After 44 years, the question is no longer whether Cameroon has the potential to prosper. The question is why so much of that potential remains unrealized. The report card is before the nation. The evidence deserves examination. The leadership owes the people answers. And the people have every right to demand them.
By Timothy Enongene
Editor-in-Chief, The Independentist News. 9 November 2026
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44 Years in Power: What Has Cameroon Actually Achieved?
If governance were an examination, Cameroon under Paul Biya would be struggling to explain how it managed to spend 44 years in the classroom and still fail to deliver satisfactory results in so many critical subjects.
On 6 November 2026, Paul Biya marked 44 years since assuming the presidency in 1982. Few political leaders anywhere have enjoyed such an extraordinary length of time to translate promises into national achievements. For decades, Cameroonians have heard promises of development, prosperity, stability, modernization and national emergence.
Yet the country continues to confront serious challenges in economic management, security, healthcare, education, agriculture, infrastructure and public accountability. The issue is not whether anything has been accomplished. Some progress is undeniable. The issue is whether the results justify more than four decades of uninterrupted leadership. Let us examine the national report card.
- ECONOMY: FAILED
Cameroon possesses substantial natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, forests, fertile agricultural land, minerals and considerable human capital. Nevertheless, its economic transformation has fallen far short of what those resources might have made possible.
According to World Bank data, Cameroon’s gross domestic product reached approximately US$58.93 billion in 2025, with economic growth estimated at 3.2%. Economic growth is welcome, but growth alone does not establish that ordinary citizens are experiencing improved living standards.
The International Monetary Fund estimated public debt at approximately 40.3% of GDP in 2025. Its October 2026 assessment continued to classify Cameroon as facing a high overall risk of debt distress. Cameroon’s National Institute of Statistics reported a trade deficit of CFA 2,145.2 billion in 2025, representing a deterioration of 22.8% compared with 2024.
The country’s infrastructure record is equally troubling. As of December 2024, Cameroon had approximately 10,576 kilometres of paved roads out of a total network of 121,873 kilometres—only 8.7%. Government figures subsequently indicated approximately 10,940 kilometres of paved roads by the end of 2025, still around 9% of the network.
A country cannot develop a competitive agricultural or industrial economy while vast areas remain poorly connected to markets. The labour market presents another problem. The World Bank’s modeled unemployment estimate for 2025 was 3.6%. But this relatively low figure must not be confused with an absence of employment hardship. Informal employment, underemployment, low productivity and inadequate wages remain important concerns.
Under the applicable 2023 minimum-wage decree, monthly minimum wages range from CFA 41,875 to CFA 60,000, depending on the employment category. Meanwhile, Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index assigned Cameroon a score of 26 out of 100, ranking it 142nd among 182 countries.
Electricity transmission constraints, weak industrial competitiveness, unresolved questions about the performance of state enterprises and dependence on imported manufactured products further weaken the country’s economic prospects.
THE VERDICT: Economic activity exists, but the transformation expected after 44 years of leadership remains deeply inadequate.
- SECURITY: FAILED
The primary obligation of any government is to protect lives and property. On that examination, Cameroon faces an especially troubling report card. The Far North continues to experience insecurity associated with Boko Haram and other armed groups.
The Northwest and Southwest regions remain affected by the armed conflict that developed from the political crisis beginning in 2016. Communities have experienced killings, displacement, destruction of property, interrupted education and severe disruption of economic activity.
In its November 2026 humanitarian report, UNICEF estimated that 2.9 million people, including 1.5 million children, required humanitarian assistance across Cameroon. By September 2026, approximately one million people were internally displaced, according to the population figures cited in that report. Other regions also face security concerns involving kidnappings, armed criminality and cross-border instability.
The responsibility for protecting civilians applies to state security forces and non-state armed groups alike. Attacks against civilians, schools, healthcare facilities and humanitarian workers must be rejected and investigated regardless of the perpetrators. A government cannot reasonably claim complete success in national security while so many citizens remain displaced, vulnerable or unable to conduct normal economic and social activities.
THE VERDICT: A state unable to provide reliable security across substantial parts of its territory faces a fundamental crisis of governance.
- HEALTH: FAILED
Healthcare should not be a privilege determined by wealth, political connections or the ability to travel abroad. Yet Cameroon’s health financing system continues to impose a heavy burden on ordinary households.
According to WHO data reported through the World Bank, 67.65% of Cameroon’s current healthcare expenditure in 2023 was paid directly out of pocket. That is an extraordinarily heavy burden for families already struggling with food, housing, transportation and school expenses.
Public healthcare facilities continue to face challenges involving medical equipment, staffing, medicines, financing and accessibility, particularly in underserved and conflict-affected areas. Cameroon deserves recognition for becoming the first country outside the malaria-vaccine pilot programme to introduce the RTS,S vaccine into routine immunization services in January 2024.
That was a significant achievement in public health. But one successful vaccination programme cannot substitute for comprehensive healthcare reform. Citizens need affordable treatment, properly equipped hospitals, reliable essential medicines, preventive healthcare and improved access to qualified medical personnel.
The success of a health system should ultimately be measured by whether an ordinary citizen can obtain necessary treatment without suffering financial ruin.
THE VERDICT: Important health initiatives have occurred, but healthcare remains insufficiently accessible and financially burdensome.
- SPORTS: FAILED IN GOVERNANCE
Cameroon has a proud sporting history. The Indomitable Lions have won five Africa Cup of Nations championships—in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and 2017. The country also won Olympic football gold in 2000, while its women athletes and national teams have contributed significantly to Cameroon’s international sporting reputation.
These achievements deserve national recognition. But sporting history is not the same as present-day sporting administration. Disagreements involving football authorities, continuing questions over stadium infrastructure, limited grassroots development and the need for stronger institutional coordination have raised legitimate concerns.
The Olembe Stadium project, associated with preparations for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in 2022, remains a reminder of the need for transparent infrastructure management and public accountability.
Cameroon’s sporting potential extends beyond football. Young people need accessible sporting facilities, reliable talent-development programmes, qualified coaches, transparent selection procedures and opportunities across a wider range of disciplines.
Sport must become a sustained national development priority rather than a source of occasional celebrations.
THE VERDICT: Cameroon has produced remarkable athletes, but sporting excellence has too often been undermined by governance and infrastructure concerns.
- EDUCATION: PARTIALLY PASSED
Education deserves a more balanced assessment. Cameroon has developed universities, professional schools, technical institutions and a substantial population of educated citizens.
Progress in educational access and literacy over past decades should be acknowledged. Nevertheless, significant weaknesses remain. Technical and vocational education require stronger investment, while many graduates face difficulty obtaining productive employment corresponding to their qualifications.
The crisis in the Northwest and Southwest has also inflicted serious damage on education. In September 2026, UNICEF reported figures from regional education authorities indicating that 223,749 children were completely out of school and 2,463 schools were non-operational in the two regions.
These figures represent a profound loss of educational opportunity. A nation cannot claim satisfactory educational performance while such large numbers of children are deprived of regular schooling.
There is also a wider question about the purpose of education. Are Cameroonian schools producing the engineers, technicians, agricultural specialists, doctors, scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs needed to transform the country?
Or is the education system producing increasing numbers of certificate holders without the tools or economic opportunities to apply their knowledge? Education should prepare young citizens not merely to seek employment but also to create enterprises, solve practical problems and build productive national institutions.
THE VERDICT: Progress in education deserves recognition, but quality, employability, technical capacity and equitable access remain serious concerns.
- AGRICULTURE: FAILED TO REALIZE ITS POTENTIAL
Cameroon possesses substantial agricultural advantages. Its climate, fertile soils, water resources and farming traditions provide opportunities for food production, agro-processing and export development.
Yet these advantages have not eliminated food insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in April 2026 that more than 2.8 million people would face severe food insecurity during 2026.
Conflict, climate-related shocks, high agricultural input costs, transportation difficulties and unstable market conditions continue to constrain production and distribution. Smallholder farmers frequently operate without adequate financing, storage facilities, irrigation, mechanization or access to profitable markets.
The Cameroon Development Corporation, the Upper Nun Valley Development Authority and PAMOL are examples of major agricultural institutions whose long-term performance, investment needs and economic contributions deserve careful public assessment.
Cameroon should be investing more effectively in food-processing industries, agricultural engineering, farm mechanization, irrigation, rural transportation and agricultural research. It should also be developing climate-resilient agriculture and protecting the environment on which future production depends.
An agricultural economy cannot be judged solely by the quantity of fertile land it possesses. It must be judged by its productivity, food security, farmers’ incomes, value-added processing and capacity to create sustainable employment.
THE VERDICT: Cameroon has major agricultural potential, but has not converted it into the level of food security and rural prosperity its citizens deserve.
- FOREIGN POLICY: AVERAGE — BUT WHERE ARE THE RESULTS?
Cameroon maintains diplomatic relationships with numerous governments and participates in international and regional institutions, including the African Union, CEMAC and ECCAS. These relationships are important. However, foreign policy must be judged by more than diplomatic representation, presidential visits and participation in international meetings.
Effective diplomacy should generate investment, technology transfer, educational cooperation, export opportunities, improved regional integration and stronger national security.
The central questions are straightforward. – Has Cameroon’s foreign policy done enough to attract productive industrial investment? – Has it significantly improved opportunities for Cameroonian businesses in regional and international markets? – Has it secured sufficient technical partnerships to strengthen agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing and education? – And has it contributed meaningfully to peaceful resolution of the country’s longstanding internal conflicts? Diplomacy must produce measurable benefits for citizens.
THE VERDICT: Cameroon has maintained an international diplomatic presence, but the domestic developmental returns warrant closer examination.
THE BIG QUESTION: WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE CELEBRATING?
After 44 years of uninterrupted presidential leadership, Cameroon should be presenting a compelling record of institutional strength, productive industries, dependable infrastructure, affordable healthcare, secure communities and improving living standards.
Instead, too many citizens continue to confront preventable hardship. The figures demand attention. Approximately nine out of every ten kilometres of the country’s road network remained unpaved at the end of 2025.
More than two million people were estimated to face severe food insecurity in 2026. Millions required humanitarian assistance. Healthcare continued to impose substantial direct costs on households.
Public debt remained a source of concern, while institutional weaknesses and perceptions of corruption continued to undermine public confidence. These are not merely opposition slogans. They are problems reflected in assessments by national statistical institutions and international organizations.
To be fair, Cameroon has recorded achievements in education, health, transportation, sport and economic development. The malaria vaccination initiative is one example. Sporting achievements are another. Infrastructure projects and expanding economic activity also deserve acknowledgment where results can be demonstrated.
However, the purpose of a national report card is not to pretend that every achievement is a failure. It is to determine whether the overall performance meets reasonable expectations. And after 44 years, those expectations should be exceptionally high.
THE QUESTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Cameroonians deserve clear answers about public spending, infrastructure delivery, healthcare financing, educational outcomes, rural development and the management of national resources.
They deserve transparent public accounts, independently audited projects, effective anti-corruption institutions and public officials who can be held accountable for their decisions. They also deserve credible plans with measurable targets rather than development promises continually postponed into the future.
The central issue is not how long Paul Biya has governed. It is what the country has achieved during that extraordinary period of leadership—and what remains undone. A nation cannot endlessly celebrate its resources while ordinary citizens struggle to benefit from them.
It cannot celebrate its educated population while graduates lack productive opportunities. It cannot celebrate its sporting history while neglecting the institutions necessary to produce future champions. And it cannot claim enduring stability while millions remain affected by humanitarian crises.
THE FINAL VERDICT
Paul Biya has had more than four decades to demonstrate what his leadership could accomplish. History will not judge that leadership solely by speeches, ceremonies, diplomatic receptions or the number of years spent in office.
It will judge it by the condition of institutions, the security of communities, the opportunities available to young people and the quality of life citizens experience. A government is not entitled to applause simply because it has remained in power. It must earn public confidence through results.
Cameroon deserves more than promises. Cameroon deserves accountable institutions, effective economic management, credible public services, peaceful communities and leadership that delivers measurable progress.
After 44 years, the question is no longer whether Cameroon has the potential to prosper. The question is why so much of that potential remains unrealized. The report card is before the nation. The evidence deserves examination. The leadership owes the people answers. And the people have every right to demand them.
Editorial data sources: World Bank (2025 economic and labour indicators); International Monetary Fund (March and October 2026 Cameroon assessments); Cameroon National Institute of Statistics (2025 trade balance); Cameroon Ministry of Public Works and African Development Bank (road network); WHO/World Bank (2023 healthcare expenditure); UNICEF (September–November 2026 humanitarian and education reporting); FAO (April 2026 food-security assessment); Transparency International (2025 Corruption Perceptions Index); and Confederation of African Football (historical AFCON titles).
Editor’s note: The sector grades are editorial assessments, not a standardized quantitative index. Statistical indicators are identified by their reference years.
As Amazon associate this site earns from qualifying purchases
Follow the Amazon link below to get your copies of the many publications that touch on the Ambazonian revolution By Martin Mungwa
Timothy Enongene
Editor-in-Chief, The Independentist News
