The opportunities and challenges of decentralization. Decentralization reform refers to transforming the local institutional infrastructure for natural resource management on which local forest management is based ribot. On the strength of the provisions of article 55 of the said constitution, decentralised local enti ties of the republic shall be regions and councils. This report takes stock of cameroon s experience with decentralization. Challenges to decentralisation of agricultural extension issues and challenges. This is where any decentralisation efforts have to prove their effectiveness in terms of rural development and poverty alleviation.
Meeting the challenges of decentralisation in france despite frances previously welldeserved reputation as a highly centralised state, a significant number of responsibilities have been devolved to regional and local government over the past two decades. This chapter discusses the benefits and challenges of decentralisation using the best available information on research results and practical policies pursued in various oecd countries. Research a survey on efficiency and challenge of adult. Decentralised extension services has long been a feature of federal countries. Unity in diversity here, implies the respect of differences, identities, values, and a harmonious community spirit. This book deals with the important subject of governance and development.
Despite pronouncements to the contrary, central governments often do. I limit myself here to three of the principal challenges. Decentralisation is by no means a new phenomenon in cameroon. Pdf public policy and policy inappropriateness in africa. Addressing the challenges of decentralisation an increasing trend towards decentralisation 6 simply stated, decentralisation is the dispersion or distribution of functions and powers. Decentralisation of authority among other executives at all levels in the organisation relieves the top executive of the excessive burden saving his valuable time, which he can devote to more. Through detailed case studies of decentralisation policies in five subsaharan african countries botswana, cameroon, ghana, mozambique and tanzania this book examines the challenges presented, lessons learned, and recommends ways to improve policy implementation. Addressing the challenges of decentralisation third party. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do. The context is which the policy is being implemented. Abstract urban governance policies in cameroon within the past two decades of political and economic liberalization have witnessed significant administrative and political setbacks.
Practices and challenges of fiscal decentralisation in africa. Decentralisation helps to improve the quality of decisionsdecisionmaking at the top level management. The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon. Known challenges faced in the implementation of the decentralisation policy according to engagements with the decentralisation secretariat, some of the major challenges faced in the implementation of the decentralisation policy include the following. Cameroons constitution of 1996 sought to put in place a decentralised system of government that would accommodate a diversity of communities, but the country faces a range of serious governance challenges today which the constitution so far has not succeeded in addressing. Many developing countries are now decentralising extension in the expectation that the service will be closer to the client, and thus more relevant. The commonwealth ilibrary decentralisation in cameroon. Transnational research on decentralization in west and. Stakeholders at a colloquium in yaounde are seeking ways of overcoming challenges. The decentralisation of government tasks has been enshrined in cameroons constitution since 1996. Exploring the challenges of implementing integrated coastal management and achieving.
Despite attempts by the mlg, the little sectoral decentralisation that has occurred has been on a piecemeal basis and without adequate. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Historical development of adults literacy policy in cameroon it is generally accepted that a countrys education system, through its components. The adoption of decentralisation laws 2004, the establishment of national coordinating bodies 2008 and the increased formal transfer of areas of responsibility to the municipalities since 2010 have been the most important steps.
The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon citeseerx. Challenges of decentralization comes with costs brings a complexity to coordination and management issues requires special efforts by us all to ensure one who as a coherent, seamless global organization working as one of course decentralization also has important challenges, which also need to be mentioned. Decentralization is the means to allow for the participation of people and local governments morell. Cameroon is a bicameral parliamentary republic with two levels of government, national and local regions and councils. There is a scarcity of data on local finances in cameroon, hence it still difficult to evaluate the impact of decentralisation on the volume of capital expenditures executed by lgus. The pace of the process of decentralisation in a given context unavoidably depends on the degree of favourableness of the legal environment and the dynamism of stakeholders especially of local. Here we understand decentralization to mean the transfer of authority and responsibility from the central government to subordinate or quasiindependent government organizations or the private sector. An analysis of the 1974 law on local government reform 19741994 a research paper presented by bobuin john gemandze cameroon in partial fulfilment of the requirements for obtaining the degree of master of arts in development studies members of the examining committee. Oecd ilibrary meeting the challenges of decentralisation.
Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decisionmaking. Challenges to decentralisation of agricultural extension. Decentralisation and local development mayors examine better forest management strategies. The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon article in africa development. An overview on health system decentralization in cameroon. The confusion on the division of competences and the lack of local capabilities is surely an obstacle for the local governments to master their investment programs.
In the case of cameroon, decentralisation constitutes the legal, institutional and financial means through which. Public policy being the outcome of a political process shapes our daily lives and welfare of our societies. Sectoral decentralisation there has been a great deal of talk about sectoral decentralisation in zimbabwe but very little actual decentralisation of meaningful powers has taken place. However, the same word is often used to describe different things. It examines whether the design has been coherently formulated and preconditions for decentralization have. Challenges in the decentralization process in cameroon glaringly, there has been a noticeable trend in favour of decentralization in nations. Meaning, advantages and disadvantages of decentralisation. Decentralization in cameroon is an instrument to meet multiple objectives. Decentralisation can be viewed as an extension of delegation. Challenges and opportunities cameroon like many african countries is in the process of decentralizing significant functions to local governments. Afrique et developpement 322 july 2010 with 5,069 reads. After brief introduction, the chapter begins by describing the benefits and opportunities and then continues to examine the risks and challenges of.
Public sector management covers such aspects of management as productivity management, and management of human, financial and. This study evaluates cameroons experience of fiscal decentralisation. Cameroons 2035 vision cameroon, an emerging country, democratic and united in its diversity. Political, administrative, fiscal and market decentralization can also appear in different forms and combinations across countries, within countries and even within sectors. Decentralisation extends to the lowest level of the organisation. Key challenges to fiscal decentralisation in africa increasing the. The concept of decentralization involves the transfer of political, economic, and administrative power from higher to lower levels of an organization or a system. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. While underlining their challenges, he said budgetary constraints and inadequate. When a part of the work is entrusted to others, it is known as delegation. The root of the anglophone problem in cameroon may be traced back to 1961, when the political elites of two territories with different colonial legacies one french and the other british.
An estimate of the overall volume of municipal funds, which can be committed annually, shows that these. Local governance under cameroons decentralisation regime. Cameroon feicom x x x niger fpct x mali anict x x x malawi x. It involves the transfer of decisionmaking power and accountability for results to individuals or operating units at. The effectiveness of decentralisation as a response. It examines whether the design has been coherently formulated and preconditions for decentralization have been put in place. Decentralisation and spatial rural development planning in. The effectiveness of decentralisation as a response mechanism for disaster risk management in bamenda, north west cameroon widely used gis softwarearc view 9. This chapter is based on experiences at community as well as district level engels, 1999. Paradoxes of natural resources management decentralisation in. It is as a result of public policy making that some nations are considered rich and others poor.
The land use, hydrology, relief, slope and geologic maps of bamenda aided in the process. Daemane a thesis submitted to the faculty of humanities, university of the witw atersrand, johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of doctor of philosophy in development studies. It argues that in a context where institutional capacity is weak, democratic institutions are fragile and resources are scarce, caution is needed. Decentralisation in commonwealth africa commonwealth. The decentralisation process in cameroon is effective and in spite of. The challenges and opportunities of decentralization decentralization creates both challenges and opportunities.