Cameroon/Decentralization: the communes of the Littoral and the South-West equipped for the State/Commune Contract-Plan

An additional window for financing projects for the benefit of decentralized local authorities, the Contrat-Plan is part of the planned implementation of decentralization. After Ebolowa, Garoua and Bafoussam, the city of Douala hosted the fourth stage of the national process of popularization of this project programming tool by the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development.

It is the Town Hall of Lagdo, Arrondissement of Benoue, in the North Region that the pilot phase of the State/Commune Plan-Contract by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (Minepat). Defined as a planning tool that sets the framework for cooperation between the State and the Commune for the achievement of objectives essentially based on the Communal Development Plan, the very first State/Commune Contract-Plan has enabled the realization of two main projects. These are the electrification of 16 localities in this commune, for an amount of nearly 1.7 billion CFA francs, and the rehabilitation of the road system in the town of Lagdo for an amount of about 3 billion CFA francs. That is to say a total of about 4.7 billion CFA francs.

Minepat plans to disseminate the Lagdo experience to other decentralized local authorities in Cameroon. To achieve this, inter-regional workshops to disseminate this type of partnership are being organized by the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development. Decentralized local authorities in the Littoral and South-West regions were briefed on the contours of the State/Commune Plan Contract. The communes of Ngwei, Douala Mbongue, Limbe 1, Douala 3, Yingui, Mundemba, Douala 4, Tombel and Eyoumodjock took part in the 4th workshop to popularize this planning tool, after the sessions in Ebolowa, Garoua and Bafoussam.

"In view of the pilot experience of the Municipality of Lagdo, it seemed appropriate to popularize this instrument in order to encourage emulation of municipal magistrates that you are. It is important to note that the municipalities invited to these exchanges were selected on the basis of the Performance Window of the National Program for Participatory Development (PNDP). It is a window that establishes competition between the municipalities of the same region, with a view to encouraging performance and improving budgetary and accounting management.The Director of Planning and Land Development at Minepat said on this occasion.

Financing

Mayors and municipal councillors from the Littoral and South-West regions were briefed on the definition and procedures for drawing up theThey were briefed on the definition of and procedures for drawing up the Contract-Plan tool, the legal framework of the Contract-Plan and the modalities for transferring competencies, and the awarding of contracts under the State/Commune Contract-Plan. The work was deepened in the themes relating to the sectors: rural, infrastructure, water and energy. "This is an important tool for strengthening decentralization and for the development of decentralized territories. It is an additional window that the State is making available to us to access sources of financing, because the main problem of decentralized local authorities remains access to financing. Douala especially needs funds for sanitation and land use planning, and the other communes need funding for water and electricity," reacted Manfred Njecacal, President of the CVUC for the Littoral.

For Patrick Aboko, President of the CVUC for the South-West Region, "the opportunity of the Minepat workshop comes at a time when the decentralized territorial communities of this region are in need of support.s of this Region are experiencing financial difficulties due to the security crisis and its consequences on local taxation. Patrick Aboko hopes to benefit from the Lagdo experience and adapt the resolutions of the Douala seminar to the realities of the communes of the South West.

Benjamin Mboutou, the Prefect of Wouri, and Dr. Roger Mbassa Ndine, the Mayor of Douala, were present at the fourth stage of the seminar to popularize the Contrat-Plan for the communes of the Littoral and South-West. Douala was also a launching pad for the identification of projects likely to be the subject of Contract-Plan, according to a programming and multi-year financing of public investment operations included in the Municipal Development Plan and in accordance with the SND 30.

Source: ecomatin.net/