General Code of Regional and Local Authorities : Stakeholders Learn About Innovations

Actors involved in the process of decentralisation have familiarized themselves with Law No. 2019/24 of December 24, 2019 on the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities. This was during the first extraordinary session of the National Committee of Local Finance presided at by the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Georges Elanga Obam, on January 27, 2020 at the Yaounde City Town Hall.

Expatiating on the reason of the session, the Minister said the main objective is to ensure a common understanding of the law on regional and local authorities particularly the innovations. “We want to make sure that all members know and understand the innovations and the financial dispositions in the law. We can talk of execution when we have a good knowledge of the law. Let us first start by having the same idea and understanding of the law,” the Minister stated. According to the Minister, a mastery of the law by stakeholders will facilitate its implementation and hence accelerate the process of decentralisation in the country as instructed by the President of the Republic. With regards to the innovations brought by the law, Minister Elanga Obam mentioned the allocation of 15 per cent of the total State budget to councils for development. “I think I can insist on two innovations, the first is the 15 per cent total income of the State budget that is coming to be allocated to local councils and the second is the introdu...