Tangang Andrew Tangang

After obtaining independence in 1960, Cameroon adopted a centralised system of government to consolidate ‘unity’ in an ethnically diverse society, and enhance consensus politics that was typical of pre-colonial Africa. However, this centralisation project failed to enhance consensus politics and rather promoted the rule of centre to the detriment of the periphery. Faced with the failures of the centralisation system, local citizens in Cameroon developed various local self-governance schemes such as Village Development and Cultural Associations (VDCAs) to replace formal local governments and promote local development irrespective of the actions or inactions of the central government at the time. The decentralisation (devolution) reforms of 1996 emphasised the need to promote development, good governance, and democracy at the local level, thus, an opportunity for the formal local (municipal) governments to harness the potentials of already existing community government institutions who were already involved in local development initiatives. 

Despite the strong potentials of community governments and its institutions, they have been considerably minimised in the decentralisation drive in Cameroon. The relationship between community governments and formal local governments in Cameroon has neither been clarified nor legalised. In situations where informal cooperation between these authorities is not intact, the local government cannot effectively perform its functions. The community governments and the municipal governments are compelled to coexist and carry out their functions to meet the needs of local citizens.

This study examines the evolution of community governments, and how its institutions have been structured and reformed to meet the changing needs and aspirations of their respective communities. From the foregoing, it situates the role of community government institutions within the local governance sphere in Cameroon by analysing how local citizens perceive the community government vis-à-vis the municipal government.

Also, effective collaboration between the community governments and municipal councils is primordial to building a robust local democratic culture. This collaboration should transcend the minimal consultations organised by municipal council authorities in prelude to implementing some development projects, to engaging a cross-section of the community governments as key stakeholders in the development process. The study analyses the different patterns of collaboration at the local level and would recommend strategies for enhancing this collaboration. This is indispensable to transforming the local sphere in Cameroon into an arena for the conception, implementation and evaluation of local development policies in line with the decentralisation plan.