Individual Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2007, corruption is rampant in the production of identification documents and passports. For several months in 2006 and early 2007, it was impossible to get a passport through the official procedures. People had to make large unofficial payments to Immigration Department agents to obtain passports. Even today, it is impossible to guess exactly how much it costs to get a passport because of the many unforeseen fees. These fees are paid without receipts and go straight in to the pockets of the police. At the Yaoundé Emi-Immigration police station, where all applications for passports are centralised, a policeman anonymously said he has taken from XAF 150,000 to 300,000 to issue a passport that officially costs XAF 55,000. It is common to pay bribes in order to access the health care system.

Business Corruption

Global Integrity 2007 reports that unofficial payments have become systematic in obtaining a driving licence, and in the case of parastatal or private monopoly water, electricity or telephone companies the applicant should pay unofficial fees ranging from XAF 50,000 to 200,000 to be connected to the respective networks. Companies should note that due to the delays in obtaining licences and permits, 1 out of 4 companies queried in a Transparency International 2007 business survey claim that they resort to personal connections to speed up the process.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2011:
- It takes 14 procedures, 213 days and 1,235% of the income per capita to obtain the necessary licences and permits for building a warehouse.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give government administrative requirements (permits, regulations, reporting) in Cameroon a score of 2.9 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely burdensome' and 7 'not burdensome at all').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 27.2% of the respondents who used the registry and permit services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 17.3% of the respondents who had contact with the utilities services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 22.3% of households who had contact with medical services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 31.8% of households who had contact with the education system in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- 51.2% of companies expect to give gifts in order to obtain an operating licence.

- 28.6% of companies identify the area business licensing and permits as a major constraint on doing business.

- Slightly more than 51% of companies report that they expect to make informal payments to public officials to get things done.

- Senior management can expect to spend an average of nearly 7% of its time dealing with the requirements of government regulations.

- Slightly more than 22% of companies surveyed expect to give gifts to obtain an electrical connection, 25% for a telephone connection and over 31% for a water connection.

Transparency International: Enquête nationales sur la corruption au Cameroun - enquête quantitative auprés des ménages - 2007 (in French):
- Approximately 46% of the households surveyed consider this sector to be very corrupt.

- 48% of the households report having made illegal payments in order to obtain a driver's licence.