Cameroon’s Decentralization Begins In 2010

By Christopher Ambe Shu
The year 2010 will usher in a significant feature to Cameroon’s political and democratic reforms .The much-awaited decentralization (devolution of powers) , one of President Biya’s Greater Ambitions’ reforms, will kick off in 2010.

The government is now leaving no stone unturned in its preparations to ensure the smooth take –off.

Decentralization shall give regional and local authorities (councils) administrative and financial autonomy in the management of their interests, and the State shall only “lightly” supervise them.

In the past, mayors who were unable to deliver blamed Senior Divisional Officers, agents of the Central Administration who acted as Supervisory Authority, of frustrating their development plans, for selfish motives.

The Head of Government and Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, who, on November 10,chaired an extra-ordinary session of the National Decentralization Council in Yaounde, has insisted that the devolution of powers ,as promised by President Biya ,must become a reality and irreversible next year.
The National Decentralization Council monitors and assesses the decentralization and implementation process.

The Finance law on the 2010 state budget is expected to set a fraction of the state revenue for the general decentralization allocations.

“The powers to be transferred in 2010 should, in a concrete manner, go to improve the living conditions, environment of the population or at least be geared towards the provision of quality basic education”, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, Minister of State for Territorial Administration and Decentralization, told a recent session of an inter-ministerial committee, also concerned with the preparation of the coming decentralization.

To reiterate its seriousness, the government has published new rules for the management of council human resources.

But decentralization, administration officials say, will start first with sub divisional and city councils, as regions have not yet been put in place.

While mayors have expressed satisfaction that in less than three months they would start enjoying greater autonomy in the management of their municipalities, they have pleaded with the government to cancel heavy debts they inherited, so to permit them to take off well.

“We appreciate government's decentralization efforts, but we are appealing to the government to cancel some of the heavy debts the incumbent mayors inherited-because of the in ability of previous council administrations to settle them.”