Atanga Nji’s Ministry in Bad Books of Anti-corruption Commission Again

The anti-corruption commission, CONAC, has for the second consecutive year slammed the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), run by Paul Atanga Nji, for refusing to cooperate in the fight against corruption.

MINAT is among five Ministries that refused to submit their anti-corruption reports in 2024. Others include the Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Water Resources and Energy, Ministry of the Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Transport.

CONAC Chairman Rev. Dr. Dieudonne Massi Gams, released the 2024 anti-corruption report on August 27 in Yaounde, during which he noted persistent non-compliance by several government ministries.

MINAT, which sanctioned five non-governmental organisations last year for financial misconduct, surprisingly refused to collaborate with the national anti-corruption body.

The newly published 2024 anti-corruption report is structured in three parts: prevention of corruption, sanctions for corrupt practices, and asset recovery through institutional collaboration.

CONAC noted that it received 10,520 denunciation in 2024, a 39.37% increase from 7,548 in 2023.

These complaints cited issues such as abuse of power, unjustified delays in file processing, arbitrary controls, influence peddling, and misappropriation of public property, all contributing to public frustration and tension.

Financial losses to the state and public entities were estimated at 1.448 billion FCFA. The report documented sanctions against 298 public servants, ranging from warnings to dismissals, with absenteeism being a prevalent issue, consistent with 2023 findings.

Also, 14 officials were fined a total of 34.615 million FCFA. In education, 227 students caught cheating faced temporary exam suspensions issued by the Minister of Secondary Education.

In public procurement, 216 companies were barred for abandoning projects or failing to deliver goods, while 14 logging companies were suspended for non-compliance with regulations by the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife.

Overall, investigations by CONAC and other bodies estimated total financial losses at 4.061 billion FCFA in 2024, a sharp decline from 114.035 billion FCFA in 2023.

Asset recovery efforts by the Special Criminal Court and the Cameroon Debt Recovery Company yielded 8.496 billion FCFA, including 334.275 million FCFA from 12 court proceedings and 5.293 billion FCFA collected by the debt recovery agency.

CONAC also reported that the National Financial Investigative Agency (ANIF) failed to submit its activity report on anti-money laundering, further highlighting gaps in institutional cooperation.

The ceremony underscored the urgency of addressing systemic corruption, with calls for greater accountability to mitigate the economic and social impacts outlined in the report.

MMINews