The amount is part of the FCFA 10 billion Common Decentralisation Fund for 2014.
Some 164 priority councils in Cameroon have been allocated FCFA 5 billion for development projects within the framework of the Common Decentralisation Fund for 2014.
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemon Yang who is chairperson of the National Decentralisation Board made public the total amount of FCFA 10 billion allocated as the Common Decentralisation Fund in a decree he signed on April 14, 2014.
The amount allocated to the already identified priority councils within the framework of the Common Decentralisation Fund comes to add to what every ministry has devolved to them for projects. Sources at the Permanent Secretariat of the National Decentralisation Council indicate that the priority councils were identified with the help of competent services in the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development.
The remaining FCFA 5 billion of the Common Decentralisation Fund has been allocated as the running budget of the decentralization process, the Prime Minister’s decree stated. FCFA 3 billion of the running budget has been allocated to some obligatory expenditures of local authorities and their institutions with specific attention to the payment of staff and elected officials. The Prime Minister’s decree further states that FCFA 1 billion has been set aside for special or emergency cases in some City Councils and Local Councils.
The remaining amount of the running budget is allocated to finance the activities of the National Decentralisation Board, Inter-ministerial Committee for Local Services, production of a bilingual collection of texts on decentralization, functioning of external services of the State that contribute to or support local and City Councils. Indeed the running budget of the Common Decentralisation Fund has 11 different budgetary heads.
The effective disbursement of the money and in time, will help facilitate the execution of development projects throughout the country. Government in keeping with the law to lay down the rules governing councils, plans to complete the transfer of powers to councils and City Councils in 2015.
