New Measures Initiated to Curb Corruption in Forestry
The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, MINFOF, has in collaboration with the national anti-corruption body, CONAC, initiated new measures that are expected within the next 90 days to reduce corrupt practices in the forest sub-sector from 100% to 40%.
Bertrand Shancho Ndimuh
This revelation was made in Limbe, South West Region, November 18 -19 during a two-day workshop for the “Launching of the Integrated Fight against Corruption in the Forestry Sub-Sector”.
According to the representative of the President of the Anti-corruption Unit of MINFOF at the workshop, Ageline Ndo, the launching of this fight comes against a backdrop of incessant complaints from buyers and carriers of non timber forest products (NTFPs).
The NTFP dealers are said to complain against “racketeering at multiple check points and other unorthodox practices by control teams most especially policemen, gendarmes and customs officials along the Monatélé – Yaounde -Douala – Idenau highway”.
Economic operators at the workshop confirmed this and even enumerated practical instances. “This issue of corruption in the forestry sector has been such that those who have authorisation papers tend to suffer than those who don’t have. Those who don’t have bribe the agents and continue with their activities while those who have legal documents remain at the control station as the state agents spend time searching for errors just to squeeze out money from your pocket. They sometimes even go as far as asking you unnecessary requirements,” Margaret Tanyi Ateke, a trader in NTFPs, said.
Another trader, Yicham Kendong, said; “Imagine that you have a waybill which has been stamped by a recognised authority from your point of departure and when you reach the field the forestry agent starts telling you that the quantity does not reflect what is on your waybill whereas it was signed by a forestry official also.”
The Deputy Inspector at MINFOF, Hilarion Nankia, in a presentation on “The Rapid Result Initiative”, while elaborating on the roles individual stakeholders must play within the next 90 days to ensure that corruption in the forestry sector is reduced by 60%, blamed corruption in the sector on porous control procedures, limited ownership laws and regulations governing the sector as well as insufficient monitoring of controllers by respective supervisory authorities.
The ministry and all stakeholders including transporters of timber and non-timber forest products, economic operators/traders signed the Integrity Pact pledging to promote transparency and accountability in their activities/services with a controller’s guide spelling out what the controller has to control also distributed to all participants.
Meanwhile, Ndo implored economic operators to always have their travel warrants duly signed before going to the field and pay their taxes so as to be protected by the ministry from unscrupulous agents.
She implored all stakeholders to report any case of corruption directly to CONAC or the anti-corruption unit of the ministry for investigation and legal action.
On their part, MINFOF Southwest officials promised to change and to effect change in their respective jurisdictions.
“Now I know that I have to change some habits, be just and transparent for the growth of the sector and our country by extension….no human being is perfect,” the Chief of Post Forestry and Wildlife Ekondo Titi, Tinyu Cyprain Nondoh, said
The Divisional Chief of Service for Wildlife and Protected Areas, Fako, Ondoa Enyegue Tobias, said the integrated anti-corruption project of MINFOF is timely and will solve the numerous problems that are plaguing the ministry.
“Many of us in the ministry do things in the field without really knowing that they are corrupt practices but after this workshop we have really seen those things clearly. For instance, somebody coming in with fake or unclear papers… It is true that some come with drinks but we do it just to solve the problem. I think this will stop,” Ondoa Enyegue added.
Economic operators and civil societies present lauded the project but doubted its implementation.
“There are enormous corrupt practices in the sector. If government implements this plan then the sector will have a better future because we have had similar meetings before but no meaningful change,” they said.
MINFOF Southwest Regional Delegate, Samuel Eben Ebai, Divisional Delegates, Chief of Posts, civil societies and economic operators in the Southwest Region attended the workshop.
