Wednesday August 19, 2009, 4:07 am
REUTERS - Cameroon faces a food crisis this year as corruption in the impoverished nation’s Agriculture Ministry worsens a shortfall in maize supply, according to the findings of a government investigation.

Some 2 billion CFA francs ($4.3 million) of state subsidies aimed at raising production of maize, a staple food for Cameroonians, was embezzled by ministry officials through fictitious farmers groups, the government anti-corruption commission said in a report leaked to the media.

The findings confirmed assertions by local non-governmental organisation ACDIC late last year that graft in the ministry might trigger a crisis.

“After investigations on the ground, it appears to the inquiry commission that the assertions made by ACDIC were for the most part founded, laying bare a vast scandal around the financial management of the (national maize subsidy program),” Cameroon’s National Anti-Corruption Commission said.

“The consequences could impact the food balance in our country and trigger social upheaval and unforeseen consequences,” the commission added in the report.

The report demanded criminal proceedings against 47 individuals in the Agriculture Ministry (MINADER).

Authorities at MINADER refused to comment on the findings, but Bernard Njonga, the president of ACDIC (Citizens Association for the Defense of Collective Interests) welcomed them.

“I am still appealing to the government to take special measures to boost maize production this year so we avoid another severe food crisis worse than the February 2008 one,” he said.

Soaring food prices last year triggered riots and protests in poor nations around the world.

Maize is the most consumed cereal in Cameroon, used for food, animal feed and beer-making. It is cultivated mainly by small-scale farmers on less than 1 hectare.

Annual demand for maize is expected to hit 1.5 million tonnes in 2009 compared with estimated production for the year of 1.38 million tonnes, ACDIC said in a report last December.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 8:59 am
Corruption!! :( Thanks Michelle!

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 11:28 am
This reminds me so much of the situation in Somalia in the late 90's where the warlords would steal the UN emergency grain shipments to the country and then use the food to control the people.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 4:11 pm
A government stealing from its own people - nothing new here.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 5:55 pm
Thanx Michelle. Corruption and deception in the Ministry of Agriculture? Who would have thought? Sounds like something out of Canada's policy book.

Thursday August 20, 2009, 3:10 am
This is always common practice... this money should be monitored carefully and not given into the hands of these governments as most are corrupt and it is always the poor that suffer.. They should of learned this long time ago.. why repeat the pattern

Tuesday December 1, 2009, 10:59 pm
And those officials are not poor, but very very rich.They have no reason for stealing Cameroons money (also very much development aid money).While the average child in Cameroon cannot afford the school charges and often are sold to those thiefes to work as housemaids, etc, (slavery is not overcomed it is bigger then everytime before and made by those stealing capitalists and some islamic "traders" in northern Africa)) their own children visit the great universities in Europe or New York, where a former US-President (i do not know who it was, maybe G.Bush sen.) prohibited a son of Cameroons President Paul Biya to go to universitiy by helicopter.
No Cameroon is not a poor third world country it is extremely rich but unfortunately extremely exploited by some of those gangsters. And more over this our governments support this new colonialism and profit by it.
Power to the people in Cameroon and all over the world !