POLITICS-CAMEROON: NGOs Endorse Code of Conduct to Promote Transparency

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Sylvestre Tetchiada

YAOUNDE, Jun 24 2006 (IPS) - Cameroonian civil societies have welcomed the first global accountability charter that leading international campaigners have publicly endorsed in Glasgow, Scotland, to govern the way non-governmental organisations (NGOs) do business.

Eleven international NGOs such as Oxfam International, ActionAid International and Amnesty International endorsed the document in the Scottish capital Jun. 6.

In their statement, the NGOs said: ”In addition to an internal desire to be transparent and accountable, the accountability charter also seeks to demonstrate that NGOs deeply value public trust, do not take it for granted and are committed to sustaining and deepening that trust. This initiative comes at a time when the non-profit sector is coming under closer scrutiny, both from those who want it to flourish and those who seek to curtail NGO activities.”

The NGOs endorsed the document ahead of the CIVICUS, the Worldwide Alliance for Citizen Participation, conference held in Glasgow Jun. 21-25.

Campaigners hope that the charter will eventually be adopted by all civil society organisations.

”(This is) an important initiative which will lead the non-profit sector toward greater social responsibility, transparency and ethical behaviour,” Marie Ngouanfo, president of the Association for Equitable Development, told IPS. Ngouanfo’s group is an NGO based in Yaounde, Cameroon.

”NGOs greatly influence public opinion and government politics in Africa,” she stated.

With globalisation on the rise, NGOs now abound in Africa but most manifest little concern for transparency and accountability, say some analysts. Some civil societies behave more like commercial enterprises than humanitarian organizations.

”Because of the growing roles played by NGOs in society and the confidence they inspire, NGOs need to have a code of conduct in place,” Mathurin Nna, a professor of political science at the University of Ngaoundere in northern Cameroon, told IPS.

”People who are in daily contact with NGOs as defenders of democracy, human rights and sustainable development, all pillars of good governance, logically look toward them for hope,” Nna added. ”For this reason, they need to be transparent in every respect toward the people they serve and for their own self-interest as well.”

Some NGOs have taken major steps to improve the way they are governed. But other concrete measures are required to improve their internal management, for which they are so often criticised.

For example, NGOs are often involved in scandals and accused of lacking transparency. They are also accused of excelling in criticising others while failing to keep their own houses in order.

”Are NGOs as transparent as they claim to be?” asks Nicole Elouga, a Yaounde-based attorney. ”Many are often cited for corrupt practices.”

She was referring to a vehicle-import scandal where an international NGO was caught bribing Cameroonian customs officers in 2005.

”In Cameroon, for example, several hundred NGOs operate in various sectors,” said Paul Zemdjio, the coordinator of the NGO, Equal Opportunity for All, based in Yaounde. ”But seven years ago only a dozen of the NGOs and some church projects agreed to comply with a code of conduct to promote transparency within and around the groups.”

In March 1999, representatives of NGOs and churches met to discuss anti-corruption measures. At the close of the meeting, a code of conduct was adopted to fight corruption within the organisations involved.

”At that time (1999)”, Zemdjio said, ”corruption had become a cancer within the heart of Cameroonian society. It was a blight on every level of society, including the NGOs themselves.”

The code required the NGOs to adapt structures and procedural rules such as rejection of corruption, the right to denounce and resist corruption, promoting transparency in financial management and adherence to term limits. About 23 NGOs honour the code now, Zemdjio said.

”We decided to fight corruption and promote transparency because people place a lot of hope in us (NGOS) for the role we play in society,” said Martine Mbateck, a member of the Regional Centre for Support and Development of Women’s Initiatives, an NGO based in Mbalmayo, south of Yaounde.

”To show we were serious, we promised to promote transparency in financial management. We introduced a double-signature system, made our accounts public and adopted procedural codes and external and independent account audits,” Mbateck said.

But discussions of governance issues are still a taboo in Cameroon as well as in many other African countries.

Despite these limitations, Zemdjio said, ”The increased influence of civil organisations brought on by the wave of democratisation and pluralism replacing military regimes and single party systems has now allowed these issues to be debated more freely.”

In the globalisation context, transparency remains a concern of civil society to set up regional strategies promoting good governance.

”The organic link between good governance and development is so strong, how can you reduce poverty and guarantee growth in Africa without good governance?” Jacqueline Nde, a member of the international coalition for the ‘Publish What You Pay’ campaign, asked IPS.

Started in Cameroon in December 2005, this west and central African civil society group is developing a strategy to promote transparency and good governance for revenues brought in by the sale of natural resources. In Africa, the strategy is coordinated by the Catholic Relief Service in Yaounde.

Nde said the group is similar to the London-based Initiative on Transparency for the Extractive Industries (EITI), which provides advice and acts as a clearing house for information and best practices. ”But to date”, she said exasperatedly, ”there have been problems setting up EITI in our countries.”

Launched in Johannesburg in September 2002, the initiative demands that governments and mining and petroleum companies make public the income they’ve earned from natural resources extracted from the ground, and also show how the income destined for anti-poverty measures has been used.