By Norbert Wasso with details from Manuella Nemaleu
The slow-paced decentralization process, which has been decried by many, got a boost last week from the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, through the signing of a decree by which Regions will benefit from the sharing of tax resources.
Signed on May 12, 2026, Decree No. 2026/01007/PM sets the precise rules for the centralization and redistribution of tax resources intended for the ten regions of the country.
It is a founding text for Cameroonian financial decentralization. In thirty-one articles divided into four chapters, the decree of May 12, 2026 details how certain national tax revenues must be collected, centralized, then transferred to the Regions, according to objective criteria and distribution keys now engraved in the texts.
The system is firstly based on the identification of a basket of revenues subject to equalization. Seven categories of levies are eligible: oil and gas royalty, mining royalty, special tax on petroleum products, resources from the Fund for financing sustainable development projects in water and sanitation, airport stamp duty, radio frequency usage fee, and annual gaming fee. For each of these sources, the share dedicated to the regions amounts to 50% for oil, gas and mining royalties, and 70% for the other five categories. These proportions give an idea of the redistributive ambition of the text.
The amounts thus collected are not distributed at random. The decree imposes a distribution grid based on four weighted criteria. The basic allocation, distributed in a strictly equal manner between all regions, represents the dominant share: 80% of the total. Added to this is a demographic share of 10%calculated in proportion to the population according to the last official census, a part linked to the territorial area of 5%, and a part taking into account the poverty rate, also set at 5%. This plan deliberately promotes basic solidarity, while providing a dose of differentiation for the benefit of the most populated, largest or most disadvantaged regions.
The text also provides for an emergency valve. The minister in charge of decentralized local authorities can take up to 4% of equalization revenues – after deduction of the basic allocation – to finance emergency interventions in the event of disasters or special local development operations.
Inter-regionality, a second stage of the mechanism
Beyond traditional equalization, the decree establishes an inter-regional mechanism. A share of 30% of the same tax revenue is allocated to this second circuit, intended to finance large-scale regional projects as well as the central management body. From these inter-regional resources, 5% is taken before any distribution to cover the operating costs of the said organization. The remainder is then split into two equal parts of 50% each. The first is distributed between the regions according to a formula different from that of equalization, with a basic allocation reduced to 45%, a demographic share increased to 30%, an area share increased to 15% and a poverty rate to 10%, while the second feeds a solidarity and mutual aid fund intended primarily for income-generating projects. This last envelope can be granted in the form of grants or loans.
In terms of monitoring, the decree imposes a rigorous pace. Equalization payments to the regions are made monthly, with a monthly report sent to the responsible minister. For inter-regionality, a half-yearly report is required, transmitted to each region as far as it is concerned. The application of the text is entrusted jointly to the minister responsible for decentralized local authorities and the minister of finance