International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue I, January 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Cameroon Public Administration: Civil Servants Involvement in Politics and the Impact on State Performance

Prof. Simon Tata Ngenge

Vice Dean, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Bamenda, Cameroon

Abstract:-The public service in Sub Saharan Africa has always been the tool available to governments for the implementation of their developmental agenda. In this direction, civil servants constitute a vital force in the day to day functioning of the State. Cameroon somehow presents a startling deviation from this standard as civil servants freely combine public work life and political militancy. This paper from this perspective contends among other issues that the involvement of civil servants in partisan politics creates a precarious balance between productivity and performance in the civil service. The problem is that the thin divide between the civil service and political parties wears down the financial resources of the state. It is also observed that patrimonial political links contribute to break down the spirit of discipline, hard work, and meritocracy and encourages corrupt practices like, lack of accountability, bribery, nepotism, misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds. The end of the Federal System of Government in 1992 merged the Civil Servants of West and East Cameroons. The end result was that workers in the Public Sector became militants of the ruling party, Cameroon National Union (CNU)/ Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). The Public Service was politicised which made the re-emergence of Multipartym of 1990 impossible for opposition parties to win any major election.

Keywords: Colonial Administration, Civil Servants, Public Service, Party Politics, State Funds.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Cameroon civil service of today (2018) has over 400,000 strong force on its payroll excluding those working in Government corporations. Although with a population of 20 million people, it is a very strong force in the society that the private sector is underdeveloped. The general concept is that civil servants serve government by running the administrative machinery of the state, keeping it functional to response to citizens’ needs.