In 2025, Cameroon’s North region ranked first nationwide in the execution of regional anti-corruption action plans, according to data from the National Anti-Corruption Commission, or Conac. The performance, however, highlights a broader challenge: with the national anti-corruption strategy set to expire in 2026, implementation across the country remains limited.
Conac organized two rounds of workshops in 2025. The first, held across all ten regions between February 3 and March 12, focused on assessing the implementation of the 2022 regional action plans and drafting those for 2025.
At the end of the exercise, the North recorded the highest execution rate at 40.04%, while the North-West ranked last with 21.61%. The figures were presented by Ernest Kowo, Conac’s permanent secretary, during a New Year address ceremony for the commission’s president, Dieudonné Massi Ngams, on February 2, 2026, in Yaoundé. Even the top-performing region, however, fell short of the 50% mark, underscoring the overall weakness of implementation.
The results point to limited ownership of anti-corruption action plans at the regional level and uneven commitment among the actors responsible for carrying them out. Meanwhile, corruption continues to affect public administrations, public services, and several strategic sectors of the economy.
Rising citizen pressure
On the operational front, Conac has seen a sharp increase in reported cases. In 2025, the commission opened 3,517 case files, up from 2,542 in 2024, nearly 1,000 additional cases in one year, according to official figures. Of these, 3,165 cases were processed, representing a treatment rate of 89.99%.
Although this rate is slightly lower than in 2024, when it stood at 92.5%, the president of Conac said it remained satisfactory given the significant rise in the number of complaints handled.
The trend reflects growing citizen engagement as well as the commission’s activity, but it also exposes persistent structural constraints. These include staffing shortages, limited equipment, uneven cooperation from some public administrations, judicial delays, and a budget that has remained unchanged since 2012 despite the increase in reported cases. In response, Conac says it has stepped up its prevention, awareness, and investigative efforts.
With one year remaining before the national anti-corruption strategy expires, the commission has acknowledged that progress will remain fragile without stronger regional ownership of action plans and firmer political commitment. It has announced measures for the current year aimed at significantly improving regional performance as part of efforts to reinforce the national anti-corruption framework ahead of the 2026 deadline.
https://www.stopblablacam.com/