Biya’s 44th anniversary in power: It shouldn’t be a CPDM campaign stunt!.

That is the theme that has been dictated by the Secretary General  of the CPDM Central Committee, Jean Nkuete, to local officials and tasked to mobilise members, women, youth, and the diaspora for the celebration of the 44th anniversary of President Paul Biya at the helm of State.

Beneath the fiesta, is a campaign rhetoric for the impending municipal and legislative elections.

In press statement, dated October 20, 2026, the scribe of the ruling party, pointed out that the anniversary, traditionally a galore of praises, dances and match past, will climaxe on November 6, 2026, to coincide with the first anniversary of the Head of State’s swearing-in, following his election to an eighth term after the presidential race of October 12, 2025.

The release transcends not just a celebration. It also alludes to "post-election violence," attributing it to "diabolical initiatives" by the opposition, but without calling names.

Nkuete also implicitly challenged his party members to prepare the political ground for the upcoming legislative and municipal elections, borrowing from the President’s “success” political story.

He extolled the CPDM leader for his "quiet boldness," his "singular art of governing," and his "immense political wisdom".

For Jean Nkuete, the 44 years spent at the helm of the State serve as a landmark for the country.

"By celebrating the 44 years of the President of the Republic’s tenure in the supreme office, in a spirit of strengthening loyalty toward him, we are, in essence, honouring a protective longevity at the pinnacle of the State, which acts as a valuable compass and GPS for the nation," he wrote.

Flattering the residents of the restive Far North, North West, and South West Regions, for their "patriotic resilience" and "immense efforts" toward restoring peace and the party’s commitment to combating violence against women and fighting poverty, he said: "Progress is underway; the future belongs to you".

Officials were reminded of the strategic seminar of July 22, 2025, whose objective was to "secure a new term" for the President and urged them to prepare "actively and effectively to claim their positions" which they already dominate in the present municipal and legislative political landscape of the country.

Their “Champion” did it last year, with a marginal score against a backdrop of claims of “stolen victory”.

However, using his anniversary as campaign jingle for the coming municipal and legislative polls raises a pertinent question hard to give a convincing answer on the campaign trail: What has been the achievements of President Paul Biya, who took over on a platter of gold from the pioneer President, the late Ahmadou Ahidjo, 44 years ago; with the slogan of Rigour and Moralisation?

In his end of year speech to the nation in 1983, he said: “For our young developing nation, rigour appeared as one of the effective weapons against underdevelopment and in the service of progress”.

It was bravo then. Development centres on infrastructure. Today, electricity, drinking water, medical facilities, roads, educational infrastructure are crumbling to the nadir.

The nation is struggling with debts. As Dr, Marie Kakdeu, the National Vice President of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, pointed out in a report last week, “official documents that finalise the execution of national budgets, approved by the National Assembly, alongside evaluation reports from the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank, reveal an unequivocal reality: financial allocations over the last ten years have been dominated by the burden of public debt, the costs of institutional operations, and the misappropriation of public funds, all to the detriment of productive investment and social spending…”

“Debt servicing is the country’s largest budgetary expense. Public funds are primarily used to repay debts. In 2024 alone, public debt servicing accounted for 24% of the state’s total authorized expenditures (with over 1,600 billion FCFA spent out of a projected 2,252 billion FCFA)”.

It is worth noting that public debt has climbed from less than 25% of GDP in 2015 to over 43% of GDP in 2024, a trend that is stifling the economy as growth is not reflected on the ground.

The World Bank, IMF, the Africa Development Bank, AfDB evaluation reports highlight a high risk of debt distress, forcing the State to dedicate nearly almost one quarter of its revenue solely to the payment of debt principal and interests.

So why will the country not have dilapidated infrastructure, when almost one in four francs of its budget is spent on paying and servicing debts?

Where is the rigour when the 2025 annual report of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, cited a financial loss to the State of 6.2 billion FCFA?

The instances of misappropriation tracked and pursued by the judiciary and oversight bodies are said to represent less than 2% of the consolidated budget.

As indicated in reports from international donors, the systemic scale of misappropriation (occurring through mechanisms such as over-invoicing, waste, fraud, fictitious project execution, paid absenteeism or "ghost" civil servants, and unauthorised, off-budget transfers) amounts to roughly 15% of the actual value of the annual national budget.   

As Dr Kakdeu noted, “corruption has become the norm in Cameroon”.Why has President Biya not set up a commission for declaration of assets, as enunciated in Article 66 of the Constitution; with a bill to that effect, passed some five years ago?

While The Guardian Post congratulates President Biya, for a world breaking record of longevity in power, even though it is at odds with democratic values, truth must be told: His 44th anniversary celebration, as it could be glossed with hilarious activities, is a hard sell for his party’s impending municipal and legislative elections campaign. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3951 of Monday October 26, 2026