A project to accelerate decentralisation and in turn improve the living standard of populations in rural areas in Cameroon has been initiated. The plan was presented during a workshop at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, on April 25th 2023, chaired by the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development Georges Elanga Obam and and co chaired by the resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme UNDP, Aliou Mamadou Dia.
The Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development MINDDEVEL is the implementing organisation of the project and has engaged with different financial and technical partners for effective implementation. These partners include FEICOM, BUNEC, UCCC, NASLA, ARC, MINEPAT, MINFI, MINPOSTEL, MINPROFF, MINAS, CONSUPE, MINADER, MINJEC, MINEDUB and some civil society organisations among others.
Speaking during the ceremony, Minister Georges Obam highlighted the importance of the project. “It is a workshop where we are going to present and comment information gathered from the field concerning our territories, our regions and our councils mainly. We want to share the information that is showing the level of development of our communities. To attract investors and to help the government to take good decisions to promote and optimise development of our councils and our regions. It is important for us to do so because if we don’t do that, those who are in charge of leading the councils and regions cannot plan their development, cannot share the experience they are conducting with the others and cannot talk with the international community. So it is important for us to have everybody living in the country, knowing what is the situation of their Council” Minister Obam said concerning the workshop organised for the acceleration of decentralisation.
The resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme UNDP, Aliou Mamadou Dia who cochaired the workshop told partners at the event that the implementation of the project would go a long way to realise the sustainable development goals at the local territories “Local governance is absolutely key and critical. We will not achieve the sustainable development goals if we don’t invest in our communities, if we don’t invest locally. That’s the whole reason why UNDP is fully implementing in supporting the government, to localize SDGs and that is absolutely key. So that’s what we are trying to do. We have done some studies with the government, with the ministry. Financing local development is absolutely important. We have been doing a lot of work on integrating national financing framework at the central level. But this is the first time in Cameroon that this has been done at the local level and that is absolutely important and I think Cameroon from now would be probably the only country that has its own local development financing method”
At the workshop, various strategic tools to carryout the project were presented to stakeholders to enable them improve the financing framework of local development in order to ensure better planning when undertaking development at the regional and municipal council levels. Stakeholders were informed on the level of development of each region and council as well as a financial assessment.
The project covers the 374 councils and urban communities in Cameroon. It would also take into consideration the special status of the North-west and South-west regions. The funders and executors of the project hold that if effectively carried out, it would boost decentralisation, strengthen local territories, engage regions and councils and contribute in democracy. It would further achieve the sustainable development goals related to gender equality, reduced inequality, sustainable cities and communities, peace and Justice and strong Institutions. It would also go a long way to inform future development plans.
The United Nations Development Programme together with the Ministry of Decentralisation, has made the project open and inclusive. International development partners, companies in the private sector and civil society organisations have been made to partake in it. They are expected to work together to make decentralisation and local governance a reality.
By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum
Howdy
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