Fraud and Corruption Practices in Public Sector: The Cameroon Experience

Abstract

Fraud and corruption are gargantuan twin brothers that have limited the growth and infrastructure of many nations and led many firms to the road of bankruptcy. Fraud is rarely seen but the symptoms of fraud are usually observed. Corruption the twin brother of fraud is the misuse of entrusted power for private benefit and includes; bribes, cronyism and nepotism, political donations, kickbacks and artificial pricing and fraud of all kinds. Corruption in Cameroon has been a significant problem for many years, inhibiting investment opportunities.

The paper therefore adopts the agency theory to examine the level of fraud and corruption practices in doing business in Cameroon and evaluate the impact of government anti-corruption policies in fighting the menace of fraud and corruption practices. The study employed survey research method in obtaining data. Findings in this study revealed that virtually all the segment of the public sector are highly corrupt and Police, Custom and Tax administration are the most corrupt institution in Cameroon. Although, almost all the anti-corruption initiatives are ranked ineffective, only the CHOC-Cameroon programme (Change Habits, Oppose Corruption) are considered to be effective. This could be as a result of insincerity and lack of political will by the government to fight fraud and corruption in the system.

Keywords: Fraud, Corruption, Cameroon, public sector, anti-corruption