The National Capacity Building Programme for City Management, PNFMV, recently organised a one day capacity building training workshop on city management for Southwest municipal magistrates (Mayors), municipal staffs, sector authorities and other actors involved in the decentralisation process.

According to the Secretary General at the Governor’s Office, Clement Fon Ndikum, who stood in for the Governor at the seminar, the programme will provide a short course on skill in project management occupations of the city, to elected officials, municipal technicians, officials of ministries and representatives of civil societies.

“PNFMV is supposed to provide a methodological and technical support of decentralised local authorities in the implementation of theoretical knowledge in which the expression field is structured around the implementation of development strategies, particularly through contracts,” Fondikum emphasised.

With this focus, the National Coordinator for PNFMV, Emmanuel Nick Bomba, during his presentation at the forum said, they are out to support councils in the process of capacity building of their staff and provided a framework for continuing education for “city professionals” to various urban actors working to promote a decent living and sustainable urban development.

“What makes this programme different from others is the fact that, we actually do practical work on the ground. We supervise every actor directly linked to the decentralisation process, in that for example if you are to cater for city hygiene, we ensure that you are well trained in that field and that you manage it efficiently.

Our strategic outcomes will be that councils have the feature of an urban vision through their ability to control enhanced work and that local expertise is valued, while offers of municipal services meet the needs expressed by the population,” Bomba said.

The Lord Mayor of the Buea Municipal Council, Patrick Ekema Esunge, on his part, lauded the initiative as it will help the communities for which they manage in the appropriate fragmentation of Towns. He also assured coordinators that Mayors, through the training they receive, will enhance the goals of PNFMV efficiently.

Meantime, the Southwest Regional Delegate for Housing and Urban Development and Housing, MINHDU, Francis Oben Essie, reviewed that on request of the Minister of MINHDU in 2005, Nantes Metropolis initiated a partnership with the medium-sized cities in Cameroon to share expertise in sustainable urban development and assist cities in implementation of city contracts.

“With this partnership, the Ministry has from then been working to see how sustainable city management is enhanced. So, the exercise will promote the collection of reliable and accurate data on the nature of towns, which will be put at the disposal of various stakes, including its mode of action best to the communities,” Oben explained.

Moreover, the President of United Council Cities in Cameroon, UCCC, also National Representative for Southwest Mayors, John Ayuk, Takunchung, said the project is different from that organised by CEFAM and PNDP because it anchors positively on Municipal Magistrates, local actors and other decentralised delegates for which, unlike the other ones, it works in synergy.

It should be noted that the project is a four-way partnership between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, as project Owner, the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon, UCCC, as supervisor, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, the Special Equipment Fund and Inter-municipal Intervention, FEICOM as partners. It also enjoys the support of French Cooperations.

It is a National Programme which has already been conducted in seven Regions of the country with the Southwest being the 8th.