Bill on Decentralisation Code:
Gov’t stretches Decentralisation to its furthest limit
By NOELA E. BISONG & DOH JAMES SONKEY
The National Assembly and the Senate are currently meeting at a 15-day Extraordinary Session of Parliament at the demand of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya who tabled a Decentralisation Code that provides special status for the North West and South West regions and speeds up the de-centralisation process in the other eight regions of Cameroon.
The bill was declared receivable by the Chairmen’s Conferences of both Houses of Parliament last December 13, 2019 before being tabled at a plenary session in the House Chambers.
The bill joyfully received by Members of both Houses of Parliament is said to be one of the most striking victory of the Major National Dialogue of last September 30 to October 4, 2019 at the Yaounde Conference Centre convened by the Head of State to look for lasting solutions to end the socio-political crisis now armed conflict in the North West and South West regions.
The Decentralisation Code among several things confers a Special Status for the two Anglophone regions, the restoration of House of Chiefs in the North West and South West regions, the suppres-sion of posts of Government Delegates to city councils, the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry by public-independent mediator, the allocation of a little more money to the North West and South West regions for the purpose of reconstruction as compared to the other regions, the putting in place of a Regional Assembly. Also guaranteed are greater powers in the formulation and management of educational policies for the English sub-system; and more consultative roles in the ‘formulation of justice public policies in the common law subsystem’ Section 328 (2) among other things.
In a chat with The SUN, Hon Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front party, SDF noted that the Decentralisation code is a commendable move by government. Being a code, it covers principally on effective decentralisation which is of utmost importance to solving issues plaguing Cameroon’s governance system, though not exactly fitting the federalism hole.
According to the Code, the House of Chiefs as a consultative body with powers to impeach Re-gional Councils will supervise the execution of projects in the North West and South West regions.
A senior State authority rejoiced that the restoration of House of Chiefs in the two Anglophone re-gions is a major victory for the population especially as it was one of the recommendations of the Major National Dialogue.
The Decentralisation Code also stipulates that Anglophone regions will keep their sub systems of education and the judiciary inherited from their former colonial master, the Great Britain.
The Code, once adopted in Parliament in the days ahead will pave the way for the President of the Republic, Paul Biya to promulgate it into law and usher in a new era of direct governance in the North West and South West regions.
As held by many, the legislation, by all intents and purposes, provides stunning dramatic victories for Anglophones; a hard-fought, long-drawn victory. Though some have been quick to wonder aloud why nothing is mentioned about the positions of regional governors, Senior Divisional Offi-cers etc, it is being held that what the legislation succeeds in doing is tackling concerns of centrali-sation and marginalisation by providing greater autonomy to the North West and South West.
In the past three years, there has been increasing pressure at home and from the international com-munity for the government to seek concrete solutions to Anglophone concerns by engaging in meaningful dialogue. The proceeds of such an initiative as the Major National Dialogue are, amongst other things, that Anglophones have been able to take a seat at the table, at the top of it. The resulting legislation should be able to calm tensions in the North West and South West; two regions that have suffered the brunt of violent extremism perpetuated by a relentless separatist conflict. Many are in the hope that the move by government should have a calming effect in the two crisis-plagued regions, as many a resident in the two restive regions are in an earnest wait for the eventual return of peace, calm and serenity.
