Public administrators from the Central and West African Sub-regions met in Yaounde.

Heads of schools of Administration and Magistracy, staff as well as finance and decentralisation experts from the Economic Community of Central African States, CEMAC and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS met in Yaounde. The rendez-vous was within the framework of an international seminar on the sharing of best practices on public finance reforms in the CEMAC and ECOWAS Sub-regions in the context of decentralisation. The seminar was organised by Cameroon’s National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), in partnership, with the German Technical Cooperation, GIZ.

The Secretary General in the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms, Pierre Vincent Ngambo, in his opening statement on March 27, 2013 encouraged participants to persevere in the quest to fine-tune strategies that will facilitate the harmonisation of methods and techniques to make public finance reforms and local governance a reality in the Sub-regions. Accompanied by Pierre Essomba, his peer of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Pierre Vincent Ngambo explained that the two sub-regions are facing similar development challenges and only concerted efforts could turn the tides. Public finance will always go through reforms while decentralisation will constantly undergo construction for better environmental adaptability. Pierre Vincent Ngambo therefore challenged participants to proffer worthy recommendations that will ameliorate best practices in the implementation of the decentralisation drive.

Faced with the world’s financial challenges, ENAM’s Director General, Linus Toussaint Mendjana alongside a representative from GIZ Cameroon, François Manguele said the government of Cameroon put in place economic strategies all geared at moving the country forward. Financial reforms like the putting in place of result-based State budget alongside Vision 2035 remain strong signals of the drive to develop the country and to promote local government.

 For four days, staff, lecturers and student administrators through lectures, exchanges and case studies had their capacities reinforced on the implications of reforms on local governance.  The seminar ended on March 30, 2013.