Oct 16, 2019 paul biya is playing a tactical masterclass. Decentralization pattern is wider is scope and the authorities are diffused to the lowest most level of management. An analysis of the 1974 law on local government reform 19741994 a research paper presented by bobuin john gemandze cameroon in partial fulfilment of the requirements for obtaining the degree of master of arts in development studies members of the examining committee. Following the deaths of at least 400 civilians over the past year in cameroons anglophone regions, an anglophone community conference scheduled for 21 and 22 november 2018 could offer a decisive breakthrough. Second, i summarise major dimensions of decentralisation and suggest some of the key. Decentralisation in commonwealth africa commonwealth. The decentralisation of government tasks has been enshrined in cameroon s constitution since 1996. Oecd ilibrary decentralisation and regionalisation in. To this end an overview of the objective of decentralisation is useful. In fact, decentralization is all extension of delegation. Download this paper in english africa research institute. Republic of cameroon peaceworkfatherland decree no 2009248 of 05 august 2009 to lay down the methods of evaluation and distribution of the common decentralization fund the president of the republic, mindful of the constitution.
Indeed, many ministries tend to view the decentralization process more as a threat to their control over resources and influence 16. The enabling conditions for successful decentralization have not been well implemented in cameroon 14 15 which directly affects the strategy and operational plan. Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decisionmaking. Academics and experts are still at the stage of clarifying links between decentralisation, service delivery, economic development and social cohesion, and sufficient. The government launched a reform to merge local governments and strengthen the decentralisation process, giving additional power and resources to subnational authorities. An overview on health system decentralization in cameroon. Abstract urban governance policies in cameroon within the past two decades of political and economic liberalization have witnessed significant administrative and political setbacks. Though a decentralized unitary state, cameroons decentralization has been greatly influenced by tightened centralized rule. Delegation of authority is a complete process and takes place from one person to another. Decentralization in cameroon is an instrument to meet multiple objectives. Oecd ilibrary maintaining the momentum of decentralisation. Part one the state and sovereignty article one 1 the united republic of cameroon shall, with effect from the date of entry into force of this law, be known as republic of cameroon law no 841 of 4 february 1984. However, political pluralism has slowly been gaining ground since the 1990s. Decentralisation is not a solution to the anglophone.
Cameroons constitutional law of 18 january 1996 enshrined decentralization as a fundamental principle of the organization of state. Cameroon is a bicameral parliamentary republic with two levels of government, national and local regions and councils. Mindful of law no 2004 017 of 22 july 2004 on the orientation of decentralization. From the release of opposition leader maurice kamto and anglophone militants, to the conclusions of the great national dialogue, the cameroon president is hoping to avoid letting the federalism genie out of the bottle. Sometimes called a silent or quiet revolution, decentralisation is among the most important reforms of the past 50 years. To succeed, international powers should encourage buy. Decentralized territorial communities and implementation of public. Decentralisation and regionalisation reforms have recently emerged on the portugals policy agenda, with two main objectives. This book explores the scope for implementing decentralisation programmes that focus on citizens in rural areas. The societal actors include government, the private sector and civil society. The confusion on the division of competences and the lack of local capabilities is surely an obstacle for the local governments to master their investment programs. Cameroon is a bicameral parliamentary republic with two levels of government, national and local. The challenges and opportunities of decentralization decentralization creates both challenges and opportunities. Chapter decentralisation in cameroon the main objective of this chapter is to examine the process of decentralisation in cameroon, particularly since 1996.
However, fiscal decentralization, a lack of local capacity, and the absence of a strong civil society continue to challenge the process giz, n. Cameroon is a bicameral parliamentary republic with two levels of government. It examines whether the design has been coherently formulated and preconditions for decentralization have. For the purpose of decentralisation, civic participation in local politics and user participation in development programmes must be seen as two sides of the. Despite pronouncements to the contrary, central governments often do not want to devolve power to the local level. Security, decentralisation, 2018 elections top council of. Security, decentralisation, 2018 elections top council of ministers session tweet the president of the republic, his excellency paul biya chaired a council of ministers meeting at the unity palace on thursday 15 march 2018. Public sector management covers such aspects of management as productivity management, and management of human, financial and.
The country thus has both a deconcentrated administrative system 10 regions and 58 departments and a decentralized structure of governance comprising to tiers of decentralization. This multilevel governance series study focuses on ukraines advances in regional development, territorial reform and decentralisation since 2014. During talks and following the confidencebuilding measures detailed above, the government should offer to undertake the following institutional and governance reforms. The decentralisation of government tasks has been enshrined in cameroons constitution since 1996. The cameroon civil protection report for 00, does not deviate from the option adopted two years ago which consists in carrying out an indepth study using a methodology which integrates qualitative and quantitative techniques.
The minister of the decentralization and local development, georges elanga obam has held talks with members of the united cities and councils of cameroon the th march 2018 in yaounde. Local governments of africa, observed that in west. Administration and decentralization is responsible for government policy on territorial administration. These reforms were carried out amid economic crisis, structural adjustment and political upheaval. Minatd cameroon ministry of territorial administration and. I limit myself here to three of the principal challenges. The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon jstor. The constitution of cameroon of 1996 consecrated the country as a decentralized unitary state. Complete the form and download, for free, the highlights from the africa reports exclusive ranking of africa. Decentralization and governance jeanpaul faguet the suntory centre suntory and toyota international centres for economics and related disciplines london school of economics and political science houghton street london wc2a 2ae eopp201127 tel. Representatives of councils meet minister of decentralisation and local development. Minatd cameroon ministry of territorial administration and decentralisation.
Through detailed case studies of decentralisation policies in five subsaharan african countries botswana, cameroon, ghana, mozambique and tanzania this book examines the challenges presented, lessons learned, and recommends ways to improve policy implementation. This report takes stock of cameroon s experience with decentralization. Project muse decentralisation and spatial rural development. In 2010, jeanpierre elong mbassi, secretary general, united cities and. Decentralisation and spatial rural development planning in. Territorial administration and decentralisation local government is provided for by laws 17 on decentralisation, 18 councils and 19 regions of 2004. A sampling of definitions page 3 joint undpgovernment of germany evaluation working paper of the undp role in decentralization and local governance october 1999 national, and local. Third, i highlight a few popular myths and misconceptions about decentralisation. This official power transfer can take two main forms. Local development and municipal politics in cameroon this thesis explores how policies of decentralisation and community participation adopted in cameroon in 1996 have played out on the ground since 2004.
This was the first contact with members of government after the 2 nd march cabinet reshuffle in his special message, the head of state laid emphasis on the need to. Cameroons decentralisation process needs a push, by. When decentralization is broadened to incorporate such concepts as devolution, alternative services delivery, privatization and so on, then the resource base on the subject would undoubtedly be massive. At the moment, the issue of decentralization seems to be a myth then reality. For the purpose of decentralisation, civic participation in local politics and user participation in development programmes must be seen as two sides of the coin. Beyond the guidelines, the report proposes concrete tools for policymakers, including detailed sets of recommendations, checklists, pitfalls to avoid and examples of good practices, both in unitary and federal countries. Finally, i suggest several 3cohen and peterson 1999 usefully discuss the meaning and use of the term decentralisation. Estimates suggest that decentralisation is being pursued in over 80% of developing countries worldwide. The adoption of decentralisation laws 2004, the establishment of national coordinating bodies 2008 and the increased formal transfer of areas of responsibility to the municipalities since 2010 have been the most important steps. For general information about the country profiles click here. Rural areas, rural development and the future of rural settlements need to be understood and addressed in the context of the. Decentralisation is usually referred to as the transfer of powers from central government to lower levels in a politicaladministrative and territorial hierarchy crook and manor 1998, agrawal and ribot 1999. The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon article in africa development.
Decentralisation is not a solution to the anglophone problem in cameroon akere muna. The chapter examines the legal, fiscal, political and administrative environment, and the level of organisation of its key actors in conducting the states servicedelivery responsibilities. Paul biya is back in charge after tactical manoeuvres. Political, administrative, fiscal and market decentralization can also appear in different forms and combinations across countries, within countries and even within sectors.
This calls for decentralisation beyond the dominant concern by states and government with urban spaces. The president of the republic, his excellency paul biya chaired a council of ministers meeting at the unity palace on thursday 15 march 2018. Decentralisation and spatial rural development planning in cameroon. The concept of decentralization decentralization in cameroon research problem research proposals justification of the study scope of the study methodology clarification of terms organization of the research paper chaper two. Decentralisation in commonwealth africa commonwealth bookshop. The commonwealth ilibrary decentralisation in botswana. Local government of cameroon commonwealth governance. Decentralisation, local development and social cohesion. This report has been prepared by the oecd upon request by the portuguese independent commission for decentralisation. The chapter examines the legal, fiscal, political and administrative environment, and the level of organisation of. May 31, 2010 the challenges and opportunities of decentralization decentralization creates both challenges and opportunities. Cameroons decentralisation process needs a push, by chofor che, february 2016 31 mar on 21 december 2015 president paul biya, president of the republic of cameroon promulgated law no. However, the same word is often used to describe different things.
The state of the decentralisation process in cameroon africa development vol. Ever since the government of cameroon announced the coming into place of a decentralization machinery, local actors and stakeholders caught by this process jubilated and thought all shortcomings will become a thing of the past. Twenty months of clashes have killed 1,850, displaced 530,000 and led tens of thousands to seek refuge abroad, but the government and the separatists are sticking to their irreconcilable positions. Representatives of councils meet minister of decentralisation. Download citation the state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon the pace of the process. Decentralisation in cameroon the main objective of this chapter is to examine the process of decentralisation in cameroon, particularly since 1996. Afrique et developpement 322 july 2010 with 5,069 reads.
Despite pronouncements to the contrary, central governments often do. Interoperability is a big word with a simple result. Minatd cameroon ministry of territorial administration and decentralisation accueil. This paper examines how decentralisation in cameroon is being used as a tool to accelerated local development and more precisely, one aspect of local. The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon. The social sectors include all development themes political. Cameroon decentralization bill pdf legal corner news cameroon decentralization bill pdf 4 months ago nkafu gabriel.
The cameroon civil protection report for 00, does not deviate from the option adopted two years ago which consists in carrying out an in depth study using a methodology which integrates qualitative and quantitative techniques. Official website of the presidency of the republic of cameroon. The separatists continue to dream that independence is jus. There is a scarcity of data on local finances in cameroon, hence it still difficult to evaluate the impact of decentralisation on the volume of capital expenditures executed by lgus. Decentralization means interoperability the web should remain open and interoperable, so we can keep our experience consistent, transparent, and full of possibility. The bill is the subject of an extraordinary session of parliament convened by the speaker of the national assembly and the president of the senate on the request.
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