How the money never filters down...

In a study conducted in 2008, Cameroon was placed 141st out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index. It's not uncommon, even for the locals, to be stopped on the roadside by police and asked to pay a bribe or their car would get impounded. Even on the way from the airport to our city, we were stopped by policemen who looked at our passports, and asked all sorts of questions as to why we were here, why we were travelling at night, and why we had so much luggage. Corruption is rife in government, and it's not unknown for government officials to embezzle millions, but to still get promoted within government.

As many Cameroonians have told me, this corruption is keeping the country where it is now. With the next Presidential elections looming in 2011, a lot of money designated for building roads, houses and infrastructure will be siphoned off and used for campaigning across the country. The main political party here also normally promise to use funds to improve local infrastructure - in the run up to the elections, it is not uncommon to see diggers and other equipment set up ready to rebuild the roads, only for the equipment to disappear shortly after, and the work left uncompleted.

On a visit to the Kurume region last week, where out water project will take place, we heard how this has affected the local community. The road to the Kurume villages are in a disastrous state, having not been maintained for decades, and during the rainy season, they are impassable. The water supply that is currently located there has not been improved since 1962, hence our reason for being here. It is just such a shame that when there is so much knowledge in the country, and an isolated but substantial amount of wealth, it is foreign engineers and foreign money that have to come into the country to improve the lives of the locals.