It is now a recurring trend that whenever there is crisis or unrest in Southern Cameroon, the first thing the government do is to shut down the internet. Of course, they are aware that the internet is a viable and powerful tool for rallying and gathering support for the reported marginalisation of the people of Southern Cameroon.
In January, the Cameroon government ordered the shutdown of the internet to the English-speaking region of Bamenda and Yaounde. It was reported that the shutdown was a response to ongoing protests and strikes by local lawyers and teachers who claim that the government is allowing French to “sideline” English in the country.
For three months, the whole of the region was offline. In other words, they could not access social media, ATM did not function, they could not search Google, and all eCommerce businesses were down. The government claimed that social media was actively being used to spread false rumours, fake news and information.
Hence, it should not leave anyone dumbfounded after a new report found that government shutdowns of the internet have cost sub-Saharan Africa nearly $250m (£186m) since 2015.
The study by The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa said internet disruptions undermined economic growth and affected the delivery of critical services.
Just heard from a friend in Cameroon who says social media/internet blocked in anglophone regions-govt had denied they were going to do this pic.twitter.com/6cqm8TPRRJ
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) September 30, 2017
According to the study, at least 12 sub-Saharan African countries have shut down the internet ahead of elections or during protests. The report said Ethiopia alone had lost more than $120m by disrupting internet services during anti-government protests. The figures may probably be far higher than this for Cameroon considering the speed at which the authorities in the country shut down the internet.
Perhaps, the Cameroon government is not taking these huge losses into consideration as it has again blocked social media services in Cameroon’s English-speaking areas after clashes involving separatists. This becomes the second blackout this year even though it is only limited to social media platforms like Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook.
The North West and Southwest regions of the central African country have planned to celebrate a separate independent day on October 1 this year. This led to clashes with the military that were deployed in the respective regions.
The internet shutdown attracted global criticism, with many using the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurInternet to express their angst against government shutdown. At the time, the blackout affected civil servants, with the government instructing banks to pay workers manually since ATMs services were also suspended.
