Cameroon holds its breath. In his address to the nation on December 31, President Paul Biya announced the imminent establishment of a new government, a promise which, a week later, remains a dead letter. This wait, described as “caesarean delivery” by some observers, reveals more than a simple administrative delay. It exposes the deep blockages of a system where the announcement of a ministerial reshuffle literally paralyzes the State.
Since the presidential address, an atmosphere of wait-and-see and feverishness has descended on administrations. Activities are slow, files are no longer circulating, and the corridors of power are silent. This paralysis illustrates a mode of governance where the fear of losing one’s position takes precedence over public action. Some ministers, in office for more than twenty years, are experiencing a “moral and psychological ordeal”, hanging on the decision of a single man.
The delay is explained by struggles for influence at the top. The configuration of the future government would be prepared under the leadership of the Secretary General of the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, but is the subject of intense haggling and disputes. This situation occurs in a difficult national context: a severe post-electoral crisis, persistent insecurity in several regions, and growing social pressure. For many Cameroonians, the expectation is also that of a translation of the verdict of the ballot boxes into the composition of the management team.
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Beyond names and portfolios, this interminable gestation poses a fundamental question. In a system often described as a gerontocracy where the average age of leaders contrasts radically with that of a very young population, can a simple change of faces truly bring about the renewal that many are calling for? The country is waiting for a government, but does it not aspire, more deeply, to a paradigm shift?
