Local Government
87
Large Cities
19
Capital Cities
4
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Local Government
87
Large Cities
19
Capital Cities
4
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Community
Capital
Yaoundé
Population
25 876 38
Language
French
Currency
Central African CFA Franc
Indexes
Democracy
141
Authoritarian
Democracy
Democracy
141
Authoritarian
Democracy
Corruption Perception
153/180
High
Corruption Perception
Corruption Perception
153/180
High
Corruption Perception
Human Development
150
Medium
Human Development
Human Development
150
Medium
Human Development
World Happiness
98/153
High
World Happiness
World Happiness
98/153
High
World Happiness
Global Peace
138
Low
Global Peace
Global Peace
138
Low
Global Peace
Global Terrorism
15
High
Global Terrorism
Global Terrorism
15
High
Global Terrorism
Legislação sobre Orçamentos Participativos
The constitution and the decentralization texts provide a framework for the implementation of the Participatory Budgeting, but before 2019, it was neither explicit nor mandatory. With the General Code of Decentralized Territorial Collectivities in its article 386, the decentralized local authorities are obliged to rely on the participation of citizens in the elaboration of their budgets.
Following the promulgation of Law 2019/024 of 24 December 2019 on the General Code, the National Governance Programme, ASSOAL and ACBP-FL (Cameroon Alliance for Participatory Budgeting and Local Finance) are working on the proposal of a set of implementing texts for the Participatory Budgeting in Cameroon.
Outstanding Innovations
In Cameroon, the Participatory Budgeting has experimented several innovations. The thematic orientation has already improved the experiences, especially the consideration of fragility and the environment, which were minimized. The other innovation is the commitment of municipalities to strengthen the system of revenue mobilization with the involvement of the population, as well as the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve:
- Participation to the greatest number;
- Transparency with the budget viewing platform;
- The citizen call center for collecting feedback;
- Setting up and running basic social services observatories to monitor achievements in the field;
- The SMS web platform for voting on people’s wishes, etc.
Impacts of COVID-19 Disease on PB
- PB have been suspended: 87%
- PB continued to function normally: 3%
- PB have undergone changes/adaptations: 10%
Main Trends of PB in the Country During the Pandemic
Overall, the trend is bullish. Today, technical and financial partners are promoting the implementation of the Participatory Budgeting in calls for projects. But also, the Government through the general code of decentralized territorial authorities now obliges the DTAs to implement the Participatory Budget. Civil society organizations with the new communal executives are working to scale up. This is done through the National Governance Programme. CSOs are grouped within the Cameroonian Alliance of Participatory Budget and Local Finance. On the technical level, several approaches to support the PB are implemented in Cameroon.
Additional Information
The PB in Cameroon faces some challenges:
- The challenge of Ownership. The PB in Cameroon deserves to be widely disseminated and appropriated by the actors - CSOs and other institutional actors such as communes - which entails at least an intense institutional communication around the experiences of the PB and a transfer of knowledge, skills and technologies for the implementation of initiatives promoting better citizen participation;
- The scaling up. The scaling up that follows the challenge of ownership also relies on the inclusion and/or involvement of more stakeholders in the PB, which is a citizen process. This scaling up should build on strategic actors such as local governments/municipalities, civil society organizations and central government entities;
- The institutionalization of the Participatory Budget. The institutionalization of the PB is a fundamental challenge. It corresponds to a response to the local demand for greater responsibility and accountability of governments, but above all for greater involvement of citizens in decision-making processes; involvement that goes beyond mere information. Such a process is made favorable by the context of the ongoing decentralization and could be supported by actions aimed at the adoption of a law on the Participatory Budgeting and hence the definition of a real national strategy in this area coupled with a law on the Participatory budgeting. However, this requires genuine advocacy work.
