Cameroon: parliamentary (un)scrutiny amid multiple crises

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cameroon’s parliament is constitutionally mandated to perform multiple functions, including the power to make laws. Like most legislatures, parliament is also empowered to perform familiar representative functions during the unfamiliar abnormal context of a crisis. However, parliament’s competence in the legislative domain is severely restricted by the President, who is neither accountable to the Prime Minister nor the legislature. The executive further dominates the legislative agenda by controlling the admissibility criteria of bills in parliament, which gives pride of place to that introduced by the President. Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government, in line with WHO recommendations, developed a response plan and also rolled out a solidarity fund of One billion francs CFA. Following persistent allegations of mismanagement of Covid-19 funds, and the leaking of an audit report that alleged massive embezzlement of public funds, Cameroon’s parliament summoned the Minister of Finance to account for the financial misappropriations. However, 24 hours to the session dedicated for this exercise, the item disappeared from the agenda. This paper utilises primary and secondary data, legal and judicial texts, among others, to document how Cameroon’s parliament has responded to the multiple crises that have impacted the country over the past decades.