Improving governance and democracy in Cameroon

Project details

Title: Support Programme for Municipal Development II
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)​​​​​​​
Country: Cameroon
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development (Ministère de la Décentralisation et du Développement Local, MINDDEVEL)
Overall term: 2020 to 2023

Context

The Government of Cameroon is making efforts to support decentralisation and local development processes as anchored in its constitution since 1996. The Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development (MINDDEVEL) was set up in March 2018.

In December 2019, a new law was adopted pertaining to the General Code for the decentralised local authorities. This stipulates an increase in the participation of citizens and community-based organisations in municipal development and decision-making processes in the planning, programming, budgeting and monitoring phases.

However, municipalities still have only limited possibilities for ensuring basic services for the population and designing local development to be inclusive and permanent. Mechanisms that would enable municipalities and authorities to coordinate on local planning and local finances based on the needs of the population are also lacking.

Objective

The partner municipalities in the North, South-West and Littoral regions of Cameroon are fulfilling their local development-related tasks more effectively in cooperation with government, civil society and private sector stakeholders.

Approach

The project is active in three regions of Cameroon (North, Southwest, Littoral) and is implemented in cooperation with MINDDEVEL. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) is also a central implementing partner, especially in terms of improving information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. The key four areas of the project are:

  • Improving capabilities in shaping national cooperative relations in the field of local finances;
  • Improving local infrastructure management;
  • Assisting local development actors in becoming better at using participation and dialogue formats in municipal development;
  • Supporting innovative ICT solutions tailored to local needs.

Last update: September 2022

Additional information