Perceived patronage: Do secret societies, ethnicity, region boost careers in Cameroon?

Dispatch No. 162 6 September 2017 Perceived patronage: Do secret societies, ethnicity, region boost careers in Cameroon? Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 162 Thomas Isbell Summary An effective and transparent administration forms the backbone of a well-run democratic state and market economy in the developing world (Grindle & Hilderbrand, 1995.) Recruitment of public-sector staff based on merit plays an important role in ensuring not only that the machine functions smoothly but also that ordinary citizens have confidence in how their country is governed. Patronage or favouritism can undermine both functioning and public confidence (Anderson & Tverdova, 2003; Seligson, 2002; Chanley, Rudolph, & Rahn, 2000; Rothstein & Teorell, 2008). In Cameroon, many critics of the government have long argued that factors other than merit help determine who holds government positions and gets promotions (Ayukogem, 2014; Nsom, 2012). Leaders have been accused of giving preferential treatment to particular regions and ethnic groups as well as to fellow members of secret societies from fraternal groups such as the Ekpe to the Rosicrucian Order AMORC and the Freemasons to religious groups such as Eckankar and the Illuminati (Ayukogem, 2014; Nsom, 2012). Do ordinary Cameroonians believe that such factors play an important role in public-sector careers? Based on data from Afrobarometer s Round 6 (2015) survey, substantial proportions of the population do. Moreover, citizens who see such favouritism at work in career advancement are less likely to hold positive views of Cameroon s democracy. Afrobarometer survey Afrobarometer is a pan-african, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Six rounds of surveys were completed between 1999 and 2015, and Round 7 surveys are currently underway. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent s choice with nationally representative samples. For its Round 6 survey in Cameroon, the national Afrobarometer team, led by Centre d Etudes et de Recherche en Economie et Gestion (CEREG), interviewed 1,200 adult Cameroonians in January and February 2015. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of sampling error of +/-3% at a 95% confidence level. A previous Afrobarometer survey was conducted in Cameroon in 2013. Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 1

Key findings Almost half (45%) of Cameroonians say that membership in a secret society helps people reach top positions in the public sector, while around four in 10 feel that being from a certain ethnic group (43%) or region (40%) helps. Only one in four (25%) say that being a member of a particular religious group helps in pursuing a public-sector career. The perception that membership in a secret society can boost a career is more common among urban residents, men, older respondents, and the better-educated. It varies sharply by region, ranging from 15% in Extrême-Nord to 84% in the Est region. Cameroonians who feel that their own ethnic group is often or always treated unfairly by the government are more likely to see ethnicity as an important factor in career advancement. Respondents who see favouritism on the basis of secret-society membership, ethnicity, or region as an important factor in public-sector advancement are somewhat less likely to offer positive assessments of Cameroon s democracy, the efficacy of their elections, and the motivations of their political leaders. Do social networks help public-sector careers? Almost half of Cameroonians say that membership in a secret society or secret group helps a lot (31%) or somewhat (14%) in enabling public servants to rise to top positions in Cameroon s government (Figure 1). One in nine respondents (12%) say it helps just a little, while one in four (24%) say it doesn t help at all. One in five (20%) say they don t know. Figure 1: Does membership in social networks help people rise to top positions in the public sector? Cameroon 2015 Secret society 31% 14% 12% 24% 20% Ethnic group 21% 21% 19% 21% 17% Region 19% 21% 20% 22% 17% Religion 11% 14% 15% 42% 18% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Helps a lot Helps somewhat Helps just a little Doesn't help at all Don't know Respondents were asked: In your opinion, to what extent does membership in the following social networks or groups assist people to rise to top positions in public office in this country: A secret society or group? A particular ethnic group? A particular region? A religious group? Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 2

About four in 10 respondents see belonging to a particular ethnic group (43%) or being from a certain region (40%) as helping somewhat or a lot in boosting the careers of public officials. Only one in four Cameroonians see belonging to a particular religion as helping somewhat or a lot. Secret-society membership helps The perception that being a member of a secret society is helpful to one s government career is significantly more common among urban residents (52%) and men (51%) than among rural dwellers (37%) and women (39%) (Figure 2). Older respondents are more likely to hold this view (57% among those aged 56 or older). Among respondents with no formal education, only 20% see secret-society membership as helpful, while 40% say they don t know. By contrast, among respondents with secondary or post-secondary education, almost half (48%) say being in a secret society helps. Figure 2: Secret-society membership helps public-sector career by socio-demographic group Cameroon 2015 Rural 37% Urban 52% Women 39% Men 51% 18-29 years 30-55 years 43% 46% 56+ years 57% No formal education 20% Primary only 35% Secondary only Post-secondary 48% 48% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Respondents were asked: In your opinion, to what extent does membership in the following social networks or groups assist people to rise to top positions in public office in this country: A secret society or group? (% who say it helps somewhat or a lot ) Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 3

By region, perceptions on this issue vary widely: While large majorities see secret-society membership as helpful in Est (84%), Ouest (65%), and Centre-Yaoundé (63%), far fewer respondents feel this way in Cameroon s poorest regions Extrême-Nord (15%), Nord (32%), Nord-Ouest (33%), and Adamaoua (34%) (Figure 3). Figure 3: Secret-society membership helps public-sector career by region Cameroon 2015 Est Ouest Centre-Yaoundé Centre Littoral-Douala Sud Sud-Ouest Average Littoral Adamaoua Nord-Ouest Nord Extrême-Nord 15% 34% 34% 33% 32% 65% 63% 58% 57% 55% 49% 45% 84% Respondents were asked: In your opinion, to what extent does membership in the following social networks or groups assist people to rise to top positions in public office in this country: A secret society or group? (% who say it helps somewhat or a lot ) Ethnic group helps 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Similar regional differences in perceptions are apparent with regard to the question of whether ethnicity makes a difference in whether a bureaucrat advances. Moreover, Cameroonians who in general feel that their own ethnic group is treated unfairly by the government are more likely to see ethnicity as an important factor in career advancement: 40% among respondents who say their ethnic group is never or only sometimes treatment unfairly vs. 54% among those who say their ethnic group is often or always treated unfairly by the government (Figure 4). Interestingly the perception of a particular ethnicity as being helpful for career advancement is not more common among respondents who identify primarily as members of an ethnic group rather than as Cameroonians. In fact, those who privilege their ethnic identity over a national identity are somewhat less likely to see ethnicity as a career factor than are those who value their Cameroonian identity at least as much as their ethnic affiliation (Figure 5). Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 4

Ethnicity is factor in career advancement Figure 4: Ethnicity helps public-sector career by whether respondent s ethnic group is treated fairly or unfairly Cameroon 2015 100% 80% 60% 54% 40% 40% 20% 0% Never/Sometimes Often/Always Respondent's ethnic group is treated unfairly by government Respondents were asked: - How often, if ever, are [respondent s ethnic group] treated unfairly by the government? - In your opinion, to what extent does membership in the following social networks or groups assist people to rise to top positions in public office in this country: A particular ethnic group? (% who say it helps somewhat or a lot ) Figure 5: Ethnicity helps public-sector career by ethnic vs. national identity Cameroon 2015 I feel only Cameroonian I feel more Cameroonian than (ethnic group) I feel equally Cameroonian and (ethnic group) I feel more (ethnic group) than Cameroonian I feel only (ethnic group) 33% 35% 42% 41% 44% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Ethnicity is factor in career advancement Respondents were asked: - Let us suppose that you had to choose between being a Cameroonian and being a [member of respondent s ethnic group]. Which of the following statements best expresses your feelings? - In your opinion, to what extent does membership in the following social networks or groups assist people to rise to top positions in public office in this country: A particular ethnic group? (% who say it helps somewhat or a lot ) Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 5

Region helps The perception that being from a particular region is helpful in a government career, affirmed by 40% (helps somewhat/a lot) of all Cameroonians, is far more common in the Ouest (60%), Sud-Ouest (53%), and Adamaoua (51%) regions than in Extrême-Nord (19%) or Littoral (27%) (Figure 6). Figure 6: Regional affiliation helps public-sector career by region Cameroon 2015 Ouest Sud-Ouest Adamaoua Centre-Yaoundé Nord-Ouest Littoral-Douala Est Average Centre Sud Nord Littoral 60% 53% 51% 46% 45% 45% 44% 40% 40% 38% 31% 27% Extrême-Nord 19% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Respondents were asked: In your opinion, to what extent does membership in the following social networks or groups assist people to rise to top positions in public office in this country: A particular region? (% who say it helps somewhat or a lot ) Cameroonians also report dissatisfaction with the way regionally proportional representation in public service schools and institutions is implemented. Fewer than three in 10 respondents (28%) say they are satisfied or very satisfied with regionally proportional representation in placements in public-service schools (e.g. administration and magistrature (ENAM), education (ENS), international relations(iric)) and military and police service schools (Figure 7). Only about one-fourth (24%) are satisfied with its implementation with regard to appointments to public offices and state enterprises. Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 6

Figure 7: Regionally proportional representation in public-service schools and public offices Cameroon 2015 100% 80% 60% 52% 51% 40% 24% 41% 28% 28% 20% 0% Appointments to public office Placements in publicservice schools Placements in military and police service schools Satisfied/Very satisfied Dissatisfied/Very dissatisfied Respondents were asked: Please tell me whether you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the way proportional representation is implemented in each of the following sectors, or haven t you heard enough to say: Placements in public-service schools like ENAM, ENS, or IRIC? Appointments to public office such as ministries and state-owned enterprises? Placements in the military and police service schools? (% who say somewhat satisfied very satisfied ) Does perceived favouritism affect views on democracy? If success in the public sector is determined in part by membership in a particular group rather than solely by merit, it is plausible that this could undermine citizens confidence in the system and their role as active participants. While our simple cross-tabulations do not allow us to draw conclusions about causation, we find that Cameroonians who see favouritism based on secretsociety membership, ethnic group, and region as an important factor in government careers are somewhat less likely to offer positive assessments of their country s democracy, elections, and motivations of political leaders than those who see no significant preferential treatment at play. We look first at Cameroonians perceptions of the supply of democracy in their country, which Afrobarometer measures by combining respondents answers to two survey questions. Respondents are counted as perceiving an adequate supply of democracy if they 1) consider their country either a full democracy or a democracy with minor problems and 2) are very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the way democracy works. As shown in Figure 8, perceptions of an adequate supply of democracy are about 3-10 percentage points lower among those who think that secret-society membership, region, and ethnicity boost careers somewhat or a lot than among those who see such factors as helping just a little or not at all. Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 7

Region Ethnicity Secret society Figure 8: Perceived supply of democracy by perceived extent of group membership helping public-sector career Cameroon 2015 Secret-society membership helps Ethnic group helps Region helps 21% 20% 31% 29% 25% 21% 28% 29% 22% 22% 27% 31% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% A lot Somewhat Just a little Not at all % who perceive adequate supply of democracy Figure shows % of respondents who perceive an adequate supply of democracy in Cameroon, as measured by responses to these two questions: - In your opinion, how much of a democracy is Cameroon today? - Overall, how satisfied are you with the way democracy works in Cameroon today? Looking at a more specific aspect of democracy, we see a similar pattern when it comes to assessments of how well elections ensure that voters views are represented (Figure 9) and that voters can remove elected leaders who don t do what voters want (Figure 10). For example, only 23% of respondents who see membership in a secret society as helping somewhat or a lot in boosting careers say that elections work well or very well in making sure that voters views are represented, compared to 42% of those who see secret-society membership as helping just a little or not at all. Figure 9: Elections ensure voters' views are reflected by perceived extent of group membership helping public-sector career Cameroon 2015 23% 42% 24% 41% 28% 36% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% % who say elections work well/very well Respondents were asked: Think about how elections work in practice in this country. How well do elections ensure that representatives to the National Assembly reflect the views of voters? Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 8

Region Ethnicity Secret society Region Ethnicity Secret society Figure 10: Elections enable voters to remove leaders from office by perceived extent of group membership helping public-sector career Cameroon 2015 25% 37% 24% 36% 28% 32% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% % who say elections work well/very well Respondents were asked: Think about how elections work in practice in this country. How well do elections enable voters to remove from office leaders who do not do what the people want? Similarly, respondents who see favouritism at work in government careers are more likely to think that political party leaders are primarily interested in serving their own political ambitions rather than the public good (Figure 11). For example, 79% of those who think membership in a secret society is helpful to a career say political leaders are motivated by their own ambitions, vs. 56% among those who don t see favouritism as an important factor. Figure 11: Leaders serve their own political ambitions by perceived extent of group membership helping public-sector career Cameroon 2015 79% 56% 75% 62% 77% 61% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% % who say leaders serve own interests Respondents were asked: Do you think that leaders of political parties in this country are more concerned with serving the interests of the people, or more concerned with advancing their own political ambitions, or haven t you heard enough to say? (% who agree or agree strongly ) Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 9

Region Ethnic group Secret society Region Ethnicity Secret society The pattern is similar for views on whether people are treated unequally under the law, although the difference is marginal regarding the perceived usefulness of region for reaching top positions in the public sector (Figure 12). Enjoying preferential access to better positions in public services may also be understood as a form of corruption. As shown in Figure 13, respondents who think that membership in a secret society, ethnicity, or regional origin helps access top positions in the public sector are more likely to say that overall levels of corruption in the country have increased. Figure 12: People treated unequally under the law by perceived extent of group membership helping public-sector career Cameroon 2015 74% 66% 74% 64% 70% 68% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% % who say people are often/always treated unequally Respondents were asked: In your opinion, how often, in this country, are people treated unequally under the law? Figure 13: Level of corruption by perceived extent of group membership helping public-sector career Cameroon 2015 53% Helps not at all/just a little 44% 52% Helps not at all/just a little 45% Helps not at all/just a little 51% 47% 0% 20% 40% 60% % who say corruption increased somewhat/a lot Respondents were asked: In your opinion, over the past year, has the level of corruption in this country increased, decreased, or stayed the same? Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 10

Conclusion A substantial share of ordinary Cameroonians believe that belonging to a secret society, being part of a particular ethnic group, or being from a particular region helps people reach top positions in the public sector. Religious affiliation is less often seen as an important factor in career advancement. Perceptions of such preferential treatment are associated with lower perceived supply of democracy and less positive views of elections and elected officials. More in-depth analysis is needed to identify causation, i.e. to determine whether ordinary citizens view of the state and its services are shaped in part by perceived patronage. Do your own analysis of Afrobarometer data on any question, for any country and survey round. It s easy and free at www.afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis. Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 11

References Anderson, C. J., & Tverdova, Y. V. (2003). Corruption, political allegiances, and attitudes toward government in contemporary democracies. American Journal of Political Science, 47(1), 91-109. Ayukogem, O. S. (2014). Who killed Ateba Eyene? The Median. http://themedianpaperyde.blogspot.co.za/2014/02/who-killed-ateba-eyene.html. Chanley, V. A., Rudolph, T. J., & Rahn, W. M. (2000). The origins and consequences of public trust in government: A time series analysis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 64(3), 239-256. Grindle, M. S., & Hilderbrand, M. E. (1995). Building sustainable capacity in the public sector: What can be done? Public Administration and Development, 15(5), 441-463. Nsom, Y. K. (2012). Biya to chair secret society. Cameroon Postline. http://www.cameroonpostline.com/biya-to-chair-secret-society/. Rothstein, B., & Teorell, J. (2008). What is quality of government? A theory of impartial government institutions. Governance, 21(2), 165-190. Seligson, M. A. (2002). The impact of corruption on regime legitimacy: A comparative study of four Latin American countries. Journal of Politics, 64(2), 408-433. Thomas Isbell is a PhD student at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Email: tisbell@afrobarometer.org. Afrobarometer is produced collaboratively by social scientists from more than 30 African countries. Coordination is provided by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) in Ghana, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) in South Africa, the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IREEP) in Benin. Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) provide technical support to the network. Core support for Afrobarometer Rounds 5 and 6 was provided by the UK s Department for International Development (DFID), the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank. Donations help the Afrobarometer Project give voice to African citizens. Please consider making a contribution (at www.afrobarometer.org) or contact Aba Kittoe (akittoe@afrobarometer.org) to discuss institutional funding. For more information, please visit www.afrobarometer.org. Follow our releases on #VoicesAfrica. /Afrobarometer @Afrobarometer Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 162 6 September 2017 Copyright Afrobarometer 2017 12