With the October 2025 presidential election approaching, the Cameroon New Vision Group (CANVI), a Cameroonian civil society organization, has unveiled “A Social Contract for Cameroon.” This proposal aims to provide citizens with a framework for understanding the upcoming election and outlines a desired profile and job description for the next President of the Republic.
Cameroon is currently navigating a period of significant turmoil and is at a “critical crossroads,” according to CANVI. The group emphasizes the urgent need for concrete solutions to the daily challenges faced by the people of Cameroon.
Composed of “eminent journalists,” CANVI’s think tank clarifies that their role is not to endorse a candidate or issue voting instructions, but rather to “inform, educate and entertain.” They see this initiative as following in the footsteps of the Catholic Church of Cameroon, aiming to help the populace choose a leader. The think-tank led by renowned journalist Eric Chinje says its goal is to “help Enterprise Cameroon recruit a manager.”
The proposed “Social Contract,” co-signed on behalf of CANVI by Eric Chinje, Simon Moussi, and Franklin Sone Bayen, details the essential qualities and responsibilities for Cameroon’s next president, particularly given the country’s complex and diverse landscape. The ideal leader must possess “visionary leadership, a deep understanding of the local context, and an international outlook.”
The key competencies include:
- Defining a long-term vision for inclusive development and national reconciliation.
- Integrity, accountability, and a strong sense of transparency.
- A deep understanding of Cameroon’s linguistic, ethnic, and regional complexities, coupled with a unifying spirit.
- Technological savvy, including knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital governance.
- Commitment to equity, education, and employment opportunities for youth and women.
- The ability to consolidate and protect the Cameroonian nation, vigorously defend its interests, and promote its image globally.
The document also outlines crucial responsibilities, including:
- Governance and rule of law: Reforming constitutional frameworks, ensuring judicial independence, and leading national dialogue to resolve the Anglophone crisis.
- Economic transformation: Diversifying the economy beyond extractive industries, supporting SMEs, and promoting new financing models like cryptocurrency and crowdfunding.
- Digital and technological advancement: Implementing national broadband and e-government strategies.
- Education, health, and human capital: Ensuring universal basic education and affordable healthcare, and adapting education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
- Peacebuilding and national unity: Developing a Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission and fostering a civic identity.
- Environmental and climate leadership: Promoting climate-resilient policies and enforcing environmental regulations.
- Foreign policy and regional leadership: Reaffirming Cameroon’s stabilizing role in Central Africa and strengthening diplomatic ties.
CANVI also sets clear expectations for the new president, such as ending or de-escalating the conflict in English-speaking regions, fostering economic inclusion and digital access, reducing corruption, improving human development indicators, and introducing constitutional reforms.
Desirable personal qualities for the next leader include humility, emotional intelligence, being a strategic communicator, a reformer rooted in African realities, courageous, perfectly bilingual, charismatic, and a modern unifier and patriot.
Appeal to journalists
Earlier, Eric Chinje appealed to Cameroonian journalists to uphold integrity and take action as a force for change in Cameroon. Highlighting the pivotal role journalists play, the former state media Editor said journalists in Cameroon have to self-reflect if they are truly serving the interest of Cameroonians.
