Is granting Federalism a political solution to Cameroonians or Anglophones?

“Whether the Anglophone problem is considered a forgotten scar of our collective memory or an open sore of our collective survival, it will continue to prick the conscience of the Cameroonian body-politic”, George NGWANE

At least 60.2% of Cameroonians said they preferred a federal system, instead of the current very centralized unitary state, according to the results of a national study conducted by the NGO Nkafu Policy Institute.

Entitled “A survey of governance in Cameroon”, the Nkafu Policy Institute, researched on the economic slump and accumulated political frustrations, in which 669 citizens aged at least 20 years representing the 10 regions of Cameroon participated. A majority of interviewees (60.2%) prefer the federal system in place of the existing unitary system.

According to the study, 9 out of 10 Cameroonians (90.72%) believe that “the country is on the wrong track”, while 83% believe that “current development strategies and public policies are not conducive to growth.”

In the Register of economic data performance in Cameroon, 59% of citizens are very dissatisfied with the economic situation and conduct of business in the country. With regard to budgetary management, more than 9 out of 10 Cameroonians (93.5%) militate for the autonomy of the regions, 52% recommending full autonomy.

In terms of democracy, 72.13 % of the respondents believe that “the country does not fit into democratic ideals”. The electoral system, too, suffers from a lack of confidence: almost 87.3% do not give it credit, 16.3% believe strongly in it while 57% militate for its complete overhaul.

Generally, the Cameroonians surveyed expressed deep concern over the unitary presidential system, to the centralised management of the regional budget, the unlimited presidential mandates of 7 years, the electoral system, the appointment of the governors of the regions by the President of the Republic and the absence of a real democracy.

More simply, they want a federal system of governance, the autonomy of budgetary management of the regions and local authorities, a limitation of the presidential mandates to a renewable mandate only once, a complete overhaul of the electoral system, the election of the governors of the regions and the implementation of reforms for a free and democratic Cameroon.