User talk:NdediAA

By -Alain A. Ndedi Email - ndedi@gmail.com

L’Afrique souffre d’une maladie incurable : le seuil de pauvreté a atteint des proportions plus qu’inquiétantes et ce, malgré d’importants investissements financiers consentis par les bailleurs de fonds. Ce continent s’enfonce irrémédiablement dans la décadence économique. Au total, 1000milliards de dollars ont été versés à ce titre à l’Afrique depuis 50 ans. En 2005, lors du sommet de Gleneagles en Ecosse, les pays du G8 avaient réaffirmer leurs engagements concernant l'Aide publique au développement (ADP) et l'assistance internationale. Lors de la reunion des ministres du G8 qui s'est conclu à Rome la semaine passée, les participants ont réaffirmé qu'ils tiendraient leurs engagements d'aide financière envers les pays en développement, notamment ceux du continent africain. Dans leur document final, un engagement de 21, 8 milliards de dollars a été accordé. De plus, la proposition des pays du G8 de réduire de 50% les commissions sur les transferts d'argent des immigrés vers leur pays d'origine est une autre mesure qui permettrait de dégager entre 12 et 15 milliards de dollars par an, pourrait être une manne pour les africains.. mais beaucoup d’intellectuels africains sont d’accord que l’aide aux pays africains doit s’arrêter d’une facon graduelle. Le dernier livre de Dambisa Moyo – la Mort de l’Aide est une illustration..

Why do we need innovation and creativity in the workplace?
Why do we need innovation and creativity in the workplace? By Alain Ndedi, Yenepad@gmail.com

The fast changing South African economic environment and technology influences our society, organisations, and managers at all levels. Big businesses must be information-based. Today’s competitive organisations must have knowledge located primarily at the bottom of these organisations, in the minds of the so called non specialists of the organisation, but who are contributing on the day to day’s activities of these by adding value to them. In other words, the engine of any transformation is done at the lower and middle management level within organisations. This article discusses exactly the importance of creativity, innovation and the sponsors in the workplace in a competitive environment by focusing on the unused resources that are lower levels employees.

During the years thirties, a German academic, Schumpeter highlights the importance of creativity and innovation within the context of market dynamics. He coined the concept of creative destruction which involves the processes through which organisations act and react in the pursuit of opportunities in their respective markets. Innovations eliminate obsolete techniques and production methods. In the early nineties, a well known scholar, De Bono introduces and describes the concept of lateral thinking and creativity as a contrast with vertical logical thinking. He advocates the methods of enhancing creativity and problem solving. In the process of lateral solving, it is unnecessary to be right at every step, and the process permits a delay in judgment to allow the interaction of ideas to occur. How the understanding of these concepts has change the pace of creativity and innovation in the twenty first century? Creativity is a process of being sensitive to problems, deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies, identifying the difficulties; searching for solutions, making guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies; and finally communicating the results. The implication of this definition for the employee is that it is creativity that enables him/her not only to identify the gap in the organisation but also to find ways to fill that gap. In an organisation, an employee needs to apply his mental ability and curiosity to discover something new, with the objective to focus on the ability to relate and connect, to put things together in a novel way. To innovate therefore is to introduce within an organisation or marketplace new methods, new ways of doing something. Innovation is the process by which employees convert opportunities into marketable ideas. It is the means by which they become catalysts for change. Furthermore, innovativeness in an organisation stimulates economic development and is the engine of corporate growth and wealth creation. Effective innovations create new value for customers and are required to help the organisation survive gales of creative destruction along with serving as a catalyst for those gales. Organisations must be creative to develop innovation. In the context of a specific job, the organisation sustains creativity when employees generate and come forward with new ways to create value through their work. An organisation can be qualified innovative when there is no place for imitation; a culture of newness is a way of life. In her best seller book, how to kill creativity, Harvard professor Amabile argues that the application of mental disposition suggests that there are three components of successful creativity on employees; expertise, motivation, and creative thinking skills. (Figure attached). Expertise encompasses what an employee knows and can do. It defines the intellectual space that he uses to explore in order to solve problems. As for the creative thinking, it refers to particular ways individuals approach problems and solutions and the techniques they use for looking at a problem differently, seeking opportunities and insights from these. The question that we may pose is how motivation impacts creativity, and how managers influence creativity through motivation in their workplace. There are two types of motivation, namely extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic factors are external factors, like money as a reward or promotion, as a way for managers to motivate workers. Managers surprisingly enough think these are the best ways to motivate their employees. While these are the most common, they are also the least successful tools. Intrinsic motivation in the other hand is the key ingredient to help spark creativity. Intrinsic factors come from inside a person. These are factors like passion and self-interest. When employees are intrinsically motivated, they engage in their work for the challenge and enjoyment of it. The work itself is motivating. Positive feelings such as joy, love, are positively related to creativity, and the negative emotions namely anger, fear, sadness are negatively related to corporate creativity. Money, however, does not foster creativity. Recent research suggests that people doing creative and innovative work do not focus on salary or a potential bonus. In the same line of thought, severe deadlines, which despite common perceptions generally stifle corporate creativity. Competition and fear of retribution also hinder employees from doing their most creative work.

On the flip side, extrinsic motivators, expected evaluation, competition, and anticipated reward - tend to decrease creativity. Employees want to be busy in their work, deeply engaged in important and complex work. What does it means? It means that mangers must give hard and plenty of work to their employees with high expectations for them, but at the same time, setting up an environment that is going to facilitate their ability to get that work done without having to deal with a lot of garbage. Managers and leaders, need to protect their employees' time, space, and mental energy for creative work, championing projects, shielding teams from unnecessary distractions, monitoring employees' feelings about their work, and protecting their resources. Open communication is a way of information sharing and empowerment, as one critical element of innovation. Communication in terms of its quality and amount is viewed as important for success for corporate initiation and implementation in large organisations. The detection of opportunities is the awareness of conditions or prerequisites for the organisation and individual managers to change and develop something new. Opportunity detection includes the existence of unconstrained relationships and networks, being well informed, and having access to information. When people throughout the organisation not only believe they should be but are allowed to be free to associate with whomsoever they please; to network both formally and informally inside and outside of the organisation and have access to the corporate information on the job they are exemplifying and performing.

In conclusion, researches have shown that creativity is a product of intrinsic motivation. Being able to detect and facilitate opportunities, as well as having the motivation to pursue them establishes an entrepreneurial climate for innovative success. What this climate needs is a structure to support it. In big organisations, lower and middle managers account for more than 95 per cent of the total workforce of the organisation. Any turnaround strategy aimed at repositioning the organisation in the way of profitability and that is not taking in consideration the views and in puts of this large bulk of the organisation is subject to fail. Therefore, any policy undertaken in any organisation must be bottom up approach instead of top down approach as the later has shown its limitation in the management of modern organisations.

Designing a better democracy in Africa: Is it possible?
DESIGNING A BETTER DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA: IS IT POSSIBLE? By Alain A NDEDI Email ndedi.alain@gmail.com

What is democracy? The word democracy is Greek, and means ‘government by the people’. Aristotle used it rather in a bad sense. He said that there were three ways in which a country might be governed. The supreme power might be in the hands of one man, or a small group of men, or in the hands of the whole body of citizens. He went further, and said that much depended on the way in which supreme power was used. He knew from his experience that some people value power merely for what they can get out of it for themselves; a king or a monarch can squeeze his people to provide himself and his court with luxury, a small ruling class can use the machinery of government to bring its members more wealth and power, and to keep down any awkward person who challenges their authority.

But Aristotle said that all citizens can use political power just as selfishly as a bad king or a narrow ruling class. He used the word democracy for a government in which the whole body of citizens shared power, but in which they used it for selfish motives. However, today the word has evolves with a broader and meaningful sense. There are elements of good democratic government: a)Government actions must be open to public criticism, with citizens having the power to change government; b)There must be effective means of finding what the people want (elections, referendum,); c)Freedom of speech, writing and association d)Impartial and free judicial system (rule of law)

In 2007 in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, the International conference on Sustaining Africa’s Democratic Momentum, the importance of sufficient representation of political parties in all organs of the State that could enhance high levels of transparency, accountability and ethical practices in various levels of authority of the country was developed. During this gathering, the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and other electoral commissions were identified as sources of references for the evaluation of electoral democracy. The text of the African Union Charter encompasses all ethical values considered essential for the effective and efficient running of any state. Therefore, a specific country should not be seen to be fit for democracy, but should be fit through democracy.

A system that promotes a context where all political parties taking part in the democratic process through elections must consider the following:

•The theories, the concepts and democratic practices of electoral systems;

In a country, the adoption of any electoral system must be preceded by the identification of an electoral system that best addresses the requirements of such a system of government. As results of electoral disagreements, some elections end in courts with accusation of vote-rigging, most of the time by the ruling party influencing the electoral commission for its benefits.

•The independence of the electoral commission (IEC in South Africa, ZEC in Zimbabwe,)

An independent electoral commission means the insulation from control by the government or any local or international body/entity, and the guaranteed access to adequate resources in order to be able to efficiently and effectively carry out its mandate. Therefore, if an electoral commission is institutionally and financially dependant upon government support, it cannot be independent. In some countries, the electoral commission is embedded in a government department, with legal provisions connecting the commission in the performance of its duties.

•Party funding; In general, it makes sense for the public to financially support political parties in order to avoid the situation where politics gets mortgaged either to business, wealthy individuals and businesses locally or internationally which might influence government policies. For this process to be transparently embodied with ethical practices; there should be proper legislation for party funding, including regulations on how private business and unions support political parties.

•The role of media; The role of the public broadcaster is a cause for concern in many African countries. There is no way that it can be fair it is only the ruling party that receives live coverage on television and radio, while other parties are not shown at all or receives less coverage.

== General history of Cameroon

GENERAL HISTORY OF CAMEROON By Alain A. Ndedi Email ndedi.alain@gmail.com

Cameroon is a West African country situated at the Gulf of Guinea in the equatorial region for English-speaking Cameroonians as far as they are concern. However, for their French-speaking counterparts, their country is located in the centre of Africa. This recurrent squabble over the geographic location of Cameroon says it all on the dichotomy that exists in a country also known as Africa in miniature, mainly amongst its citizens. One may say without any doubt that geographic disputes on the proper location of Cameroon are just a tip of the iceberg on the profound misgivings in a nation that remains strongly divided along colonially inherited cultures and languages.

The geography, People, Religion and Economy

Unified Cameroon has an area of 475 000 square km and shares its borders to the North with Chad, to the east with the Central African Republic, to the South with the Republics of Congo Brazzaville, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and to the west with Nigeria. Nigeria is a country with, which Cameroon shares it longest border and also entertains a very controversial relationship. Additionally, Nigeria is Cameroon's second official trading partner after France, but according to unofficial sources, Nigeria is the first trading partner of Cameroon. Nevertheless, most of the unaccounted trade goes through the informal sector; in short trading between Cameroon and Nigeria is done and led mostly by organised smuggling bands. This situation has adverse effects for both governments, for it denies both of substantial revenues and also breeds powerful cross border criminal gangs that are inimical to normal trades and also to citizens of both countries living on their shared borders.

The microcosm of Africa's culture

Cameroon has rightly been described as the "microcosm" of Africa. On its territory are found cohabiting, mingling and intermingling all the major cultures and traditions of sub-Saharan Africa, namely: •The Bantu cultures of the forest, highland and great lakes regions, not leaving out those of southern Africa etc, •The Sudano-Sahelian cultures of the grass field savannas, the Adamawa plateaux, the sandy plains and hot regions of the Sahel as well as all the intermediate varieties or "shades" such as the nomadic and pygmy cultures.

A quick overview of Cameroon's cultural landscape sprawling from the Atlantic coast to Lake Chad makes it possible to distinguish and better highlight a number of major cultural spheres, each with its own original and specific features. These include the coastal region, the Bantu forest region, the grass fields and the northern region.

The Littoral or Sawa culture

Cameroon's coast stretches over close to 400 km from Rio del Rey on the western border with Nigeria to Campo near the border with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and is inhabited by such peoples as the Dualas, Bakweris, Banens, Bakokos and Batangas all of whom belong to the coastal Sawa Culture. Their main traditional ceremony is the Ngondo, which is celebrated in December. The history, traditions and world-view of the Sawa people are portrayed through masks; photographs and work of art found in the museums and art galleries in Douala, Buea or Limbe. Currently, the Sawa culture is experiencing a new vitality through the performing arts (music, theatre, ballet dances and choreographic performances) across the length and breadth of the coastal region. With slightly over three million inhabitants today, Douala which is also Cameroon economic capital and the largest city of the region, has gained artistic renown as the unassailable bastion of Makossa: the new generation of Makossa musicians are working hard to maintain the high musical standards bequeathed to them by their illustrious musicians; Manu Dibango, Guy Lobe, Manulo, Ekambi Brillant, Douleur, Hoigen Ekwalla, Moni Bile, Louise Koubinom (Nguea La Route), Petit Pays, Ben Decca, Kotto Bass, Tom Yoms. There are also traditional music’s and dance; the Assiko for the Bassas and the Umbock for the Banens just to name these two. Every year during the dry season in December, the city Douala hosts the Ngondo festival, a great rendez vous of the Sawa people with their history and traditions. Canoe race and other festivities are part of this festive rendez vous. Douala’s strategic position as a seaport and Cameroon’s largest commercial center gave Makossa an early lead until 1982 with the arrival in power of Paul Biya.

The Bantu cultural sphere

Geographically, the region covering Cameroon Centre, South and East provinces belongs to the Bantu cultural sphere. These peoples are also referred to as "Forest Bantus" to better distinguish them from the other Bantu peoples who do not live in the forest region. But, who really are these forest Bantus? The group that stands out by virtue of their numerical strength is the Beti-Fang whose traditions abound with mythical narratives of their past migrations, tales, legends, epics and song-fables, all of which are performed against a backdrop of highly emotional epic music of high artistic standard. This is the art of the mvet - a word designating both the musical instrument and the musical content of the instrument.

Adorned in an appropriate traditional attire composed, among others, of a head gear of feathers, a cloak of animal skin, a skirt of beaten tree bark (obom) often replaced today by cotton fabric, a necklace of cowries or pearls, a small bell worn on the third finger and rattles worn around the ankles, the mvet player picks out sounds using his instrument, and simultaneously churns out a flow of oral epic narrative which, according to Professor Eno Belinga, "re-enacts an ancient social order made of grandeur and heroism, the recurrent concern being the quest for immortality…"The peoples of the lower and middle Mbam valley, those of Lom, Kadei, Boumba and Ngoko, Upper Nyong and other regions complete the ethno-cultural tableau of this vast Bantu region endowed with immense riches in the domains of music and choreography (the Bafia, Maka and Kozine dances as well as the Eton and Bamvelle xylophone orchestras etc), cultural handicrafts and specific arts.

Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, today numbering about one and a half million inhabitants, is the chief city of the region. It is to Bikutsi and its urban "pédalé" version what Douala is to Makossa, that is, a temple and a sanctuary, with its "gurus" and their "trusted companions" - Messi Martin, Anne-Marie Nzie, Elanga Maurice, Aloa Javis, Nkodo Sitony, Ntondobe, Zélé le Bombardier, the Zangalewas, the group "Zombies de la Capitale", etc. In addition, Yaoundé has become famous for its numerous cultural events and festivals, particularly, its "months" devoted to Dance, Drama, Music, Jazz, Choral Music, Fashion, Painting, and Books promotion etc.

Publishing houses, libraries, bookshops and art galleries - the most visible showcase of the country's literary and artistic worth - are always full. On the bookshelves, the literary works of "elders" like Ferdinand Leopold Oyono, Rene Philombe, and Francis Bebey are displayed alongside those of post independence writers. The works of more recent writers, prominent among whom are Calixte Beyala, Valère Epée, Guillaume Oyono Mbia, Were were liking and such talented essayists as Jacques Fame Ndongo, Hubert Mono Ndzana and Maurice Kamto also abound.

The royal art of the grass fields (Bamilekés)

The cultural sphere of the grass fields, which covers the West and Northwest provinces, became famous firstly for its "royal" Art whom one discovers in the royal museums of Foumban, Bafoussam, Bandjoun, Bafut, Bali, Bamungoum etc. Here, the works of art from one locality to another, from one Fon's palace to another (the Fon's palace is the epicentre of all expressions of this art) represent what one informed critic called "the moral force" of contemporary Cameroon. The bronze works of the Tikars, the paintings and bas-reliefs of the Bamouns, the sculpted thrones, animal totems, dance masks and other cultural artifacts of the Bamilekés, Nso and Bali-nyonga peoples, not forgetting the wonderful works of art of the Fon of Babungo, a large traditional fondom where the Fon is himself an artist and craftsman, all these reflect the dynamism and cultural vitality of the grassfields.

This cultural area has also become famous for its richly embroidered iridescent traditional costumes, its ritual and funeral ceremonies, its traditional dances - Ndanje, Koungang, Juju, Mewoup, Mekembou, Lali etc and its modern music (Mangambeu, Bend-skin, Tchamassi, Makassi etc). The area has gained fame through the hosting of grandiose cultural events as well as high quality traditional performances and festivals like the Ngouon in Foumban.

The north of Cameroon culture

The cultural area of North-Cameroon stretches from the Adamawa high plateau through the Benoué and Diamaré plains, the Mandara Mountains and other highland regions along the Cameroonian fault line, right up to Lake Chad. This cultural expanse has at least two main characteristics: Firstly, we have the "indigenous" cultural background. The German anthropologist Leo Frobenus (of "Traditional Peoples and Societies of North Cameroon") used the word "indigenous" to speak of and thus to identify the peoples who occupied and lived in this part of the country before the Peuhl revolution, especially the Mboums of Adamawa with their highly refined musical art, the Falis and Batas of Benoué, the Guiziga and other "Kirdi" populations ("Kirdi" in the Peuhl language means "pagan"), some of whose elements or groups re-echo the famous Sao civilisation. Secondly, there is the "Islamic-Peuhl" cultural background.

The revolt of the Peuhls, initiated in Sokoto in the very beginning of the 19th century by Shehu Ousman dan Fodio and culminating in the creation of extensive and powerful territorial entities called "lamidats" (in Garoua, Maroua, Ngaoundere, Tibati, Banyo) under the dynamic supervision of the well-read Modibo Adama, led to the emergence of a new Muslem society. Its concrete manifestations are: the art of living: garments and socio-cultural organisation; artistic expression: cultural handicrafts and "court" music with the introduction of Arab, Hausa and West African Sahelian instruments such as the algaita, flutes, giant trumpets or "gagahi and percussion instruments - the talking drums or "kalangou" and other membrane drums.

For these Northern peoples, the Islamic - Peuhl cultural element, of which the fantasia (performed by mounted cavalry riding superbly harnessed thoroughbreds at full speed on feast days) is among its most spectacular demonstrations, has not been able to wipe out the "traditional" or "indigenous" element. Public shows, dances, festivals and the Nyem Nyem (whose annual festival in Galim-Tignère has become an unavoidable event), Mboum, Fali, Gbaya, Guidar, Massa, Toupouri, Matakam, Mousgoum, Moundang and other ritual demonstrations are always celebrated with the same millennial splendour while preserving their originality. Regarding the specificity of the Adamawa Province, written and oral accounts both testify that it is considered as the point of convergence, encounter and dispersal of the major Bantu and Sudano-Sahelian cultural traditions.

Regarding the major towns and cities of the "Great North", each of them organised a grand annual festival, especially during the touristic season which runs from the months of November to May. Such festivals provide a suitable occasion for extensive and unparallel cultural and artistic displays, punctuated by a thousand colourful and diversified attractions. This is the case especially with the "Festival of the Lamidat" of Ngaoundéré (FESLAM), the "Great Cultural Week" of Garoua, the Maroua festival, not leaving out the traditional feasts of a number of sultanates and chiefdoms in the Kousseri, Mora and Mokolo regions.

The Economy

The currency used in Cameroon like in most French-speaking Sub Saharan African countries is the CFA Franc (Communauté Financière Africaine). Located a little bit above the equator, Cameroon is made up of about 260 tribes or dialects who are mostly ethnic Bantus, semi Bantus, Neolithic and Arabs. Like most Africans, Cameroonians are very religious, and in their majority; Protestants, Roman Catholics or evangelical Christians with a substantial number of animists and Moslems in the North of the country.

With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $ 42.2 billion, an estimated GDP growth rate of 4.3% (latest estimates), the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock is 1 054 millions USD. (UNDP, 2006) According to the 2002 report of the Organisation of Commerce and Development in Europe (OCDE), Cameroon’s trade structure is broader than that of its neighbours in Central Africa. Oil usually accounts for a third of exports by value, but in the years 2000 and 2001 respectively, a sharp price increase resulted in oil exports comprising nearly half of GDP. (OCDE, 2006) Although Cameroon is a net exporter of cotton, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, timber, tea and oil, its economy is down, mostly noticed within the English-speaking region of the country (South West province), this could be the catalyst behind the general discontent in the English-speaking zone (especially in the North West province). Ironically, despite the fact that oil and most other cash crops that are main sources of foreign exchange earner for the country comes mostly from the English-speaking region, it is still beyond comprehension why these parts are among the least developed in term of infrastructural development.

Though it should be pointed out that, there have been few developments in other parts of Cameroon for the past three decades, nonetheless it must be said that these infrastructural developments have decreased in English-speaking Cameroon. The deterioration and regression of infrastructure is visible more in English-speaking Cameroon because, prior to the unification, the region had all basic and functioning infrastructures such as roads, schools, hospitals and health centres and with an industrial base left by the British. These infrastructures have either being neglected or destroyed without really any substantial maintenance.

Export crops account for another third by value, though sectoral problems cut this share to 20 per cent in recent years (2000 and 2001). The range of crops is quite wide, including cocoa (a third), coffee (20 per cent), cotton (20 per cent), bananas (10 to 15 per cent), rubber (7 per cent) and palm oil (1 per cent). The other major export is timber, usually about 20 per cent of all exports (16.8 per cent in 2001). Cameroon has an overall trade surplus, masking a decline of trade in non-oil items that is happening in recent years. (OCDE, 2006) Traditional export crops have been abandoned because of poor world prices and production problems. The collapse of oil prices in the 1980s also led to the accumulation of large external debt, which had reached 130 per cent of GDP prior to devaluation. Though this was significantly reduced after the devaluation, external debt still amounted to 80 per cent of the GDP in 2000/2001. (UNDP, 2006)

The manufacturing sector, through based on a robust private sector, has many structural problems wherein electricity is expensive and in short supply; the sector is weighted down by debts owed by the Cameroonian government. Local industries are facing an aggressive competition from Asia and the government failure to stop smuggling and thus unfair competition from the informal sector is another element hampering the manufacturing sector. Local organisations in agro industries, textiles, plastics, tobacco and batteries are in great difficulty. (Africa Economic Outlook, 2006)

The overall Cameroonian economic growth is largely driven by the vigorous services sector, which is growing constantly (5.4 per cent in 2004) and contributes nearly 45 per cent of GDP. The telecommunication industry is increasing in subscribers, especially for mobile phone operators. The economy’s growth is driven by domestic demand, although the country has many good raw material exports. Very slack domestic conditions are a major drag on growth. Domestic demand, which is partly driven by the government, is suffering from the budget rigour imposed since mid 1990s. (OECD, 2006)

The competitiveness in Cameroon

As an entrepreneur, I cannot engage myself in a research without the exploration of the competitiveness of variables under study. When you talk of competiveness, the first point that comes to mind is how to deal with competitors to effectively attain our objectives. According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the verb to compete is to be inclined to, or to be ready to rival someone. While doing some research in entrepreneurship, I spend hours and hours in the library reading books on entrepreneurship and new venture creation. This passion of engaging on entrepreneurial initiatives, explains the incorporation of competiveness in all my writings. Therefore, this section explores the competiveness of the Cameroonian economy.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2004), innovation is one of the main drivers of productivity and growth in the "new economy" context. At organisation level, innovation is key to increasing efficiency and productivity in production and also enables enterprises to respond to changes in consumer demand. At country level, innovation and its diffusion are central to increasing capital, labour and multifactor productivity and enhancing overall competitiveness. In addition, innovation is needed to address other societal needs including improved health and environmental protection. (OCDE, 2002)

According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 20003/2004 published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with the IESE Business School, Cameroon competitiveness is very low. In fact, the fundamental objective of the GCR is to evaluate the economic competitiveness of a large sample of countries. The GCR has focused on two complementary approaches to analysing competitiveness. The first is called the Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) developed by Jeffrey Sachs and John W. McArthur and the second labeled Business Competitiveness Index (BCI) developed by Michael Porter. The Cameroon’s rank for the GCI is 91 over the 102 countries surveyed while its rank for the BCI is 83 over 102 countries surveyed (GCR, 2003/2004).

According to the Economic Commission for Africa (2001), the regulatory environment in Cameroon is disabling, and according to the same report, Africa’s ability to break out of its current non-impressive performance would, to a large extent, depend on its ability to harness the entrepreneurial potential visible in its organisations. Entrepreneurship is a function of opportunities, entrepreneurship skills, and the overall environment within which the organisation operates. The case of nurturing and supporting African private organisations becomes obvious when one consider their potential for economic growth and development (Beyene, 2002).

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) (2006), a systematic relationship exists between a country’s level of economic development and its level and type of entrepreneurial activity. The GEM is a research project aimed at describing and analysing entrepreneurial processes within countries with the aim, among others, to uncover factors determining the levels of entrepreneurial activity and to identify policies that may enhance the level of entrepreneurial activity. Cameroon is among the low-income countries in the world according to the 2006 UNDP report on global Gross National Product.

Cameroon belongs to what the United Nations Development Programme called poor country, as its gross domestic product is approximately $900 per capita and per annum, with more than 20% of its citizens living beyond the national poverty line. Also, as it is mentioned in the table 1, the Cameroonian ranking in terms of its growth and competitiveness index is far from the median; 91 and 83 respectively over 102 countries ranked. This trend shows the lack of internal economic dynamism and competitiveness of the country in general.

The defense

The Cameroonian military generally has been an ‘apolitical’ force dominated by civilian control. Traditional dependence on the French defense capability, although reduced, continues. French military advisers remain closely involved in preparing the Cameroonian forces for deployment to the Bakassi Peninsula, where there is a contested border with Nigeria. The armed forces number approximately 28,000 personnel in ground, air, and naval forces, the majority being the army and naval ground forces. Cameroon’s goal is to develop a military with the capacity to contribute to peacekeeping efforts. While equipment needs pose a significant challenge, Cameroonian officers are already receiving training both in Africa and abroad, for example in Italy and the U.S.

Foreign relations Cameroon's non-contentious, low profile approach to foreign relations puts it squarely in the middle of other African and developing country states on major issues. It supports the principles of noninterference in the affairs of third countries and increased assistance to underdeveloped countries. Cameroon is an active participant in the United Nations, where its voting record demonstrates its commitment to causes that include international peacekeeping, the rule of law, environmental protection, and Third World economic development. In the UN and other human rights fora, Cameroon's nonconfrontational approach has generally led it to avoid criticizing other countries. Cameroon's position on the UN Security Council, in the Africa rotational seat since January 2002, ended December 2003.

Cameroon has particularly close ties with France, with whom it has numerous military, economic, and cultural agreements. China has a number of health and infrastructure projects underway in Cameroon, and it has also pledged $1 million in military aid. Cameroon enjoys generally good relations with its African neighbors. Cameroon has successfully resolved its border dispute with Nigeria in the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula through peaceful legal means after having submitted the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). With the support of the UN, both countries are working closely together to peacefully implement the ICJ ruling, and a genuine peaceful turnover of the peninsula by Nigeria has begun. Roughly 5,000 Nigerians have moved back into Nigeria thus far. Cameroon is a member of CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) and supports UN peacekeeping activities in Central Africa.

The history of Cameroon

From time immemorial stretching back to prehistoric times, the land called now Cameroon was inhabited, as attested by many cut and polished stone objects found almost everywhere on its territory. Indeed one of the world’s most important prehistoric sites is found on the Makabai Mountains region, a small village near Maroua. Cameroon’s contact with the European world stretches back to Antiquity and was made through the Sahara routes and, by all accounts, through the Mediterranean ocean. The centers of trade were Egypt, Fezzan, Libya and Chad. According to history and other oral accounts, Cameroon exported ivory, panther skins, ostrich feathers, natron, and imported pearls, bronze objects, salt and fabric. The today’ Sahara desert, which was a sprawling green and humid expanse at the time, was crossed by means of cows, horses and donkeys.

Towards 6 Before our Common Era, J.C. Hannon, a Carthaginian leader, left Carthage with about sixty vessels and arrived in the coasts of Cameroon and discovered in the South West of the country a mountain in full eruption, which he christened “Chariot of the Gods”. As said earlier, this land was not known as Cameroon at this point in time. The name Cameroon is used for convenience purposes.

After prehistoric times, Cameroon was inhabited in majority by pygmies who can be considered as the real indigenes of this country. Pygmies are in the majority short in height and light in complexion. But today, the number of pygmies has dwindled to just a few thousands who live in islets of primary forest. Their number is decreasing rapidly as the forest (their main habitat) recedes. But formerly, they were more numerous and occupied a greater area of the forest.

Towards the 10th century, the Sao people coming from the North settled around the Lake Chad, especially in North Cameroon (Logone and Chari Division). There, they built a wonderful civilisation characterized by many objects; receptacles, jars, masks, statues, money all in burnt earth. This specific feature earned for the Sao civilisation the name “burnt earth civilisation”. The Soa craftsmen also make bronze articles, jewels, bracelets, pendants using the technique of smelting.

Cameroon and the first immigrants

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Sao people were attacked first by the Kanemboa from neighbouring Borno and later by the Massa from the East in 15th century. The surviving Saos probably took refuge in the mountains of North Cameroon where progressively their traces were found towards Maroua, Mora, Bibemi and Pitoa. The 15th Century saw the migration of the Sudanese. From Abyssinia and East Sudan, they left the East for the West, crossing the North Cameroon. Although the bulk of them continued to Nigeria and West Africa, some of them (the Massa, Mundangs and Toupouris) stopped in Cameroon and mixed with the local populations.

The Bantus came from the Upper Nile region and fanned out in Central and Southern Africa during this period. The first immigrants arrived in Cameroon towards the 15th Century and settled in the plains of the centre and along the river Sanaga. The Bamilekés, Banens and Bassas were among this first group of immigrants to arrive in Cameroon. The second group arrived in Cameroon in the same century coming from the South; the Mbedi family. Among them were the Malimbas, Pongo and the Dualas forming this group. The Fangs or Pahouins arrived in South Cameroon in the 14th century. In 1472, a Portuguese navigator, Fernao Do Poo arrived on the island that bears his name today (Fernando Poo, in Spanish). When his caravels accosted on River Wouri, the seamen were impressed by the number of prawns found in the river and so named the river Rio dos Camaroes (River of Prawns in Portuguese). Subsequently, the Spaniards translated Camaroes into Camerones, the Germans Kamerun and the English Cameroon to designate firstly the town of Douala, then the whole territory of Cameroon.

The Portuguese established trade links with the Duala chiefs. While the Portuguese brought salt, fabric, receptacles, copper, alcohol, and received in exchange white pepper, fish, ivory and also slaves. Slave trade was introduced by the Portuguese in 1450. The slaves were brought to the trade counters along the African coast and kept in the Island of Sao Tome before shipment to America. From 1590 to the end of the 16th century, Portuguese navigators and traders also scoured the coasts of Cameroon.

At the end of the 17th century, the Peuhls and Fulbes arrived in North Cameroon, where they make up about a third of the population and engage mainly in stockbreeding, after a long migration that took them to Egypt (or Abyssinia), Mali, Senegal, Nigeria and North Cameroon. The Peuhls led a peaceful life, accepted as they were by the populations of the territories they crossed, subdivided into clans and engaging in trade with the local populations exchanging the products of their herds.

The Germans in Cameroon

In 1805, under the instigation of Ousman Dan Fodio a “modibo” (doctor of Islamic science) who preached holy war, the Peuhls of Nigeria rose up against the indigenous populations. He ultimately came out victorious and founded an empire whose capital was in Sokoto in Nigeria. At the request of the same Ousman Dan Fodio, the Peuhl leaders of North Cameroon in turn revolted against the animists and imposed their authority on them. This is how a Peuhl kingdom headed by a sovereign “lamido”, was created. In January 1841, Joseph Merrick and Alfred Saker, the first Protestant missionaries of the London Baptist Mission, arrived in Fernando Po and later in Douala. On 10 June 1840, the Douala chiefs, namely those of the cantons Bell and Akwa, signed the first agreement abolishing slave trade with the British Government represented by the captain of the ship in transit at the bight of Biafra. Other similar agreements were signed on 7 May 1841 and 20 April 1852.

On 12 July 1884, the Duala chief of Akwa signed a treaty with the German Government making Douala a protectorate of Germany. Shortly afterwards, the Germans settled in Douala to guarantee peace, a vital ingredient of commerce. And they succeeded in occupying the whole national territory despite the armed resistance of many coastal tribes. On 22 April 1910, Captain Lamy leading a detachment of the French Army fought Rabah around Kousseri. Both were killed in this battle, but Chad came under French domination. Special mention should be made of two heroes of Cameroonian resistance against the Germans: Rudolphe Douala Manga Bell, hanged in Douala on 7 August 1913 and Martin Paul Samba, shot by firing squad in Ebolowa. On 1 August 1914, Germany declared war against France. French troops stationed in Chad, Oubangui Chari (today Central African Republic), Gabon, the British troops in Nigeria and Belgian troops in Congo attacked the German forces in Cameroon.

On 9 January 1916, Yaoundé was occupied firstly by British troops, then by French troops. On 20 February 1916, the German Captain Von Raben fell under a siege and was encircled in Mora. This was the last episode of the Cameroon campaign, which ran from 1914 to 1916. The allies who were now the masters of Cameroon divided the country. Britain received from the League of Nations the mandate to administer the Southern Cameroon while the French mandate concerned the administration of East Cameroon. From 1939 to 1945, Cameroon entered World War II, under the call raised by General De Gaulle of France. In the aftermath of the war, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) made Cameroon a French and British trusteeship territory.

The anthem, flag and motto

A French decree of 25 October 1946 set up the ARCAM (Cameroon Representative Assembly), composed of 50 members divided into two sections of 18 and 32 members elected by two separate and distinct electoral Colleges. The ARCAM was replaced in 1952 by the ATCAM (Cameroon Territorial Assembly) composed of 50 members elected by a wider electorate. And on 23 December 1956, a new Assembly known this time as ALCAM (Cameroon Legislative Assembly), was elected by universal suffrage by a single Electoral College. It held its first session on 10 May 1957 and during this meeting, the anthem, flag and motto of the country were chosen. On 24 October 1958, the ALCAM officially proclaimed the will of the Cameroonian peoples to gain independence on 1 January 1960. From 1 January 1959 to 1 January 1960, Cameroon was under the internal autonomy system. On 12 March the United Nations Trusteeship Council ruled to cancel the trusteeship agreement on a vote of 56 against 9 with 16 abstentions.

Cameroon and the ‘Anglophone debate’
Cameroon and the ‘Anglophone debate’

To the majority, Cameroon got its independence on January 1st 1960 from France, while the minority English-speaking, got theirs own on a more complex agreement on October 1st 1961 from the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Experts on constitutional issues are still giving conflicting conclusions as to whether it is plausible to admit that, the people of both North and South British Cameroon's were granted independence based on the options offered them by the United Nations and approved by Britain. It is important to clarify one point. According to me, the transformation of Cameroon from a federal to a unitary state was a significant political development in Cameroon’ post colonial history. In brief, the roots of the current Anglophone debate/problem is fundamentally institutional and economic, having to do with how state power is exercised in a fractured country and how the same state power is used to benefit one group at the detriment of the other.

In October 1st 2011, the country will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its unification of both parts of the country; the French and the English sides. On the other hand, in the English-speaking part of Cameroon, it will be a mournful face put on by those who think of October 1st as the day that would have been their independence, rather as a day of their third colonisation, by an African country, the French speaking Cameroon. According to a Cameroonian scholar, October 1st 2011 will be celebrated differently with the presidential election schedule the same year. On both sides of the linguistic divide, the situation will be different; the French-speaking in their majority consider unification as a ‘fait accompli’, while maybe for some English-speaking will be spending time blaming their parents and English-speaking politicians for having brought them to a promise land, which has in their opinion tend out to be an indefinite hell.

The increasing agitation of English-speaking Cameroonians against the unity between the majority French-speaking and the minority English-speaking part of their country puts uncertainty in the future of Cameroon as a single nation. Maybe the continuous nose dive and decline of the economy of the country could be one of the root causes behind the increasing clamour against the unity of their country coming primarily from English-speaking Cameroonians. According to Ngenge in Gros (2003: 64), the alarm announcing the death of federalism, or power sharing in Cameroon sounded in September 1, 1966, with the creation of the single party, the ‘Cameroon National Union’ (Union Nationale Camerounaise in French) indicating the end of the Foumban Constitution of October 1, 1961. After ‘imposing’ the one party system on September 1966, the last obstacle to Ahidjo project was the opposition, which came from the disolved KNDP (Kameroon National Democratic Party) of Dr Foncha, former vice president of the federal republic and Prime Minister of West Cameroon (Anglophone Cameroon). In May 1968, Salomon Tandeng Muna is appointed as Prime Minister of West Cameroon, replacing A. N Jua, former KNDP Vice President. In 1970, S Tandeng Muna is appointed Vice President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. With this appointment, Ahidjo firmly believed that Muna would not say no to his centralisation project, since Muna owed his key positions to him (Mukong, 1975: 72). However, while Ahidjo was busy setting the stage for the creation of the unitary system, Foncha was canvassing for internal and external support to launch a new political party, the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDP). The institutionalisation of the unitary state in May 1972 cut him short. (Ngenge in Gros, 2003: 65)

From to the creation of the CNU in September 1, 1966, as the sole political party, to the ‘tactful’ appointment of Muna as Prime Minister of West Cameroon in 1968, and federal vice president in 1970 to undercut Jua, Foncha and other pro-federalism Anglophone leaders, and changes to the federal Constitution by presidential decree (Law No 69-LF-1 of November 10, 1969) rather than a plebiscite, all show Ahidjo to be a visionary, skillful, manipulative and determined leader. The real ‘coup d’état’ came on May 6, 1972, when Ahidjo addressing a special session of the federal assembly, announced an impending change from the federal structure to a unitary state on May 1972. According to Ahidjo, federalism was adopted in 1961 because Cameroon was united at least for 40 years. Cameroon could not claim to be a nation by then. But in 1972 more than 10 years had elapsed since Cameroonians had been living together. According to him, Federalism threatened national harmony, which Cameroonians had fought so hard to achieve. Ahidjo also justified the unitary state on administrative ground: it would eliminate duplication of government services and make the bureaucracy accountable. (Centralisation against decentralisation)

The May 20 referendum, regarded by politically minded intellectuals, as ‘Ahidjo coup d’état’. For Ahidjo, the event was a ‘peaceful revolution’ marking a turning point in Cameroon political history. The peoples of both states (French and English) were not given the opportunity to discuss the project of the unitary state. The speed with which the president took to implement the unitary state became suspicious to many politically minded intellectuals in Cameroon. This event, implemented unilaterally by Ahidjo, also marked the beginning of ‘monarchical presidential’ rule, with the parliament becoming s ‘rubber stamp’. With the new political scene, the president could simply change the Constitution without informing lawmakers or the nation through a vote. (The latest change of the constitution by president Biya is just a continuation of the 1972 events) According to Ngenge (in Gros, 2003: 65), just as the creation of the CNU marked the end of political pluralism in Cameroon in 1966, the advent of the unitary state began another new chapter: presidential dictatorship following the total dismantlement and (or) emasculation of countervailing institutions.

Fongum Gorji-Dinka (in Gros: 2003: 66) posits this, before the statement issued by the Presidency mentioned above (1972), people expected the president, according to Article 47 (III) of the Federal Constitution, to table the draft Constitution before the Federal House for debate. Ahidjo feared that the proposed Constitution would be rejected by the federal national Assembly. To bail himself out of embarrassment, he issued the famous decree (DE-72-270) of 2/6/1972 by which he abolished the Federal Constitution and instituted the Constitution styled ‘Constitution of the United Republic of Cameroon’, which without consulting the people or their representatives, drew up secretly.

The unitary state came into legality on June 2, 1972, when President Ahidjo promulgated by decree the Constitution governing its existence. Despite the promulgation of the Constitution, the working machinery was not ready. Officials of West Cameroon were moving from Buea, the former Headquarter of West Cameroon to Yaoundé, the capital of the United Republic of Cameroon.