Powers Transferred to Regional and Local Authorities (RLAS) in Cameroon for the Promotion of Development

Decentralisation is a development strategy involving transferring powers and services from the central government to local governments. It involves political, administrative, and fiscal reforms to increase local administrations’ decision-making capacity and development efficiency by redistributing powers and resources between organisational levels. The various decentralised institutions in Cameroon are the municipal councils, city councils, and regional councils. Regional and Local Authorities (RLAs) have the competence to carry out their activities with due respect for national unity and solidarity, territorial integrity, and the primacy of the State. In carrying out their actions, they enjoy equal Status. This means that no local authority may establish or exercise control over another. To achieve local development, it is highly recommended, therefore, that there should be a functional and genuine political commitment on the part of the central government to implement all the facets of the decentralization policy, manifested and made practical with the establishment of a timetable for devolution, allocation of a fixed quota of the state budget to Local Authorities and the financing of the decentralization process coupled with the curbing of the excessive oversight role of appointed administrative officials who impinge on the autonomy of elected Regional and Local authorities.