An Analysis of the Incidence of Fraud in Cameroon and Prospects

Abstract

The Cameroonian public and private sectors of the economy have experienced considerable growth, changes and challenges since independence in 1960 for Francophone Cameroon, and 1961 for Anglophone Cameroon. The state institutions are both regulators and controllers of both sectors of the economy but the country still faces endless challenges such as corruption, bribery and fraud, causing adverse economic, social and political consequences. Since independence to date, fraud remains a major problem that is ever increasing both in its frequency and severity. Meanwhile, research evidence has shown that growing number of frauds have undermined the integrity of public / private sector financial reports, contributed to substantial economic losses, and even eroded investors’ confidence regardless the usefulness and reliability of financial statements – indeed, the absence of accountability and transparency, increased waves of white-collar crimes in both public and private sectors demand stiff penalties, exemplary punishment , and effective enforcement of the law with the right spirit. An attempt is made to examine and analyze in-depth the fraud challenges and environment using a comparative analysis of its incidence in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala in Cameroon. To achieve the objectives of the study, primary and secondary data were used. Five hundred questionnaires were administered to the study respondents that were purposively selected from the two cities. Going by the findings, the incidence of fraud in the cities vary very significantly with adverse economic, social and political consequences.

Keywords: Analysis, incidence of fraud, Douala, Yaoundé and Cameroon.