FEICOM: President Biya Empowers Local Dev’t Institution

President Paul Biya in decree N°. 2018/635 of 31 October 2018 reorganised the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) aligning the institution to the laws governing public and semi-public institutions and enabling it play the assigned role in accelerating the ongoing decentralisation process in Cameroon.

The decree brings in key innovations compared to the decree N° 2002/365 of 11 December 2000 further amended and supplemented by Decree N° 2006/182 of 31 May 2006.

Structure:Just as with previous decrees, President Paul Biya specifies that FEICOM has legal personality and financial autonomy. The decree of October 31, 2018 however, states that it is a State-owned institution of economic and financial nature.

One of the key innovations contained in the decree is that fact agencies of FEICOM can be opened in other parts of the country when need arises by the decision of the Board of Administrators.

Missions: FEICOM now has missions that take into consideration the decentralisation process in Cameroon. The global mission assigned the institution is to contribute to the harmonious development of all Local Government structures that are local Councils and Regions based on the principles of national solidarity and inter-regional and inter-council balance in relations with the public administrations concerned. In the taxes FEICOM has to centralise and redistribute, the decree of October 31, 2018 makes provisions for Regions.

Another key mission of the institution is to pay the salaries of the Presidents and members of the bureaus of Regions, as well as local council executives. Concerning the General Decentralisation Fund, FEICOM henceforth has the duty to pay it out to beneficiary regions, councils, Council and City Council trade unions in accordance with government’s decision.

Supervisory Authorities: In the decree of March 2, 2018 creating the new Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development, Pre sident Paul Biya clearly stated that FEICOM was placed under the technical supervisory authority of that Ministry. He reiterated the task in the decree reor...