DEFENCE SPEECH

The President of Jury,Distinguished Members of Jury,

Ladies and Gentlemen,Good Evening.

TOPIC:

‘Decentralization and Sustainable Local Development in Cameroon: The Case of the Fundong Council’.

For many decades, decentralization and local development have been encouraged by many African countries including Cameroon as a means for generating a dynamic approach to development by including local stakeholders and beneficiaries in project development and implementation.

This is based on the premise that decentralized governance provides a structural arrangement and a level playing field for stakeholders and players to promote peace, democracy and

development.

•Significant tasks•Sufficient resources •Capacity

•Autonomy

•Central government backing•Good central-local relations including a civil society capable of engaging with local government governmentsocit

•local political processes•wide participation•opportunities for direct democracy•accountability mechanisms

Figure 1: The Virtuous Circle of Effective Democratic Sub-national Government

Generally, the study intended to analyse the performance of the decentralization policy in terms of effectiveness in the delivery of services deemed necessary by the local population of Fundong. The study also hoped to highlight inadequacies which could be addressed to improve performances and lead to development.

More specifically, the study aimed at;

•Examining the legal and institutional framework of decentralization in Cameroon.

• Analysing the role of the different stakeholders in Cameroon and Fundong in particular.

• Assessing the extent to which the results of decentralization have been felt so far in Fundong.

To achieve these objectives the study analysed the performance of decentralization from 2004 to 2012 while considering 1996 as the year that the current form of decentralization is based on

This study is conceived and built on the hypothesis that when decentralization is conceived, planned, implemented and sustained as a structural arrangement to support and facilitate the involvement of the local population in the process of their own development, it stands strong chances of promoting sustainable development.

This means that the decentralization policy can lead to sustainable development because, through participatory management, the grassroots citizens develop a sense of ownership of the resultant development programmes.

The designers of decentralization policy in Cameroon hoped that when implemented properly, it would reduce the workload at the centre, create political and administrative accountability, promote responsiveness and in the long run lead to development

Map of Cameroon showing Bamenda the North Wesr Region where Fundong is found.

However, the problem is; how effective is this process in achieving its development goal in Cameroon and under what circumstances can decentralization policies yield development results? More specifically, what roles do the stakeholders in Fundong in particular play in the realization of these goals?

The theories made use of in this study were; the Interdependence theory of Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye who posit that the State is no longer the sole actor in international relations because of the presence of others like multinationals and NGOs.

The theories of public policy analysis were also used to enhance understanding of the dynamism of the stakeholders in the process. These include; the referential approach of Pierre Muller, the Advocacy Coalition Theory of Paul Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith Hank, and the policy network approach of Patrick Le Gales and Mark Thatcher.

METHODOLOGY USED

• This study made use of both qualitative and quantitative research. Primary and secondary data were used. Primary data was done with the help of questionnaires administered during focus group discussions with quarter heads, community based organisations, opinion leaders and so on, and a random sampling of opinions

The major sources of secondary data were books, journal articles, legal instruments, seminar proceedings and documented information from NGOs, MINATD and other credible sources. As concerns data treatment and analysis, the SPSS 19.0 version software was used.

ORGANISATION OF STUDY

• The objectives of this study were achieved by focusing attention on various issues. There is a general introduction which provides the object and subject of research. Part one covers the framework of decentralization in Cameroon. The first chapter explores the process. The second chapter examines the stakeholders in the process.

Part two provides an assessment of the implementation of decentralization in the Fundong community. Chapter three in part two covers community awareness and participation in local governance and development. The fourth and last chapter assesses sustainable local development in Fundong.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The findings of the study revealed 4 important issues

Firstly, Decentralization as a policy process is not well-understood by the Fundong population even though they participate in it.

•Besides, the population participate through local elections, village development committees and local associations, quarter heads, faith based associations among other methods

•Moreover, the local stakeholders in Fundong are the local authorities, the customary authorities consulted in matters of tradition, specialised civil society organizations, the private sector and the local population as elucidated by appendix C (1).

DEVELOPMENT ACHIEVED Finally, in terms of development, basic

social amenities have been provided like in education, construction of school classrooms, provision of study materials and facilities like libraries and books, scholarships etc.

• In the health domain, the health centre in Fundong has been given equipments while in the villages health care services like vaccination campaigns, sensitization campaigns on STDs and reproductive health education, have been given.

In the social domain, PLAN Cameroon carried out sensitization campaigns on child protection, child abuse, child labour and other advocacy campaigns have been done. Civil status secretaries have also been supported with materials like booklets, communal stamps and stationeries etc.

DIFFICULTIES

•Limited access to information

•Insufficient human and material resources

•Negative attitude towards implementation- women not feeling involved especially

•High illiteracy

•Gender inequality

•Ineffective bureaucratic structure

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDED BY LOCAL POPULATION

• Encouraging participation from women and other marginalised groups

• Organisation and coordination of the interventions of the stakeholders

• Reinforcement of the capacities of the local actors

• The institution of accountability on all the stakeholders in the process

• Access to information• Encouraging decentralised

cooperation• Need for a favourable institution

SUGGESTIONS ON EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION

CONCLUSIONDecentralization in Cameroon and Fundong in particular is on an upward

thrust. However, the fruits of decentralization in Fundong are still at an early stage of success, given that little has been achieved so far.

That brings us to the end of the presentation.

END OF CONCLUSION

• We acknowledge the fact that the work was not perfect. We therefore welcome your comments and constructive criticism in the hope of bridging the lapses in the work and making any further research on a similar topic more effective.

Thank you for your attention.