By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, PAV – Human rights advocate and founder of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor, popularly known as Agbor Balla, has sounded a strong warning on what he describes as the “hidden bill” Cameroon continues to pay for disrespecting contracts signed by the State.
In a detailed analysis titled “The Hidden Bill: How Cameroon Pays the Price for Disrespecting Contracts”, the former vice president of the African Bar Association in charge of Central Africa cautions that the casual treatment of contracts by public authorities is exposing the country to massive financial losses and long-term economic damage.
Agbor Balla argues that many Cameroonian officials operate under the false assumption that decisions taken in Yaoundé remain purely domestic matters. “Cameroonian officials often behave as if what happens in Yaoundé stays in Yaoundé. This is false,” he insists, stressing that contracts signed by the Cameroonian State are enforceable in international jurisdictions including Paris, London, Washington, and The Hague.
While ministers and senior officials may feel powerful within national borders, he notes that internationally Cameroon is treated like any other debtor state, fully accountable under global legal norms.
Contracts Treated as Optional Documents
According to Agbor Balla, a troubling culture has taken root in Cameroon where public contracts are treated as flexible political tools rather than binding legal obligations. Contracts are often suspended, modified, or terminated without due process, sometimes following changes in leadership or political priorities. At home, such decisions may appear cost-free, protected by weak institutions and a culture of impunity.
However, the human rights advocate warns that the international legal system offers no such protection. Beyond Cameroon’s borders exists a rigid system where contracts are enforceable, states are accountable, and breaches are punished not by political statements but by heavy financial sanctions. Each violation, he says, exposes the country to international arbitration, costly litigation, compensation awards running into billions of francs, reputational damage, and economic losses. “And the bill is paid not by ministers but by citizens,” he said.
Agbor Balla explains that most major state contracts, especially in infrastructure, mining, energy, telecommunications, aviation, and public-private partnerships, contain international dispute resolution clauses. These clauses often refer disputes to institutions such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), or the OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA).
By signing such agreements, Cameroon knowingly waives part of its sovereignty and accepts the authority of foreign tribunals. In these forums, there are no presidential decrees, no administrative circulars, and no “high instructions.” Only the law, evidence, and consequences apply.
Costly Lessons from Recent Disputes
To illustrate his point, Agbor Balla cites several cases where Cameroon has paid dearly for contractual failures. One of the most notable is the dismissal of former Indomitable Lions coach Antonio Conceição. After leading the national team to third place at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Conceição was sacked without respect for contractual procedures. FIFA and later the Swiss Federal Tribunal ruled in his favour, ordering Cameroon to pay over 1.6 million euros, more than one billion CFA francs. What appeared to be a football decision, Agbor Balla notes, became a contract law failure paid for with public funds.
Another example is the Olembe Sports Complex in Yaoundé. Disputes with contractor Magil Construction escalated to international arbitration in Paris, resulting in an order for Cameroon to deposit more than 15 billion CFA francs into an escrow account. That money, now frozen, could have been used for hospitals, schools, or roads.
Agbor Balla also points to the ongoing contractual tensions involving SGS, the Swiss multinational responsible for inspection and verification services linked to customs. Any unilateral attempt to suspend or alter the SGS contract without due process, he warns, could trigger international arbitration with severe consequences, including compensation claims, interest payments, legal fees, and even seizure of Cameroonian assets abroad.
Although he welcomes the Prime Minister’s intervention to seek an institutional solution, Agbor Balla says the SGS episode exposes a deeper problem that contracts in Cameroon are often handled politically first and legally later.
Need for Legal Discipline
Agbor Balla, who won the 2024 American Bar Association International Human Rights Award, stressed that good governance is cheaper than litigation, dialogue is cheaper than damages, and due process is cheaper than asset seizure. The paradox, he says, is that Cameroon spends more money fighting contracts than honouring them.
“Contracts are not threats to sovereignty,” he insists. “They are instruments of credibility.” For him, a state that cannot keep its word cannot build a sustainable economy. International tribunals ask only one question: whether the State respected its obligations, and “increasingly, Cameroon is forced to answer no.”
