Cameroon: Another Failed State? Cameroon's Descent

Relatives gather on February 24, 2008 in the Madagascar district of Douala in front of the house of Raoul, a 20-year-old man who was reportedly shot dead by police trying to disperse during a demonstration after protestors erected barricades on the eve. Police in Cameroon fired tear-gas and water cannon at a crowd of several hundred gathered for an outlawed demonstration against President Paul Biya's constitutional reform plans here yesterday. But opposition politicians behind the protest said police acted despite the rally being postponed at the last minute amid efforts at getting the state to overturn a ban its officials said was to avoid another 'Kenyan scenario'. A 20-year-old man was reportedly shot dead by police trying to disperse during the demonstration after protestors erected barricades. AFP PHOTO / FANNY PIGEAUD (Photo credit should read FANNY PIGEAUD/AFP/Getty Images)

By Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu

Unless there is clear political reform that will allow citizens to finally enjoy basic civil liberties - including full freedom of expression, free elections and the rule of law - a crisis is inevitable. But within days of our arrival in my country, riots and protests ignited by the rising costs of fuel and food resulted in a nationwide lockdown.

Much of the public's frustration is due to the stark need for political reform. Cameroon's 75-year-old president, Paul Biya, suggested in his New Year's address that he intended to modify the Constitution to extend his term in office beyond 2011.

Biya has been in power almost as long as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe. Under his rule, Cameroon has endured endemic corruption, weak institutions, official impunity and fraudulent elections. During our trip, I found the presence of armed security forces across the capital's hilly landscapes frighteningly reminiscent of the atmosphere in Rwanda and Burundi in the mid-1990s.

Thousands of ordinary citizens suspected of participating in the protests were arbitrarily rounded up and detained, subjected to summary trials and harsh sentences, some for up to six years in prison. Witnesses reported that many people in custody were beaten, tortured and abused.

There were also reports of dead bodies floating on the Wouri River in Douala, the country's economic capital, although it is unclear how many people died. Even more disturbing is the inflammatory and divisive rhetoric by some high-level government officials seeking to incite hatred and manipulate ethnic differences. In a country with over 125 different ethnic groups, this is a sinister game that could trigger inter-community conflict. The president recently made good on his New Year's promise.

The ruling party has formally introduced a bill that would amend the Constitution to allow Biya to run for another seven-year term after his current mandate ends in 2011. It is unclear what may happen next. Resentments were simmering long before Biya's New Year's speech - resentments that could have been addressed, but weren't. Instead, the president ignored all warnings in his bid for increased power.

The outcome could be very scary indeed. Although calm appears to have returned, for now, the human rights situation is seriously deteriorating. The few human rights lawyers in the country are overwhelmed. Intolerance and hate speech are rising. Campaigners for a civil society report that the government has them under surveillance and that their family members do not feel safe. There also are reports of increased arms trafficking into the country, with ordinary citizens buying and burying guns in their backyards - "just in case." The international community could take steps to help prevent a crisis.

Unfortunately, promises of preventive measures and "never again" rhetoric regarding Africa rarely translate into action on the ground. I fear that the international community will wait until it is too late to prevent a major conflict in Cameroon - and will then have to spend massive resources in response to a humanitarian crisis. Today, many people are trying to leave the country. But most of Cameroon's neighboring countries are themselves collapsing states and cannot provide a safe haven.

Unless there is clear political reform that will allow citizens to finally enjoy basic civil liberties - including full freedom of expression, free elections and the rule of law - a crisis is inevitable. Cameroon is another Central African country where time is running out.

Essay Contest organized by UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation

From: UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation

Dear Friends of Peace,

Young people from around the world are again invited this year to enter the 2008 International Essay Contest organized by UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation with the sponsorship of the Earthrise Society. The theme for this year s contest is "My project to create positive change in my environment. How can I foster sustainable development in my community?"

Please submit your innovative ideas and concrete plans/projects to address the social, cultural, environmental or economic problems faced by your community. The deadline for entry is June 30, 2008. First prize winners will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan. Please see the complete guidelines on

http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0801_00.htm. The 2008 International Essay Contest anouncement is also prominently highlighted on UNESCO website at http://www.unesco.org/youth.

To read winning essays from last year's contest, please kindly visit the website http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0702.htm.

Please kindly spread the information about the Essay Contest to young people in your network and display the 2008 Essay Contest on your website(s) and publish it in your information material. Thank you so much for your kind cooperation!

And good luck to all youth leaders! May Peace Prevail on Earth! The Goi Peace Foundation

NATIONAL ELECTIONS AND THE RELIGION FACTOR

The 2008 elections have generated heated debate in the media and among the public

by AGNES A.S. TITRIKU

In a matter of months, Ghanaians will be heading to the polls to elect a new president and members of parliament as well. This is in line with the democracy that has been prevailing since the country opted for constitutional rule. December though seems far will soon be here and so all issues critical to realizing a successful, free and fair election, need to be addressed as early as is feasible.

A major issue that has cropped up is the fact that the election date, 7th December, falls on a Sunday. If this is what the constitution states then there should be no problem. But all of a sudden, many interest groups are calling out for a change of date for various reasons.
For the Christians, it is the day of the Lord thus we should keep it holy. Indeed we should endeavor to keep it holy but the big question is should we fail to fulfill our constitutional rights, duties and obligations just because it is a Sunday?

The Election Day falling on Sunday does not in anyway prevent people from going to worship or holding prayer sessions or performing whatever their Sunday obligations are to God. In fact we are given a minimum of ten hours to exercise our franchise and I don’t think any individual will be spending the whole of these hours in a church. Currently, most churches in the country have two to four services every Sunday, so all of us wouldn’t have to be at church at the same time. This would even help in maintaining short queues at polling stations compared to huge number of people who would eventually cause confusion were it any other day. Another opportunity the day offers us as a religious people is that we can intensify our prayers for a peaceful election whiles we take turns at the churches and polling stations.

The Muslims are also calling for a change of date as it is a time when the Hajj pilgrimage will be underway. The hajj is a yearly affair whiles the national elections come once in every four years. Our Muslim brothers and sisters will have to take this into consideration and make the right choices during this period.

As some cry for a change in date, some are also happy as their tight work schedules will more than rob them of the chance to vote on a any other day. In 1996, the date fell on a Saturday. The Seventh Day Adventists were the ones calling for a change then but the elections were conducted anyway. Are we saying they were not citizens whose rights had to be ensured? If we didn’t change it then for religious reasons, why change it now?

Let us not harp on the excusable reasons why elections should not be conducted on a Sunday but rather cash in on the good sides of the day and maintain that our constitution be upheld at all times.

Nana Addo, Nduom top choices among likely voters in new internet poll

AMES, Iowa -- With nine months to go until the 2008 Ghana presidential and parliamentary elections the latest Ghana Elections ’08 Polls Group Internet survey finds the New Patriotic Party’s (N.P.P) Nana Akuffo Addo (39.3%) leading among likely voters, while Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom(30.8%) of the Convention Peoples Party (C.P.P) polling 2nd. Nana Addo is more than ten percentage points ahead of Prof. John Evans Atta Mills (29.9 percent) leader of the National Democratic Congress (N.D.C). 93.7% of respondents said they were Ghanaian citizens. Whiles 71.8% said they were registered to vote in Ghana, 28.2% weren’t. Please note that this survey was primarily posted but not limited to users of Facebook, the popular social networking site and has been up since January 2008. The sample also included users of hi5, another popular social networking site among Ghanaians living in and outside the country.

Generally the survey was popularized among internet users worldwide where a Ghanaian community was deemed to congregate. Social Networking Sites have become popular new media trends (Levy & Stone,2006) and have been accepted by researchers and the academic community as part of modern mass communication methods. Internet usage in particular has gradually increased since 1990s allowing researchers to gain access to huge numbers of people at cheaper cost. (Pew research Foundation 1998,2000). The concept of social networking is built on the idea/theory of social capital which is based on reciprocity transactions(Frank & Yasumoto,1998), behavior influence and social control, promotion of participatory democracy and the boosting of a candidate’s image.(Farqular,2008) . Computer IPs was recorded and respondents were allowed to vote only once.

Candidate
%
Nana Akuffo Addo
39.3
Paa Kwesi Nduom
30.8
John Atta Mills
29.9
Kwesi Amofa Yeboah
0.9
Edward Mahama
0.0
There was a response rate of 91.2% among a total of 114 people surveyed. Voters from the C.P.P (79.4%) were the most satisfied with their candidate when asked the question: Do you think the C.PP (and other parties as the case may be) elected the right candidate. 67.3% said the N.P. P elected the right candidate while N.D.C voters were the most dissatisfied with their candidate with only 42.2% thinking Atta Mills was the right choice. Last year the former Vice President beat Ekow Spio Garbrah for the N.D.C party ticket. Respondents said they were likely to vote for a different party other than the N.P.P and the N.D.C if that party had a fair chance of winning giving credence to popular notion that Ghanaians are ready to experiment with a new party in power. This was in response to the question: would you vote for a different party other than the NPP or the NDC if that party had a good chance of winning the election. 57.9% said yes 22.4% said No, whiles 20.6% said maybe. Specifically probable voters said they will vote for the C.P.P (85.7%).

Research has shown that the use of the internet can help “reach traditionally hard to reach groups, enhanced political engagement, enhanced dialogue and candidate accessibility”.
Which party are you likely to vote for other than the NDC and NPP
%
CPP
85.7
PNC
2.0
GCPP
2.0
DPP
0.0
Ghana Democratic Republican Party (GDRP)
0.0
Ghana National Party(GNP)
3.1
Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere(EGLE)
4.1
Democratic Freedom Party(DFP)
4.1

The Ghana Elections ’08 Polls was compiled through an internet survey tool from January-March 28 2008. Of the total number of respondents polled 49.5% live in Ghana, 0.9% in another African country and 48% said they lived in a country not in Africa. The new poll presents a much different picture in the race than generally assumed where the top two candidates were Nana Akuffo Addo and John Atta Mills—leaders of the two biggest parties in Ghana. What this means is that Dr Nduom known in certain circles as the long shot candidate has a realistic chance of doing well at the December elections and probably winning the presidency. If that happens it will be the first time Ghana’s founding party the CPP has returned to power since the overthrow of its founder and leader Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1966.

Among likely voters 70.9% were male whiles females accounted for 29.1% showing a low interest in politics by women in general. However those who took the survey seemed to be closely following politics in Ghana—a good sign for participatory democracy in the country.

How closely have you been following news about candidates for Ghana ’08 elections
%
Very closely
50.0
Fairly closely
34.6
Not too closely
15.4
Not at all
0.0

On the performance of the Kufuor administration 40% of respondents said the president was doing a good job whiles 45% said he was doing a poor job with the remaining 15% ticking fair. However responses were different when voters were asked the question: would you like to see a candidate continue with Kufuor’s policies or take the country in a different direction? Only 39.6% said they wanted to new leader to continue with Kufuor’s policies giving an indication that Nana Addo should not necessarily run his campaign on the achievements of the Kufuor administration.

Would you like to see a candidate continue with Kufuor’s policies or take the country in a different direction?
%
Continue with Kufuor’s policies
39.6
Steer the country in a different direction
61.4
I don’t care
3.0

While the responses show how people would have voted if they had the chance to vote in the December elections it is by no means generalizable in toto since the survey was mostly limited to those who had access to computers. It could however give a clear indication of voting pattern among the educated, working class, students and elites in Ghana—a demographic group who are hard to convince and where candidates should be looking to in order to convince a considerable number of independents. Also even though Ghanaians seem to be generally interested in the political development of their country very few were registered party members. 9.6% of respondents said they were members of a registered party while 90.4% said they hadn’t registered with any political party. This may be an indication of a large number of floating voters in the country. On the whole 60.2 per cent of persons surveyed said they were likely to vote in the upcoming elections.

Are you likely to vote in these elections?
%
Yes
60.2
No
27.2
I cannot vote
12.6

Considering the fierce nature of the party primaries the polls sought to find out who voters would have chosen as their candidate if they were part delegates. Ekwow Spio Garbrah(27.3%) topped the list of potential candidates giving an indication that the former minister of state blessed with excellent oratory skills has enough political capital to try another time for the NDC’s presidential ticket. He led Kofi Annan and Prof Badu Akosa (both tied at 16.2%) by more than ten percentage points.
Who would you have liked to see running as a candidate
%
Ekow Spio Garbrah
27.3
Alan Kyeremanteng
15.2
Prof Badu Akosa
16.2
Kofi Annan
16.2
I’m satisfied with the candidates chosen
34.3
In the past the parties have debated ways of chosing candidates to involve a much larger population similar to US presidential primaries. Nevertheless it appears voters would not have made different choices from what party delegates did last year. The question still remains as to whether people are beginning to view politics differently and if more and more qualified people are being attracted to the profession.


Overall, what’s your impression of the candidates running for this years election. (As a group)
%
Excellent
30.4
Good
57.8
Only fair
9.8
Poor
2.0

On the issues
Respondents said they were more likely to vote on issues and policies (64.4%) than the quality of a candidate (43.3%) or party affiliation (2.9%). If this is anything to go by the party’s should prepare for a long haul of policy debates especially from the country’s literate population instead of expecting people to vote en masse. Education, poverty, unemployment, the economy and national security seemed to feature most when voters were asked what they wanted to hear candidates talk about. Here’s a sample list of issues respondents mentioned as important to them—and which candidates should be paying attention to:

· Constitutional and Judicial reform
· What they would do to compact the loss of our native languages.... Example, make reading and writing native languages a mandate in the new Education Reform.
· Employment
· nothing
· Education
· social welfare of citizens
· an excellent system of national identification, mechanized the agric sector and improve agro-processing capabilities of the economy, pay attention to industrial/manufacturing sector seriously, improve IT and communication, make conscious efforts to support institutions of higher learning to undertake meaningful research
· Improvement of education, revising the national health insurance scheme (probably allowing private entities to handle it instead of the government. Rethinking the way they treat employees. Relooking Ghanaian stance on globalization and agriculture.
· the economy
· Poverty Alleviation and accountability
· TECHNOLOGY
· Improvement in the quality of life for the average Ghanaian which will ball down to salaries
· Well I think this has been put together by a presidential candidate - probably Paa kwesi Nduom. They should know more than us.
· industrialization
· Security Healthcare Education Economy
· The country and not themselves!!
· Per capita income of Ghanaians
· me
· internal security, that is, protection from armed robbers etc
· socio-economic development
· employment for the youth
· Being competent and not just trying to SOUND like they can do the job!!!
· National Unity
· That all himself and all his ministers will declare their assets and work to reduce corruption
· Corruption
· Education
· civil order
· Creation of Jobs & Wealth
· Creating the environment for equal opportunity for people desiring to progress in the country
· Unemployment
· Wealth Creation for Ghanaians.
· improving agriculture

The Ghana Election ’08 Polls Group will like to thank all who took part in this survey!

About the Group
The Ghana Elections ’08 polls Group is an initiative which provides the most up to date results on voter preferences and the public’s feelings and attitudes towards candidates and the political process in the country. This is done through frequent surveys utilizing innovative techniques and will be pre tested for accuracy. The Group uses empirical methods to evaluate the study and report on the public perception of the candidates in the upcoming elections. Survey answers are anonymous. This initiative is independent, non-partisan, and invites participation from all interested persons.