people in this country resent their government. Many decisions are made soley to find ways of stealing money from the Cameroonians.

The cameroon government is constantly working to bribe money from passing citizens. Most soldiers are often seen drunk, and will stop every traveling bus they can to collect bribes from its passengers. This happens so often that people will travel with less money just so they can get away easy. People have been dragged off of buses and harrassed for several hours just so a soldier can get a bribe out of them. Most of the police force works to collect bribes rather than spend their time catching criminals.

There is no point in getting an education in Cameroon because jobs are not handed out on merit. Cameroon has a few excellent private schools that are wasted because of the lack in value of education. Also, the principal makes every single decision for the school from the teachers, to the funds. Thousands of dollars are wasted on unneccesary project. For example, a new library was built despite the fact that they already have one, this new library was much bigger, but it had a serious problem with the roof. With the long rainy seasons in Cameroon, the water would leak into the library and destroy everything inside. The floor was covered with stains and several puddles, it had an old musty smell, and the paint was peeling from the walls. The library they already had was in perfect conditions. Instead of building a new library the school could have used the money for books, computers, or scholarships for the children who couldnt afford school. Yet nobody would stand in the way of the principals decisions because they have a fear of getting fired for not siding with her.

Due to the terrible education system, the bribery, and the government, Cameroon is twice as poor as it should be. They are fifty times poorer than the United States. The significant amounts of corruption are stopping the growth of the economy. The government is corrupting the entire society and there is nothing the citizens can do about it.

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