InfosPlus Gabon - Africa : Crisis Group raises concern on Cameroon's stability

LIBREVILLE, May 30 (Infosplusgabon) - High unemployment and inequality have stalled nation-building in Cameroon and are threatening instability, a new report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group says.

In a statement, made available to the Pan African News Agency (PANA) on Saturday in New York, US, the group said that it recently examined what it called : "Cameroon’s fragile stability".

It reported that Cameroon was bedevilled by "weak institutions, a population frustrated with a stagnating economy and an overall lack of progress".

It noted that, "although Cameroon may appear stable, there are factors along with a government that shows favouritism to those loyal, a growing unemployed population, and frayed support in the country, has led to increased tensions".

The report, entitled : "Cameroon : Fragile State ?", however, stated that, "historically Cameroon had demonstrated that even if current challengers were overcome, longer-term deterioration could lead to a possible conflict".

"Cameroon’s ruling elites need to stick to the rules, including those they have themselves signed up to ... without (a) change of heart.

"The distance between the population’s expectations and the regime’s refusal to change could prove too much for Cameroon’s much praised stability," Francois Grignon, Crisis Group Africa programme director, concluded in the statement.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/PML/OLM/GABON 2010

Dans la même rubrique