The Mayor of Kumbo, Danatus Njong, has said that there is the need for the government to organise a fresh census to determine the exact population of each municipality, insinuating that current figures from the last census were doctored to enable certain councils to get more funds and projects during the allocation of the national public investment budget.

He spoke to journalists shortly after attending the first joint inter-ministerial meeting on decentralization for 2014, which took place at the Yaounde city council Town Hall, Friday June 6.

He complained that the distribution of development funds to municipalities across the country is biased because it is done based on results of the current population count, which to him, were not objective. The mayor said that many people in his municipality contested the results of the last census conducted by government. Some local newspapers had reported after the publication of the results that, the fact that the Prime Minister’s Oku municipality was ranked second, most populated in the north-west region instead of Kumbo, made the credibility of the entire census results, questionable.

Njong said that when more projects are financed in some councils than others every year; it creates a situation where favoured councils develop faster than the unfavoured ones.

“This practice is not good for the effective implementation of vision 2035 growth and employment strategic plan” he opined. He noted that government decentralization objectives may never see the light of day by 2035 unless the procedures of distribution are reviewed.

He condemned the practice where some councils are given preferential treatment at the expense of others, adding that budget allocations for certain projects are left in the hands of Senior Divisional Officers. This, he said, is a major setback in the realization of earmarked projects. He questioned why projects for the construction of classrooms, bore holes and health centres as well as health equipment are entrusted to Divisional Officers rather than mayors.

“Mayors are the most competent individuals who master and understand the need of their municipalities and can ensure a proper follow up and execution on the ground.” He said. “Councils are supposed to use central technical services of public administrators free of charge, but when councils ask for their services they are asked to pay, whereas they are civil servants with monthly salaries. Some will at times reluctantly render the service you ask for while others categorically refuse.”

The Kumbo Mayor also hinted that decentralization texts stipulate that the mayor is a contracting authority, which implies that mayors must have a tender’s board, but decried the fact that the reality on the field is different. “The minister of public contracts is supposed to set up the board, but that has not been done. That is the Town of Kumbo, supposed to be second biggest town in NW- the reason why we have problems running our internal projects and those given by the State” he added.

The greatest problems most councils face are those of urban and farm to market roads. The cost of constructing a kilometre of road is so high that councils cannot afford building the roads by themselves.

The mayor questioned why the ministry of urban affairs has never financed any project in Kumbo.

“Kumbo is the second largest town in the North West region, with a population of over 200,000 but has hardly benefited from any project financed by the Ministry of Urban Development.” He noted.

Following the 2004 law on decentralization, there is supposed to be transfer of powers accompanied by the transfer of means, financial, material and human resources, to local entities that are made up of 10 regions and 339 councils.

Presiding at the opening ceremony of the joint inter-ministerial meeting on decentralization for 2014, Emmanuel Rene Sadi, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (MINATD) called on the representatives from the various ministries to make practical proposals in view of speeding up the process at their ministries. Over 200 participants from various sectors, including, development partners, the World Bank, the private sector, and NGOs, took part in the session.