By NOELA EBOB BISONG
A head count of council staff in all 360 local councils as well as the 14 city councils in Cameroon has begun in Yaounde. The census began last March 18 2019.
According to the Minister of Decentralisation, Georges Elanga Obam, the purpose of the census is to gather information on the academic and professional profile of council staff, in line with the effective implementation of the decentralization process.
“We are trying to know exactly those that are working in the local councils; know their numbers, trainings, know what they are doing, and we think it is by carrying out a general census that we can work on the creation of a local public service”, Minister Elanga Obam states.
The head count is also geared towards determining the viability and needs of the councils in terms of training, as council staff must have the necessary knowledge in handling powers and resources devoured on them by the central administration, for the development of the country.
According to the Decentralisation boss, “We want to ensure that those working in the local councils do have the ability and capacity to be there, and that what they are doing is contributing positively to the development of the country, as well as the conditions in which they are working”.
He continues that “We want to ensure that the abilities we are giving to the councils are the same, as we endeavour to create a local public service”. To ensure that the needed expertise is available and to ease the transfer of council staff from one local council to another with similar capacities are also reasons behind the head count, Minister Elanga Obam explains.
According to the Minister, the first phase of the programme which ran all through last week is geared towards obtaining and sampling a methodology which if positive, shall be applied across the entire country for effective results.
It should be noted that if councils must efficiently implement the decentralization process, then their capacities must be apt in the likes of project supervision and procurement as well as in the management of financial and other resources. It is hoped the programme comes in to address the fact that most local council personnel do not have adequate mastery of administrative procedures, which many hold has been the reason for the slow implementation of the decentralization process.
Of recent, it is being observed that the government is now bent on ensuring a smooth decentralization process for the development of the country, with cognizance to the fact that a Decentralisation bill has just been passed in Parliament, as well as Prime Ministerial Degree of February 22, 2019, allocating direct financial grants to councils, from FCFA 10 billion to 49billion annually, with each local council now having FCFA 100 Million annually for its development.
“The 100 million is to finance certain outlined projects that are carried out in the councils”, Minister Obam has stated and says, mayors are fully independent in carrying out such projects, urging all mayors to make judicious use of the money.
However, several mayors are still expressing mixed feelings, to government’s efforts in ensuring real decentralization. While appreciating government’s recent efforts, notably the February 22 decree, some mayors hold the FCFA 100 million will hardly accomplish their missions in bringing development to their various municipalities.
Mayors maintain the whole process should begin from the base, streaming from a council development plan, which will move to the division, region and then the national scene. Mayors hold the council development plan will serve as a guide for needed projects to be earmarked and accomplished, which will carry development forward, rather than designing abstract projects at the level of the central government in Yaounde and merely implementing it in the local areas, often not introducing any significant changes.