Decentralisation : Palpable Achievement

Law No. 96-06 of 18 January 1996 to amend the Constitution of 2 June 1972 in its Article 1 (2) states that, “The Republic of Cameroon shall be a decentralized unitary State.   It shall be one and indivisible, secular, democratic and dedicated to social service.”
The decentralisation policy has to be implemented by the Regional and Local Authorities which according to Article 55 (1) shall comprise Regions and Councils. Specifically with regard to the responsibilities, Article 55 (2) provides that, “The duty of the councils of regional and local authorities shall be to promote the economic, social, health, educational, cultural and sports development of the said authorities.”
The constitutional provisions with regard to decentralisation have progressively been implemented. The implementation of the decentralisation process accelerated when in March 2, 2018, the President of the Republic, Paul Biya formed a government creating the Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development with the pioneer Minister Georges Elanga Obam. The process further witnessed a booster with the promulgation of Law No. 2019/024 of 24 December 2019 to Institute the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities. The election of Regional Councils of December 6, 2020 whose process will culminate in the commissioning of the bureau members of Regional Councils on January 22, 2021, will usher in the effective functioning of Regions that is the last institution in the decentralisation process enshrined in the Constitution.
The putting in place of decentralisation institutions has been one aspect of the process. What is remarkable is the effective implementation of the decentralisation process on the field through the devolution of powers to councils and corresponding resources by the central administration for the execution of development projects. Ministries have since 2010 been devolving powers and resources to local, subdivisional and City Councils for development needs.  Besides what the Ministries have been devolving, since 2019, a substantial part of the Common Decentralisation Fund has been transferred to the councils. Prime Minister, Head of Government who is the Chairperson of the National Decentralisation Board in decree No....