By Mark Abiako
The assistance created by the digital age to merchants or traders cannot be overemphasised, as it has introduced online platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and TikTok, which are acting as accessible trading platforms for business persons to advertise their products or services through attractive short videos of their products or services. Alternatives are short, captivating messages and pictures of their products or their services rendered.
As a result of the easy access to clients through these platforms, many graduates have been able to make a living. Some utilise it as a starting point after saving money they get from advertisements or referrals; they open their own shops or companies. Due to the absence of limited jobs and difficult access to both private and public institutions, most graduates have used this business method as their only means to cater for themselves and their families.
It is rather unfortunate to apprise you that this means of survival is now threatened or reduced by government employees called civil servants. This is because many civil servants are now online vendors who keep advertising products like perfumes, bags, clothes, packaged water-fufu, and the rest on their Facebook pages and WhatsApp statuses. They even use their positions or offices to influence buyers to buy from them and get preferences or favours from their government-paid services. This issue has ignited sporadic complaints from young business persons who see it as an unnecessary competition and question if civil servants are allowed to do business or if it’s legally acceptable for civil servants to be merchants. In order to attempt a response to this, we will look at who is a civil servant, the position of the law with regard to merchandise carried by civil servants, and the effects of their involvement in trading or commercial activities.
To begin, a civil servant is a person recruited by the government to serve permanently in government ministries and departments. Business, trading, or commercial activity on the other hand, entails the buying and selling of products or services. Now that we have grasped the definitions of these basic terms, it is apposite to delve into the law governing civil servants engaging in commerce.
Position of the Law Concerning Civil Servants and Commerce.
Civil servants in Cameroon are primarily governed by decree No. 94/199 of October 7, 1994, baptised as the general rules and regulations of the public service or commonly known as the public service law. This decree defines their status, recruitment training, career management, and discipline. It establishes a statutory relationship between the state and its permanent employees, prioritising meritocracy, integrity, and hierarchy. The most attractive position of this decree, which relates to our concern, is section 37, which stipulates
“It is forbidden for any civil servant governed by their statute to have in a company or sector subject to their direct control or related to it to engage on a personal basis in a lucrative private activity, except by special exemption by a text. This prohibition does not apply to rural production, the production of scientific, literary, or artistic work, or to teaching given on a supplementary or part-time basis.”
The decree adds that
“When the spouse engages in a lucrative private professional activity, the civil servant must declare it to the relevant minister. The administration will take appropriate measures to safeguard the interest of the service.”This section can be stratified into (A) Prohibitions, (B) Permitted activities, and (C) Punishment.(A) ProhibitionCivil servants are prohibited from performing the following:
— Commercial Activity
Civil servants cannot engage in commerce or retail sales.
— Active Management
Civil servants are forbidden from being directors or managers of private companies.
— Construction or Public Works
Direct involvement in construction and public works is prohibited.
— Conflict of Interest
Engaging in activities that directly compete with or relate to their official duties is illegal.
(B) Permitted Activities
— Agriculture:
Civil servants are allowed to engage in agricultural activities.
— Passive Investment:
Owning shares in private companies is allowed.
— Scientific/Artistic Work:
Producing scientific, literary, or artistic works is allowed.
— Teaching:
Teaching on a part-time or supplementary basis is allowed.
(C)Punishment
Engagement in prohibited business activities can lead to disciplinary actions, as officials must demonstrate their wealth which aligns with their income.
Now that we know the do’s and don’ts of civil servants. Let’s look at the effects of civil servants’ engagement in commercial activity on society.
Effects of Civil Servants’ Participation in Commercial Activities
— It increases unemployment.
When civil servants engage in business or commercial activities, they increase unemployment because many people, especially the youths who could not be integrated into the public service, use commercial activities as their means of employment. When civil servants engage in the same activities, they use their salaries as capital to sell at cheaper prices. Now young graduates who have been managing the small capital given to them by their parents face difficulty in competing with these civil servants with giant capital. As a consequence, they will desist from commercial activities, thereby going back to their unemployment status, because there’s no need to buy to sell without profit. It’s a vastum of time.
Secondly, some civil servants who engage in commercial activities use their government jobs or positions to influence or threaten buyers to buy from them. Let’s look at the following examples.
Example 1
A government secondary school teacher who sells yaghouts and puff directly or indirectly influences the students to buy from her because if they don’t, she may be cruel or harsh to them during classes. The majority of the students will be coerced to buy from her because of either fear of unfavourable treatment that may accrue from not buying from her or to attract some examination favours that may come from her after purchase.
Example 2
A lady who sells items like perfumes in her office at a government ministry influences you directly or indirectly to buy from her. Imagine a scenario where you drop a document on her table to forward to her boss. Upon leaving, she advertises her different products and tells you that you will be kind to her if you purchase any of the items she sells. That’s an indirect influence or facade to buy because she will trade her service to forward your document in exchange for your kindness in purchasing her products, and if you don’t buy, you are afraid that the document might not be forwarded.
At the end of the day it is that poor woman or young person doing the same business that will suffer because someone with a government salary is using their position as leverage in a sector that forbids such activities to be performed by their personnel.
— It slows down government services.
Another effect is that it slows down government services as these categories of civil servants make more money from commercial activities as compared to their salaries. You find them leaving their offices before break to go and deliver products they sell online or to go and buy from a seller who has brought in new goods at cheaper prices. Some of them intentionally absent from work just to travel and go for delivery in another town. The consequence is felt by those who need their government services. You will be forced to wait for them or come back another day. This brings unnecessary delays in public offices.
— Unfairness
Once a civil servant engages in commercial activities, he or she is bound to be fair to customers and unfair to non-customers who know about their business but choose not to buy from them.
E.g.
A particular man who always patronises the business of a particular magistrate can’t be sent to prison by the same magistrate even after committing a grievous crime, because sending him to prison will mean crumbling his business, which is paying him more than his salary.
I can go on an on, but permit ask you again, Are Civil Servants allowed to do business?
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily The SUN’s editorial stance.