Decentralised cooperation: what our municipalities earn

The decentralization process has been underway in Cameroon since January 1, 2010. But it must be said that the communal movement did not wait for this opportunity to get underway.

This is the reason why many territorial decentralised communities in our country have committed relationships with municipalities in other countries, with greater or lesser degrees. With regard to this concept, I should perhaps say that decentralised cooperation is a mode of cooperation including all the relations of friendship, twinning or partnership forged between the local country and communities, equivalent or not, other countries.

In this case, decentralised cooperation must be achieved by an agreement between local authorities. By extension, it includes different forms of assistance or exchange of experiences with foreign local public structures. One of the best-known forms of decentralized cooperation to Cameroon is twinning.

Decentralised cooperation represents a form of more horizontal cooperation, governmental cooperation and multilateral cooperation, subject to criticism on the part of non-State actors. But in Cameroon, the process is very well framed. Indeed, a decree from the Prime Minister, head of Government, signed April 26, 2011, lays down the procedures of decentralized cooperation.

The Cameroonian Government, decentralized cooperation means "as any partnership relationship between two or more local authorities or their groupings to achieve common objectives." In this case, decentralised cooperation can take place between Cameroonian Communes or their groupings a portion or between them and foreign local authorities on the other.

For the Cameroonian authorities, decentralised cooperation has aims to promote exchanges of experience and know-how between local and regional authorities; contribute to the external projection of the Cameroonian model of decentralization; meet the essential needs and the priorities expressed by the Cameroonian people, and promote and support the dynamics of economic, social, health, educational, cultural and sports development at the local and regional level.

There still in memory displacement in France with a delegation of women mayors of a score of Cameroonian communes, under the chairmanship of the network of women mayors of Cameroon led by Célestine Ketcha Courtès, Mayor of the Bangangté municipality in the Western region.

At the invitation of Ms. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, they took part April 17, in the meeting of African mayors and the Foundation headed by former french Minister Jean Louis Borloo who is committed to mobilizing approximately 13 000 billion CFA FRANCS in ten years to produce electricity on the African continent.

A bridge of gold for Haoua Tizi, Mayor of the commune of Mayo-Oulo in the northern region for which "the absence of electricity facilitates the incursions of the Islamist sect Boko Haram". Her colleague of Ngoyla, in the region of the East does noted that "the lack of electricity is a danger to the common border.

In the context of decentralized cooperation, population of the Yaoundé VI municipality still have in memory the spectacle of the infamous « Carrefour caca ». Thanks to the cooperation with the city of Erstein, in Normandy in France, a definitive solution could be found to this problem.

One can also speak of the case of Bangangté with the Commune of Fouesnant in France. This last particularly supported in teaching materials for schools in the municipality of the region of the West in 2013. But there are also cases of decentralised cooperation between local authorities, as is the case for the city of Buea with that of Ngoulemakong.

As mentioned above, this process is perfectly framed in Cameroon by Decree of the PM of April 26, 2011. It imposes on the communes involved to clarify the purpose of the proposed partnership relationship, the objectives pursued by the parties, the terms of implementation of the actions to be taken, the schedule of planned relations, the estimate of commitments of each party, the terms of control, evaluation and monitoring of projects...

But it was often noted that everything happens not always as expected. This is the reason why the Cameroonian authorities who engage in this process must still collect the endorsement of the Minister in charge of Territorial Administration and decentralization which should make his bail, as the interests of Cameroon are not engaged.